Without you by my side
all the pain comes to the fore.
There is nowhere left to hide.

All this hurt I can't abide
Life feels just like a chore
without you by my side.

As I sit by your graveside
and my heart breaks even more
there is nowhere left to hide.

For all the tears that I have cried
Joy doesn't live here anymore
without you by my side.

And so I swim against the tide
and it's you I cry out for.
There is nowhere left to hide.

In whom shall I confide?
Never questioned heretofore.
Without you by my side
There is nowhere left to hide.

Non-refundable
Once in a lifetime offer
Please accept my love

Perfumed air carries
The scent of the nearby sea
Dry salty seaweed

Can i wrap my arms
Around a ghost?
I'll hug myself
And wish it was you.
Wish you were here
To talk to me,
Love me,
Scold me
And hold me.
God, I miss you.
***

They said he had a face
Only a mother could love
And the clothes on his
Back were torn.

His skin was pock marked
And his back was bent.
His teeth had rotted
In his head.

But when he sat
At a piano and sang,
The notes reached into
Your ribcage,

Crushing your heart
With an ivory key.
His beauty could bring
You to your knees.

When your riches
Are measured in shades of green,
the rainbow is never as bright.

When you spend your time
Looking down on others,
You miss the beauty of the stars.

When you count your coffers
Not your blessings
Infinity is but a dream.

She sits on the rocks
An island between inlets
As the sea surges.

She sits on the rocks
Tempest within her raging
A beast in a cage.

She sits on the rocks
Hypnotised by crashing waves
Enticing her in.

She sits on the rocks
Brittle bones in silken skin
So vulnerable.

She sits on the rocks
An offering to neptune
Sacrificial lamb.

She slips from the rocks
In solitude no longer.
Witnessed by no-one.

When the night is still,
She comes,
Licks the nib
And spits her words
Upon my pages.
I wake to read thoughts
I didn't know I had
But the writing
Reads like a mirror.
With shaking hands
I tear the treacherous paper.
Words born of wine
And what is best left buried.
The mirror me waits.
***** in hand.
Nothing stays buried forever.

You're not gone.
You just live
Beyond a thin curtain
That one day
I will pull back
And you will take my hand
And guide me through.
And the days from here
Til then
Are the blink of an eye
And a slow rolling tear.

I want to bite the flesh of your words
And let the juice of your truth trickle down my throat.
I want to inhale the scent of your joy
And graze upon your sadness
I want to devour your pain
And consume your pleasure
I want to feast on all parts of you
And relish every mouthful
Until my belly can take no more

How do I express my feelings?
For years I've built
This shell to protect me.
But that doesn't mean
I'm an empty well.

Lower your bucket,
Have your fill.
But don't leave me empty.
I don't know how to recover.

The jungle drums beat
With a maniacal fervour
And their secret shame
Becomes fodder for the masses,
The hidden cannibalistic tendencies
Of our kind,
Ignorant of dignity's
Desperate struggle to survive.
Pride becomes a common condiment
And the ravenous hunger
To belittle others
Is sated at last.

The gentlest of flowers
are constantly trampled
under heavy boots

Creeping across the ocean
Like a girl in gray silk
Stealing in after a late night,
Shoes left at the door.
Tiptoes over wooden floors.
Trailing wisps of dreams
With the lightest of kisses.

And I saw
The endless possibilities
The untapped source of love
The well of dreams unrealized
The kiss of unknown angels
The notes of songs unsung
The memory of those who've gone before us
The hope that fills my heart
The love that threatens to break me
You opened your eyes
And I saw

The sand dunes undulate
To the fading music of summer,
Shimmering softly
In the light, gently dying.
Longing for heat
In the cooler days.
Searching inexorably
For the comforting
Arms of the ocean,
So close,
Just out of touch.
Fingers touching but never grasping.
Alone beside each other.
Achingly lonely without the other.

Please be aware,
Before entering her lair,
You face possible death.

As the perfumed air
From her derriere
Will have you gasping for breath

Magenta skies
Streaked with orange
Make me want a cocktail

Thoughts today
Like bombs
Coming without warning
And leaving me blind-sided

For a second

Then dissipating
Into an endless stream of smoke.

I reach out
But it's gone

Little whispers
reverberate like thunder
leaving devastation
in their wake

Love dropped
With the force of
A silken feather
Simultaneously knocking
Me to the ground
And lifting me up

Just a little doll
Wrapped in blankets,
Dark lashes
Pillowed on milky skin,
Still warm to the touch.
Only white lips
And eyes,
Not quite closed,
Giving lie
To the belief
That you're sleeping.
Be at peace little man.
Be at peace.

There was darkness
and there was light,
much as the morning
bows down
to the night.
And I knew not
which one I sought,
but I knew which had me
in their sight

Deeper I fall
Down this well
With no water.
Darkness takes my hand
And fear kisses my lips.
Take my eyes,
I was blinded by sight.
Guile was not a coat I wore,
But innocence keeps
None warm.
I reach for one moment
Any moment.
Sanity is fleeting.

Bite my lip
Draw blood
A perfect red
On imperfect white
Pain
Within love
Arched backs
On flat sheets
A moment
In a lifetime
Of moments

I walk these
streets of bones
wherein you lie.

I scour the
broken stones
neath a broken sky.

I lay my
pitiful flowers
with a silent cry.

My broken stone heart
with a feather beat
that has yet to die.

Early in the evening
She teases.
Hiding in the shadows,
Winking playfully.
As she slowly
Sheds
Her inhibitions
And stands before me
In all her wondrous glory.
Brazen and proud.
Doubts
Tossed  aside on the wind.
Clever little luna.
You don't have to
Play games
With me.
I'm at your mercy.

She held my hand
And dried my tears.
Comforted me
And eased my fears.
Yet now she struggles
To remember my name.
God is playing
A cruel game.
She's not here,
But she's not dead.
The future fills
My heart with dread.
She lives in her memories,
Trapped in the past.
The illness has taken over
So fast.
But I smile with her
And lend my ear
Because one day she
Will no longer be here.

Hammering on the roof
Of this cavern of echoes
Like a thousand
Drums beating in unison
Prompting me to march
In a single person parade,
A celebration of rain.

You are
The whisper of wind
That tickles my neck.
The music
That makes me dance.
The bird
That lands so close.
The rain
That soaks me to the bone.
The perfume
That brings me to tears.
The threadbare blanket
That keeps me warm.
The voice
That speaks through photos.
The song
That sings in my heart.
The memories
That are never far.
You are.

There lies night
With a cape of fear
Drowns the dreams of those
Who dare to step near.

And here lies the day
In shimmering gold
Bolsters the hope
Of the brave and bold.

But the line between
Is as solid as air,
The loss of a smile
And the will to care.

A single spear of yellow
Whispers a promise
Of spring to come.
I long for light
To pierce the darkness of this forest,
To break this hibernation,
To bathe in a golden glow,
To see the world,
And I,
Reborn.

I shed my skin.
Winter take my petals,
Leave me naked
With the wind.
Bare, you see me.
Love's stunted growth?
The leaves were
Only ever a facade.
Sweet Jesus,
Let the sap taste as sweet
As promises given
In early spring.
I shed my skin.
Please love me still.

Coiled tightly, a spring
Loaded with thoughts.
Pinballs endlessly searching
For a top score.
Ricocheting in the brain
Like a flexible bullet,
Wreaking havoc without
The final word.
A blossoming idea
And a pen without ink.
The lethal archer
With a crooked arrow.
Never hitting the target.

You're the flame
To my moth.
My burnt wings
Crumble
And still I come back;
A glutton for punishment.
Sing me your
Lullaby of lies,
That I may
Hide my shame
And pretend once more
That I will pretend
No more.

These eggshells aren't for walking on
I'm a big girl with a heart
Be honest, tell it like it is
Though it might tear me apart.

Be honest. Never hem and haw,
Be honest, not aloof
Be honest as I'm crying,
Be honest. Tell the truth.

Just please don't beat around the bush,
I'll carry on when you are gone,
The eggshells may be broken
But they're not for walking on.
phil lindsey

A message in a bottle
Hope within glass
Set upon relentless seas
With a vague destination
And no preparation
But the desperate wish
To connect with a stranger
You will never touch
And yet you struggle
To speak to your neighbour

The night claimed you
for herself
The moon, it stole
your smile.
The stars borrowed
Your laugh.
And the sky wore
the midnight blue
of your eyes.
Dawn broke,
like a cane on the back.
And the morning wept.

Im lashed to the tracks
Waiting
For the trains that come
With no warning whistle.
The air is crushed from my lungs
And my heart shatters.
Still I lie
Still I wait
Still I live.
Sometimes I laugh
Before I cry.
Mercy travels elsewhere.