heart of sadness
follows the eyes
of madness
into the scream of night.

who dares to dream
in a starless night?

war and peace then war and love

and all nightmares are real
staring into

a starless night,

and all we have
are the flames
stolen from a screaming night,
and all we have are each other.

Like two lips,
pursed together,
but in a smile.

The petals are smooth -
coloured in silky shades
of red or pink
or perhaps a
vibrant cerise.

He buys me these flowers
every anniversary
to remind me

of his deep
and enduring love.

home is a cage
slide out the window
find a different way
run with the wolves
chase the child

it won't always be like this
ceramic heart
cosmic bruise
lovesick in a hotel wildfire

chemistry begins with
orbiting the moon
he calls her a river

swallowing down mistakes
she cares a little less about everything now

blood on the mattress
young blood

breaks in the sun
mean pure dark is yet to come
--nightly things

as long as she gets by
despite the crushing weight of gravity
she will take swan feathers
and wedding days to bed

but never take the blame

There is a gentle breeze
that whispers through
an open window
it carries poetry from
the high mountains
poetry from the
shepherds lonely nights
it is here where the
isolation is at its sweetest
but when you hear
music and laughter
in the company of
fierce clapping hands
down to the village
you must go …
Clay.M

There sits on the bank of a river
A child all dressed up in gold
As she sits on the bank she is crying
And the wind is sharp, silver, and cold

Her dress lies in pools all around her
And the skirt is encrusted with jewels
Which glint just like stars in the darkness
As she cries for this world made of fools

A lover who charmed and abandoned
Such a tale of unforeseen woe
That had swooped like a bat from the darkness
And delivered an unwanted blow

And these teardrops that fall from her lashes
Each one of them turns to a pearl
That lands on the dark fertile soil
And they grow into plants that unfurl

And this garden that grows up around her
Is in colors as bright as the sun
And the flowers that blossom and open
Are in hues that appear every dawn

And she sits and she cries and she mourns
In that dress for the richest of queens
And she looks at the beauty around her
The leafs are in all different greens

She looks at the tall trees and creepers
And she gazes at the long tangled vines
She lifts up her head and she marvels
At the flowers of all different kinds

But they cannot acquit her of sorrow
They cannot rid her of pain
So she walks into the river of water
Never to come up again

And the river it carries her sadness
It's burdened with all of her griefs
And the water is glossy like pearls
Gently sway the overhanging leafs

As her body is carried beneath them
And they sing a whispering song
For the child who cried them to being
And mourned for the things that were wrong

There sits on the bank of a river
Many trees all dressed up in gold
As they sit on the bank they are crying
And the wind is sharp, silver, and cold

This thought has always haunted me.

People you meet once
and never again in your life.

You have a static picture in your mind
of their face
the small conversation
their little story they tell you
the place you met them
in a bus, a shop, on the road
interactions not long
but meaningfully small
yet leaving a memory in you.

I think of all those people
I stopped by to ask for time
seek direction of my destination
or asking where I might find
food or a resting place
in an unfamiliar area.

Once and just once you meet them.

On a summer trip, I was looking for icecream
in a strange place off the highway
walked ten minutes to find a shop
where for that brief encounter
the seller made me feel like
he had known me for long
shared the history of that area
the migration and culture of the residents
before helping me with the right icecream.

Sometimes I wonder
if they would have enriched my life
were they part of my association.

Not scholars, not rich, but simple men
who bring you down to earth
and carve a space in your mindscape.

Sadly you meet them once in your life.

I feel it's so designed.