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397 · Feb 2014
Trace (10W)
Patricia Drake Feb 2014
please delete me
if you leave
please delete all
trace
397 · Mar 2013
Future Memory IV
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
I remember climbing with you
Dangling over the abyss
To view nagnificence
Trusting you
Not to let me fall

I remember slipping
The fear of mistaking
Depending on the line
Linking the two of us
In vain

I remember you catching me
Pulling me up
I remember you
Saving me
So I could have another look
At greatness
This is the fourth part in a series I wrote for a different forum last year.
397 · Apr 2013
Paper Friend (A Tribute)
Patricia Drake Apr 2013
He found me
Lost on a page
Among shadows
Slightly broken

He read me
In my words
And showed me
Another world
With his

He amazed me
With every syllable
With every rhyme
The wealth
In his world
Of language
And artful
Imagery

He invited me
Trusted me
To take a look
Beyond
His fabulous rhymes
Beyond
His paper self
Beyond surface
And mask

I still get lost
In paper worlds
But I fear not
For I have a guide
A paper friend
Better than me
This time
396 · Feb 2013
Stain
Patricia Drake Feb 2013
blanketed in comforting ink
the image travels
and stains
pupils
to finally settle
on the inside
of eyelids
with slight discomfort
to begin with
before dreams arrive
396 · Feb 2013
The Calling
Patricia Drake Feb 2013
I woke up this morning
Needing to get out
I heard the day cry for my company
And my heart longing to reply
So I got up and grabbed my coat
The night was hardly dawning
When I heard somebody shout
Or was it some thing taunting hungrily
From the woods or my head know not I
But my mind was quite afloat

He sat there waiting patiently
For me to walk the path
I tucked my coat around me
In the chilling morning air
But I walked along so eagerly
As if I strode from wrath
And like a flame so easy to see
Around my head flowed my crimson hair

Not far had I come into the wild
Before I felt something near
A pair of eyes watching my every move And his hot predator's breath
I had heard the warnings as a child
Yet I did not encounter fear
As he his cover did remove
And promised me virtual death

He grabbed me by my pounding wrist
And dragged me into his lair
So damp, dangerous and dark
And there he let me laid me down
He tied me so I could not resist
And numbed me with his stare
His weapon all ****** made a mark
On my coat and my morning gown

He ate me until there was nothing left
And I saw myself from up high
I went to the woods to find my truth
And so I found the beast
I went without worries of **** or theft
And I welcomed him with a sigh
The potency of his violent youth
I invited him to feast.
396 · Jul 2014
Ghosts Outside The Store
Patricia Drake Jul 2014
You insist on not looking right at us
When we stand outside the store
Cross the street as if we are dangerous
We are ghosts sleeping at your door

In this country, they say, we are free
From birth, the system cares
We can be what we want to be
Just as long as we climb the stairs

But some of us didn't climb
And our talents were wasted at school
Maybe sometime you spared us a dime
Because showing off excess is "cool"

Since we do not exist in your mind
You have probably never thought
Of these ghosts and the tragedies behind
You just focus on the things you bought
395 · Feb 2014
Lost Lines
Patricia Drake Feb 2014
Amidst the noise
I know
I must find you, Linus
if you are lost
I must go
into your darkness, Linus
seek the flow
amidst the noise
I must bring you back
395 · Mar 2013
No Escape (10w)
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
naively
she thought
she would outwit him
and escape
somehow
393 · Apr 2013
101 (10w)
Patricia Drake Apr 2013
Carelessly
A wet Icarus
seeks
her frozen sun
and sinks
101 years ago, on the 10th of April 1912, The Titanic left the port of Southampton. Nobody believed she could sink....but she did
390 · Mar 2013
Exploring Colour: Blue
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
Blue clouds
On my little girl's drawings
Because white
Is invisible on white

Blue ocean
Dividing our physical world
Because the sky
Is reflected in its surface

Blue eyes
With stairwells to the soul
Because empathy
Is encapsulated in tears
389 · Apr 2013
Dust
Patricia Drake Apr 2013
We all return to dust
Even if God we trust
We will fertile this soil
When we no longer toil

Yet we fight and we bleed
We'll take more than we need
Go to war preaching peace
Treat humanity like a disease

So we all turn to ash
we will die with a flash
Even if we are kings
All our money will not buy us wings
388 · Apr 2013
Breaks (10w)
Patricia Drake Apr 2013
breaks
extraordinaire
make tingles linger
through work
until later...
383 · Feb 2013
After The Fire
Patricia Drake Feb 2013
A dead sun lingers
On a darkened sky
A petrified landscape awaits me
As I set out to search the wastelands
Alone

The ground beneath me
Feels unstable
Acidic pits burn my feet
I try not to fall
Down

Night falls moonless
The stars also fail to show
And then comes the rain
Pours in sideways
Makes sheltering impossible
Futile

Like a drunken madwoman
I roam the empty streets
Of once magnificent cities
Vacant windows stare
As I pass them in
Shame

I search the ruins
For possible forgiveness
A single grain of hope
To feed my starving
Soul

I cry for help to no one
Write my confession on every wall
No one hears, no one cares
I let it all happen
Now no one is here to give me
Absolution

I see a tree in mid field
Charred like the rest
Of the cursed place
It still offers shade and a base
For narrative
Stability
382 · Apr 2013
Baggage II (10w)
Patricia Drake Apr 2013
it was poetry
that started it
the revolution
in her
382 · Feb 2013
Tramp
Patricia Drake Feb 2013
He couldn't cross
When he finally wished
To go back
Trapped
he realised
That what he had sought
He had left
On the other bank
And the bridge he had kept
was gone
381 · Mar 2013
Ctrl+Alt+Del
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
Page not found

I  don't exist
I have been deleted
All traces are gone

But you are real

And I am
Still bound
To your memory

I cannot delete
You
381 · Feb 2014
Baggage - Trilogy of 10Ws
Patricia Drake Feb 2014
I
despite their numbers
she never learned
her craft
from
them

II
it was poetry
that started it
the revolution
in her

III
poetry became
reality
words literally
smashed her
and she
transformed
378 · Mar 2013
Along Those Lines
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
along those lines
time has traveled
and marked its territory

along those lines
a story unfolds
and seeks to capture the reader

along those lines
is treasure, though hidden
and kept for the worthy to find

along those lines
was beauty
now buried underneath the furrows
377 · Mar 2013
Circles
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
I draw tiny circles
In the air
Tiny circles to support my world
To prevent it from crumbling
Under pressure

I write little letters
In my mind
Little letters to prove
To convince me of my sanity
To keep me sane

I talk to long gone images
Beautiful images
From the past
Now disappeared
I talk to them
Beg them to come back
Author's note: This is one of my oldest poems. Originally, it was written in Danish when I was 17!
375 · Aug 2013
Sunblock
Patricia Drake Aug 2013
I stopped writing
because of the sun
I could not see the dark
and my letters
became invisible
so I stopped
and waited for clouds
375 · Feb 2013
Dumbstruck
Patricia Drake Feb 2013
She tried to escape
Reality
The sound of absence
Everywhere she turned
The walls were singing the same song
Letters from the faces
Of books
Reminders
Were staring at her
Shelves leaning in
As if they were wondering
Why she was not singing
With them
But she couldn’t
For the sound could not escape
The lump in her throat
375 · Feb 2013
Webs
Patricia Drake Feb 2013
Autumn spins her web
Across a golden hall
Lacing the room
With diamond ropes
Welcoming the bold

Autumn waits
In a guilded hall
With fangs of silent oblivion
And chains so strong
They will hold any man

Autumn captures
The last ray of sunlight
In the reflection
Of a frightened eye
Just before the last sun sets

Autumn sleeps
In a bed of frosted leaves
Her web now broken
Unnecessary
Her job is done
372 · Feb 2014
Conclusion (10w)
Patricia Drake Feb 2014
The best of us
won't be
the last of us
a friend of mine, a fellow poet and my mentor, just died. It's unbelievable
371 · Feb 2013
Mother
Patricia Drake Feb 2013
She is the wind
That sweeps through their minds
A roaring tempest of ideas
And untamed emotions

She is the rock
Their playground
Upon which they build
Their castles

She is the ocean
Her sapphire mirrors
Reflect their dreams
Dilute their nightmares

She is the fire
In which they burn
And from the ashes
They shall rise with her
370 · Mar 2013
Untitled
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
a window ajar
cold body likewise open
the devil creeps in
368 · Apr 2013
Slender 1:4
Patricia Drake Apr 2013
Sometimes a strange wind
I am
At night
Sometimes an extra slender stem
I am
Among trees
Sometimes alien with tentacles
I am
Like a nightmare
Eternal
I am
367 · Feb 2014
Letter
Patricia Drake Feb 2014
Friend,

I hope that you are well
your words I have long been missing
I hope that you rather than going through Hell
some fortunate lips have been kissing
365 · Feb 2013
Apocalypse
Patricia Drake Feb 2013
There was nothing left
...
therefore she hungered
she spent ages looking for signs
she tested
and discarded
dead symbols
and remained hungry

...
she fed on language
letters filled her starved mind
relieved her soul
while her structures
fell apart
365 · Mar 2013
Untitled 1968
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
white surface square
centered but
underneath is colour
underneath and
at the edges
of white
spills of colour
comments
covered as if sought hidden
forgotten colour
ecstatic
underneath the pristine
white
square
I was watching an arts game show (yes, they exist!) on the Danish Culture channel, and one of the displayed works was Sam Francis' "Untitled" from 1968. It made quite an impression.
364 · Mar 2013
New Year's Morning
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
I felt it that morning
as soon as I opened my eyes .
I felt it like a lump
a malicious tumour
spreading

I sensed that he was awake
that he was also aware
of the looming change
the air was dense with words
unspoken
but his countenance spoke for him
I sensed his frustration
his words struggling to get out
but he couldn't
words were not his territory
like they were mine
So I spoke for him
like I always had
but that morning
for the last time

As the pale January sunlight crept in
I asked him if he wanted out
he did not speak
he just nodded
and the lump between us
exploded

We died that day
so he and I could live
362 · Mar 2013
Ivory Burn (10w)
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
ivory skin
did not foretell
how her touch
would burn
361 · Apr 2013
Testing
Patricia Drake Apr 2013
I stare
at the windows of subtle despair,
broken
but rejecting repair,
I need air,
I want to grab what is not there
so I tear
at my skin
trying to find out if I dare
to lay it bare
the bone
release the scare
and test
if you really care.
361 · Apr 2013
Coward Part II
Patricia Drake Apr 2013
...
and I want to write
those dreams
and capture
each fantasy
like frames
of a disturbed mind
360 · Jan 2014
Perhaps
Patricia Drake Jan 2014
Perhaps it is here
In the blank
uncertain

space
between the lines

perhaps
we will find
that
which we do not agree on
but also that
for which we long
so much

perhaps it is here
somewhere
360 · Mar 2013
Forgetting a Memory
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
There are days
When I am able to forget
We were there
Together
For years
Sharing all
Travelling the same road
I was there with you
Always
But we got separated
By life
lost
I lost touch
lost my way
Got lost from you
And I tried to find you
Reconnect with you
But you wouldn't
You said you lost me
Back there
So I lost you
Right there
I just wish
I could lose the pain
Of remembering
How I lost you
When the rest of my world
Has still got you
But there are days
When I am able to forget...
359 · Feb 2014
Twisted Valentine
Patricia Drake Feb 2014
For Valentine's
he said he'd take me
somewhere special
make me the centre
of attention

I smiled
I thought it would be
nice
And we drove up there
To be alone

Nice place
for romance, I thought

But when I saw his room
I knew

I was so wrong
359 · Mar 2013
RED
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
RED
I don't know how
But my world
had turned
RED
When I woke up

Vertical stripes
Had been drawn
Down the walls
Towards the floor
And a pool
Sticky drying
Beneath them
And the spotted
Windows

In the mirror
The flowers
My hands
And my feet
Looked raw
Like I had escaped
Another world
To enter into
This
RED
with nails
And a gun

Wide awake
I crawled
and I escaped
Another one
358 · Apr 2013
Plea (10w)
Patricia Drake Apr 2013
in the dark
a heart is pleading
mistress, have mercy!
Patricia Drake Apr 2013
My belief
in any written word
requires
suspension of
disbelief
356 · Mar 2013
Exploring colour: Black
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
Black is where we hide
Black are the shades
into which we are shied

and black are the words we speak
when we don’t expect to be heard
because language has already died
with everything else

Black
Like savage shipwrecked souls
with no chance of salvage
black because no one tried
356 · Feb 2014
OK (10w)
Patricia Drake Feb 2014
He's ok
The kids are ok
She
will be
ok
355 · Mar 2013
Dream Of A Muse
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
She dreamt
That an artist would get his blue
From the deep Northern seas
Of her eyes

She dreamt
That his brush would catch fire
From the blazing flames
In her hair

She dreamt
That the poet lost his breath
From trying to find his words
Between her silent lips
355 · Feb 2013
LIVE At The Odeon
Patricia Drake Feb 2013
He left the stage

Quietly

But with a last

Theatrical bow

His fan body applauded

And then there was silence

He had been colossal

A god among his peers

Creating magnificent pathways

To hidden desires

And they had loved him

He had been a master

Of magical words and mirrors

An illusionist

He entered the stage

Victorious

Ready to receive his applause

But his tricks were old

And his faithful fans

were younger than his children

He had been great

But he had to leave

His words still

Echo at the Odeon
350 · Mar 2013
Feed
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
Letters on a screen
Injected words rush through veins
Feed my addiction
349 · Mar 2013
Cold Hands
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
But those hands are cold
despite the glowing heat
from the proximal heart
next to them
and the comfort
of tangible happiness.
Extemities are irrelevant
until quakes
threaten the calm
and demand
immediate changes
and rescue response
Still, the body is quiet and warm...
348 · Mar 2013
War
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
War
I declare
A war
On your senses
Your thoughts
Your being
Your soul
.
I will haunt you
Play tricks on your
senses
Possess your mind
With images
Flashes of could be
Memories
And vivid
Oh so vivid dreams

I will bind you
Capture your spirit
Fixate your soul
In passion
Unfulfilled
yearning

Like you did
Me
348 · Mar 2013
Questions For Adam
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
What would Adam have done
Had he spotted the snake?
Would he have cut off its tongue
To prevent the mistake?

Would the world still be bliss
Had our Eve not been tempted?
Was there something she'd miss
Which the snake just preempted?

What would Eden have looked like today
Had it not been for apples and lies?
Would we never have been lead astray
And thus never have found our demise?

What would Adam have done
Had he known
That the tree in the middle meant light
Cast 'pon business that was not his own
And forever filled dreams with fright?
346 · Mar 2013
Bad Things
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
You
Make me
Want to
Do
Really bad
Things
To me
And to you

You
Make me
Want to
feel
Pleasure
Pain
Lust
Passion
To breathe
Sensation
Through you

You
Make me
Want to
Do
bad things
To get
To you
Too
343 · Mar 2013
CyberReal
Patricia Drake Mar 2013
from the way she studied his moves
how his hands moved
how his lips moved
the way he spoke
the way he wrote
from the way she studied his face
I could tell
from the way he moved his fingers
across the keyboard
across his face
through his hair
around his pen
from the way he moved his hands
I could tell
she loved him
she had watched him for a while
she felt she knew him
but he had no idea she existed
outside his screen
343 · Feb 2013
Write
Patricia Drake Feb 2013
I do this
I need to
I need this
This line
I walk
I write
I bleed
Pictures
I balance
I challenge
Words
I give life
I breathe
I leave
Trace
I live
In footprints
Mental vestiges
I offer
Images
Images
Images
Images
Simulacra
Beyond
And on
Edge
I don't cross
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