Exhausted
Empty
from trying to hold
all their emotions with love
while mine flow unseen.

Even now, no-one knows
how I paused returning home,
set crutches aside, sat on the curb & cried
safely hidden from spying cameras & eyes.

Since I walked through that door
I’ve absorbed their emotions:
disappointment & blame,
frustration & sadness
irritation & hurt…
‘til now bewildered, exhausted
with no one to hold my heart
and care that I, too, feel…
spent
nothing left but a weary sigh
before I return to pry
the story of why he’d sleep on the couch
tonight

ah, sweet memories
the music, the poems, the prose…
to feel such sweet reminiscence
those rose-colored glasses, retrospect.  
How I relish such memories  
They are treasures to be hoarded
future death-bed consolation.
  
Here rests a gallery of melancholic sweetness
Mingling of sugary and ****
teases the palate…
This heart remains where it ought to be  
pulsing, loving, reminiscing,  
living every day, absorbing each moment,
gathering fresh memories
to safely file away

I traversed a street overflowed with memories:  
some reminded me of one i longed to see,  
in whose presence i desired most to be…  
time had fashioned fresh new flavors  
to pour into the mix of recollections—  
some when reunited with a friend;
some of me alone, satisfied;
some served as tokens, offering of peace,  
remembrances of fond moments from the past…  
I paused there, offered a prayer
for this– the "now" that would create the future yet to be
I also offered penance for bygone hurts I'd heedlessly inflicted
Hear my prayer here on Memory Lane
May these moments–past, present, future–
be forever held, precious.

I fear
no matter what I say or don’t
a moment will return of greater absence…
how long will be the wait?
and will you still return?
or absent stay?
so silent I remain
I fear

I want more
yet more I fear the less
so in these lesser shadows now I lay
tongue-tied
pointlessly wishing & wondering
more of you

shots of you
showers
alternate realities
holding
being held
wanting while dreaming pleasure
warm breath brushing neck
presence of voice and body
soothing reassurance
strong embrace that cannot say goodbye
gentle kiss that cannot let go
assurance of eternal love
even when perfection is a fading moment faintly remembered
as the pleasure of its presence and the pain of its passing.

This moment in time is missing color...
It’s missing you.
In moments past, all was right, perfect.
Now, time is off-kilter.
These hollow moments are widening,
growing, expanding--
the famished are eating the fat
leaving large empty holes
black swollen holes
gaping grey moments in time
missing. . .

How comforting, those simple words,
“I do that, too.”
Then, I knew I wasn’t alone.
If it makes me broken or crazy,
at least I have company.

Driving home today  
my heart missed you  
I embraced it--that strong emotion of longing  
A daily occurrence
I'm lucky to have you to miss


. . .

(now, looking back)
I WAS lucky!
still am
...to have known you...

I'd rather miss you (however painfully)
than have those memories nonexistent
I'd rather wish you would talk
than not know how your voice would sound

Though that hope no more can flourish
the sentiments remain:
I'm lucky
missing you.

What if in my waning years
No child, friend or Love I find
close beside to truly know my mind?
This my midnight fear I ponder:
As time marches on
will I be left behind…

I have been thinking today
Of things I wanted to do but never did
before dad died.
These thoughts morphed to questions
of what I’d wish to do–my bucket list–
with you.
  
I would, first, want to absorb
everything you,
to hear you share thoughts closest to your heart—passions, interests, people.
I would know your dreams,
your struggles, peeves and pleasures…
to hear you reminisce of life experiences…
I wish so much to hear.
Yes, first on my bucket list with you–conversation.
  
Next, we might enjoy together
outdoor experiences in nature.
Whatever adventures are accessible
I’d wish to share with you.
Exploring trails, seeing various animals
(just know that monkeys love to bite me!)
Expressing our awe in each wonder,
Drifting on the ocean waves…
And more, so much more!
  
I miss so much and ever would desire more
to explore the Chemistry of us…
I would try to more carefully capture
every single moment, each sensation,
Preserving in my mind’s museum
knowing you
Never would I have a single memory slip away or fade or blur.
  
My bucket list is not a list really…
It’s a lifetime
forever diving deeper into you.
It’s a bucket-full of moments lived together
It’s two lives conjoined overflowing with love
eternal

Just hold me  
Wipe away my tears  
Promise me  
Someday  
Because I miss you  

I think I hear  
Why  
But it doesn’t stop  
Me crying  
Or wishing  
Because I miss you
  
Do you know what I miss the most?
Friendship
I miss being friends.

I often cannot sleep in the deep
of night these days of late
when whispers of your memories
Rustle the pages of my mind
Until the world feels up-side down
hobbling along on a single foot
epitomizes sensations of art
meant to be shared by you
so I pretend to write and paint
playing at art as a child playing at life
whether calling it “house” or “family”
matters not when none of the actors
live in these cards
If only we could re-draw
would I hold your love in my hand
in another round of life?

There’s a gaping chasm
Empty, hollow, waiting…
A you-shaped heart-hole
Sometimes tiny tidbits of your world waft this way
Drawn by magnetic pull, crashing into me
They help soothe the edges for brief moments as they land
Or sometimes amplify the absence  
only echoes of desire
Phantoms
  
True balm to ease this open wound
Would be your words, your voice, your image…
Your life aligned with mine…
For now the trickling ointment
Evidence of your existence
must satisfy
These droplets matter
To my aching heart.
  
I Love & Miss
You…
YOU—the missing piece
still

Even now, hobbling around the house
with crutches…
this evening,
I imagine you on the couch with me again
*******
Inviting you to enter
This house is not my home
You are
I need you inside

Instead, empty
it all feels empty
as I’m missing you again

Long-desired Lover,
‘round whom my planet spins,
Your mighty hammer blows
within these deepest caverns
Vibrate an earthquake
reverberating pleasure
through every sighing shaking nerve
echoing remembrance, your aftershocks
throughout my body
Volcanoes blasting, burning, spouting
molten excitement marking skin
with your symbolism
mountains constrict
their twinning spheres
Glow with satisfaction
I Shiver…
This planet ever moans for you

A goodnight memo of peace  
Sharing soul-bound moments with you  
Before I rest my mind in sleep.  
My wish for you is boiling, bubbling,  
flowing over  
flooding the ache  
of missing your goodnight  
Hold.  
******* a kiss  
To jump start my happiest dreams  
Of feeling your warmth  
In my skin and core.  
Yes, this midnight I desire  
More  
Ever more  
Of you

Heart
in so many pieces still
no you as glue

Remain
Meld love
Patchwork hearts
Meant to be
in a somewhere reality

I must believe

without remains
too empty

Come back to me
in at least one
reality

Sometimes it feels as though
Each time we have a serious talk
I like him even less
(and often miss you more)
true again tonight
needing empathy
Is yours now distant too?

It’s been a while
since I saw your smile
seeming to approve
as I pretended it was you
inside

I miss that pleasure, gone now
since those brief clarifying words

your once hungry eyes
now whisper hinted cries
from dejection’s pit
satisfaction morphed to darkness
famished shadows have replaced
passionate sparkles in your gaze

I still, just now, found pleasure
finalized desires for you
(as always)
Sad, though, that your face
can no longer grace
those moaning moments

Under your image
I would shower tears instead

Yes, I miss the pleasure of your visage
In new ways now.
I miss believing that your lips
might part for mine
Someday

I will be there for you
When you are too tired
To be
Let me hold you
until you are ready
to Resume

Do you know that
No matter how much
You go away
No matter how much
You disappear
However much
You fade away
It doesn’t matter
because I still will
Forever
Always
Love you

I had hoped
you would love me
Forever
Does forever really exist?
Does love really exist?
Do YOU really exist?
I love you forever
So I think
The answer
Is, “YES”

I’m sorry I didn’t make a life with you
I’m more sorry that wasn’t even an option
because to be honest
I still miss
…

Speak to me
in language of the sea
soil & skies
sing as the stars brushing velvet night
as the breeze bringing leaves their dance
Lace my lashes with flower dust
the glitter of time & memories past
splash the serum of love across my lips
color me with speeches of beauty
tonight
Sing me in dreams of sleep with your heart
speak to me
in languages of *** and magic
Trace my desires
they all lead back to the art
when we were in love
with our hopefully
interlaced kisses
Speak to me
In whatever form your whispers take
As long as you promise
Future

Art is when the universe
sings the language of the soul
recreating for a moment
the eternity of birth & fire
the intensity of creation & ash
vapors of nothing
forming, transforming
both growing and dying
becoming melded & moulded into
singular beauty & horror
beyond mere word or thought
where feelings surpass logic
making perfect sense
of all & nothing

Art is the soul
living into the beyond
catching a spark of whatever heaven
may be
& so we burn
artistry in the in-betweens

I wish you would tell me something real
I want to really know you
to know your worries & desires
I want to hear your thoughts & feelings
tell me what lights a smile
what darkens your eyes
I want to know the little annoyances
of your day
& the moments that bring a chuckle
however silly or ridiculous
I want to experience in real time
the ticking seconds of your reality
I want to really know you

My head aches from
this empty sameness
or maybe it just aches
from dregs of flu
I know my heart aches
from emptiness of you
yet to find the filler
to replace your space

The past seeping into the present
Flared, exploded
Ashes falling
Molten memories hardening
Reddish-brown volcanic hollow stone
Floating in mountains of
that which will not be
Grey

I need a refill for my soul
those clamoring hands
drained the dregs
Art, beauty, gentle love
bring the peace to fuel my moments
refill the empty
heart desires still
strengthened will
to shower love from beating chest
brushed with spectrums of love
dusted with the magic of art
refill this soul to shower gifts
along the day again

Fall scents, squirrels dash,
children chatter & laugh let out from school,
wind rushing fast, cement path
rattles, speeding by...

happy memory, moments shared
a continent apart

different paths, different parks, different worlds
Merge
in those brief sections of time
two minds, two hearts
share eternal moments
through this shared experience


Remember that time
Blading in the park?

Beyond midnight
Whiskey floods the veins
Unshed tears
Over ashes, these remains
Mourn the dead
Mourn the gone
Mourn a heart once strong, turned wrong
Mourn the squandered past
The empty now
Frozen memory of that final last Farewell
Empty broken words
Promises unkept
Pierced with sword of hopes inept
Future aimless fading figure
Letting restless sleep finally take over

When I die
Let me be Queen for a day
Let me prepare for death as for a wedding
I don’t want to go Fading
& losing Life inch by inch along the day
until friends & family say
“Her mind is gone
visiting other worlds
mostly of miseries”
I don’t want to cry out in the night Scared
and scaring those
who in sleepless misery bathe my rice-paper skin out of love or duty
Let me not go a Burden
or burdened by pain, insanity, dementia
Let me say good-bye
Lucid and happy
A final farewell party
Before a final sleep of peace

Frosty greetings on the green outside my door
Icy tracings left by frozen spectres of the night
Mirroring the lonely lines inside my mind
Where chilly ghosts of you remind my reaching arms
That as the summer brown-eyed Susans you have wilted
Gone, those sunny petals of your wistful smile
Left alone the dotted memories of a love forever chained
Yet, I will don my winter coverings
Crunch my searching feet through browning leaves
and frostbitten grassy dreams
Ever seeking through the changing seasons
For your hidden love—somewhere, somehow it beats
A muffled song of your desire persisting
Memories hibernating, not forgotten, our forever passion
Cryopreserved this autumn morning
Awaiting an awakening
of your love

If I made you feel like just one
of several parentheses in my life,
I am sorry, full of remorse, apologies & change

The truth is I wish you had been the book!
(my heart remains enclosed by your parentheses)

I wish we even yet could build
sentences & paragraphs, pages & chapters...
I wish we could live a book Together?

It seems the pen has dried. . .
I wonder why?

You are where my dreams go when looking for a nest
My soul seeks yours in freeing words when needing peaceful rest
Your heart will always be The Missing Piece of my own
Though I still hope the “missing” leaves  and we are simply Home

...

but until then, I offer:
tuck my love & care in your pocket
and keep me there, safe
draw on it when you need
(you’re going in my pocket, too)

As the rain falls now past midnight,
and I am wet with satisfaction
contemplations wander:
I know intricacies of desire,
the maps of my pleasure
Yet still wish to learn more of yours
to memorize each line of your body
learn the paths to your finale
to experiment & to find
your harmonies
Pleasures traced along your nerves,
to play the notes of your excitement,
to hold your hardness in my hands
and tease the lingering...
I would know your body as I know my own
then merge our pleasures,
rewriting the sublime
I would ignite the flames of passion shared
Erupting in the night
this erupting heart
but a flickering start
of the fire I’d feed
in the heart of your need

Oh, yes, my Love!
I would memorize your body
as I have mine...
to draw the stories of shared ecstasy
in lines that merge into resounding songs of love
Explosive
Our pleasure perfected
...I WOULD! (if I could)

yet, here & now,
in these silent secret moments
of the silent sleeping midnight rain
I mourn
Alone
that I may never memorize
nor might we yet merge again
our pleasures
perfected

Midnight aches
My body shakes
Stifled tear
to hold you near
Pleading ask
Remove the mask
Say truthfully
If you love me
All I know
I need you so!
Yet, sad these sighs
Hope only lies

I considered another
Something only you
A hidden clue—connector of hearts
Our secret

I picture you as A hawk n me a phoenix
(I do like a bit of worddplay)
I imagyne majestic raptors
Soared the vast blue ether of your hometown...
& I remember as a child
searching Southern skkies for a red-tailed hawk...
+
I alwayz loved this symbol of you
before we even met

I can’t decide where your bird might reside:
maybe as a guardian perched atop a shoulder?
I would like to see it often
not have it hidden as so much else must be...
Should it rest a reminder on my wrist
of how my pulse beats to rhythms of your memory?

As a symbol, I prefer an abstract drawing...
Perhaps a single line?
or geometric design
reminiscent of Cathedral glass?
(Metaphor of our lives)
Should I incorporate the ampersand?my constellation?
The hawk could be a water-brush design
Unfinished?

...possibilities

I wonder
what you might suggest
as an image of your memory
Buried ‘neath my skin

Once you were Real, Faded, then Gone…

I have a great imagination &
I don’t feel like missing you so
I’ll play pretend…

Welcome to my life, imaginary friend!
We have a heart-load of **** to share;
it’s been so long.
Tell me of your travels...
Of those new to your life. . . the losses, too.
Share stories of your family
Tell what warms your heart
confide in me the highs and lows, the everything

Then I’ll speak of mine…but. . .

here's the thing about imaginary friends…
I cannot know of you; silence is your truth
Ridiculously I converse, one-sided…

for (imaginary) friendship's sake

5 months effort to my 20 years
before the mask of kindness dropped

“Speak 7 positives for every negative,”
instructed he who floundered
finding single words of kindness
through my many years of grace & deference.

“was proud of you
renovating…you removed a toilet alone…”
(***?! that was circa ‘04!)
offer rejected!

just fly back to Korea already
spare me the stench of destructive sentiments
marinated in days-old garlic sweat
I’m worth more!
where’s bolt cutter?

Some gracefully accept, but not me…
I don’t want to fade, aged, unseen!
hushed, dejectedly as I shrink
‘neath the weight of another’s priorities…

where is the hand I seek
to draw me in glowing ink?
instead I’m gripped so tightly
sketched words overwriting my story
“come now, time to say ‘sorry’”
or shall my ink bottle fall
leave black stain; erase it all?
whatever may be most sane
just…let ME remain

Of course my heart would break for either:
death is death.
“code Adam” in the store today
fused my heart with his parent’s
heart beating fearfully for Wilder
age 7 in an orange shirt…
at least He was found

There was a summer…mmm, a handful of days,
then one northeastern evening…
(sorry, our history becomes a bit of a haze…
were all those memories misleading?)
I wanted to borrow & hold & treasure
through several handfuls of always forever
but the past told me, “Best leave it be”
So here I am ruminating
Messing about with a handful of words instead
(of the simplest primitive kind sometimes)
maybe it all was just in my head
memories of a love imagined
connection ne’er before fathomed
echoes of soul-deep passion…
Could it have been a mere passing?

did I mention how I dread
the empty spaces still?
I’d wished for a caring hand
and one to watch birds at the windowsill
pecking the moments to fill
Greying days with smiles and silences—Peaceful
now I’m not sure who would sit with me…
’cause no-one fits that wish you see
it’s quite a unique place
this heart-hole empty space
that the past of you once graced…
now it’s just called “The Missing”
christened with a handful of wishing
painted over with a handful of words
I’ll bring flowers tomorrow

Do I live only in the past tense of your mind
(memory of a friend, not to be forgotten;
beloved picture set upon a shelf
to dust once a month)?

YOU live in MY mind as memories never left behind
and desires for you NOW are of the kind
that etch themselves on every canvas they might find—
skin, heart, soul & mind…
Yes! Past & present, wish to alight
as hopes and dreams of future flight

My Love, every tense you are to me!
Yet, stagnant in your past tense I must be?

Now, helpless & sorrowful I mourn
Such immense a pity: I, a history, forlorn