Light seldom graces me with her presence. That used to tear me apart. Now, I have learned to appreciate her absence. I sit, perched on my plush cushion. Bluejays sit on my windowsill. Their wings are resting and my eyes are gleaming. How beautiful it is to watch a sentient being recover, rejuvenate. I’ll never tell you that knowing you set me free. All the things in life that are terrible now amaze me. My ears laugh at the sounds the bluejays have gifted me. They are so happy. Sipping the sweet, crimson nectar. Filling them with life and substance. I am writing again. My voice is different now. I used to be locked in your cell. Now, I turn to the light. The bluejays and I share a commonality: nectar is there for enjoyment, not necessity.

light is a gift

drink it

when moon rise,
      you will shine
      be who you are
      and you will shine

Winter
by Michael R. Burch

The rose of love’s bright promise
lies tattered by the thorn;
her scent was sweet
but at her feet
the pallid aphids mourn.

The lilac of devotion
has felt the winter ****
and shed her dress;
companionless,
she shivers, **** and sore.

Published by Songs of Innocence, The Aurorean and Contemporary Rhyme. Keywords/Tags: love, rose, bright, promise, potential, tattered, torn, thorn, winter, naked, ****, shivering, sore, scent, fragrance, aroma, sweet, pallid, aphids, lilac, devotion, ****, hoarfrost, frost, ice

Stay With Me Tonight
by Michael R. Burch

Stay with me tonight;
be gentle with me as the leaves are gentle
falling to the earth.
And whisper, O my love,
how that every bright thing, though scattered afar,
retains yet its worth.

Stay with me tonight;
be as a petal long-awaited blooming in my hand.
Lift your face to mine
and touch me with your lips
till I feel the warm benevolence of your breath’s
heady fragrance like wine.

That which we had
when pale and waning as the dying moon at dawn,
outshone the sun.
And so lead me back tonight
through bright waterfalls of light
to where we shine as one.

Originally published by The Lyric. Keywords/Tags: love, stay, tonight, gentle, bright, touch, whisper, face, hands, lips, breath, wine, moon, sun, light, earth, leaves, petal, petals, bloom, blooming, waterfalls, shine, shining

She is brighter than dawn
by Michael R. Burch

for Beth

There’s a light about her
like the moon through a mist:
a bright incandescence
with which she is blessed

and my heart to her light
like the tide now is pulled . . .
she is fair, O, and bright
like the moon silver-veiled.

There’s a fire within her
like the sun’s leaping forth
to lap up the darkness
of night from earth's hearth

and my eyes to her flame
like twin moths now are drawn
till my heart is consumed.
She is brighter than dawn.

Keywords/Tags: Love, Light, Dawn, Moon, Stars, Mist, Heart, Tide, Fair, Bright, Fire, Sun, Dark, Darkness, Night, Hearth, Earth, Flame, Moth, Moths, Meter, Rhyme, Traditional, Formal, Quatrains,