every time his voice filled my ears
my heart strings vibrated
so he gently plucked or strummed
to match his ballads

but as days passed
with his playing and vocals getting rougher
his fingers bled and scarred
and then i snapped

gone was the singing boy
his beautiful guitar
but you can still see them love
whenever you hear their song

I’ve studied the lore of your Dark Arts.
I’ve read the book; I’ve learned it by heart.
But try as I may, I can’t play the part.

Though I know spells, and magic potions,
and practice the craft, with much devotion,
of the powers you wield, I haven’t a notion.
Black magic eludes me;
I’m not one of the chosen.

Though I can’t cast a spell in the way that you do,
with practicing magic, I don't think I"m through.
I find I enjoy the study and ritual--
in fact, I believe I may make it habitual.

The spirits I summon do clearly insist
that I work forever, as their alchemist.
This servitude, I accept with pride.
The end unknown, I’m enjoying the ride.

You're the Dark Lord; you are the master--
I may never achieve the goal that I’m after.
But on I toil, a servant of magic--
a lifelong apprenticeship--joyful, not tragic.

She was an acoustic version of herself,
Stripped down,
Strummed by life's callous fingers.

It's beauty is endless.
The notes it sings,
the music it plays.
Each guitar is unique,
Each has a different style.
As I play, I am happy.
Double slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs.
Playing the same riff over and over,
until your fingers hurt from the strings.
The feeling you get when you master a riff,
and play it with the song.
You feel unstoppable, You feel happy,
I feel me.

By Arcassin Burnham



Yawning for the morning light like,
I must have been high touching ceilings in mid flight,
I see the dust float in my eyes ,
There was never a doubt in my mind but my minds eye,
For that I am just a strange loop of a guitar playing over and over,
See this weight that i carry is light while in the beholder,
Life lessons about faith in the Lord when I get older
And here I am with a trail full of sins falling from shoulders,
Do you mind? Picking up the pieces for me sometime,
I know you don't care , all caught up in your self-absorbed shrine,
OK, goodbye,
Hello........ no bye , see you tomorrow, tolerating you is the like devil
And his rambles,
Oppressive living in shambles like the abuser used those pills,
Causes and effects out of strings that break the seal,
Lies beyond lies, I'm not sure what they're teaching you,
Conflict is a must in America like burning statues,
So say goodbye to all that you knew,
That you owned,
And the person that use to be you.

Like water, like flowing rivulets,
notes fly from fingers fast on frets.
Slippery sinuous shimmering tones
(complemented by brash bluesy Bones).
Like storm’s thunder and lightning a chord
brings the sky to us on earth—
or is it that we fly , then die until the rebirth
in gentle reverb of a note two octaves higher?
Strange how rain coexists with fire.
Drench us in the cascade born from your desire.

He squeezed his voice out of the throat  
an old Dreadnought guitar
He bared his soul to anyone
who would listen to his psalms;
purging the torn an anxious silence within,
surrendering an unspoken heart in a song

Some days you feel
like you live too long
Watching the recurrent tides
recede and grow low
This life, such an unplanned journey,
given to lose what’s been lost once more

How many times
must a heart be broken?
To realize a heart heavy
won’t stop beating strong
Steal away the broken inside
these flesh forsaken walls;
breathe one’s last bated breath
in the peace of a song

Sometimes life falls
w a a a y y y y short of expectations
Though passing time
may assuage evanescent dreams,
there is a stillness that floods the moment
awakening a motherless child in a soul

Fate befallen a wordless silence
in the aftermath of finally letting go
Fingertips no longer calloused
Dreadnought wood dusty gone cold
Melancholy madness echoes unrequited

A lonely bird without a song ...


* September 2016 © H.  Rivers*
              all rights reserved

There she stood
Hidden in the shadow of head banging bodies
Fist up to the gods of metallic brilliance
Moving to the twang of the guitar string

*The girl in the pink dress always had a taste for metal

VERSE 1

We are paper lamps
We're unlit candle stands

Waiting for your hands
To set our fires alight

And guide our way through darkest nights


We all stand in need
We're sand castles by the sea

And without your reach
It would surely be our demise

We'd wash away in highest tides



CHORUS

But,
Whenever we call you you are there
Whenever we're drowning you're our air
Wherever we look, you are there

Whenever we whisper silent prayers
You always listen you never fail
Whenever we need you you are there

BRIDGE

We are loved
We are loved
We are children of the God of love