The skyline disappears once again
as blackness returns the night.
The outsiders bath in the squalid  moonlight,
abluting their good intentions.
The metamorphosis is complete.
Darkness will reign supreme.
They gather by the smithy
opining with a wild lament .

I remember as a quiet child
The summer days upon the grass laid
Banks of a timid stream
Sitting cross-legged, bending
To stroke the muddy waters
With a part of forgotten wood
And all around the warmth of
The summer's glowing sun

An intake of breath would
Bring the scent of tall trees
Bounding to my favorite nest.
footsteps followed shallow paths
That meandered to and from
The stream which gurgled as a child
In excited and gay temperament

I did then pause in rapture of my sense
And touch a life of serene sublime
A tender moment to solitude
Yet as I sat flat upon the grass
A gentle butterfly swaggered
In its pride of showy acrobatics
White and blissful in balance
With my sun-filled dreams

Nature showered in a halo of blushes
Collected the dusty corn colors of summer
And sprinkled then at my feet
For a secret wish for me to dare
Then... through my reverie
I heard some voices cheer
Some boys scuttled the biggest log there
back into the stream it sped
Some part cooled in water
Some part basked in sun

I recall the echo of buzzing beetles
That zoomed across the water
And were hidden by the distance
On the other side
Some dragonflies hovered with curiosity
In some infrequent time
The red and green of their wings
Seems now lost to me
They shimmered like chrome
Of tireless helicopters

This was a busy side to my young years
What with barges of driftwood
And scurrying air-traffic
Yet the call of the water birds
Stayed only after the sun had set
And leafy foliage lingered in silhouette
The birds crossed the sky with
To me a mournful cry
As a reminder the day had said goodbye

Yet little did I realize then
That in flowering adulthood
I would return to those summer days in sweet lament
And cherish that moment of child content.

burn her cigarettes,
burn her skin
undress her,
commit a sin

She'll growl
but you'll too,
A day would come:
much ado

she bled
she collided
she collapsed

still by your side,
she'll smile.
Joyful;Joyless
she'll smile

realisation will
strike you one day,
what a beautiful
soul you lost that day

she'll depart but you'll learn,
how to live life and discern.

I want to write of nature.
I want to write of mountains.
I want the white waters of the rivers
To engulf me,
Coldly calming my swollen heart.
But I am only in an office park devoid of green.
These towers are like trees,
But lifeless and alone am I
Even in the crowd around me.
I want the smell of the soil.
I want the fractals of sun through the leaves.
Take my hand tightly and guide me
'Cross the slippery stones along this path.
My favorite things are those photogenic flowers...
The ones here don't grow quite the same,
Trapped in a small patch of dying dirt.
I look at that concrete cage and think of me.
I want to write of nature, but there are only mirrors
Of the glass miles high that show me exactly where I was never meant to be.

I spoke to God the other day
Wanting to hear what he had to say

My ask
What is my task

Why am I here at all
Every winter, spring, summer and fall

The reply is always the same
Make a difference in a life regardless of their name

But how can I do this
When my life has been far from bliss

Why me I express again
Erstwhile checking if I am sane

For I am but one from many a billion
Some who have many a million

What makes me different from the rest
Uniquely qualified for this quest

A drop in the bucket is how I feel
Far from someone who can make this real

The answer is always a surprise
One I forget and have oft to re-surmise

No deed no matter how small
Counts equal to them all

It may make someone’s moment
Or cause them to lament

That they too have been heaven sent
To be the treasure they were meant

Each rain drop adds to the lake
This we should never forsake

Andreas Simic©