We made promises
but never with the intention
of keeping them

-em vidar

A lying tongue and smiling lips!
Blood dripping claws at finger-tips!
To find my friend and foe are one;
The truth drops on me like a ton.

First, come the shock and disbelief –
Then acceptance with flowing grief…
Then anger wells up in my heart.
The mole has changed into a wart!

Betrayed by one who calls me friend,
What foe will to such depths descend?
A coiled serpent beneath the grass…
I cannot simply let it pass!

I must blast it to kingdom come!
Treachery is a game to some!
I want blood, as my blood’s been drawn;
Shock has changed into hate by dawn.

The hate on my face must not show –
While I plan vengeance sweet and slow.
Death is too quick for treachery!
This foe must waste away slowly…

So shall justice be metered out…
Betrayal one jokes not about.
Here my words come to a rude end.
Be the same for my so-called friend!

Some impossible goodbyes
Like a farewell embrace
For a wisp of tobacco smoke
Or a parting kiss
From the vapors dancing at the rim
Of that favorite chipped teacup
You carry with you wherever you go

Parting is always painful.
It all ends with a goodbye.
May it be said or not,
or its reason, a truth or lie.

Parting is always painful,
for you'll never know when you'll meet again.
May it be soon or never at all,
you'll always hope, anticipate,
no matter how small.

Parting is always painful.
Especially when the last you'll see is a smile.
Hiding the hurt, the regrets, the miles,
Giving an illusive dream you'll see it again
though you know that won't happen.

I.
In cold rains cicadas shrill,
red leaves shaking, drearily still.
At the Hour of Great Waste (sky’s sun-ray laced)
A hundred Li’s away from Tongguan’s lofty gates
We part our ways amongst the barren hills

II.
When I plucked flowers from my crisscrossed hair,
(they were still blooming like yesteryear’s pear)
Your carriage passed by my garden, whips lashed
on your steeds (in golden halters they're restrained).

My Lord you were young, without fear or suspicion,
Could still dance and swirl, or play jewelled zither
I (too young to be your lady) knew not what sorrow is
Had only drank tender tea, picked from last pentad.

III.
Fifty strings on zither play in vain
Thunder cloud brings a sudden rain
At the hour Ying and Yang entwined
Tears rolling, my sight they blind.

Flooded lungs. Pale parts, loom.
Don't worry, your soil will need the water,
To bloom.

Laboured pump, Crushed heart.
Nevertheless, with you, a redemption,
Shall start.

Aching body. One last breath.
You will defy divinity, and beautify,
Dear death.

Dry eyes, thin shrunken skin.
Starred in a perishable gloomy world -
In the original sin.

Lids closed. Veins calmed.
The redness turned into dark blue,
A rose growing into delphinium.
She was their life-giving dew.

Hyperventilation. Reared begs.
"For them, let me live. Let me raise,
My kids".

Wet floor. Screams around.
Mumbling in an arcade of life or theft,
But, here comes the hound.

A mortuary. Coldness penetrate.
"Sirens proclaimed its honor,
Rhymed with shluddering mayday".
She's now at god's holy bay.

A cemetery. Viscous worms.
Suffer to cuddle brides, crawl in thorns,
In the valley of eternal thrones.

The now and the not yet
looked on
while the now and the no more
looked back -

both hesitant
both tearful
both hopeful for peace
even without reconciliation
while both conscious of the tension
between all that was
and all that is
and all that will be

- and they parted
in hope

Every now and then,
Someone lights up your world
Like breaking weather,
Scattering the clouds
And baptizing your soul
In a deluge of colors.

Every now and then,
Someone captures emotions
Like bluebottle flies
In a jar, only to release,
Too delighted ever
To pin them with names.

Every now and then,
Someone dares you to dance
With words or muscle memory,
And laughs with you
When flailing efforts prove
That you almost can.

Every now and then,
Someone glows like traffic lights
And points you to new roads
They've traveled on before:
Ways that part and meet again,
Every now and then.

These walls hold no comfort
For a man in my shoes.
They inspire no happiness,
And nothing but blues

I'm out of time,
Out of place,
There's no more devotion.
And with these words,
I make one final notion

No more will you cry
For now I move on.
You must understand,
This is my swan song.

But do not feel bad,
And rather, rejoice
For a massive finale
I'll conjure with voice

Let them come and take me
I know what I've done
But I also know
That I've sung my swan song