they shine
like angels
fallen from above
to tempt the eyes
of frail men

broken trail of wingless years
eyes betray a lonely heart
and hope to make it full at last

they long
like sirens
calling from afar
to turn a foot
by fatal lyre

faithless fickle hearts of men
leave voids unfilled by unshed tears
and ache to wipe the fears away

they lay
like harlots
waxed and oiled
primped and preened
to light the hearts
of fallen men
and
tempted, turned,
take them away

to darkness

fill the longing, close the void
break the long and hard divide
but moments pass
the deed is done
and into stupor
all undone
the cracked and broken
flee

so we sit
like demons
teeth spread wide

with a halo on the jaws of hell

( a vision dream )

      1

Down in the shrouded wood a wanderer walks
And dreams the dreamers story he has lived.
Sidled by the stream that sheds blue waters
By the beds, trailing the rail of loves unknown
Kiss and a voice that conjures truest bliss,
Down in the drink where sweet Ophelia sleeps;
In the pool of the lost maiden song.

And the dreamer, he is dreaming . . .
Hair, that ropes the stoic man upon his mount.
Hair, making souls’ lost ending breath a shout,
And hair that weighs the wind, teaches it to sing;
Hair, wending whirlpools waving fools to dive in.


      2

Lost at land’s end the sea lions, washed-up, wail
And buzzards coast where eagles flail, rip tides
Assail and chop the collected bones they drop;
It is a chalky bone-yard break, golden escarpments
Wake and a ******’s salty sermons shake;
Where gathering ghosts glom and chide steeping,
In the pool of the lost maiden song.

And the seeker, he is seeking . . .
Eyes that turn the sands and are mirrors,
Eyes that taught the books of Alexandria,
Eyes that shook the flesh and are seers,
Eyes that lit the pyres, burned true believers.


      3

Deep in the dark wood the waters rush, hush,
Cramp, crew and creep, melodiously tread,
Trammel, and burn as furies in keeping true
The melting moon, the onerous owl, fluttering
Things, muttering wings, cones in darkness
Flings and filmy time flicks by the wayside;
In the pool of the lost maiden song.

And the lover, he is longing . . .
Love, lithe and lyric, he sees your sweeping shapes.
Peace, parsed and pained he hears the voicing gape.
Blind, bliss’d and shamed he wears the votive drapes.
Hungered, thirsted and gone; seeks your pearly gate.


      4

Out in the forest maze the jarring sun seeps
And swirls, only to roust the traveler onward
Where soon he must meet the faces in the grotto
Down in destroyed lands by the seas’ unreasoning
Chime, deep in the dark whine of the shining mermaids,
Where the doomed cry, round the navel of the world,
In the pool of the lost maiden song.

And the doomed, they are crying . . .
“****** beauty bade us, in a star crossed chrysalis,
Made us, choose a desert’s winter of loneliness.
Heed our fate and leave this valley torn of bliss;
The many millions of locust fall in ripest fields.”

Rose colored glasses
A blessing and a lesson
Steady rhythm of the pouring rain
Pitter patter against the rooftop
Humidity cast away for a moment
A refreshing pause on the days heat
Thunder booms
A distant siren blares
Emergency vehicles still out in full force
The city doesn't sleep
Heavy wind shakes the house
Rattling the loose windowpanes
Old glass is a true test of craftsmanship through time
The dogs cower beside me, small masses of shivers and uncertainty
I try to reassure them that there is nothing to fear
However I'm not so sure of this myself
More thunder
Cracking through the sky overhead full force
The abruptness of it all startles me into a jump
I am as shaken as the dogs
Despite the wonder
Lightning cracks and flashes like a picture show I can view through my window
Free television direct from nature, the best cable provider
you just need your eyes and a large enough window
If I find myself without power, I'll light the last hour of my candle
Slow burn, write by the flickering light
As this storm rages on I think about the moon
Which part of the world gets to gaze upon your gorgeous surface tonight?
Oh moon,
There is much left unexplained.
Sirens blare again,
Fire-truck perhaps
My mind is now seaside
Imagining I am a sailor, ship cast away enduring this terrible storm on the open water
A woman port-side in the distance sings a sweet, dangerous melody
Her voice soft and heavenly
Unrecognizable words at first until we slowly become closer to her
What once sounded wonderful now speaks of famine, war
A tale of death she bellows
Harmoniously growling, creating an ominous symphony with the heavy rain and clashes of thunder
"Unchanging is the sea, every good man too shall fall. Release your soul to me, for I am the lady who calls".
We are upon her now, her call almost deafening
The siren of the deep issues one last bloodcurdling scream
Then silence
Silence, coldness and pitch black
And I awaken, gasping for breath
The dogs are beside me and my candle still burns
A dream it must've been, yes a very real dream
But in my mind I can still hear that eerie song, sung by the beautiful siren of the deep
Casting her spell on all those who dare sleep.

Turn the key and unfold me, darling.
My muscles ache from holding back from you for so long.
My fingernails miss your skin
My ******* miss your cheek
And my lips miss your hair.
But there are ghosts in our mattress now and your scent has long since washed away like the contents of my of my skin-bag down this drain, to the ocean. I used to believe it held the souls of the lost, those who believed not in gates or flames.
I know now I was foolish to believe that siren's tale, but the way the waves crash and shatter against the rocks mirrors the blade against my wrist and I know now I was foolish to believe in you too.

Lavender & Honey**

You know the age old question:
If you were a drink
What would you be?
I must be alcoholic.
My highs and lows are so extreme.
And it seems i've been transforming
A lot of good little ****** girls
Into blood lusting sirens
As of late.
I would come in a tall glass
Brimming with lavender & honey.
Honey is usually sweet,
But sometimes
Can be overshadowed in bitter.
And much like nectar
I didn't care for myself as a child.
Lavender
Because I try to be soothing
And envelop you in love
You can tell me of your pain & fears
And I will hold them closer than my own
That's what lavender is for, you see.
Comfort.
I suppose I could have
A hint of bergamot as well.
Though I swear i'm not pretentious.
I'm just trying to make things Interesting.
So what do you think?
If I was a drink.
Would you drink me?

They must be blind and numb,
The webs between my thighs,
The maw of my heart
Ice crystallizes the imprints,
Grooves of lips and fingertips
But my blood runs too warm,
I thaw the floes, divert arctic currents
To bring them to me, to drown locked with me
For each promises to swim willingly,
For they see the beauty, think the water as shallow as they
If I go with you? Will you drown me too? No,
Each promising to obey!
Into the depths, beneath the salty foam they grab
For me, force their tongues against the cut of my incisors
Draw blood. My quills draw blood. More poisonous than rockfish
Now, to drown, speared and mute
I beg their promise be kept, it's never any use
Their glassy eyes hold nothing
There's no swimming with them now

She is away - not just because I was told that she left,
but because I cannot sense her presence, her warmth.
She is the sun who has migrated into my  universe.
Without the sun, one grows cold, frigid, frostbitten, frozen.
Hands are violet, for she is the one heating my blood to keep circulating,
my heart to keep pumping
to the beat of her alluring Siren song.
On the contrary of the norm, I am unafraid,
not fearing my own death
but relishing in her beauty, her voice the maker of a euphoric nirvana that swallows me whole.
Takes me captive.
Take me, my Siren,
should you be my boon or my bane;
envelop me, and keep me;
expose your soul to me,
for each minuscule flaw your self-loathing eye sees,
I see perfect imperfections that only draw me nearer to you,
as I find all of you so enticing.
It is each harsh scar carved upon its fleshy canvas,
a masterpiece slashed by a dissatisfied artist,
that I wish to heal
as if I could kiss away the pain that you have allowed in, the pain that consumed you and manipulated you and lied to you and said it would always be there for you.
It told you it was okay not to feel, so you soaked in apathy.
It told you you were deserving of its services, so you left your mark, a ****** trail in the sand.
But it is all wrong, my lovely Siren; an ache I wish you'd disregard,
the shell of suppressed emotions I wish you'd shed.
Beneath, in your new, vulnerable skin, be washed in the love from the ocean,
the ocean over which you have sang for so long.
So long! time spent near the sea,
yet you never allowed the shore to even splash you.
Go, go beyond ankle-deep, my goddess,
go drench yourself in these pure waters.
It is these waters where we meet, mutually basking in a new realm of tranquility.
Take me away, but where there shall be joy,
where your melancholy tune finally strikes a chord of solace.