the momentum of excess
everything; extra
bedding, know-how,
fear of, weight
turn around,
too late to stop,
flat on your
face

it takes time to learn
the art of leaning in
letting energy whorl
while changing direction
to achieve that boost
that comes with the spin

I know I've performed
beautiful tricks
inspiring life
risk-taking-ness
to the benefit of those looking, but
in my own life,
am I seeing what I have done for me?
is the method with which I receive
working

the other inside me is demagnetizing

The air is slow and still
faint puttering of the last barge
shunting coal downstream

city on the edge of sleep, settles
city on the edge of night, darkens

stretched steel and stone relax
cooling to a grey relief

reeds and sedges ripple
under bridges
and on the edges of the river

city in the gaze of moonlight, sighs
city in the haze of moonlight, slips

in the steady wash of tidal waters
and the brackish water of the estuary
come the bodies from the shore.


© M.L. Emmett

I am hungry
and it is reflected
in the contours
of every inch
                  of skin
every cell a-flutter
tiny wings and heartbeats
activated within
right down to
the ribosomes and
kidney-shaped
mitochondria
right up through epidermis
woven as threads
of softness penetrating
your inner hard, dark parts
causing them
to melt into
                my light
I am craving
to feel your
absolute heart's
raging core
my aching flesh burning,
my heart, wrapped in
a love
              so pure
My need to be
devoured surfaces
in smoothness,
at a glance
You feel it acutely,
no room for doubt
or subtle chance
               I am ravenous
for muscle-worked arms
(arms that could easily
try to break)
to be supremely
gentle as you part
my thighs like the ocean
and sacredly partake
the slickness of your tongue
in my feminine grace
the stains of my love
drenching
                your noble face
your eyes on mine
as I sharply breathe
         need to hold your
head stroke your
           hair know that for me              
the king takes off that
garland of gold
breaking free of
all symbols of status
the only real treasure
the queen who
gives to him,
and who he now pleasures
     and I let myself be consumed
with the reverence
of a psalm
my love pouring into you
healing your hurts,
               like a balm
in this private landscape
we are the most
ferocious of tender
estuaries
in an eternal vista
in this hour of somewhere,
the sea hauls us in
like ancient creatures,
     bringing the fossils
back to life
in lustrous foam
as they
         inch their way
into the spirals
    that we
feel we could
call
     home‎

.

Passages trail the utter existence
along brick faced wanderings
with puddles reflecting death
in the vast wasteland that calls
from bled out dreams

I listen to the footsteps,
eager to please, left by the curb
beneath graffiti warnings
in spray painted quotes
dripping with ease and intent

Their cadence sends
splashing ripples onto
nicely pressed slacks,
collecting glares from bus stop loafers
with exact change and nowhere to go

As I find my existence
fading in the far back seat,
staring out of a smeared rear window,
exhaust fumes wave good bye
to the nothing I have become

I would shackle the sun
And drag it back down to earth
To warm the numb surrounding your heart
Soothe and till its soil
Troth my soul to its dirt
Plant my seeds of life and love
Deep within its hurt
And should a garden fail to bloom
I would dig to the center of the sun
And bring back its fiery core  to
Shine on only you
And plow the earth of your heart again
Plant more seeds of my love and life
And water the grounds with the tears
Of the flowers longing for your love
That dance and sing inside of me
And I will stay and never go until at last
I make a garden bloom and grow
And your heart has found
The warmth it needs
To love again
Then if you let me
I would take your hand and stay
And say I love you
With my every breath
And down every road
For all time to come
And shout it from the top of every tall mountain
And every tall tree
And from the bottom of my soul
While swimming in the deepest part
Of the deep blue sea
Holding your hand still
Long after time has come
To its end