Cruel is the silence after.
the love goes.
The nights when the
breeze

freezes and the frogs
lose their croak.

Silence like the stillness
  of a child's bare footed
  climb into our bed.

Midnight is the silence
     after the rain goes.

I touch the silence with
      my mind.  I map the
      road  to a

tomorrow I don't want,
never asked for.  

The place is quiet.
      There was a stop
       a ways back.

You left me by the Willow.
       I couldn't call your name

You left me by the sand dune.
       and when I looked back

you never saw me

again.


Caroline Shank
11.03.2024

I'll pay a ransom for my art
the ivory tower must release
the fair maiden
my muse
for freedom of expression

my greatest secret
none of this was planned
for decades I've been
busking it, hoping no one
will spot my inadequacies

I made a beautiful thing
but it died for an uncaring world
looking for commercial beauty
a fast track to the stars
big houses fast cars
the gem was lost for what it was
a time and a moment passed
lost seconds after it was born
never stood a chance, buried forever
in the graveyard of could have been

we all have a spark
a burn to make a mark
sometimes we are seen
in the darkness of creativity
sentenced to the madness
of looking for the ultimate thing
others fade like shooting stars
beauty seen once, then forgotten
in the next meteor shower
some never bright enough
for even the darkest night
are you with me brother
we die and the sky won't cry
even for our most tenebrous sins

not a word written
not a word uttered
thoughts stream
like traffic on the motorway
so many journeys
so many destinations
not even sure
if they all make it
Sunday fades into a sunset
Monday looms with it's onset
nothing to do but wait
a perfect moment passed
a perfect moment lost
darkness descends
this will be no more

I put you back inside your box
and placed it just behind my eye
the lid is loose and the sides cracked
light shines as though under a doorway
your story paramount in my library
when you're not here I hold a breath
that is yours and yours alone, a sigh
for when we are once more met
and history tumbles like yesterday

I lit a candle
to finally say goodbye
it felt better like a pill
had cured me
of all my anxieties
you burnt down the wax
like another life
one small light
in the cavernous space
of a church
no more room for blame
no more room for remorse
I've let go of the kite string
like I wish I'd let go of your apron
ties are cut
heaven awaits
I am at peace
and you are at rest

I will float
somewhere between my dreams
and the darkness of reality
this space holds a truth
that only my blind eyes can see
if I cease to believe
I will no longer exist
lost in space
falling upwards
into the abyss