clmathew

Feb 2021

Dr Peter Lim

Silence

My words are few

they dwell in parsimony

but my heart is true

would you but accept me?

Silent is my love--its very beauty

I would blemish --it won't do-

to describe even in sweetest poetry

here I am, blessed, prayerful.

Feb 2021

xjf

Trying to Summon Courage

I am
theatre bred
I am
poet born
I will not tread lightly
I will blow my horn
I will make practice
of practice
Till every act is
that of mastery
I will steal history
for so long
that it will linger upon
me. For centuries

#theatre #courage #practice

clmathew Feb 2021

Weft and warp

Weft and warp
started January 22nd, 2021

The cloth is woven
weft and warp
twigs and twine
bits and pieces
gaps and flaws
make the fabric
of my life.

I try to worry out
the threads that I know
aren't right
the flaws that threaten collapse
yet have become
integral parts
of the weft and warp
that is me.

I smooth this cloth
with my worn hands
then fold it up
and put it away
to work on
another day.

We are all looking for answers, to some question or problem. If I knew, I would tell you. Since I don't know, I will stay here with you as we work on us.

#cloth #problems #solutions #unknown

clmathew Feb 2021

Precious gems

Precious gems
started January 14th, 2021

Sometimes I think of
poems and people
misplaced lost missing gone

they live on
as gems in
my heart

tumbled smooth
by the turbulence
of my frantic love

each a precious
polished stone
ruby labradorite jade peridot

nightly before I sleep
I kiss them each one
so they will have sweet dreams.

How do you write about someone who has passed? We have all experienced this losing. You would recognize the words. I could say his name. Charles. I could describe him and the shape of the world without him. Instead of that, I leave you with his last words to me, included in the poem above. May he, and you, find peace tonight.

#gems #death #loss #memory #remembrance

clmathew Jan 2021

Turn on the lamp

Turn on the lamp
started January 13th, 2021

Turn on the lamp
for the end of the day
is near

Turn on the lamp
let the light
warm this page

Turn on the lamp
and let go
the worries of the day

Turn on the lamp
there is nothing to fear
from the coming night

Turn on the lamp
that is your heart
tonight you are enough.

Sometimes I write, just trying to imagine a different way of being in the world. This poem is for me, but I know others are also searching.

#lamp #night

clmathew Jan 2021

Planting words

Planting words
written December 26th, 2020

Each day
I plant words
eager to see
what they will grow into.

Some sit as seeds
buried at the back of my notebook
jostling against each other
drunk on their own potential.

Some get lost in the wind
gone before they can be grasped,
someone else will catch them
and plant them deep in distant soil.

Some are so bitter
they burn through the page
leaving ash as their only record.

Some form themselves sweet
into orderly patterns
ready to be released
into the world.

Some days it seems right
to polish those planted before
that only now
have started to sprout.

Today what will you plant
with your words? love? attention?
I watch to see
what you will grow.