"outreached" poems
Once it started opening up,
Like a wound, the pearl sheen of skin
deepening into a red
As rare as the perfect rose
And just as treasured.
Bones dense around my heart
And lock themselves in place.
Stifling the voice - two beats -
The third one silent.
The fourth,
The fifth,
The third.
You are my arms outreached but selfish,
Hands open but stiff,
Palms red.
Oct 31, 2017
Oct 31, 2017 at 3:12 PM UTC
They walked in together with flushed faces and cold ears, after walking for what seemed like minutes in the coniferous forest surrounding the cedar cabin. Those minutes were actually hours, but when they were out here time did a funny thing and sometimes stopped all together. He hung their coats in the closet as she stripped herself of boots and socks, with bare cold feet she walked across the patterned carpet feeling its fibres between her toes. She perched herself on the couch in her favourite reading spot. He then too assumed his position on the couch allowing a space inside his outreached arm to be filled by her appreciative body. As she blankly gazed at the green life out the window, he gazed at her. Memorizing the freckles on the bridge of her nose and the way she puckered her lips without noticing. Absorbing all of her for a keepsake in case she decided to disappear as fast as she had come. This girl, he thought, is the most beautiful combination of genes and timing I have encountered in my life. But he didn’t mean physically, he meant her laugh and her stubbornness and how she believed she was spontaneous but every moment of her life was planned. It scared him how much and how detailed he saw his future, and how she was undoubtedly in it as far as he was concerned. Sometimes he wished he didn’t feel so much for her, for them. He had been hurt before and he grew accustomed to the calluses around his heart.
She breathed it all in, slowly but thoroughly. She breathed in the warmth of the burning furnace, the smell of wood that was still alive. She breathed in his sent of musk, soap, and mint. She breathed in his delicious smell of love, his pheromones. This place was exactly what they needed, some time in a surreal place to remember each other and how well they used to fit. How well they do fit. The stress and distractions of everyday life were tugging at the strings that kept them woven together. All they needed was time to be silent together, time to think together about different things. She knew that their hands and souls would fit together again like they always had, if they just gave it a chance. And now, here they were in their own made happiness. Sitting here as one piece of human, making love in the most innocent of ways.
Jan 15, 2013
Jan 15, 2013 at 4:10 PM UTC
A storm is coming,
Its coming in the form of a man,
He comes to disrupt,
Whatever peace I have left.
But I will fight this man,
Only because,
This peace I have,
I worked to attain.
But this storm of a man,
Comes in beauty,
He comes with delightful looks,
And he plans to rip away the peace in my heart.
This man,
This strong man,
When he smiles at me,
I melt away in his arms.
But the storm is strong,
And it covers me,
And I am lost again,
The peace I have slowly disappears.
But I scream NO!
I will not lose the peace,
A peace which I have come to love,
Which I have become accustomed to.
This man shakes my love,
This storm shakes my beliefs,
This man has his arm around me,
And I am at peace again.
But what do I tell the peace I already have?
Do I leave it?
This storm in the form of a man,
Has caused me to question my peace.
The sophisticated and beautiful storm.
I am at a crossroads.
On my left is the storm that will take me into new realms,
And in that storm, an unknown man stands,
His hands outreached to receive me,
Behind him is the unknown.
On my right is peace and love,
Amongst all that peace and love is warmth,
A man stands there as well, but a man with a familiar face,
He smiles and ushers me come to him.
So I stand at the crossroad,
Thinking,
Pondering,
Wondering,
Screaming.
The pain is terrible,
The feeling is disgraceful.
But I know I have to choose.
But what will I choose?
So I choose the road ahead of me,
Neither left nor right,
I stumble onto a new road,
And I look on at it,
And I am happy with what I have chosen,
I will create peace and love there,
Wherever this road leads me,
I will begin a storm for myself.
And the two men are no more.
Mar 15, 2012
Mar 15, 2012 at 8:28 AM UTC
cease awhile
and hold commune
with his fabrication
and admire
every cordant note
of a symphony yet unwritten.
t’was a nymph
saw i a-Maying
her comeliness
beggared the reach of art
outreached my arms
to touch her tidy traces
alack, gone she
in the mists of morn.
the moon-kissed bed
was light and life
with verdant dewy leaves
astride the speechless
mountain tops
a journey was begun
to rain again
his darts of gold
to every waiting one.
the blanket of
the skies was azure blue
on limpid waters seen
along her hurried way
she dropped those
gaudy flowrets beam.
saw i her locks
in every nodding palm
‘neath the tropic sun.
t’was birds do counterfeit
her melody the
rustling bamboo stole.
they utter now
sweet words of love
as winds doth
beat and blow
the roar and rush
of the swollen river asks:
what is it to you?
sprightly now
the winged ones
from bud to bud alight.
athirst, searching for that
self-same delight.
the crown of earth’s
flowing seas of grass
its mighty arms apart
attentive to the
incoherent whispers of
the breeze that chances by.
what now
messengers of the skies?
what saw you beyond
the floating clouds?
what find you at the
end of the rainbow?
what secrets lie hid
in yonder hills?
pray tell this
to the hurling spar
of the ever-running brook
for down and down and down
she goes to her anxious
ocean-brother.
could she have paced
the grotesque shore
to appease the bleating sea?
now she laps up
the sand-white beach
now she beats
the rock-bound shore with
shrill indignant murmur.
the shore and plain
nod assent
nay, my search is done.
twelve knotty hours
of day are gone and still
my find is none
to tease the gloomy
brow of night
aflame is all the west
in its expiring redolence
my happy nymph adieu.
May 7, 2015
May 7, 2015 at 7:09 PM UTC
She came to the farm a shy stray,
hid in the woodshed for days.
Food and water we left for her
kept her alive. In time though
very nervous, little by little
keeping some distance, upon
the porch she climbed.
After a month she ascended
a chair next to mine, where
in the spring sunshine we two
set side by side. Not touching
or speaking just biding our time.
One day she reached out a paw
placing it on my knee, politely
asking permission to step onto
my lap. Her fear overridden
by the need for companionship.
She prefers to remain mostly
outside, but everyday she comes
to my door and with outreached
front paws she frantically scratches
up and down on the glass begging
to come inside.
I feed her then feeling safe she sleeps
awhile on the back of the couch,
eventually seeking gentle
permission to sit upon my lap,
on a soft blanket kept just for her.
She purrs with contentment while,
taking cat naps now and then, as I
stroke and caress her head and chin,
occasionally opening her sparkling grey
eyes to study my face, as if to be reassured
it's me touching her and that I'm still there.
In her eyes if that is not devoted love
and gratitude I see looking back at me,
I don't know what else it could possibly be.
Jun 13, 2019
Jun 13, 2019 at 2:53 PM UTC
Hey son
what it do!
You know how much I love you.
How did you get so far from me. Hey son between us two you've put quite some distance.
Feels like seeing I'm mother as your growing up I'm now the resistance.
Remember I'm not the enemy. Hey son I love you from the Earth to the Moon and the distant Sun.
Hi little Gemini.
I want to see you take your wings to soar I want to see you fly.
I give you your time, distance and your space. But I remember when you were a little boy who didn't mind me planting kisses on your face.
Hi son I remember June 20th the day you were born.
From every moment I've helped you grow through every storm.
Hey young Gemini.
It's like now we can't see eye-to-eye.
But you'll always be the apple of my eye.
I know that you're on your way to being a strong young man
Just don't forget I'm here with an outreached hand.
I'm your mom a go hard fan.
With you I've done the best that I can.
Your journey has begun.
Go on now son.. Enjoy Life
I get to see you live and continue to learn and to grow and grow.
@H.E.R_Poetry S.A.M
Feb 19, 2022
Feb 19, 2022 at 3:37 PM UTC
We never meant for this to happen
For it to go so far
Malicious and heart wrenching
Are our corrupted memories
Your face pops in and out
I try unceasingly
To rid of it
Push every thought of you out of my mind
But no matter what I do
To busy myself
Distract myself
You come back
Your gorgeous eyes memorized
Every speck of gold
Every eyelash
Every in take of breath
Captivated in stolen moments of nonsense
You stir these feelings inside me….
Breaking me open
This bridge on opposite ends
Meant to be cut, severed
Never to be crossed
Never to be mended
You have her; I have him
Enough
Because every time we meet
You ignite, against every fiber of my being, a fire inside me
Burning deep
Waiting to be put out
Turned to ice, turned to hate
But you stand so close sometimes
A bittersweet longing
In those non-existent touches
Out of your grasp
Dangerously poisoning
Are our little games
We try to ignore those locked gazes
Those outreached hands
Those distorted thoughts
That we become lost in
Because you take it so freely
All of it, every last bit
In one bite
In one moment in time
Taking what was always yours to begin with
Coping with the loss of my being
The blood loss
The mind aching regiment of your face
Of your eyes
Of that smile that makes my day
Diabolical are we
Caught in our own web
Randomly weaved
When will it end?
This heartache
Tell me
I entreat
Tell me, please
When will it end?
This thing
Say when
Say now
My knees are about to give out
When will it end?
These memories
These stolen moments
These horrible mistakes
Tell me, please
I beg you
Because I’m about to give up
I need you ….........to tell me
Please
Put me out of my misery
Tell me how long I have to wait
Tell me it needs to end right now
So late
Tell me, love, tell me
When will it end?
Say it
Please, say it
Say now
Say it ends now
Jul 1, 2013
Jul 1, 2013 at 4:49 PM UTC
Shivering in the wet air,
Grasping to the last of the pink, fragrant
petals for whatever warmth
they may provide –
Rain runs over the soft, moistened bark
And falls off in sheets.
The wind tousles outreached branches,
And sighing, it waits
For the sun to bring warmth once more.
Feb 10, 2012
Feb 10, 2012 at 9:46 PM UTC
I just wish that my heart wasn't a star
Still shining bright to those that see it
But dead millions of years ago
Something to be wisheded upon
In the careless, childish folly of daily life
Such as making wishes
Pointless beacons of unrequited hope
That drives us as souls to the brink of sanity
And for some, such as the wanderer that I am
It drives us over that invisible boundary
And banishes us to an unfathomable pit
This pit, generalized as depression, insanity
Is seen with similarity amongst pits
Yet no pit is equal to another
Each is unique, special to and hated by its owner
Yet it is seemingly inescapable
And thus loved from necessity
And those who pass us by want to help
Offer a hand to pull us from the pit
But every outreached hand reaches a little deeper
And the abyss of life likewise deepens
Until you have no choice but to fill it
And filling such a whole is no simple task
First a pail of confidence is added
And then several more of momentum
As the hole begins to fill a hunger to heal forms
Where you overemphasize the process
And forget the reason
Thus the devilish being opens its jaws
And swallows every pail you have placed upon it
And mistakes your action for hope
And once more deepens exponentially
So here I lay, contemplating the treachery
That my life has slowly devolved into
And I have to question to myself
Do the stars in the sky hang so low
Because they feel the death of their brother inside me?
Aug 22, 2013
Aug 22, 2013 at 1:36 AM UTC
A night time blue
Playing tricks on my tongue
With the raspy echo
of breath,
Turning with my cheek and into
It's nose again.
A shallow hymn of loneliness
Satisfies my heavy head.
Heavy with a day's desire
Giving triumph to the night
For in the night,
I die again.
I close my eyes
My heavy eyes
Right to the end of time. But
As any time
It's time again
For might to open wide.
As each lash upon each lid
Had swollen arms
Outreached for decay,
A brightened abyss
Of rightfulness
Leaks forward to the day.
Sep 20, 2013
Sep 20, 2013 at 1:56 AM UTC
Red dot adjacent the center star
Accelerating towards my hands
Outreached as if expecting rainfall
To be decorated in charred debris
As consciousness ascends somewhere
Cradled in slumbers warm embrace
Blowing kisses unto my face
Visions of a dim lit peaceful place
Where I did once forget my grace
But took it back with a hasty pace
In time to witness obliteration
As that dot did decimate
Crashing into the blue and green
Orbiting rock around the center star
Now finding himself much more lonesome
Jun 6, 2021
Jun 6, 2021 at 3:20 AM UTC
Beguiling
Would you like to know the picture God carries of you first fired in his imagination then bathed in light
And the final element water I know the power fire has to loosen the quiet tongue the flame dances and
Leaps your mind and imagination falls in step recall marches in with abundant expansive dialogue the
More you talk the more thoughts rush in as where the final viewing is in the clearest pure water at first
You don’t expect your change of mood when you approach any size of water it can be just a pool or a
Tremendous lake and more favorable is the small setting with water present a peace will descend like
Misty silk it bellows out and gently descends engulfing you through this silky sheen you are the supreme
Vision of loveliness the male is never more handsome the woman is never more beautiful can it be any
Different to look upon a face through green sea colors that occur when the sun shines through the
Rolling wave’s silkiness is nothing but the master’s delightful touch God sees his
Daughters as true princesses of the mysterious desert and there was a reason that Valentino played
Sheiks of the mysterious desert land it made him incomparable and the women stood on equal footing
In character and looks spellbinding that is what you look like to God we love with all of our heart but his
Capacity is so far greater than ours every church around the globe would be busting at the seams and
More being constructed if people really knew God and his love that is the greatest cry of the human
Heart is to be loved it took a master deceiver and the greatest hater of mankind to wreck the havoc that
He has accomplished well why doesn’t God do more the artist sized it up when a broken bloodied savior
Was shown on Calvary with his arms outreached with the underlining words he loved you this much
You’re the whole of his existence there is master piece after master piece that hang in museums but
They pale and are considered inferior botched art next to his longing pleading eyes that say come unto
Me my treasure and know everlasting pleasure come and be seated around my throne your rightful
Place that was always my plan for you only death and sorrow awaits those that turn a deaf ear to
Perfect love
Jan 31, 2012
Jan 31, 2012 at 10:23 PM UTC
A gagged mouth screams mindfully in pain.
An outreached hand ****** to grasp air.
It mumbles and yells to the self imposed chain.
Veil of joy,
Depths of despair.
A fisherman watches, her mast crest the Earth.
A flower watches her buzz by.
Tears disparage pain, void of her worth.
Absent of reason,
They wither and die.
Once again,
Alone.
Oct 22, 2018
Oct 22, 2018 at 1:09 PM UTC
amusement park rides are safe
the sheer force keeps you from falling out
roller coasters tilting you side to side
not quite upsidedown
but almost
I'm trying hard on a playground swing
to go over the top
but just keep falling back to earth
******* gravity
in between the trip and the crash
is the fall
That's when I think of you
when my hands are outreached
My feet are skidding
I'm trying not to eat ****
but there's no guarantee
because clumsy people fall a lot
Maybe I haven't landed in love
but I sure am falling
May 24, 2015
May 24, 2015 at 12:35 AM UTC
I'm not just someone who time-after-time ***** things up.
I honestly believe I wrote the book on it.
And my book is filled with stories of how I, no one else, single-handedly messed up everything I could have had.
I've messed a whole lot of things up in my life.
And I regret it all.
And lately, I've been thinking,
About all that I've done wrong.
It's been weighing on my mind like an anvil.
And also on my heart.
I've done myself wrong,
I've done school wrong,
But most importantly,
I've done others wrong.
I've neglected outreached hands that could have been my lifelines.
I've missed opportunities that could have been my successes.
I've thrown away friends that could have been my family.
But above all else, I've missed the chances to have the things I want most in my life, and I have no one to blame but myself.
And honestly, I have no idea why.
I've had everything that I have ever wanted right in the palm of my hand.
Everything I ever wanted was reaching its hand out to me...
And I ****** it up.
And now, here I am writing another poem about the things I could've had,
Instead of enjoying them myself.
If I could just have one wish in life,
One more opportunity,
I would want to go back and fix it all,
Go back to those moments,
Go back to those days,
Go back to the hospitals,
Go back to the parks,
Go back to the rehab centers,
Go back to those precious moments,
And not **** things up.
Because if only I could just go back,
Maybe I'd have better stories to tell.
Dec 12, 2016
Dec 12, 2016 at 1:45 AM UTC
there's one thousand
thousand leaves
beautiful in infancy
from outreached arms
bottlegreen glass where clearly
what we were was luminous
naive and happy
and the burn to follow
sanguine crimson alight
throughout my mind
like feathers through fireworks
a great cheer
and then naught
and still
and sleep
and white
and once again
your arms reaching still
cold now
the little lights all gone
robed in muted monochrome
the little lights all gone
please don't forget me.
Jan 20, 2012
Jan 20, 2012 at 9:59 PM UTC
Slowly,
Shaky on my feet, like a child
I was practically a child,
When you found me.
Shaped me, molded me as clay
Your fingerprints, careful, intentional
Slowly,
They made my masterpiece,
My words, my life, my soul
Yours.
But here I am alone,
Knocky knees, pale cheeks,
Chapped lips and aching ribs
What am I to do with this control?
Slowly,
The world turns, still.
My own is shattered.
It lies on the glittering pavement
Where I fall to my knees,
With handfuls of my hair and racketing sobs,
Screaming with the anger, the hurt, the ache
Drawing all the attention I wished I'd drawn before
A cry for help, an outreached, black-veined hand
Though all in my mind,
Because I walk past, on the pavement,
And I walk home.
Slowly,
I breathe.
I blink, my eyes dry.
I've cried every tear I can cry
For you, or really,
For myself.
What's left is a battered, brittle, brackish soul
And a body in upset.
Jan 17, 2018
Jan 17, 2018 at 12:37 AM UTC
Rich Grief, as Gold, a priceless weight.
Your love has reached the Pearly Gate.
The Lords forgiving, outreached hand,
Guides her to the promised land.
This broken heart, that haunts your soul,
That keeps your "Self" from being whole,
Will surely never mend complete.
Yet, you should not concede defeat,
For in Gods ***** rests relief.
Your souls touched love, however brief.
The fleeting moments were well spent.
Your time together heaven sent.
Let go the guilt, release the tears.
The days will fly, as will the years.
Then once again the joy will be
The driving force that sets you free.
JMA
Oct 21, 2011
Oct 21, 2011 at 6:52 AM UTC
I was doing so well!
That's what the screams in my head screeched as I wept.
I have been honest and open
regardless of my demons that crept.
I've bargained and plead with great courage and might,
to accept loving allies and friends in my fight.
I have held it together, striking fears in the face,
Stood tall with arms outreached though I felt running in place.
It took one head-on heartfelt conversation,
for my triumphant steps forward morphed to tormented contemplation.
Thousands of words streamed into my head,
I need to release the storms brewing or my soul be dead.
I sat at my piano, eyes closed letting my flow take flight,
I can't go another day with the hauntings of sleepless night...
I played, and cried, as slowly the voices subside...
And it hit me...
**** this, grab a spoon, where's the nutella?!
...And to all a good night!
Jul 2, 2015
Jul 2, 2015 at 3:06 AM UTC
Lungs outlined with blue feathers
Ready to take off and fly
My fingertips like silk
Are incapable of holding on to anything
For too long
What can you hold against me?
Ghost stories I should've never shared?
Or that every time I dream out loud
I always seem to miss your outreached hand
What can you hold against me?
Besides this ache in every bone
That whispers to my soul
To let go for once, and try flying alone
Feb 16, 2022
Feb 16, 2022 at 12:31 PM UTC
The cape hung over
A patriotic Dover
Red and white,
Blue lit might.
Quite the sight
When taking to flight
Confined to the prison
Of limitless vision
A witness to distant lands
Military stands
Saw outreached hands
And all their demands
Late one day
Came heavy dismay
A man found finality
Another, reality
Beyond speech
Things out of his reach
The feeding lines hung
From chorus’ sung
Distant hope transgressed
Faded dismay repressed
Luxury had seeped in
Through sun-spotted skin
Morality appeared
Though initially revered
Some cheered
Others sneered
Seemed to be feared
How horribly weird
Sep 22, 2013
Sep 22, 2013 at 3:59 PM UTC
An outreached hand to the depths of despair
A foreign warmth to thaw the frozen stare
The slumber breaks, the recluse now aware
You are there
Like moth to flame, a worship in bloom
Fixated. Yearning for your time to consume
All the darkness faded, that was to presume
Were it not for the demons that invaded the room
Stars aligned, brought within proximity
Hearts conspired, connected by affinity
Wired to your soul, craving for continuity
Golden opportunity squandered by insecurity
When the demons resort to intimidation
How can a fragile soul combat such confrontation?
High and mighty, they spoke of salvation
Here I crumbled in the wake of their devastation
All those nights awake, body numb, ever so tired
Endlessly looping what fate had conspired
Wishing for the strength that the moment required
All hopes and dreams once again expired
Forgotten, left to bleed along with time
Escaping the depths, an excruciating climb
Emerged, it’s clear that your path became sublime
Demons, for her sake I thank your crime
As my world was left to burn
You danced without concern
The void still whispers, aching to return
But memory arms me well to spurn
What might've been keeps me obsessing
I'd swear it's different now, but I'm just guessing
All I know is, though it's distressing
This curse of mine was your blessing.
May 26, 2025
May 26, 2025 at 6:11 AM UTC
*Dams give way,
and women drown.
If you’re going to fall
then make it count.
Don’t just slip
but dive deep down,
into the depths of hell,
where hollow truth is found.*
You should have seen me then
when my hair was brushing the sky.
Lesser men strained their necks
just trying to see that high.
So I made them medicine
because I was that kind of guy.
Yes, I slept soundly
in my nightly bed of lies
I broke bread with the poor
and took drinks with the rich.
Some said I gave too much
but I could never resist
an outreached hand
and the implications in it.
Little did I know
how palm can grow to fist
Then it started to change;
that god forsaken splash,
too late, too cold,
I froze and turned my back.
Mirrors haunted my head
long after the fact,
and the trumpets that praised me
changed keys to laughs
So I tried to plug my gaps
like a doomed sailor fighting the sea,
with women and with whiskey
then **** and ecstasy.
I filled those women’s hearts
and left them empty,
but that’s of no concern
when I live for only me.
I tried to burn the town
with my wicked words and ways,
but I was still given praise
for my false yesterdays.
Sticking to the straight and arrow
had led me astray.
So I set sail for better shores
where all life is grey.
So now I haunt this bar
the Pope of Little Mexico.
I make rain with my tongue
just to make the Nausea grow.
I flew with the Eagles
now I’ve fallen down so low.
Things have never been better
I have found my heart’s true home
*Dams give way,
and women drown.
If you’re going to fall
then make it count.
Don’t just slip
but dive deep down,
into the depths of hell,
where hollow truth is found.*
Nov 10, 2013
Nov 10, 2013 at 8:55 PM UTC
Lost and screaming,
I gaze at the young child as it pulls on its mothers arms,
She who is tired and weary attempts to calm the child,
Heroic... but futile. The child wants a new lego set, and by the look on his mothers face it seems like he might get it.
He knows not of the pain she felt when she brought him into this world.
He knows not of the sacrifices,
Nor the hardships.
When he is older perhaps he will feel guilt. Or remorse.
For now, he knows joy.
Joy as his mother lifts down the set into his outreached arms like deliverance its self.
I chuckle to myself, and sip my drink.
Out of the corner of my eye I see another small child,
Standing alone amongst a sea of strangers.
She is looking around, confused at first,
Then her gaze grows more frantic as the moments pass.
Her lip begins to quiver, and a small diamond falls down her cheek.
She does not cry.
She does not move.
Of course she is not aware that her mother is merely feet away browsing the aisles,
but to her... to her she is lost.
Lost to all those around her.
Invisible and alone.
Of course this only lasts for a few moments until her mother returns with open arms and and a warm smile.
I pay for my drink and stand up to leave.
In many ways I relate to the children.
Constantly grasping for something new. Unheard of, exciting.
Seeking guidance and protection, Respite from the flow of life.
Jun 20, 2015
Jun 20, 2015 at 5:35 PM UTC