"unfroze" poems
O my God
the ride down here
to this base camp
in those converted
army trucks
wasnt that something?
Miriam says
my face felt frozen
and my hair
looked as if
Id been in front
of a massive
hair-dryer
for hours
I sip my coke
and watch her
sitting at the bar stool
thinking
her jaw sure must
have unfroze
since shed not
stopped speaking
for a good five minutes
and guess who
Im sharing
a tent with?
she informs
I dont know
I say
that hippy girl
you know the one
whose boyfriend
looks like Jesus
o yes
I know the one
yes so whats
she like
to share with?
o you dont
want to know
she says
then dont tell me
o but I must
so she does
and as she rabbits on
I study her hair
a mass of curls
tight and red
which reminded me
of a guy
I worked for once
who said
I took a red head
out last night
no hair
just a red head
and I laughed
because he was
my employer
but it was a kind
of put on laugh
and o
she says
and thats not all
when she undresses
at night in the tent
I am brought back
to the present
and am all ears
hanging on to
her every word
about the dame
**********
like a penitent
awaiting
a priests blessing.
Mar 24, 2015
Mar 24, 2015 at 2:30 AM UTC
Almost
by Michael R. Burch
We had—almost—an affair.
You almost ran your fingers through my hair.
I almost kissed the almonds of your toes.
We almost loved,
that’s always how love goes.
You almost contemplated using Nair
and adding henna highlights to your hair,
while I considered plucking you a Rose.
We almost loved,
that’s always how love goes.
I almost found the words to say, “I care.”
We almost kissed, and yet you didn’t dare.
I heard coarse stubble grate against your hose.
We almost loved,
that’s always how love goes.
You almost called me suave and debonair
(perhaps because my chest is pale and bare?).
I almost bought you edible underclothes.
We almost loved,
that’s always how love goes.
I almost asked you where you kept your lair
and if by chance I might ****** you there.
You almost tweezed the redwoods from my nose.
We almost loved,
that’s always how love goes.
We almost danced like Rogers and Astaire
on gliding feet; we almost waltzed on air ...
until I mashed your plain, unpolished toes.
We almost loved,
that’s always how love goes.
I almost was strange Sonny to your Cher.
We almost sat in love’s electric chair
to be enlightninged, till our hearts unfroze.
We almost loved,
that’s always how love goes.
Keywords/Tags: Almost, love, lost love, loss, lost, relationship, relationships, hesitation, procrastination, hesitancy, vacillation, near, near miss, nearly, close call, miss you, missing you, missing, loneliness, lonely
Jan 6, 2022
Jan 6, 2022 at 8:54 AM UTC
Like a crushed petal, unbearably tender,
I walk the place where you were born.
Shadows now surrounding the ecstasy,
Of kisses lingering ‘til morn.
The space reflects now an innocent light,
Where we thought a lifetime arose,
Our lives filled with supernatural minutes,
Perfumed nights, naked flesh, we unfroze.
We were drunk under the spell of summer,
And in perpetual moments we captured,
All that was, and is, and ever could be,
From the moon to the stars enraptured.
We spoke of everything in the world,
Our subjects were only ever you and me,
Dizzy, bubbling, life’s blood streaming
A delirious passion, lasting eternity,
And now within this terracotta land,
Under blinding cerulean skies
My heart cries out to the cold cruel sea,
As minute by minute I die.
Apr 7, 2015
Apr 7, 2015 at 5:30 AM UTC
i haven't dreamt in a while
and i never dreamed that would happen
i fear falling asleep
because i hate waking up or
at least i hate the outside
that my open eyes reveal
i'm losing my imagination
because all i think of is better
and better is pretty mundane
the more you think about it
i was running down the street today
then saw a bus pull up at the perfect time
i got on the bus disappointed
logic subverts the unique
i stopped at a door today
for 5 or so minutes
thinking about coffee
then strange footsteps unfroze me
i woke up early today
but the more time i have
the more i get done
the more never enough it is
Feb 25, 2015
Feb 25, 2015 at 11:37 AM UTC
**i fell into my skin
and i saw my mind is beautiful
saw the afternoon shine touch the trees
warm thoughts
unfroze
the deeply frozen
pains
my days are smelling like coffee
my toes turning
into liquid**
Dec 1, 2013
Dec 1, 2013 at 10:17 PM UTC
Surrounded by liars, we conspire to exhale,
Suspended from heaven by wires so frail,
I was as you knew me; half there, half alive,
Too old to know better, too young still to drive,
An hourglass bandage, alone in my room,
A bruise to explain, an excuse to consume,
Burned down to silence, ethanol in my nose,
Confidence hibernation, voice never unfroze,
Turned to paper and pen, writing unhappy ends,
Tuned out all the fighting, lost faith in my friends,
A funerary maze, and I stayed there for days,
Kept safe from the addicts, degenerate haze,
Until finally I slept, free from sirens and screams,
It felt so good to see you, if only in dreams,
And I stared as you sat, delicate as a ghost,
I know I wasn’t there when you needed me most,
Always so far from home, and still so far from free,
Maybe I became less than you meant me to be,
With fire in my shoes and a map in my head,
Spent 3 years on the run, 4 wheels and no bed,
No food in my stomach, hollow cheeks caving in,
I came too far to fail, but was too lost to win,
Still the city lights held me with frenzied embrace,
Childhood imperfections forever etched on my face,
But head down I’ll hold on, however hopeless it seems,
And someday we’ll meet again, if only in dreams.
Nov 20, 2015
Nov 20, 2015 at 6:43 PM UTC
I really don't care to go down this road
It tend to put an ache on my soul
And a quake on my heart
A cyclone in my mind
A tornado as my spine
And... flood into my eyes
I don't think I can weather this letter
You telling me I have to get used to not seeing you?
Talk about a cold front that's moving through
And the fog that hog the image of my future
Everyday I try to stand in the midst of this blizzard
I ran out of tissue because the precipitation have gotten denser
My life gets even more polar when I think about why you get to feel so tropical...
Sub-zero temperatures every time I think logical
Why the enjoyment of your seasons get to be at leisure?
Skirts, dresses, blouses, sneakers
And I have on layers and layers of clothes just to stay unfroze
I suppose that since I didn't do it, then he
Had to propose
**** I DIDN'T WANNA THINK ABOUT THAT
(Goosebumps filled my arms as I mourn)
You were too adamant on that type of gathering
We didn't relate, then you escaped
If you lost love how come it wasn't staggering?
I'm watching the hurricane through my window and my demeanor is static
Now I'm swaying side to side
Neck deep in tides, and I can't even panic
I swam away from the rescuer that attempted to save me from this tragedy
I told her to toss the life saver Gradually
Im suffering from this casualty
Yet I never speak with Blasphemy
Even though the forecast keep harassing me
...
We were in the eye of a category 5...
And I was the only one worried about a catastrophe
Dec 10, 2012
Dec 10, 2012 at 9:25 PM UTC
I was a lost boy,
Who wished upon a star for his prince
You woke me up from my lifeless slumber,
You make me wish for tomorrow,
You turned me into a real boy
You helped me find my heart,
You made me long for more
You brought back my voice
I left my world for you,
You became my world
You were my knight in shiny armor
You unfroze my heart
You tore off my mask
And broke my disguise
You give me strength
And brought me back from the depths of hades
You had my love... But she had yours.
Jun 28, 2017
Jun 28, 2017 at 12:11 AM UTC
As we nose dove into placid waters,
time and the sea froze in remembrance;
silhouettes of men, women and children
paraded towards the horizon,
their bodies, limbs and organs made of
the sand that made the beach
with each step taken west
they dissolved,
the air was thick with salinity and tenderness.
The Sun grew with warmth,
at the exuberance of this melancholic loop,
a helpless witness;
it etched this moment in time into their skulls,
a back-lit memory to never return to what broke them.
The Sun grew louder,
with omniscience.
Time and the sea unfroze,
and we delved deeper
into the mystic in search of ourselves.
The waves retreated in reprieve,
promenaded caskets of their past to the shore.
We realised we were more,
than just survivors in the sea of broken hearts.
Sep 24, 2016
Sep 24, 2016 at 12:36 AM UTC
The trip from Tangiers
to our base camp
was made in yellow
converted army trucks
probably WW2.
30 of us sat
facing the wind,
faces frozen
in the process.
I thought of life
after death, if there
one and hoped
there was.
When we stopped
at the base camp,
we went in the cafe
at the camp
for coffee or tea
or coke or maybe
something stronger
until our faces unfroze.
Miriam who had sat
next to me in
the seemingly death ride
talked through stiff lips:
that was some ride,
she said,
my hand got
frozen to yours.
I rubbed her hands
with mine;
we sipped
our coffees.
She talked of home
and her parents
and university;
I spoke of music
and Kant,
all the while studying
her small, but neat *******
(which I had see before
but only in the darkness
of our tents).
Who are you
sharing with?
I asked.
Still the quiet girl
I was with, but
she's gone off
the ex-army guy
she told me as he
talked non stop
of his mother
and her new partner
and how he hated him;
who are you with?
She said.
I'm with Bill now
he's ok, good laugh,
I said.
Where's ex army?
She said.
Went off and shared
with someone else,
I said.
After that we went
and found our tents,
separated male from females
by a narrow path.
Have you seen the bogs?
Bill said,
they're just
two bricks
in a walled off area;
the girls won't
like that
standing on
two fecking bricks.
He laughed,
and we unzipped
our tent, and we put
our suitcases in,
and put out
our sleeping bags
and lay down,
looking at the top
of the tent.
And there's fecking
scorpions they say,
and maybe big
fecking spiders,
so if you hear
screams
the girls have
found them,
he said smiling;
they can see
my snake any time.
I later saw Miriam
in the bar
and she moaned
about the bogs too
but the showers
are ok,
she said,
but a bit primitive.
She'd showered,
and was tip-top,
she'd come share,
(if Bill was
not there)
she said,
my tent
and camp bed.
Aug 7, 2016
Aug 7, 2016 at 2:13 AM UTC
Icy eyes that unfroze my heart,
A riveting love from the start.
Great wings unfurled, for I was free;
You are my revered memory.
The stars have dulled, the moon won’t rise;
This loneliness brings dark grey skies.
We loved and loved so fearlessly;
You are my revered memory.
I cannot think, I cannot dream!
My heart is ripping at the seams.
I am still lost in reverie;
You are my revered memory.
Don’t think I’ll ever recover;
You were unlike any other.
And though I am in misery,
You are my revered memory.
Dec 19, 2013
Dec 19, 2013 at 11:28 AM UTC
It was cold and windy
snow piled high on the ground
as if adding to the grimness
of a bad weather day.
Every breath threatened
to freeze my lungs
and the ears went deaf
icy wind blown into them,
eyes cried helplessly
fighting with stinging cold.
And yet, somewhere, the heart melted
as I watched a tiny bird
singing on the bare branches
heedless to winter's rebukes
it was singing to life.
My lips unfroze
I whistled to the bird
and stomped on the snow,
happy to be alive
blessed to witness
yet another winter,
wind, blow, blow
as hard, as chilly
as you can,
so glad you found me,
breathing still.
Jan 2, 2015
Jan 2, 2015 at 9:51 PM UTC
You tell me to sit down
But I'm gonna stand right up
I don't want to hide what I'm all about
I gotta let the words flow out
No I don't care what they say about me
This is who I am, now can you see
Maybe I'm not good enough
Maybe sometimes life's just tough
Maybe I don't have anyone to care about
Maybe that's because I can trust no one
You had such a warm touch
I don't understand why you hurt me so much
Yeh you unfroze my heart
Just so you could burn it
Just tell me something...
Are you happy now...? Cause maybe I'm not
Maybe I once meant something
Maybe I should just stop thinking
Maybe you should take a bow
Maybe I should give up now
Maybe I want to get my words out there
Cause maybe I want to know someone cares
Cause maybe I want people to know my name
Oh yes I'm talking about fame
Maybe I want to make a scene
Or maybe I don't because being famous is too mainstream
Maybe my words not worth much
Maybe I'm not either
Maybe I should just stop writing
Maybe I'll never achieve anything
But maybe I will, cause I've never loved anything as much as I love...
Maybe I'm not that bad
Maybe people do care
Maybe there are people I can trust
Maybe tears won't make me rust
But I'm not fussed
Cause maybe I care about you all too much
And I know I say it a lot
Because maybe I don't need all this fairytale stuff
Cause maybe you all make me feel ok
And maybe it's because I could never love one person as much as I love all of you...
Aug 4, 2014
Aug 4, 2014 at 6:33 PM UTC
Under the unremitting clarity of a
summer sky they met, one last time,
to say goodbye. She, stiff and puckered
as a frozen prune, could barely force a
smile, a thin rictus across the swollen
softness of her face, like the blackened
lightening **** down the pine she stood
beside.
He put his right hand on the trunk,
leaning in to look her in the eyes, his
shaven head bending into shadow, his
newly-minted uniform crinkling into place:
“It’s only a year,” he said; “the war’s almost
over. I’ll be back before you know it. We’ll
have the biggest wedding this town has ever
seen!”
His shining smile beguiled her, as it always
had. Her mouth unfroze, a salty tear prickling
on her tongue: “Don’t you go and get yourself
killed,” she said; “I can’t raise junior on my own.”
She patted her yet unswollen belly with her
right hand, placing her left on his bending face.
“Don’t let Curtis lead you on; he’s crazy. You’ll die
there.”
At that he laughed, a solid, good-natured
sound, as he drew back his head and grabbed
her hand in his. “I’ll be careful,” he said. “We
can Skype every night. I’ll be with you every
day.” He paused, looking up at the cone poised
above his head. “I’ll be able to go to college; I
can work; we’ll live with Mom; you’ll see; it’ll be
fine.”
“We’ll live with MY mom,” she said, smiling
up at him. He laughed again, putting his arms
round her shoulders, pulling her close, bending
down for one last kiss: A cloud obscured the
sun, throwing them in shadow, as he whispered
“I’ll be back. I love you so.” He straightened,
gave a salute, turned precisely, and headed to the
bus.
Under the unremitting clarity of a
summer sky they said goodbye, she—
to have and raise a son, he—to
die.
Jul 8, 2016
Jul 8, 2016 at 2:01 PM UTC
Unfroze hearts are bait on the sharpest hooks. It never thawed anyways.
Jan 9, 2019
Jan 9, 2019 at 10:59 PM UTC