Writing

Dear Writing,
    I guess you already know what this is about.
    I guess since this is really to myself, I should feel foolish
    But I need to thank you for everything
    I need to thank you for letting me live a thousand times over
    I need to thank you for letting me fall in love a hundred times over
    I need to thank you for letting my characters fight and struggle
    I need to thank you for letting me teach my characters
    I need to thank you for letting my characters teach  me
    Thank you for everything, for the good stories and the bad ones
I wish I'd never written, for the good characters and the evil ones,
for the moments of fear and adrenaline, for the moments of heartbreak
and homecoming.
     Again, I know this is foolish but seems appropriate all the same, since
I know without writing, I'd just vegetate in front of the TV and I'd be so
much less.
      Is that too selfish a thing to think?

Last Night

Red, crackling veins burning
under my flesh
                                    Heartbeat
A statue, afraid to breath,
to break the stillness of the world
Wanting, powerful, raw, animal
pouring into my blood
                                    Lust
Open my eyes, realize
I'm not there, but here,
alone

Tell me
     is it a sin to dream?

Hope

Walking on an icy path
    trying to keep my balance

        a glint, a piece of sun

embedded in my eye.

Pick it up, run my fingers over
           the sharp edge

A delicate feather in my palms

    blood on my fingertips

The little thing called hope

Flash

Pale light
  of frosty sunrise

Sudden, instant knowledge
     a rubber band second
   blinding ray of sun

Acrid stench, shuddering
 

Dandelion Seeds

Come sit beneath these shivering leaves
among the dandelion seeds
     Kneel in the grass, bow your head
     before the altar of peeling bark
     made from half formed figures
     drawn by ancient priestesses
Listen to the trees moan in the wind
as they whisper their secrets to
the earth and sky
     At the root of the altar,
     lay an offering of a single
     fading petal for beauty,
     a rock worn smooth for strength
     and an eagle's feather for wonder
Come sit beneath these shivering leaves
among the dandelion seeds

Linger Too Long

The sky is still here
  it should have gone away,
flown south for the winter
  Gray clouds with no pictures
should linger overhead,
  promising to cover the valley
in pieces of white
  But still the sky lingers

Pale blue

So Small

Scarlet licks of flame
    fingers stretching out across violet clouds

  Heart thudding, drumbeat
rhythmic, constant
    yet so small

Poppy seeds, cut into
   hundreds of pieces

   Horizon stretching on,
past what eyes can hold

How can the world be
         so small
             and so large?

Early Morning Fog

            Streetlights flickering, orange pools of light

            glinting off harsh asphalt

            Wispy, unformed shadows drifint across

            Silver fog wraps around houses like

            a mother’s arms, shielding them from

            the fearful night

            Sliding across grass, still heavy

            with dewdrops tears, gently kissing them away

            All alone, hanging in the air,

            heavy with secrets of

            what goes bump in the night

            Be our shield, our protector from

            the night and we fear you,

            in your silver, misty glory and

            we long for you to fade under the glare of the sun.

            But not I.

            I let you wrap your arms around me

            like a long lost friend,

            let you whisper secrets of the night

            and as you melt away

            before the sun:

            I smile my thanks.

Once Upon a Summer

Once upon a time
the world was more than black glass
more than fallen leaves
stirring in a cold wind
Once upon a time
the world was bright and dull
at the edges, as if there was too much light
and something had to be faded
Once upon a time
lemon sundrops colored the landscape
emerald and blue mingled together
and heat had a scent unto itself

Once upon a summer,
the world outside my window
was not black but bright,
tempting

Smallest

We are all pieces
        leaves, twigs, pebbles

       caught up in the current of the ocean
Mercilessly thrown against the stony shore

Conquerors of the planet, we call ourselves
       forgetting we are smaller than grains of sand

on the smallest beach

Powerless to stop the return of the

                                        ripping tide

Our Greatest Wonder

Who is to say that this
             is our only world?
I have walked in many,
wandered many nights
through the castles and mazes
            Dragons and demons
fairies and freedom
princesses and rebels
revolutionaries and dreams
            I have seen all and more
These are worlds of magic, of fate
of apocalypse, of reborn humanity
of endless mountains and oceans
            They are great beyond compare
for they make us realize that the world
we inhabit, the one we breathe in
is not what we wish it to be
            Books, my friends.
Books. Thousands and thousands of them
Words. Billions and billions of them
Each a key, each a portal

Each a world apart from our own.

Someone

I could write a novel
       fill it with words
of why, of why not, of maybe
       Maybe even make someone
listen, maybe even make everyone
       listen.
My words could make everyone laugh,
       make everyone cry, make
someone do both at once
       But I won't give those words
I won't use them as a blade
       to cut through flesh
No, I'll just give no words at all

Old and Worn

         Alone with snow sheathed trees
breath vanishing in the fog

    Crunch and creak of snow

an old worn house

       Wait for golden rain
to fall

          turning white ablaze

Winter's Breath

Fractured leaves rattle
                      across the ground

Leaving frost to stain it
      from their veins

           Creep inside my chest
 cling there, beside my heart

Distant stars wink

     as winter breathes

Upon a Dream

We stood in the night
Ink staining our fingers
First he tossed in a coin
I watched the silk ripple
before tossing mine
We walked with fingers linked
passing dreamers, their hearts alive
and past those whose hearts were quiet
The whole world slept, save us
We danced across thin ice,
knowing if we fell,
we would fall together
from our dreams into the world
of waking

All

In all the universe
In all the galaxies
In all the solar systems
In all the worlds

Out of all the countries
Out of all the states
Out of all the cities
Out of all the world

Of all the thoughts
Of all the girls
Of all the lives
Of all the world

Cataclysm

Not the soft whisper of fog
       Not the gentle murmur of rain
              Not the quiet sound of footsteps
                                               of hearts beating
                                               of laughing friends
No.

Thunder rolling, a soldier driven forth
Shaking of the earth, a shattered dish
Lightning flash, a cobra striking

Break open a soul, pour the contents
                                                             across the bed of fallen leaves

Scattered Wonder

Scattered stones

        of fallen cairns

                    Shifting

         across our vision

Forgotten feathers

         resting on pillows

                     Wondering

Forgive Me

How long has it been?
    A blink of an eye,
        a camera shutter closing,
            the tick of a clock

How much did you love me?
     A sad song,
          an old black and white movie
              a shining winter's night

How much did I love you?
      Another language, words exotic on the tongue
           chocolate on a rainy day, after not doing anything right
                Half waking dreams of the years to come, two lives wound together

Flashes of memories
      dappled shadows on a summer drive
            flurried snowflakes
                laughter, lingering in shadows

I can say it all,
    I can say it beautifully
       But its not what I need to say,
           or what you need to hear

Not murmured dawns
     or whispered leaves
         shouted stars
              or even spoken words

I am sorry I speak too late
      I am sorry I speak too sad
           I am sorry I speak too long
                I am sorry.

I am sorry.

The Lonely One

                The night presses down

                                Like a pillow over

                                                The sleeping town

Suffocating.

                                                Heavy shadows drift

                                out from under trees

                To await the ax’s descent

Waiting.

                There’s a soft, light breath

                                across the wound in the Earth

                                                A twig snaps under a foot

Breathing.

                                                The last embers in the sky

                                Flicker one more moment, then die

                Blue comes, to shield the killer’s blood

Bleeding.

                All the night listens

                                For but a moment to live in

                                                Before he smiles

Living.

Art

A careless artist

                      a wayward gesture
a pallet of paint

                       spilled across the canvas
of the gods
                                    
                       soft pastels with bold brights
          

There Was a Child

There was a child went forth everyday into the world

of feathered clouds in the light of dawn

of cooing mourning doves from their nests

of frost glittering on rooftops

She went forth from the warmth of her mother’s embrace

from the strength of her father’s hand

from the laughter shared with her brother

from nights spent beside a fire, beneath the stars and moon

She saw a thousand sunrises that made her smile

but only a few sunsets took her breath away

She ran in emerald fields under the cottonwood trees

reveling in the snow under the sun

She spun around in autumn’s leaves,

She fell in love with the crystalline air of a snowy night

And she met the sweet girl named Emily I. she’d never remember

And the girl she’d play Matilda with

And the first boy she’d ever love

And the friend who put the first knife in her back

And the girls who’d never leave

Then she made her own places

an ancient kingdom of thieves

a future darkened in decay

a world just behind the veil of ours

Standing on a Stage

Standing on a stage,
     knees shaking a little
Voice alone in the room,
     booming or whispering
Eyes glittering in the shadows
     just beyond
Become someone else
     reach into the crowd
Make them laugh,
     make them weep
Make them believe
     it is not a room they sit in
But a house, an island, a castle
     somewhere they can never go

Don't you know
     standing on a stage
            you hold our hearts in your hand?

Cactus

White hair with no shift of red
the shade that gave you your name
Faded jean eyes, peering through thick glass
Creased forehead, roughened by sun and dry wind
Hands carved from oak, worn to sandpaper
A distant figure in my vision,
saguaro cactus reaching toward white sky
Stay standing
Don't leave on the howl of
the desert wind

Voices Unheard

Be not seperate
For the aparrt are unhappy
Go on together.

                                                  Stand with me, here
                                                  on the edge of everything
                                                  One day, we'll fall

                                                                                           Maybe and what if
                                                                                           the may and the if
                                                                                           throw open the windows and doors

Colors

Dark musty purple felt
Misty blue so sharp it could cut glass
Lemon drops falling on car windows
Ruby and crimson jeweled necklaces at a party
Topaz carpet that whispers underfoot
Blue paper plate, white and curled at the edges

Burning Tree

The heat of summer lingered on,
           even in the rain
In the emerald of the leaves
           and in the evergreen of grass
Until the day where the clouds gather
           setting fire to the trees
Blazing like torches in the night
           they burn away the heat
Summer has gone, taking with it
           the emeralds of the sun
The shift is soft, gentle
           coming with the rain and red leaves
Today is the day the world turns.

Breaking

The thunderclouds have rolled in
rain lashing the ground like words
against your back
Thunder and lightning war
tearing at your heart
The wind howls to drown out
your pleas for it to stop.
The storm is breaking hearts
But we just have to wait it out
Soon, the sun will come out
and burn all the brighter
reflected on the puddles at our feet.

Sundrop

One day, just as the sun set fire
to the clouds of the west.
I caught a drop of it in my hands
I closed it in a locket
There it lay as the clouds began to gather
and the seasons changed before my eyes
like a slow motion picture
                                                                                     Only I had a drop of the sun
to hold as its mother vanished into the west
Sometimes, I took it out to hold it
Gazing into its gossamer depth
glittering like a crystal ball
Some day, I will set it free
and let it find its way to someone else
to give them the warmth of the sun
                                                                                     in the dark of winter's breath

Some day.

Fire and Fog

Gray grace of tendrils falling in
tender embrace all around

               The long lost wedding veil of some poor girl
               the one she never wore

Slivers of flame seek to burn it away
leave not even its memory behind.

               Wrapped tightly around the limbs
                of the dark blue world

Fire fails grasping at the veil as it slips
through its fingers like water through cupped hands

               Golden threads mix through the
               sad silver of the veil

Breathing life and joy into the desolate
folds once more

Blanket

Soft
       like damp clothes on cold skin 
Gentle
       caress of my cheek
Reminisce
        of this time moons past
Dream
        about spinning under golden rain
Stand
        still under the fleeting breath of fallen crystal stars

Broken Star

I wished upon a star
I watched it fall from the sky in flames
I ran toward a broken tree
I stood under thundering day
I screamed for him.
I went back and took up the fallen star

                                           Never dreaming I would capture all of them

Somewhere

Mosaic shimmering with darting shadows

on the floor of the Byzantine fountain

Lions laying on an opera stage

with rapier teeth under velvet whiskered lips

Cleopatra’s sons racing beside a train

 Roots of a golden pear tree snaking down

the silk curtains of the walls

Icicle keys hanging from the front desk

Titanic coming into port with one dimple

Dancers waltzing across ice, across broken glass

Mirrors showing the world the right way up

in brass frames

Pigeons fetching the newspapers from the

old ambulance

An old donkey’s trumpeting bray

The noonday bell echoing like a

coin clattering down on tile

A golden wedding ring left

behind in the sand

The music of an old guitar besid

the grave of Dame Liberte

Changing of the Guard

The hills that vanish in the horizon
                have taken the sun

Ink spilled across the canvas of the sky
                dark blue, ebony and purple

One by one, the sentinels of night
                come to watch over the world

As it sleeps.

Rainy Day

Opaque gray stretches out against the golden horizon
Soft patters strike the rooftops, quiet voices
promising the coming of autumn nights
Raindrops wash away the old stagnant heat of summer
leaving behind reborn air
Clear and cool as mountain dew
The world is quiet, lingering in the interlude
of morning light
Colors scrubbed away to their centers
Bright gems against the sky
from which the blue has run away.

Divided

Pieces of glass
     lying broken upon the ground
I pick a sliver up
     My finger rests on the edge
Razor sharp, uneven
      waiting to spill blood
Part of me wants to drop it,
       run away from the edge
The other part urges me to slip
      and watch my skin tear
To watch salty tears mix with blood
      as it flows over my heart
How I wish I knew which desire
      will win out
In the end.

Ink

Lines and curves sketched
     upon satin vellum pages
Ink brewed of everything
     in desire
Sweet chocolate lines
     and sweet grass curves
Late summer lilacs
      in the soft flutter of turning pages
Soft rain lingers there,
      its kiss fading ever so slowly
Words unknown, whispering
      of undiscovered secrets
Spill out into the world,
      and breathe here

Riddle

This game of truths
     disguised by riddles
Glances missed
     like passing ships
Hands pressed together
      in holy palmer's kiss
Fleeting whispers of maybe,
      of possiblities
Some day, eyes whisper
      Ever? lips question
Is it really any surprise
     I can't stop thinking of you?

Among the Skeletal Trees

I don't want to sleep
I'll walk through the fog in a forest
Among the skeletal trees
Over creeping moss and dull ferns
I walk through the fog in the forest
Everything hidden under a veil
Under creeping moss and dull ferns
Wade through the silent singing stream
Everything lurking under the veil
Dark shapes still unformed in the distance
Swim through the silent singing stream
High above, the sun breaks through
Among the skeletal trees
High above, the sun shines through
I don't want to sleep.

Sunshine

Come meet your brother,

            he smiles at your charcoal image

Come meet your father,

            he is a mirror for your eyes

Come meet your mother,

            her every breath is yours

Come walk under dappled shadows

            and white cotton seeds

Come running into a world of whisper clouds

            and murmured skies

Come touch the feathers of the trees

            and the marble of the pathways

Come out of the dark and into the light.