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.