An oasis in a parched terrain
A rhyme in a dull refrain
In a storm a place to hide
A ******* in a riptide.

Going down, a parachute
Monday morning, short commute.
Summer day a scarf of silk
Warm cookies, a glass of milk.

Chocolate sundae the cherry on top,
Dangerous street a friendly cop.
A sturdy rope down the abyss
Tucked in bed a goodnight kiss.

In never ending pain
You choose to wallow.
This dry sandwich of self-pity
Is so hard to swallow.

You juggle those slippery *****
Of pain and regret
I hear you pray for release
But you aren’t there yet.

Me thinks thou protests
A little too much
This “woe is me” cane
Has become your crutch.

Throw off that garment of gloom
Your attitude needs to switch
Just accept the fact
That life is a *****.

Oh, I love to get a bright new shiny thing,
Marvel at the perfection
Caress the smooth surface
Not a flaw to interrupt my touch
And there is a smell of newness
Hard to describe, but perceptible nonetheless.
I walk around the room
Studying the view from various perspectives
A changed environment, and how it speaks
With this new addition.
Nothing can ever be the same
This bright shiny thing begins to define the space.
It mirrors my life, and reflects the imperfections
My old life is dented and marred and scratched
Lines of age bear witness to the passing of time.
I have a gallery, photos of my bright shiny things
Frozen portraits of hope
But now only the photos survive untouched.
And today, like so many days before,
I discover a flaw.
Just a dimple, but a glaring impediment
To my dream.
My bright shiny thing fades
And soon finds a place on the shelf.

In the beginning was the word
The ideas flowed like wine
Grappling through the night
We explored
The ramifications of the past,
The indentations of the present
The permutations of the future.
We delved the endless font
Of our literal lives
Page after page we turned
Swallowing chapters, misspelled loves
Grammatical wastelands spread across the crumbled sheets,
All could be corrected.
Those words, I can still remember
Embossed on my brow
Like Braille, I’m blind enough to read.

In time the words went dry.
Perhaps we said it all.
Or chose to say no more.
The questions were replaced
With smug complacency.
The river of curiosity slowed,
And trickled between our toes.

In the end there were no words.
Passion took the podium
In tender speechless quiverings
We pressed the meaning on our flesh
Somehow it was enough
As we devoured our silent summations.
The unspoken proclamations
Confirmed my doubts
Reaffirmed my hopes.
As the last page was turned
The rising sun filled the empty room.

She tries on men like a summer dress
Inspects the fit, the color, the silky fabric
“It scratches like that one I had last year”
She loves the feel of a new dress.
The excitement, the way she looks at dinner
How it brings out the color of her eyes.
They are always special at first, she thinks.
But the second and third wearing
It starts to become
Just another dress.
Her closet is full, the colors reflect her memories:
The concert in Cologne, the opera in Vienna
A performance here, a recital there.
On each dress is written a symphony
The notes emblazoned on the fabric
Never to be played again
Her men are her performances
Infused with passion, tempered with distance
The growing flame must be drenched
Before it consumes her art and her life.
The past must be altered
Lest she play that piece again.

Memories dance in my head
Mined from an abandoned quarry
A lost and forgotten vein
Becoming rich with pain

Buried beneath a victory garden
The roots have spread
Unnoticed. Unhindered. Untouched
Nourishing the first of the bitter fruit

I want to fly. Untethered.
Grounded by the past
Entombed by choices long forgotten
Forgiven. Forced to revisit.

My history has given birth
To every step, every breath
I focus on the future and see
A mirror preaching with conviction

Amen. I can’t resist.
We pray for release
But listen for restraint
And live for desire.

My passions can mask
A world of darkness
I look to the light
And fall down the rabbit hole.

In an instant the sparkle showered me
Bathed in light and energy
Flowing flowing a waterfall of emotion
A connection stretching back in time
A piercing silence
Cloaking me in her calm
Her doors had been cast aside
Unexpected candor, laughter lilting
And bouncing, catching me off guard.
She wasn’t hiding behind the bush
Or running from tree to tree
She stretched the moments
Filled them with spirit
Flew to the rafters and beckoned me to join
I melted in her eyes, molten joy
Ready to be molded
Precious shapes, rare forms
Unknown beings.
I trusted her hands
Gripped me with delicacy
And a lightness of life.
That moment became a day
And that day will not end.