Undertow

“Swimmer in Yellow” by Gareth Lloyd Ball

 

time was
I could swim like a fish
cut a slice in the sea
beyond the big breakers
cleave cleansing swells
duck into their overwash
finding sublime
exhilaration

my body a blade
honed by timeless tumbles
in granular surf
slashes man-eater schools
daring their frenzy
my brine-tempered eyes
scorn the unholy threat
in their Silurian gaze
black fins form in gauntlets
slide wickedly past
my undeterred strokes
skimming my sides
feeling my fearlessness

heady were those days
when Neptune’s own fluid
coursed in my veins
and mariner ancestors
gathered to watch me
racing the continents
chasing the sun
pride lifting their ghosts
to the billowing blest
Mediterranean
breeze

but there came a day
aquafortis reached up
enveloped my legs
overwhelming my will
undermining my courage
relentless
it pulled at me
carried me
farther and farther
from shores of my birth
into depths unfamiliar
depositing me
in strange waters that maps called
the ocean of
vulnerability

 

 

From my books Range of Motion, Music of Scars and Legacies (vol. 1)

 

Survival

“Survival” by Abe Weiner

 

the fight keeps the pain alive

hurting and living synonymous

suffering gives proof of life

wars of body and spirit waged

balls-to-the-wall without mercy

determined unwavering fearless

clenched fists steel-set jaw

gnashing teeth fury red in the eyes

ruthless weapons of weaponless

combat the courage entailing the

fight is what gives life its worth

at least that’s what I’ve come to

discover about my own truth

 

 

From my book Ephemera

Bravado

 

“The Great Grisly Big Tree at Mariposa Grove”
by Marianne North

takes a mighty man
one still hard with
plenty of bark on him
tall in his heartwood
stout fearless limbs
turned and ready to
swipe at his sickness
sweep its deep insult
of mordant affliction
from easy self-pity
stand head in the sky
feet rooted in pride
torso scribed by his
history rings marking
memories fraught
with his persevered
hardships his times
of abundance the
scars won in wicked
harsh seasons these
memories holding him
fierce in the face of
advancing disease
he has no skills to halt
but can nonetheless
laugh at it curse it
a boom to his voice
that the whole of the
forest will never forget

 

 

From my books Small Noise and Legacies (vol. 2)

Never

“It Could Be My Imagination” by Thomas Fedro

 

courage
never speaks
but to fear

fear
never more
than of pain

pain
never quite
as imagined

imagination
never fails
our humanity

 

 

From my book Ephemera

Conception

Embryological Study by Leonardo da Vinci

courage is fathered

in a rank wretched bed

where masculine fear

lies down with his gorgon

in a choking embrace

expelling her peril

till foul becomes fair

and soiled linen creases

unfold in bright riots

of fortified flowers

that girdle the breast

with petals of armor

and freshen the beard

with fragrance of dignity

cleansing the air

for the first natal breath

of the manchild valor

now growing proud wings

in the belly where fear

hid his auspicious seed

 

 

(originally posted April 2013)

Be Careful

“Delusion of Time” by Mahnaz Baikzadeh

 

the slow heat of whiskey

induces a counterfeit courage

be careful of dreams

made from fortified figments

delusions of power

have ruined more souls

than the devil’s own hand

Malala

Malala Yousafzai

 

(For Malala Yousafzai)

 

five times shot
by medieval misogyny
bullets of brittle belief
aimed by ancient assassins
at innocent dreams
fifty million young girls
take to second-class beds
every third world night
but this one slender flower
empowered by sisterhood
shared at the roots
flush with uncommon courage
caught all of their bullets
in soft-handed petals
and offered them bitterless
back to the ignorant

wanting no more
than the beauty of knowledge
this living articulate
thinking survivor
exemplifies virtue as victor
implausible teacher
of triumph against
a barbaric theocracy
tyranny poorly disguised as divine
she stands righteous ground
earns admiring affection
and praise from the rational minds
and benevolent hearts
keeping balance in worldly affairs
while doyens of Swede meritorium
cling to their cold nonchalance

 

(originally posted October 2013 – when she was passed over for the Nobel prize)

Stranger in the Night

“Stranger in the Night” by Marina R. Burch

we first met

in dark seams

between torn

sleepless dreams

long ago in the

terrible time

of a traumatized

tormented mind

he extended a

steadying hand

helped me down

from the precipice

flouting the

judgmental glare

of a jury of stars

he spoke quietly

laying assurances

into my heart as he

led me back home

to my life

to my courage

this man who now

sixty years on

shoulders caped

in soft moonlight

fills fully the frame

of my handsome

hewn doorway

extending a

steadying hand

and I know from

the glint of

the pride in his eye

time has come

we return

to that place

where he found me

Madiba Invictus

 

Nelson Mandela by Floris van Zyl

 

 

in the crucible
twenty-seven molten years
principles annealed
heart firm against injustice
humanity reaffirmed

 

 

(originally posted December 2013 upon his passing)

Architecture

“Architectural Abstract” by Debra Hurd

build it up
tear it down
build again
swing the
hammer
the maul
light and dark
in recursive
exchange
timing
soundless
bright beats
of circadian
rhythms

each day a
new construct
a castle
of courage
each night
reveals
structural
failures in
cracks of
innate
indefeasible
fears who
demand
demolition

the blueprint
for bravery
raising a
tower erect
of conviction
continues
to hide
holding secrets
from citizens
here on this
pitiless street
in this
merciless
city of time