Wisps

“Fire Element” by Hellenne Vermillion

so much to see in a flame
lovers long gone away
dancing still in their
full flush of youth
slender pendulum clocks
with moon dials slow
to reveal their horizons
the spindrift of tropical
beaches beneath gently
fluttering palms
old tracings of plans for
some lives never lived
just imagined plans laid
but unpaid of attention

so much movement in fire
no stillness to memory
images waver and wander
fade in and fade out
unbidden yet welcome
beheld in their flicker
and shadow and smoke
but how did my mind
become caught in the blaze
why do bits of me burn
like the dead leaves
of summer ephemeral
embers thin flittering
wisps lifting into the night

 

 

From my book Ephemera

Chalkboard

 

Image from pinterest.com

 

chalk the slate

angry strokes

brutal honesty

marking out

actual moments

real pieces of days

this last ledger

a reckoning done

by the numbers

inscribed upon

hard matte black

skin of forever

with dusty white

graceless graffiti

the sums of a

traceable life

starkly rendered

unvarnished by

memory’s lies

and mistakes

all those choices

those exercised

free will events

now come to their

sharp tabulation

a final appraisal

establishing

worth of a soul

Camera Lacuna

 

Photo by David Maslen

 

 

placid aperture
liquid lens focused skyward
fish swim through the clouds

 

(originally posted January 2014)

Distractions

“Life is Good” by Carmen Guedez

with cold breath of death
on the back of the neck
retreat into memoried
warmth of the womb

float on thoughts of an
unsteady soft newborn foal
of first opening buds at
an early spring bloom

of the smile that turned
callow boy into man
of the swoon to the surf
synced to beats of the heart

all the sweetness of life
in distraction from fear
to resolve for alacrity
gracefully poised to move on

Reflection

“Dark Magic Sky Reflected in the Lake” by Rock Bull

watching the lake watch the sky

still in youth of a trimester summer

these dim ancient eyes trying hard

to interpret the rippling of clouds

scudding gold in formations of flight

from an angry explosion of sunset

confessing their sins to these waters

unaware of my witness and eavesdrop

that causes my turn of attention to

all that I’ve done in my long day of life

I stand into the lake till it covers me

cleanses me washed with both water

and sky before time sends descent of its

deaf dumb and blind seal of darkness

Undone

“Crack of Dawn” by S. McLean

that crack

in the ceiling

a split in the sky

it stares at me

night after night

changes shape

with the sounds

of articulate

moonlight

it breathes

dusty breaths

giving dry

husky voice to

its whispers of

too little time

for my

too many things

left undone

Teardrop

 

“Imaginary Tear Drop” by Stephen R Killeen

 

 

so much beauty
reflects in a teardrop
wordless emotion
made visible tangible
lacrimal vestige of
sadness that surfaced
aglimmer with gold
flecks of pain in the
shimmer of heartlight

reflections of
long ago gardens
bursting with color
under radiant skies
become withered
and trampled by
cruel boots of time

of love in its flourish
of innocence given
in tendermost trust
through swift years
become ravaged by
soul-searing losses
again and again

a whole lifetime of
happiness hardship
and heartbreak
appears in fleet
flashes before that
one teardrop slips
down along wrinkled
deep channels to
find its own fate

 

 

From my book Onionskin

Comparative Passing

“Placid Death”
Photo by Stephen Kurczy
From constructionlitmag.com

I recall dying
not nearly so painful
as was being born

I recall dying
not nearly so frightful
as was faith denied

I recall dying
not nearly so lonely
as was love withheld

I recall dying
not nearly so difficult
as was the living

****************

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life.
A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
– Mark Twain

Adventure

“Trail’s End”
Painting by Erin Hanson
From pinterest.com

you were the adventure
nothing short of amazing
a dazzling force of nature
the experience destiny
placed in my pathway
exquisitely timed for the
moment this boy reached
outside of himself into
precincts of heart unfamiliar
uncertain and oh so seductive

you were the adventure
allowed me along for the ride
our exploits were legend
our crossings and climbings
impetuous driven by wonder
replete with discoveries
little regretting the choices
or accidents marking our way
to this place of our rest and
reflection and gratified prayer

Moongold

Image by Mike Gorton
From photo4me.com

highborn element
melts in a midnight blue sea
ennobling the dark