Verse: Tonight

tonight
we'll shoot
the stars
for sport

we'll drain
the moon
of its
infinite myths

every kiss
will be
as beautiful
as the first
and as bittersweet
as the last

and we'll etch
our voices
in the silence
of sleep.

Verse for March 30, 2010

you know
if you want

to nourish me,
lover

then my advice
is this

the way to say
I love you

is not a whisper
in the ear

say it directly
into my mouth

then seal it
with a kiss

and watch me
swallow it whole

but you
should know

once you
feed me love

I will only ask
for more

II

Beware
my heart
is a box
of plagues

a barbed assortment
of impossible
and unrequited
yearning

so much so
that I never
let it out
of my sight

so that
no one is
accidentally afflicted
with insatiable yearning

Verse: Kiss

If I
had to pick
just one

then I
would pick
the first one

because
it broke
the tension

because
until that moment
it didn't seem possible

because
it was so long
in coming

because
it was awkward
and impromptu

because
it had been snowing and
your lips were warm

because
everything
became possible

because
it was
the first one

Verse: Recollection

I gave you up
to the great fire
when I
was careless

when I thought
I could not
use you
any more

you know
I have not
seen my conscience
since then

and I
can't remember
what it was
I called you

when you
called me
your lover

I never was
good with names

Verse: Fire

What did
the fire say
when it came
looking for you

I asked
but it
would not
tell me

and the look
in its eyes
as it avoided mine
was fear

what was it
you fed it
I am hungry
now

Verse: Admission

While you
were sleeping

I ate some of your
chocolate-covered almonds

it was wrong of me
to do so I know

but in my defense
they were chocolate-covered almonds

Verse: Consumed

Everything
is consumed
in this world

even you
by fire
your fire

come take mine
I could pretend
to be the true fire

though I don't
know what
that means

what I do know is
the sky saw every thing
we did

because
everything emerges
in the dawning dusk

when the colours
of the world
are swallowed whole

and the only faces
we have are the indentations
of our fingerprints

Verse: Essence

When I go
to sleep
I wonder

will my body
be fire tomorrow
seeking the same

or will it be ash
coveted only
by the wind

either way
I won't be redeemed
in dreams

and they
won't need me
anymore

Verse: Three brief verses for March 24, 2010

I
you may
understand flame
if you
swallow it

but that
will not
make you
a fire

and you
will not
burn me

II
after hours
spent crawling
in cramped dreams
calling you
with a clamp
on my mouth

how long
have I been awake
with the sun
of your eyes
in mine?

III
Ice saw you walking
and began to melt

the naked trees bent low
to kiss your eyes and bloom

fire crept toward you
praying to be extinguished

and I stood in shadows
tongued tied

hoping by chance
to catch your eye.

Verse: Camera

I took
some old words
and made a camera

and this
is a picture
of you

I put in
all the things
I love about you

your soft lips
your small hands
your sighs

the way
your body curves
into the couch

at night
with your fingers
dexterously knitting

forgive me
if it seems
a little hazy

you know
I never had
an eye for detail

and I never did
finish counting
all of your freckles

or find
the right shade of green
to describe your eyes

Verse: Abuse

Before
you can enter

there's something
you should know

I chanted
your name

until it became
a koan

until it was
bruised and swollen

until it became
a language

that I could
not understand

and yet for all
the damage I inflicted

it still wanted you
almost as much as I do

Verse: How I Lost My Faith

I lost my faith
in the definite articles
that pointed to something
insatiable and obscure

I lost my faith
in black smoke
that ate my soul
like a cancer

I lost my faith
in increments
like the the slow steady drip
of a catheter

I lost my faith
in the naked corridors
of academia where no one
wished me happy birthday

I lost my faith
in foul musics
and minor keys
that locked me in silence

I lost my faith
in the complacent
who turned on me
and said 'you lied'

I lost my faith
in convenience
it was the path
of least resistance

I lost my faith
when I fell down a mountain
and no one heard
my feral cries

I lost my faith
when you took me
into your avalanche
and fed me love

Verse: Vinyl

Play them
those enormous
songs of lust

each gorgeous note
soars and falls
like wind-blown petals

and begs
to bare and lick
our rusted, easy skin

Verse: two brief items for March 19, 2010

I
the flesh
fails to grasp
the things we do

or the things
we do not say
it merely acquiesces

and only
invisible seams
leave room

for us
to breathe
to explore

II
This is
to assure you

that when jealous night
gave me over
in shackles to
the officious dawn
for further interrogation

I did not
tell them
anything about you
that would be treason

and, any way
they will find you
eventually

Verse: Challenges

The challenge
as always is
where to put joy
so you don't miss it

I'm inclined
to put it at the end
so that you
will approach it.

Verse: Scavenger

(NB: I may have used elements of this before, but m'lady left my scribble lying around, and I thought it could stand one more attempt, thus the title)

Night retrieves
the light of day
like a scavanger

leaving only
the new flesh
ready to be consumed

and we crawl
into love and
make a bed of it.

Verse: Vulnerable

What did you do
with your
elegant shadow?

you know
I never really
noticed mine

not until
I distanced myself
from it

you say
that I am
vulnerable now

but I think
it looks good
on you

Verse: Gone

I am not here
when you are gone

I go the way
that all things do

when no one
is looking

If anything
I am a heretic

I possess
no magics

if there
is any such thing

it's where
you don't look

that is
the revelation

not me
I'm not here

not unless
you are

Verse: Who?

Who would
not give their heart
to joy
when it approaches
asking nothing more
than to intrude?

Verse: Brevity

Of all
the words I know
it is the tiny ones
that have
the most appeal
and power

How else
to explain
my obsession
with you
with joy
with now

Verse: brief doodles

I

Just as
there is
no road
in the sky

There is
no road
to joy

you have
to navigate
it by yourself

II
Joy
is not so strict
that it will not
receive you
without an invitation

not so formal
it will not
embrace you
without knowing
your name

III
Why are
you waiting

for me
to tell you

that when
I dream

it is not cold
it is not raining

I am
only sleeping

close your eyes
and see for yourself

Verse: Preserves

This
is an old recipe
that has never
failed me

all you need
is a Mason jar

place it
in a window sill
with good light exposure

leave it
for a week
or more
until it is
overflowing
with fresh
tender sunlight

wipe off
the excess
seal it
and let stand
in a dark place
so it will cool
and ripen

serve it
with toast
pour it
on your cereal
or add it
to anything
you love.

Verse: Sleep

NB: I'm sorry I often come back to dreams. I really need some new material...)

Why did you
tell me
that dream

make me
its custodian
its companion

when you know
I wasn't
even awake

if I
could break
this spell

if you would only
open your eyes
I would tell you mine

listen
it goes
like this

Verse: Behind the Sun

awakened
in the early hours
before
the colors run

trying
to catch a glimpse
of the things
behind the sun

those secret
things that the night
does not
leave to chance

and the yawning
dreamers that
dreams discreetly
romance

Verse: Anniversary

(to m'lady. It's not our anniversary. Not yet. But soon.)

That night
in March

when you
asked who
are you

I held
a mirror
up to
the sky

and I
said this
is what
my soul
looks like

Verse: You are the Weight

You are
the weight
that I carry
with me
everywhere

and you
are the gravity
I embrace when
the world unwittingly
rejects me

Verse: Trifles

Let those
loose lipped heathens
rage for
grim mornings

my business
goes on
as usual

I wake only
when the topic
of conversation
is love

Verse: Approaching the Muse

I come to now
I come to you
as I always do

humble and hungry
and wondering
what will you feed me?

Verse: Supplication

While the world
crawls craven
above us

as it
is wont
to do

Tell me just
this one thing
how do I pray
for you

Verse: Listen

Poetry
is insecure

it needs me
to tell you

about the transience
of all things

but it is not in
my words

it lies
between them

it is those silences
that quicken my pulse

because they
are filled with possibility

Verse: Invitation

All is
in these arms

and asking you
to come inside

is not treason
or trickery

it is only
a surrender

Verse: Distraint

Tonight
I want to see
the ocean
from the inside

to change
the hue and cry
of my eyes

and the elusive
quilted contours
of my smile

to turn
to all that is
yours

assemble the
soft focus fragments
and decipher
the score

because
the rainbows
sleep closer
to your house

because the absolute
points at you
and says
Now!

Verse: Odd Joy

Odd joy
like a ball
bouncing round
my heart

all soft
and wiggly

it's bound to get loose
and infect you

if I
can't keep
my mouth shut

Verse: The Small Rebellion

We become night
whenever
we close our eyes

denying
the prying stars
our casual lullabies

Verse: The Reason

You know
I love you
and you
know why

it was you
who taught me
how to say
goodbye

Verse: Intruder

I would like
to tell you
something
about myself

but someone
is using
my voice
my words

and he begs
and he borrows
and he lies

Verse: Lunch

(NB: I think many of you will recognize the unintentional influence at play here...)

I just wanted
to say

that the salad
you made for me

today
was exquisite

and I savoured
every bite of it

that simple meal
now through

only served to feed
my hunger for you.

Verse: Praises

I give thanks
for inspiration

for clean white paper
thirsty for ink

and the pen
that suckles them

for pools of light that
collect in the living room

and the dust that
convenes in the bright corners

for memories that superimpose
themselves on memories

for winter's sudden birth
and summer's prolonged death

for the impermanence
of all things

for the uncertainty
that expreses itself in wonder

for the hush of
parked cars

for letters that
were never sent

for Coltrane, Redding
and Hendrix

for all that the night
can do without

for all that the morning
cannot forsake

for embraces
like sighs

for the silences
we choose not to fill

for the spaces
between us that we do

for not leaving anything out
for you.

Verse: Never

I would
no sooner
loose my hold
on you

than gravity
would loose
its hold
over me

Verse: Interrogation

It was not me
who broke
the night
with my persistent cries

it was you
who extracted
its confession
with your incandescent eyes

Verse: untitled

It was you
who proclaimed
yourself divine
just by turning
off the light

but what
could I have done
with these broken idols
under my feet

this is not
what I had imagined
this is not
my funeral

I am only here
to deliver
the eulogy

love is content
to sleep on this
for now

Verse: Untitled

What
do I mean?

I mean
all the things
you could be

I mean
your green eyed
lips in rouge hues

I mean
moon beams shivering
like your shy smiles

I mean
the wild oscilations of
your aura, naked and dancing

which is
to say
I mean you

Verse: This Poem is a House

This poem
is a house

and you
are welcome
to enter in

and linger
as long
as you like

it is not much
I know

but there are
dreams
to sleep on

enbraces
to clothe you

and there is
always music
to eat

Verse: Remnants

the shapes
we make
are moments
suspended in memory
suspended in moments

and when
they shatter
they wound
and scatter
like shrapnel

and we
gather them up
deciphering and
assembling them
in dreams

immobilized
the only soundtrack
is our breath

Verse: Please

Wake the dreams
if you must

disfigure those
who do not recognize
your beauty

make a gift
of silence

or give love
a new name

but do not
let me
go hungry

make me
an accomplice

if not
a souvenir

Verse: Associations

I start
with a word
spring

and you
see crocus
their hushed lips
wet with fresh dew

you smell
soft lilacs
in bloom
their scent
permeating the room

you hear
black-capped chickadees
start the day
calling out
for cheeseburgers

you taste
the sweet tickle of
wild strawberries
on your tongue

and all
because I said
spring

Verse: Magic

Patient
and vertical

watching as
some invisible hand

restores the colors
of the day one by one

on the other side
of my window

Verse: Warning

Beware
of careless writers
who want to make
a place of time
and put you in it

who never modify
a list of things
knowing you
will give them meaning

who disappear
when you leave
the room and
answer your question
with questions

who collect
beautiful objects
and adorn them
with borrowed
tired, ugly words

who put their
tortured songs
in your heart
and compel you
to carry that weight
and infect others

with their
allusions
and intimations
of insatiable desire.

Verse: Repetition

I know this
the luxury
of choosing my last words
is not a certainty

and that is why
I write about you
as often as I do

that is why
I say I love you
every moment I can
hourly, daily

it's just so
you know
it's so you have something
to feed your soul
when I go

A Trilogy of Verse for March 2, 2010

I
I borrowed
these words
when I could not
find my own

forgive me
I only wanted
something to say

some small respite
from silence

II
I am here
to find fire
to feed mine

I am here
to find words
to answer mine

I am here
to find love
to embrace mine

I am here
to find you
but you are not mine

III
morning approaches
my sleep is broken
how long
has spring
been seeded
in my heart

Verse: There is no you

(nb: I took the first line from a recent poem by @cr8tivecandy because I can't be trusted)

There is no you
and I am wanting

to interrogate
your absence
with a kiss

but I burn my tongue
on incantations

the bright serrated shadows
of your sleepless name

until my mouth
is an empty ocean

and this
is a song
of sand

Verse: Hide + Seek

plump clouds
clotted and creamed

not even five fingers of sun
could poke through

I thought
today could not be redeemed

until the wind whispered
I found you.