Verse: We were lovers

we were lovers
before we knew
the consequences

we were lovers
before negotiating
trust

we were lovers
in past and
present tenses

we were lovers
in both deep breaths
and in thrusts

we were lovers
before the evening
had awakened

we were lovers
in a room
with too much light

we were lovers
when all others
were forsaken

we were lovers
before we said
goodnight

we were lovers
when we laid there
dreaming

we were lovers
when all passion
had been tamed

we were lovers
reaching at
some unknown meaning

we were lovers
when the morning
finally came.

Verse: Seizure

(This was inspired by the experiences of @miracles4ring14, but also based on something I have been witness to.)

breath
holds breath
captive

seizures
hold sway
with faraway stares

time
has no motion
in those moments

and no sound
or explanation
at all

it's just
something
that happens

instead
we wait
with bated breath

for you
to breathe again
before we attempt to.

Verse: I go with the world

I go
where the world goes

into the impossible
blue hours

of waking life
holding its heavenly hem

sometimes I'm tiptoeing
across fevered rooftops

before the day
knows I'm there

sometimes I find myself
confronted by December's blank stare

sometimes I go with
wind and whim

and find myself barefoot
on slender strands of sand

or stretched out
on the lawns of dawn

and when I go back inside
I leave it all

as I found it
wide and wild

and wondering
where you are.

Verse: Careful

it was you
who pulled back
winter's thick duvet

and introduced me
to spring
still slumbering

you took me outside
and set me in the soil
to take root

in the now
the everyday
and then your memories

and when you saw
a face appear
the harvest began

now
when I sing
to the sky

or talk to the rain
I am more delicate
than before

you never know
who might be listening

Verse: Firsts

What follows began with a request yesterday from talented poet, @aiden_howarth.

He contacted me for words to use in a poem he was working on and is soon to unveil.

Me, being a rather playful cat, sent him, in turn, a snippet of verse I was going to work on today. I won't put it here. It'd ruin the magic.

So, Aiden, as is his wont, took my fragment and the result was this poem:

The clouds will never remember, the mountains upon which they met
a universe to choose from but the world they did forget
as nightfall takes this vision of which beauty hast been viewed
I'll allways keep with me, the moment i met you...

Cool isn't it? Though Aiden said I should do as I wish with it, I left it alone. You don't tamper with someone's artistic vision. Not when it is so perfect in and of itself, right? And thus, my first collaborative poem. Done.

I then had a choice. Do I just post that? Do I stay with the fragment? Or do I take the fragment I had and do something with it? I chose door #3. And this is what I came up with, inspired by what he did with my fragment. Is for m'lady. She knows why.

The clouds
do not remember when
they first encountered
the mountains

the wind
does not recall
the first time it ran barefoot
through fallow fields

the moon
has no recollection
of first seeing its pale reflection
in the ocean

nor do the trees
ever talk about
the first time
they tasted summer rain

but I
remember well
the first time
I saw you

that day
the world
became flesh.

Verse: Gifts

First it was
your fingerprints

I wore them
everywhere

they made
quite an impression

and when
the rain claimed them

you gave me
an embrace

I wore it like
a coat

until it became
threadbare

and when
the wind claimed that

you gave me
a kiss

the hard consonant
of the word pierced my lips

soon soothed by
a soft hiss

it melted
like ice

so you gave me
another

when snow
sought to claim it

you gave me a home
where there is no weather

do you know that
I have not seen winter

since I first laid eyes
on you?

Verse: Cereal

(For @crumbsey. Sorry it was so long in coming...)

There was HR Pufnstuf
and Lidsville

where everybody
had a hat for a head

there was the Banana Splits
George of the Jungle

and the Jackson 5
wanted me back

for years I thought
they were just a cartoon

every week
was like Christmas

I could hardly
sleep at all

waiting for
Saturday morning

jumping up and down
on the couch

wrestling with my brother
during the commercials

but never during
Bugs Bunny

that hour
was sacrosanct

I was not
a Disney kid

except for
the Jungle Book

I collected all
the little plastic figurines

yellow Baloo and
blue King Louie

their arms hooked
like the barrel of monkeys

from Nabisco
part of a good breakfast

sitting there
at my little table

in the dining room
in my pajamas and robe

with a slime-green box
of Apple Jacks

drinking the last
drops of warm milk

from my Woody Woodpecker
hollow log cereal bowl

listening to Freda Payne
singing love me like you tried before

Ooh Child
and the Stylistics

(Russell, I swore
you were a lady)

and mom
humming along in the kitchen

I'm never far
from such memories

they nourish me
even now.

Verse: Inspiration

once, it was
a branch, extending
its hand in a truce
after a long winter

or that Saturday on Dublin
confronted by the broad strokes
and pixelated charm of
a chalk sun welcoming spring

and not forgetting
that afternoon watching the cat
floating on his back
in a puddle of sunlight

hours in the making
or as brief as a sigh
wild and unrehearsed
or measured and calm as a nurse

you never know
when it will come
how long it will last
or what shape it will take

how amazing
it is though
when thought becomes expression
when silence becomes something sound.

Verse: Kuwumáras

I wrote
your name in
an awkward pause

I made
a black wing bird
an envoy

to bring
you mine
which I gave up

I turned passion
into a science
so I could dissect it

and I took
the parts that didn't fit
and made a collage

and I only
revealed it
to strangers

just because
I wanted
an impartial opinion

I learned
to say love
in Algonquin

and in Arabic
just in case
anyone questioned me

and then
I took everything
out of this that I could

everything that could
be construed
as a cliche

everything
you'd recognize
as yours

only then
did I determine
it was safe

for me
to go ahead
and put you in

and if this
feels familiar
somehow

it's different
but only because
it's you.

Verse: Three for April 21, 2010

I: L'Age D'Or

Where does it begin
this infatuation
with then

all the was
and once
and previously

rendered in
black, white, stone
and sepia tones

you miss
the indescribable
wow of now

the untold and
as yet unfulfilled promise
of possibility

II: Scorpion

I wait
for dark

to gaze
upon your flesh

and in
a series

of sneak attacks
I sting

and when
I am through

with you
I return

to my true love
once more

the dark and sweet
embrace of solitude

III: Invitation

Join you
and your revolution?

when you have paraffin
and clean sheets

elegant earrings
and articulate hands

secret scents
and songs

and all I have
are words

Verse: Struggles

This is
the year
without strings

I have no sway
over these seasons
I cannot pull them together

all the colors
I choose are difficult
to relay

the days
all have smooth edges
and dark corners

and despite
all my coaxing
the night won't come on

each sweep of
my hand cleans
with fallen joy

aimless and empty
I wish you would meet me
with mayhem and tension

I know
I surrender
all too easy

but the ember
of your name
is ever on my lips

Verse: Seeds

(This was an attempt to approach spring without the typical spring imagery)

This year, I
will seed the earth
with desire

six inches
deep into
the waking soil

tend it until
it come up
through the cracks

and when
the harvest comes
I will feed everyone

Verse: Appointment

you only call me
on dark mornings

when the schoolyard
is as riotous as a prison

and the stillness of your room
tastes like mold

Verse: Morning

Tremulous
and fleeing
the enervating
lingering breath
of winter

and the crude
crush of catcalls
and wolf whistles
from the rush hour
traffic

morning finds
its way in
to our bedroom
without asking or
waiting for a welcome

clinging to the walls
and then flitting about
like a housefly
leaving a watery film
around the room

I raise a numb hand
to swat at it
but the drone
in my ear drags me
from sweet lethargy

and finding myself
on my feet, I think
morning, how like
a fall from grace
you are

Verse: Approximation

This will be
a contemplation
unaccompanied
in blue

a hymnal
or a collage
at work
if you will

rendered in words
that are certain
and shadows
cool and gone

with an atmosphere
of greeting
and tender moments
in between

before
the reveal
and the revival
of you

but not here
love, not yet
that will come later
when I know you by heart.

Verse: Song for m'lady

the sidewalk
comes creeping
up slowly
behind you
to see where
you are going

the wind
holds its breath
reaching out
to tousle
your long hair

the sun
pokes through
the clouds
just for one
brief glimpse
of your smile

the crows
all cluck
and strut
like they want
to catch your eye

and I watch
you disappear into
the world outside
as the colour
of a remark you made
still tingles
in my ears.

Verse: The Serpent Repents

(inspired by @joswartz)

The serpent repents
but never relents
intent as he is
on snatching your kiss
he comes slithering in
reeking of sin
determined to ease
you out of your eden
wrapping himself around you
like a tourniquet to
apply some pressure
and when he is through
he licks your blood
from his teeth
and the serpent retreats
yet he never departs
for he knows
his venom
has entered your heart

Verse: You become you

(with thanks to @DearRedhead, who told me to write a poem with the word abreast in it...)

you
become you
when your eyes
open after
lidded hours
sparkling
like dew

you
become you
in the shower
washing away
the dust
of dead dreams

you
become you
before you go
as you
figure out
what to wear

you
become you
as you fill in
the tiny treasons
of timelines
etched
upon your face

you
become you
when you
are not here
in sterile offices
where no sun
shines through

you
become you
in a thousand
small increments
I cannot
keep abreast of

and you
become you
without me

Verse: Lost

Whatever
it was
the river
was trying to say
that day

was drowned
out by you
tap dancing
naked
as a snake

on its restless
diamond crest
playing hide
and seek
with the sun

Verse: Ellis

(Though this was inspired by the music of Don Ellis, it might not have happened without a conversation about him with @mergyeugnau, who encouraged me to be smitten with him)

It comes rolling in
the hot music
perfect, percolating
settling in the hips

bump it up
get it up
until it's rippling
towering sounds

until the bottom
falls out
too fierce
to follow

and I will
walk barefoot
upon the blue notes
singing

music
like the moon
should only
be savored
when it's ripe.

Verse: m'lady

As some
unseen hand
collected up
corpse dreams
in the early morning
hours

it occured to me
to reach in
to the basket
of hours
by the bed
and retrieve this
for you

I know
I won't get it right
I make your eyes
too green
your lips
too full
and your hair
electric amber
whatever that means

so let me
instead
tell the story
once more

the snowy morning
when I thought
you wouldn't be there

breakfast
then the weekend market
when you bought
the morning glory seeds

the cold windy walk
to Morris for a magazine
and then the kiss
spontaneous and sweet

I know
it's a bit pat
but I don't think
there's anything
I missed
besides
you have to leave something
to the imagination

something
for unseen hands
to take away.

Verse: Halifax

(midwifed by @krissynyy and @aiden_howarth)

Huddled together
in the thick, damp fog
like kids
under a beach towel
trying to keep warm

beige, brick
and elegant
aisles of
Victorian facades
in a misty, grey town
tailor made
for film noir

they seem disdainful
of the elipitcal
language of automobiles
their bebop bleats
and coughing
cadences

not to mention
the endless parade
of pedestrians
the sweet sway
of young ladies
pouring out from
the pubs

they have fixed
their unblinking eyes
on me
standing at Duke
and Barrington
with a camera
in a phone
in my hand

startled at
the novelty
of technology
or the attention
those cool blue eyes
soften for a moment
as if to say
be kind
be sure to get
our good side.

Verse: Friday, April 9, 3:13 p.m.

The night
is heavy
in here

and yet
it is
not even
4:00 p.m.

it seems
as it
often does
to overstep
its boundaries

and I
tongue tied
and disengaged
am given
to wondering

do I
launch myself
head first
into a
liar's world

or do
I maintain
the perfect
solemn silence
of an
unexpressed wish

all this
to say
that when
you are
not here
I am
a timekeeper
a ghostwriter

Two verse for April 8, 2010

I
I am in love
with all the things
I think you are
when you are not here
to remind me of
all the things
I am

II
Your kiss
is not so naked
as to expose
the flame
within your mouth
encircling mine
extracting my breath
and pressing down
on me until
my lips crack
like ice settling
on a winter's night
a prelude
to the next event
when your eyes
fix mine with
the unrelenting
glow of sunset

Verse: Obsession

I know
there are
those who are
unrequited
yet persist

those who
did not have
the good fortune
to be chosen as
your detainees

those who
undeterred
did discard
their names
at the mere
mention of yours

those who
spoke only
in your silences
and lived
only in
your presence

those who
beguiled themselves
with sad superlatives
and supplications
naked and sleeping
in your waking dreams

those who
remain fixed
even when
presented with
alternatives
the easy acquisitions
and pastimes

those who
would not abandon
their pursuit
of you
any more
than I would

and I
will not be
denied.

Verse: Croci Sonnet

For @SelenaGovier, who told me not only to keep writing poems, but to do a sonnet. I hope I did this right. I don't need to know if I didn't...

I see the croci raise their pastel heads
Reaching out to embrace the morning sun
How early to be stirred from their soft beds
When spring itself has only just begun
They spread their lips to drink in the cool air
Swaying in time with the inclement wind
Who notices their dance so sweet and fair
And does not smile can only be thick-skinned
Even more than lilac and its bold scent
More, too, than a vast field of verdant green
Croci hold the promise and the portent
That summer’s face will once again be seen
How strange to experience such delight
Inspired by such a familiar sight

Verse: Nested

naked
and warm

it is in
the moment

when your eyes
meet mine

that I
am born

and your
wordless breath

wills my heart
to beat

it nourishes
my soul

Verse: endings

as you
leave

which is
to say

as you
leave me

I will keep
you close

memories
are good enough

the when and
where we were

even if
missing some detail

and I will
promise this

I will let
them see you

but they will not
see your soul

your secret
is safe with me

Verse: Kisses

Now congregated
on my lips

like crows
upon electrical wires

but anxious and
inarticulate

they wait only
for you

to take them
and give me yours

Verse: Perdition

Is there
nowhere
I don't fall
and often

if I fall
into countless
agonies untold
is that felicitous

if your arms
deny me
where am I
to land

whose kiss
will reveal
my true nature
if not yours?

Verse: -30-

When I started
I wanted to be
a mountain

and as
I learned
to crawl

among the
craven crowds
that denied me

I wanted
desperately
to be vengeance

when I was
confronted
by loss

I resolved
to be
a requiem

and when
injury set
upon me

I wanted
to be
a healer

many things
have I been
and will be

but in
the end
I would most like

to be the kiss
that parts
your lips

and dies
in a ceremony
of sighs