Saturday, November 27, 2010

Poem: kiss

there
is nothing
i can say
that cannot
be more acutely
or intimately expressed
than in the confines
of one swift
and unexpected
kiss.

Poem from Friday, November 26 (Tumblr)

(For @neviegirl83...)

every victory
is a day
i can tell you
something new
each one
is rare
in its way
and hard won
because things
have a tendency
to fall away
from us
or they
are taken
away
against our will
you can
take me down
to bone
but i am here
it is
a loss
and yet
i am rebuilding
the scaffolding
is being taken
away
piece by piece
and i
will emerge
anew
soon
those eyes
that fix me
and say
where did you go
mine reply
i am here
as ever
and still
it is where
i am going
that matters
now
and i
will see you
when I
get there.

Poem from Thursday, November 25 (tumblr - a thanksgiving prayer)

come we
into this space
as open as
it discovers us
new and renewing
our hearts
which find
a solace
in the hopes
we offer
and the thanks
we give
for whatever
is for us
to share

Poem from Wednesday, November 24 (tumblr)

this?
is not music
it is bare bones
it is words
chasing words
chasing you
along sidewalks
chain links
and other remains
ever loud
and solicitous of
the ghosts within
the moment
that you reveal
your summer smile
and nothing more
but when
you look away
it is autumn
again
and i long for sinners
and saints
to tell you only
that i am here.

Poem from Tuesday, November 23 (tumblr)

those are dangerous days
that demand of us
a duet or two
in the tintinnabulation
the concatenation
of notes that ensue
we find
our voices
anew
and i find
the morning
in you

Poem from Monday, November 22 (tumblr)

when i began this
i did not know
what i wanted
to tell you
i only knew
one thing
that when you
begin this
i will be done
and gone
lost somewhere
far away
in thought.

Poem from Sunday, November 21 (tumblr)

do not put
your heart
in here
in this
small space
i left
for you
for it will
become entangled
in the unnamed things
that keep me
up at night
in clocks
in wings
and many
intangible things
like love
and memories
that do not
know you
do not
put your heart
in here
it will be
debased
by association
constrained
by description
disgraced
by association
with a yearning
that cares not
who you are
but only that
you are
open
to listen
do not
put your heart
in here
because i
did not
put mine there
put it here
because this
is over.

Poem from Saturday, November 20 (tumblr)

waiting
at the bus stop
the snowflakes
come
like birds
one by one
they gather
in your hair
which seems
more red
today
than ever
under my umbrella
i reach
to brush away
your little passengers
only to pause
as the ghosts within
those crystals
cry.

Poem from Friday, November 19 (Tumblr)

you remain ever
new and unfolding
mysteries before
my eyes and daily
i discover you
more dear than dear
or those gone before
the one you are
here in moments
like this but not
this and more again
remembering all that
i hoped you would be
startles me only
because you are more
and more and never
less than a phenomenon
or the constant revelation
there, in your kiss
where you and i
meet once more
with a thousand warm hellos
each a little prayer
preying on love

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Poem: Untitled verse for @beingtheo

the day lathered up

like dishpan hands

and the clouds

bump along

like a do do wah

or careless doodles

little salt shakers

just spillin snow

on unkempt neon

dreamin every instant

of the unruly night

but no never mind

they just bump along

with a fa la la

falling in line

like spectators

speculatin

what comes next

but that’s

the trap

they get plump

and ponderous

when they should

move quick

like a hey you

or a shoop shoop

instead they

like to linger

but will not

approach or answer

if you say

come in

or try to

dry their eyes

with no birds

to carry them home

they just bump along

they just saunter by

Wednesday's poem

my body is
a troubled cage
there are
no locks
and everywhere
i go
i am imprisoned
leaving clues
for you
to find
and thus
find me
even if
you cannot
rescue me
your cage
is a solace
of sorts
at night
when our eyes
dim and
our guards
are down.

Tuesday's Poem:Down to Stars

For @down_to_stars

down to stars
and still
we ask for more
the world
cannot contain
us
moving out
and often
trailing off
like the weather
until we are eager
hungry thieves
cautiously approaching
each other
sick with want
and other desires
nervously extending
our lips
to feed
our torments
to themselves.

Monday's Poem

when i made
my home
in november
i took down
the rusty banners
from the trees
and laid them
on the ground
and slept there
for a century
while my dreams
were filled in
with kisses
as soft
and wet
as snow

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Poem: No passenger

the days
dream us
too soft
i fear
i like
when time
is new
rolling in
your hands
the way
a ball
will do
but with
no past
this moment
gives birth
to one
and another
and we
move forward
only because
there is
no return
only because
we love
no other
tell me
once more
there is
no end
to this
or please
tell me
this is
the beginning
it always
feels new
with you
and i
know that
i want
no other
passenger.

Verse: Saturday's poem, copied over from Tumblr.

there is
no one in here
now
i did not
designate anyone
as a prisoner
every one
is free
to come
and go
as they please
but i
stand outside
your circles
and i say
nothing
as you
walk away

Verse: Friday's poem, brought over here from Tumblr

tonight
the lights
did not notice us
approach them
as we traveled
across the harbor
we were only
temporary pilgrims
with nothing
to offer them
beyond a glance
a smile
we were gone
in the span
of a kiss
but they
looked on
into the night
searching
for stars
to call
their own…

Thursday's Verse: Originally posted on Tumblr

i am not a silence
or something sharp
penetrating the air
like the scent
of memories
i am a coroner
exploring the death
of a moment
before it has
even passed
and i am telling you
it was as bittersweet
before you
as it is sure to be
untenable without

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Verse: for Miracles4Ring14

what will
you do
with your joy?

will you
send it
outside

with your dogs
echoing through
the canyons at night

will you
swallow it
in that moment

when there
is no breath
at all

will you
leave it
hidden

for others
to discover
by chance

will you
give it
away

to anyone
in grief
instead

will you
invest it
in hope

of one
small impossible
miracle

will you
let it stay up
all night

listening to
the moon tell tales
of imminent winter

what will
you do
with this

your inexhaustible
indomitable
elusive joy

that is
your life
your light

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Verse: Please do not go

please

do not go

gradually

the way that

winter

tends to recede

please

do not go

and leave

this world

without you

please

do not go

with only

the rain

in your wake

please

do not go

in the middle

of a sentence

or when

you have nothing

left to say

it is better

to have

your silence

than to be

without

Please

do not go

with kisses

as yet

unknown

or anything

that your hands

have not touched

please

do not go

so sudden

that there is

no room

for return

or goodbye

please

do not go

until

i am gone.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Verse: greetings

you
who called me
by my name

who did not
once think
to afford me

the sweet
discretion
of anonymity

i ask only
that you
tell me this

is there
nothing
i can do

to forget
that which
i was

now that
you know who
i am

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Verse: Maps

perhaps you are
in your own way
eternal
but not me
you can see
the cracks
these tyrannical little scars
that overwhelm me
as they spread out
unevenly
in search
of each other’s
tender embrace
each crease
a path
forming a map of
my life
where my nervous fingers
my tense toes
are borders
i never venture
beyond
even as
the edges fray
and more lines
form
look at my palm
this is where
i was born
and there
is where my travels
end
and the in between
borders on you
whether you are
eternal or not
i know
no other way
to go
nor where
i will be
i only have
my map
and it
is incomplete

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Verse: I am telling your story

i am telling
your story
without rain
without a hint
of summer
or any mention
of your name
i am telling
your story
reluctantly
but only
because
i don’t want
to leave you
vulnerable
to those who
would make
assumptions
about you
because
they don’t know
i am telling
your story
and starting
with the crush
of leaves
carpeting sidewalks
because
it is as good
as any place
to begin
i will
fill more details in
and presently
but if you
sense a hestiancy
it’s only because
i was
i am telling
your story
from the inside
one table
in the corner
where i saw you
waiting
for me
with a smile
of familiarity
how long
had it been
years dominoed
in the memory
and we
built new paths
much like
the brain does
after a stroke
but not a healing
something else
i am telling
your story
and i bring
in the snow
and Valentine’s
and one chocolate heart
i could not unwrap
because
your heart
was not mine
not yet
that day
was so cold
i looked
into the deep blue
curlicues unfurling
on your shirt
and froze
i am telling
your story
with uncertainty
only gradually
giving way
to what
we knew
but would not say
for fear
it would not
be reciprocated
i am telling
your story
and this is
where i put in
the confession
the long walk
the brush of hands
that kiss
when the sun
emerged
like a blessing
but more like
the sun
i am telling
your story
often
i know
and adding
little details
about your eyes
the way
you bend your leg
when you make
breakfast
how your hair
rests softly
on your shoulders
and tumbles when
you turn to look
at me
and that smile
that restores
mine
i am telling
your story
because
i know no other
that fascinates me
quite like yours
and yet
when i
am telling
your story
somehow
it becomes mine
forgive me
one day
i will get
this right.

Friday's Poem from Tumblr

the world
does not need
any thing
i have
to offer
the wind
absconds
with my words
the sea
distorts
my reflection
the sky
is an anvil
i break
my fists
upon
and one day
the warm wet lips
of the earth
will swallow
whatever remains
of me
just as eagerly
as i
eat a peach
in august
forgetting i was
ever here
so if
you approach me
do not offer
your name
or ask mine
and we
will never
be burdened
by each other’s
identity
that is
a lot to ask
of anyone
as fleeting
as a dream
as we
instead
i will look
for you
when i
close my eyes.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Verse: Tuesday's poem, today!

(again, tossed onto Tumblr...)

these myths
that portray us
do not tell
the whole story
nor do
the shadows
that mimic
our every move
but if i dream you
or dream of you
it is our story
your heart
that i attend to
and the morning
that i sing
the end of this world
is the day
i wake
without you.

Verse: Wednesday's poem today

(this was written for @onegirlrambles. I posted it on Tumblr, where I seem to be putting these first. And then I get lazy & forget to move them here. I tried to keep to three syllables for each line. I failed...)

those red leaves
ripe with flame
bow their heads
when it rains
as they cool
the waning day
breathes a sigh
and falls away

Monday, November 1, 2010

Verse: your want is whatever

your want is whatever

i am meant to be

whether you know

what you want

of me

or not

i want only

for you to know

you are ever becoming

what i love

even without knowing

what i love

which changes

as you change me

everyday and

unwittingly

your love

becomes me