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.