Verse: Paolo's Song

(for my v-bro, @twiteryeanot, who likes birds, bees, flowers, trees... two out of four isn't bad)

do those bees
ever rest

always hunting,
gathering

running here
and there

the constant drone
reminds me

of lorries
congested on the M8

you'd think they'd know
it's a holiday

let it be
resolved

the only bustle
should be

soft green waves
of meadow grass

tickling stately elms
and oaks

until their
cozy canopies

of leaves
begin to tremble

and stroke the infinite
arms of the sky

bare but for
the occasional cloud

the only punctuation
necessary

for such
a perfect day

Verse: Kites

(thanks to @lagonk for the tweet that I stole from him...)

something about
the colour of the wind

when it is
out of breath

or the scent
of the living sky

nestled on
the river bank

compels me to tether
myself to you

and close my eyes
for a while

maybe later
when we are awake

and untangled
we could try

to touch our reflections
in the water

as they
go drifting by

Verse: this is my love

this is
my love

it is
in chaos

and in
pragmatic silence

in life
being love

and my
open mouth

it is
here now

in air
and light

in distances
and increments

shadows and
warm whispers

it is
not enough

and yet
too much

for me
to express

and i
wait only

for you
to take

this longing
from me

I cannot
bear it

any more.

Verse: Lynn's poem

(today is @Lynn_H_I's birthday. On Wednesday, she asked me to write a poem for today about 'both the beauty and fear of increasing age.' This is the result. Happy Birthday, Lynn. I hope this is okay.)

i
every day
i'm born

delivered from dreams
of everything and nothing
to the light

and the struggle
to make sense
of my surroundings

as i stumble
to the mirror
to find my face

to remember
who i am
now

i'm always afraid
i won't recognize me
but there i am

and everything
is a little bit grayer
a little bit softer

gravity
pinches my cheeks
tugs on my skin

like a child
clutches her mother's hand
in the market

it won't let go
and i think
when did I get so old?

how is it
always different
and yet the same

be my mirror now
tell me what you see
and be kind

if you can't
be honest

ii
i have this theory
that we are like grapes

smooth youth
that ripen
in the sun

until we sag
and shrivel

are we not
just as sweet
as before

if not
more so

all that life
so acutely concentrated

and longing
for one glance
your lips

iii

how many times
have i imagined
us years from now

watching TV
without a word
you, me

each of us glancing
occasionally at the other
just as we do now

just for one smile
just to see if we're
still there

it seems so modest
so mundane
and yet necessary

i cannot
imagine the future
without you

iv
enough
let us go
let us dine
drink or dance

before darkness
and its million
silver minions
find us

let us love
a while yet
before our bodies
break

let us
go on this way
forever, now
as long as we can

we could
even write
our own endings
in the meantime

they will be
suspenseful
tender and
sometimes sublime

but
most important of all
they will be
our own

Verse: come into this verse

come into
this verse
and be born

and everything
before this moment
will become irrelevant

what happens next
is yet to be written
and all up to you

you can
raise your voice
with fists

you can
discard your name
and travel

or you can sit
and wait
for winter

to chain you
to its bed.

Verse: what your soul looks like

this is something
i have given
much thought to
over the years

and i have
narrowed it down
to the following
candidates

which in my opinion
best describe
what i imagine
your soul looks like

it is either
the first snow of winter
before it is
blemished by automobiles

or that moment
when the light
restores all the colors
of the day

there may be others
but even so
it is hard for me
to choose just one

even so
you know
i am prone
to exaggeration.

Verse: stalemate

the silence slowly
filled everything

the sink
and the wine glasses

our eyes
and our lungs

and we did not
make a sound in protest

we sat very still
for hours

each waiting for
the other

to make
the first move.

Verse: prayer

i live
with you
far from
the sky

gathering days
just as
they ripen
on vines

and making
the bed
every morning
after breakfast

washing floors
the dishes
keeping chaos
at bay

this is
just reportage
no colour
no context

there are
some things
i cannot
say here

the other
life that
we live
is unknown

not even
to poetry
to sky
to anyone

oh please
let us
go on
this way

naked, warm
and alive

Verse: hymn for her

if you
can be anywhere

be in
the morning

to illuminate
this small haven

and that
will be enough

i'll find you
in the foreground

i'll embrace
your bright notions

slumber in
your silences

and kiss
the moments you consecrate

and it
will happen gradually

often when
you aren't looking

Verse: by request

oh to begin
old and then

be cooled
note by note

with music
with quiet earth

night magics
and desire

I want
danger and depth

hot strokes
and naked whispers

i want everything
in an instant

then i want nothing
at least no transgressions

or falsehoods
just your eyes

to illuminate mine
because my heart

is a desert
until you smile