That Vivid, Bleeding Flower

jealousy explodes

the last two I expect to see together, but there

they stand
alone

together.


a
quick stab
to the
heart
draw
ing a
foun
tain
blo
od
d

r



i

p


s



questioning only fuels the fire

a cloud of poison saturates my pores,
leaks into my bloodstream, and the
pounding of my heart does nothing to slow the progress at all

the agony, so consuming, yet so redeeming
ecstacy

I double over in pain, developed in this delicious emotion that
drowns out all but itself and its desires
I cannot ignore the want, the need to hurt
revenge pleads a mournful cry

to obey and live
or submit to the blantant truth and perish?

Hope and Fall

In blind faith I held my heart out to you
Praying you would catch me before it was too late
But yet my heart succumbed to gravity
As empty air replaced where your hands were to wait

You looked away and what hope I had grasped
Shattered upon impact with the unyielding floor
My veins froze over as what wasn’t mine to lose
Walked away and left me alone with a closed door

A Surrendering

This heart is a sad and tattered thing.
It is easily deceived
By sly hope.
It doesn’t belong next to
Another’s soul, this heart
Is a destitute heart.
It mourns the absence of a steady pulse.
This heart has never been held,
Too quick a movement with shatter it.
It frays as time passes it by.
This heart is forsaken.
This heart is decaying.
I have known it to cry obsidian blood
And bleed limpid sorrow.

Relevancy of Love

Companionship is elusive.

Landmarks rush by in a blur.
Sitting shotgun, I observe aloofly.
Why get involved with something in which I play the fool?

A malnourished heart collapses like ash
where touch lingered seconds too short.

What is solitude? Is it a vacuum, void of pulsing hope?
Or the heavy presence of the knowledge
that all efforts at self-assimilation are futile?

I am shoved up against invisible yet expected walls.
Hope sputters bitterly in my heart and dies.
I guessed they were there, and I'm not surprised
to find them still standing. Still I inch stubbornly past pretenses,
until I am gently turned around and sent in the other direction.
Yet to find the one who pulls me closer.

No one thanks a Hero

God, not again.
Another venomous lie to feed my growing
Hatred of you.
Well, then who cares?
Hammer away at my innocence with
Your scathing tongue, spitting serrated
Promises at me through your teeth.
I’ll take the ugly blade you’ve forged
Out of this broken soul
And use it against its creator.
Your own rhythm, pounding in the background
Pulsing in my veins, never-ending
Reminder of your falsities gives me
Guts to part the walls of your heart.
No more words, no more breaths, no more lies.
Standing with a clenched jaw, this bloody edge in my fist
It’s easy to see how you wormed your way in.
Your high throne is burning
While you sit in denial of my rage.
How easy it is
To smile
And fool you.
You’re the ignorant one now.
Surely you know no human
Can forget that fast.
The beast builds up pressure, claws unsheathing
Spilling your blood to save that
Of the future afflicted.

No one thanks a hero.



No one saves a hero.

Reason to Smile

Can you find me a reason to smile?
I’m in deadly need of a lift.
I took a wrong turn somewhere
And now I’m wandering the darker alleys of my heart.
The sky darkens and I reach for you
But you’ve slipped away silently.
Did I trust you too much to stay
When I turned my back for a moment?
The sun is gone, dead like my hope
You told me not to believe in fairy tales.
I didn’t listen, thanks to stubborn ignorance
Now I live the other side of “ever after.”
My heart plummets, shatters on concrete
I can’t bear to glue it together anymore.
I walk on, leaving Humpty Dumpty to rot
Resolved never to tempt gravity again.
I round a corner, only to backtrack
As gentle clinking reaches my ears.
There stands a fallen knight
Sweeping the shards into his cupped hands.
Though the pierce his skin and draw blood
He retrieves every forlorn shard from the dirty street.
I hold my breath as he determinedly coaxes
My regenerating heart back to pulse.
He smiles softly as the first beats
Feebly strain against the gathering darkness.
The knight lifts his gaze
Knowing I wouldn’t wander far.

Sand-colored Waves

Waves beat the sand
The ocean doesn’t mean to
But it sweeps the beach away

She loses a bit of herself each time
Ocean breathes in and out
Each sigh a few grains taken

But it’s alright, she has plenty to spare
No matter how many times she is asked to give
She will, willingly.

My Tree

Some days, when the air is still
The shadows grow below my tree.
The sun maintains a heated glare
But shade is always waiting for me.

Other days, wind makes leaves whisper
And reach out, taunting dark skies.
The brooding horizons never fight back-
They’d see wily defiance if my tree had eyes.

Most days, I rest beneath a best friend
Closing my eyes, I can feel his heart sing
With every breath from the sun-heated soil,
And without a single word's ring.

O Cold Stone

O cold stone! Stand.
Disregard the hearts of men.
You must hold fast the acid lash
Of silky tongues post-sin.

Oh, cold stone. Get up.
Don't crumble where you lay.
Your marbled veins have frozen slain
In black and blue array.

But oh, poor stone ― You can.
I see your head held high and strong.
The weak protests of weary steps
Are conquered by dawn's song.

The Sun's Daydreams

Your fingers dapple across my stomach
The second hand ticks, pauses, turns away
Letting us curl up in the heat of the night
Two pairs of lips, one breath, the world eons away.

Man has yet to number the stars
Or touch the secret heart of the earth
How, then, could I hope to explain
The depth of my feelings, for all they're worth?

The moon slips behind silk screen clouds
After countless centuries, it knows when to leave alone
Young lovers as they seek the shadows
That neither chide them nor condone.

Evaporation

A moonless night, I dread the moment when
Those falling shadows perch upon my skin
And burrow deep, their sorrow to infect.
Soon Mare of Night, his gifts to recollect,
Shall sweep below and in his suit of hoar,
Attempt to drown me lost forevermore.
But there is one whose hand will alway stay
The edge of rotten lightlessness, the day
To overcome with cries of brightest heat.
The Moon invokes the Sun to rise complete,
And with a graceful bow he slips from stage.
But quick he finds her touch is not a cage,
Unlike dim stars of past she shall not snare—
You, Moon, flown high, no longer need beware!
As in their orbits wondrously they turn,
My lighted shadows, dying, twist and burn.

To Breathe

I never knew just what it meant
To open lips and, fading, breathe
Until my neck by your touch bent,
You fell and my breath stole from me.

And darkness I had never seen
Until that flow'ring Moon so clear
Left shadows for my tears to clean
And longing, lone, to draw you near.

Could I e'er say I needed more
A mirrored heart to share the sight
Than on that day, when none before,
The waking Sun sang forth true light?

And even as I wept for want,
Your gentle hand upon my wrist
Vowed to my heart that night shall daunt
Ne'ermore with every tear you kissed.

Déjà-Foulé

I have tread this road before.
I have followed the Sun on its dying path
As it falls to the clutches of Night.
It makes all the difference in the world,
To be dragged by the wrist
Or led by the hand.
My feet, they stumble remembering
The sharp rocks that bit and bled
With every step, in the impatient stead
Of that dark-hooded panther.
Toes touch only gentle grass now,
Slick with a premature dew
Left by a cloud’s crying kiss.
The Moon lifts his head,
Shadows, who once on that nightmare crooned and mocked,
Sink to ripples around our feet.
Hesitant footfalls you understand.
Yet in my tremors you see courage.
Though I walk timidly beside you,
I don’t shy away as you gently lead me down.
Your pull is an offering and I know
If I chose to turn back you would break your hold.
But nothing lies behind me, save loneliness and time.
Thoughts burn with frightened, choked memories
I wish would change,
I think could change,
I trust will change –
I trust in you.
Here, once a briar-patch, soon a moonlit nest.
I tighten my hand in yours,
And you turn to lead the way.

A Waking Dream

I never knew how warm a bed could be.
True, sheets and blankets soft, but can they breathe?
Until the night when next to me you lay
My restless dreams prevailed to great dismay.
And suddenly, as soon as you drew near
The world allowed itself to disappear.
A slow internal clock, the only sound.
Between our twinèd fingers we were bound.
Never thought I to be so not alone.
My love, I beg you all my faults condone
For what I lack by sight I show in heart.
Love, but a dream which heaven high impart
Among the living —
Our souls for giving.

When Clutching Much, Possessing Naught
(A short, original Fable)