O that my heart would e’er be weighed

In deficit would it be found

And as the passing of the day

My fragile mind would thought abound

O that I could control the sun

And turn the spinning world around

I wish to start where I’d begun

Your heart and mine would e’er entwine

And with a chord of love resound

The Flood

It rained for days, until we begged,
The sky to bring us back the sun,

And though we dared not think of how,
The river overcame us once,

Each person there- in silent prayer,
Vowed not to ever sin again.

But every night the water rose,
Until the bank became the bed,

Across the farmers land it crept,
In silence-swept away the shed,

And as we dreamt- the water poured,
Beneath the door to come within.

A few awoke- but those who slept,
Were drowned and never seen again.

Everything Fades

All I have is made of marble,

Long ago turned into sand,

Do you still know where to find me?

Do you still know who I am?

Here I’ve hidden under willow,

Stone and moss and maple leaf,

I rest within an earthen hollow,

Though I’d not have chosen sleep,

Far beyond the scope of measure,

Every day becomes the same,

Just as I- your lot will hold you,

All that’s left- a strangers name.

Choas in collection.

Here- upon the cusp of knowing,
All surety feels as vague as the ascending mist,

Here- I am woken and startled,
As by a call to prayer ringing out to greet the day,

In tongues unfamiliar to us,
They cry out- alone- and somehow we understand,

Here- upon the surface of the earth,
We reside on the edge where collective desires gather,

Here- where the need to be is clouded,
By the fear of not being, He will hold fast and sure.

The Book

I still recall those late evenings alone-
bathed in the dim light of an old lamp,
in silence except for the occasional passing car
I'd lay on the bed with a book... the book.
"I don't want to give you back"
I'd think, feeling an emptiness at the very idea.
The touch of it's yellowed pages to my fingertips...
the light, erotic scent of perfume that lingered between them-
peaches and creme... it overwhelmed my senses
and it dances in my mind to this very day.
"I know you- and I understand you"
but you were no longer here... I wanted to be the same...
or at least to be known by you.

All I Have

My abdicated innocence,
I give to thee my heart and mind,
Albeit marred- impermanent,
It’s all I have for to bestow,
Will you take this gift of mine?
If you will- please tell me so,
Or if you choose to be unkind,
Then I would rather die alone.

The Re-emergence

A seed lay dormant ‘neath the ground
In soil neither kept nor tilled,
A summer past the only sound
The windswept dust upon the field,
She couldn’t dream of life kept hiding
Under fallen leaf and snow,
Surly nothing here residing
Could survive the bitter cold,
Hope had faded by the hour
Thought had turned to other things,
Behold! A single sprouting flower
Resurrected by the Spring.

Leaving, Not Lost

Give them all a flower
To place upon her grave,
Laying there before them-
A silent, sleeping face,
Eyes closed, she cannot see it-
Not ever, never more!
For minutes past the hour-
Thought stolen by the Lord,
Are never put to using-
But always thought a waste,
So down she's lowered, slowly-
As silent as a tear,
Her pain is covered over
In her final resting place.

Beautiful Places

There are still beautiful, untouched places in this world-
and some of them are inside of you.

Doubt

To dance upon the edge of doubt,
Must I fall within and melt
To understand just what it was
My badly broken heart had felt?

Start Again

I wept ‘til tears gave way to prayer,
My life- lay bare- and like a husk,
The darkness shed- t'was torn away,
A kernel fell at break of day,
The imperfection- rot or rust,
Became the life-breath to the dust,
The seed then grew- to start anew,
A life un-swayed- with deeper root,
Where tears- like rain- would keep it clean,
No violent sway- unsteady lean,
Would deviate it from the truth,
And it- content- would there remain.

The Viking Raid

The heavy weight of ruin
Draws their eyes still further down,
Upon a hill the bodies lay
On desecrated ground,
And in the distance- Viking calls
As boats sail from the bay,
Plumes of smoke from burning homes
Becloud the dawning day,
Possessions lost- each thing they'd owned
Was taken in the night ,
A woman’s crying fills the air
At early morning light.

Lonely, Still

An opaque veil lay o’er eyes
As dark as moonless night,
A misty shroud upon the brow
To bend and blur the light,
A tangled web of curly lock
Upon skin- fair and white
Within- a thought as lonely, still
As ‘tween what’s wrong and right.

Sever Together Pt.1

In peaceful repose
Of coming to blows,
They lay on the hill
Where nobody knows,
Some sort of surmise
With tears in their eyes,
Would stitch all the hurt
And bandage the lies,
He wasn’t as strong
As thought all along,
Though he held his ground
To right what was wrong,
Some woeful mistake
His gift was to take,
A sorry goodbye
And watch her heart break.

Sever Together Pt.2

In a “fond but distant memory”
Her hand was held in mine,
Two start in solidarity
But gradually decline,
Each bone was broken- one by one
Each piece- more cruel than kind,
Would fall where steps of ours were laid
“In syncopated time”.

The Woman by the River

"Do you hear them wailing, sister?
They are captive to a spell!
'Tis the woman by the river,
Yonder golden fields of rye,
Do you think the town will miss her-
If we speed her trip to Hell?
Fairest woman by the river-
Ravens hair and hazel eye!
Does she hate the baker's daughter?
Can she hear the people cry?
Let her fall in darkest waters,
Next to golden fields of rye,
Lest another person totter,
she will be the next to die!"

Immolate

In a dream- I see her dance,
Though motion blurs the vision,
A simple room- no door and key-
To open from within,
Quietly I sit and stare,
I cannot help but wanting,
Linen white residing there-
Upon her velvet skin.
Burn away in fires wrath,
And rise up with the wind.

Make Me Whole Again

Somehow I wonder- what’s led me here?

At 6am I sit in the car,
Good intentions- meaningful words,
All worthless when seen from a distance,
Each drop of rain gathers collectively,
Becoming one… cold and unstable,
But unable to be stopped!
Raising my face to the sky,
I close my eyes and ask for God,
In some significant gesture,

But I’ve become just like the rain.
"Please... make me whole again."

Waiting, Still

This is an old poem I wrote 9 years ago, I found it the other day and thought I'd post it here.

Robin, Robin! Spread you wings,
Yes, fly away for better things,
And never shall you wonder why;
Or stay to see what Winter brings,

For you can never hear me cry,
Or say your name upon a sigh,
I'm waiting just to hear you sing;
I'll wait for you until I die.

In The End

September breeze- caress my body,
Falling glance- without a sound,
Hold me- in the arms of evening,
Cradled- in the warmth I’ve found,
In the twilight- all is stillness,
Cold and blue- the sun goes down,
Sing to me- in whispered solace,
Bury me- beneath the ground.