Take Me Back (Mindlovemisery prompt 31)

Take me back

to the ocean as

wave upon wave

washed away the bad years

when you were only nine

and I had found hope again

that life could be normal.

Take me back before death

separated us and laughter

filled our afternoons in the

tiny apartment as she and I shared

our stories over hot tea amidst

the laughter of our children.

Take me back before he became

ill from a livelihood which riddled

his bones with warring cells.

Take me back before the isolation

and rage of loss filled our hearts

in that lonely cabin in the woods.

Take me back to that time

when I could look in the mirror

and know who I was.

Time (for deverse Calendar 11/23/13)

Time

If it had slowed

to the rhythm

of my heart-

Do you think

I would have worn

it better, felt its closeness

between each breath

treasured every tiny grain

as fate etched itself into each line?

I was following a destined path

without guide, only intuition

born of evolution

disguised as doubt-

Fragile as a falling flake of snow

descending to earth, time melts away

and leaves me cold with questions.

I Will Remember

 I Will Remember

 I will remember a world

 lost to the masses,

 lonely in its material guise

 and shallow soul.

I will take hold

in my heart

the memories when justice

was a worthy passion

and kindness fed the emptiness.

 I will remember

 the youth I left behind

 with  remorse for it fed

 me lies and left me hungry.

I will remember

all those things

I fought for,

some I attained,

many I lost-

But most of all

I will remember

that being here-

Brought me the joy

of knowing there was love..

The I of We (Inspired by Anthem, Ayn Rand)

The I of We

(Inspired by Anthem, Ayn Rand)

 Black future-

 World without love

  To shed the plural skin,

  taste forbidden fruit   

  in  barren dystopia

  where no one dare stand alone

  Hunger grows in lands

  scorched by the consuming

  flames of the great “we”.

 The dying of self

 stands without shadow

 extinguished by iniquitous skies,

 ashen without a heaven.

(For deverse sci-fi poetry 11/16/13) .

The Savage Heart

 The Savage Heart

 Constricted

  Unyielding

 How the body remembers

 the longing in cold bones.

 Listen to its faint beat

 as it dies a little more

 each day until all is still

 and the silence screams

 for holding.

Anger (for deverse open link 11/12/13)

 Anger

 I wonder

 what drives you?

 Rage, an unforgiving heart

 which trembles even

 at the thought of “weakness”.

So much easier to wage

a war on the world

as if strangers even know

what tragedy you’ve tasted

and was it really anymore bitter

than theirs’?

I cringe at the sound

of hate, between each

word you roar in your

isolation.

Still,

I wonder what your story is,

if it bleeds more than others?

Isn’t anger an anemic suture

for your wounds?

Aren't you cold
lonely, tired
wearing this crimson cloak?

I Never Wanted

 I Never Wanted

I never wanted to watch

you leave broken and lost-

In your man-made “happiness”

disintegrating in the mist

of rising discontent and fear.

I never wanted to see your

body crumble, unable to bear

the weight fate cast.

Your martyrdom-

travels through

the darkest parts of me. 

.

 Turning my gaze away

 I still see my own reflection,

 in those tears which
 seep into the marrow,
 eroding stone set hearts
 which cannot help but weep.

.

Change

Change

Underneath

our thoughts-

Waves break

the current changes

we remain steadfast

dropping anchor

foolish in thinking

we won’t be swept away

to some unknown island

where all is new and unforgiving

earth remembers the past and from

its depth haunts our loneliness.

Still we question “why”?

Sky is silent

Sea is still

Only the shifting sands tell 

we must change.

The Voices (for deverse-what a difference one hour can make)

The Voices

The voices

no longer distracted

by long stretches of sunlight

I revel in the short days

so much to do before

nightfall.

Days slip away

in a whispered hush

I, soul inspired

reach into the dark

confines of twilight

Between the failing

light and dreaming

Words come softly

 in the silent hours

as I try to shape them

into ghosts who gently

whisper they have a reason.

Saving

We put it away

 vault safe

 for some rainy day

which comes swiftly

swept up in a cloudy

darkened truth

As if it would save us

when our hearts break

as loved ones fail in

the struggle world

deems worthwhile.

Reality gnarls and grips

sharpened by the need

sorrow won’t succumb

to its bite.

 We store our “treasure”

 only to find poverty awaits

 in the shadows.

And when what matters

most is devoured

the notion we’re doing

what’s “ right” feels so empty.

Mi na Samhna (November) re-posted from 11/12

                                                                                

Mi na Samhna

(November)

She came,

cloaked in gray,

somber in her arrival

I sought the sun,

so well hidden

in her shadows

of  dying

vines,

sleepy in the  fruitless waiting 

for rebirth.

She promised resurrection

but faith is hard to come by

when hands clench

in the cold remembrance

of all that has perished.

I have tried to embrace her,

her touch is cold,

reminding

that all things end.