Taking chances

Running wild in strawberry fields,
Chasing rainbow bubbles,
Summer whispering in your ear –
Go on, take your chances,
And leap on winter’s sleigh

Peddle thoughts of freedom
To anyone who has a coin,
Memories two-pence a minute –
And you take your chances,
Building dreams from scratch.

Sunny eyes and rainy lips
Or is it the mirror image?
Storm clouds will break soon –
So take your chances,
Before floodgates open.

Dowse yourself in joy,
Tonight we celebrate –
Pop the cork, pour the spirit,
The glass will hold still more…

And you can take your chances –

You ride on a wind of wishes.

Lonely

Reflections sigh crimson

when the hand you love
lifts the veil of pain
and leaves you gaping

sighing

the air of alone.

Lost

I gave Time my wings once


She flew with thoughts of slow
stretching yawns of laziness
dancing with every bird on the way

the Sun grew weary, and closed his eyes
the stars gave up, forgot to shine
and each feather folded into oblivion


I don't have wings anymore

Naivete

I saw.

Lazy arms,
carelessly looped around shoulders
Smiling faces,
looking straight into the camera
Fingers talking,
lips dancing a private tune...

I felt.

Fingers talking,
speak louder than a thousand words
Smiling faces,
glow and cloak a hundred emotions
Lazy arms,
change the world in ten caresses...



And a million questions remain,
unanswered, swept away,
in the aftermath

in my thoughts.

Unwavering still

Smoke fills up the hollow
That used to be my eyes
Dust gathers
In the folds of my skirt,
And my gaze,
Unwavering, watches
The noonday sun desiccate
The moment and the time.


Flecks of a rider’s trail
Obfuscate a dying sun
Twilight red bleeds –
Hope flickers
In the dark light of sight
And the heart
Skips a little beat
Expectant and impatient
In the pregnant silence of alone.


Under a midnight blue
The starlight highlights a dimple,
Laughter bubbles,
Sparkling slivers of happiness
Moonlit gaze
Unwavering still, beholds you,
And ardor rains unbidden,
Drenching a love-struck smile.

Together

She speaks.
She always speaks.
Her words are little pools of breath
that collect
in your consciousness.

Wade ankle deep,

and watch,
as the ripples
of her existence swirl around you,
your thoughts
and your dreams.

Take her hand,

and she will walk,
walk right to the edge.
Her eyes challenge the fiber of love
that binds you
to yourself
and her.

Take the plunge,

there are none,
no barriers of now;
your jump is a laugh in the face of time
taking you further
than life -

and you are in her soul now.

Enough

Never enough
what pools around your feet
as you stand in dramatic solitude.

Never enough
when you wash your hands
of what you could have once been.

Never enough
when you look into the mirror
and find that life passed you by
while you were still thinking

that life wasn't enough.

Bubbles

Watch them settle,

soapy rainbows
on outstretched fingers.

Open, close,
and open again,

catch at them
swimming in the air,

grasping colour -

rainbow shimmer,
fleck of gold.

Beauty in transience.

Flash

Stark, white, frozen

- a single moment
captured on the surface.


Smile.

Eyes, still.


Wondering,
if you'll see them
or see beyond them,

when you see them again.


The lighted face,
the startled gaze.


See beyond,

the exploding

flashbulb.

Packeted emotion

Formless syllables in my mind
spill into the shape of black type,
in ribbons on a blank white screen.
Patterned from the conscious
sketching thoughts interred within
the catacombs of the cranial cage.

Pattering ahead on tiny feet,
slipping onto magical carpets,
electron bubbles and magnetic surf,
gliding from one hand to another -

and reappearing as type,
reformed, digitized feelings;
restructuring conversation in pulse

living off packeted energy
in a quantum world.

And again...

She ventures back,
into familiar territory,
the same trails of blue,
new spins on the same story.

Scrawling with abandon,
thoughts guide the hand -
scrambling across shaky words
tripping over grains of sand.

And yet she writes again,
pictures from those words, alive;
breathing coloured sighs and magic tints
resurrected with ink - still life.

Across words

Pearls of wisdom
scattered across a mosaic floor -

checkered with strange names
and stranger faces.

One letter reaches out to another
and they connect.

And we see,
as your words speak
so do mine -

and our worlds
shall smile at each other
over time, and a cup of coffee.

Lighter

Let it go,
Right off your shoulders,
Down your back,
To the floor.

Don’t hold on,
Don’t grasp at falling dreams,
Don’t turn around to gaze upon them.

Just let them go.


Lighter now?

Seeing eye

Imagine an eye that saw it all.

And then imagine it saw you,
As you were,
As you are,
As you will be.

In entirety.

All your dreams,
All your fears,
All your truths,
All your lies,
All your secrets,
All your hopes.

All of you.


Do you feel naked yet?

Melting

Melting, into myself,
as thunder gently rolls
over me,
kneading away
the stiff days of before.


Soft,
pliant,
melting.


Moulded
into the shape
of me,

spilling the self,
into puddles
of now.

But of course

It's only
the bits and pieces
that join
to form the me.


The me
and
the you.


And the us.

Glistening reflections

Drops of me,
glistening in the dark.
They shimmer and sparkle on my cheek,
and I flick them
away
gently.

Another one,
this time on my palm.

And I'm gazing upon it.


Reflections.

Of a memory,
of a dream,
of a truth,
of You.


I look around me -

nothing.


And yet reflections there are,
of a whole life,
still waiting to be lived,
encompassed
in that tiny glistening drop
on my palm.


A faint smile reaches my eyes.

The next drop,
will be on your palm.

Watch me run

Watch me
in the sun,
little rays lighting me
as I step outside my doors.

Watch me,
as I leave,
as I walk on my own,
saying goodbye to it all.

Watch me,
I am running away,
chasing a dream I have seen.

Yes, watch me,
and you will see,

I have come away to you.

On her lips

Dew drops,
glistening on dark lashes,
reflect rainbows
of reality.


Quivering emotions
slip past
pursed pouts,

trembling
on her lips.


And entreat.


Smile stranger,
no longer strange.

Her sun,
is on your lips.

Magic and mystic

Muted colours,
and muted voices.

Pale rays lifted shyly
the dark veil of sleep,
sunlight smiled a song
into whispered words;

dawn fluttered dreams
off drooping eyelids

I caught them
in outstretched fingers -

tender butterfly wings
flitting faint streaks
of magic and mystic,

a love drenched morning.

Rewritten reminder

Spitting snarling affection,
wanders lost in its own world,
mirrored,
flaws bite at the reflection
and puddled sighs shy away.


Blood-drenched blood ties
bind themselves tighter,
cutting into flesh,
welts of a memory,

marking,

making,

reminding...

so comforting.



And blotched smiles slip through -
dug out and dusted off,
brighter moments
with their baby fingers,
bury worded whipcracks
under rewritten reminders.

Type crawls across the skin,

a child's scrawl,
scribbling reminders to the self -

special, aren't I?

Vapours of now and then

Liquid fuel for re-sensitized senses,
liquid charming it's way through my mind,
liquid dreams pour themselves out on paper
as liquid fervor trickles down my throat.


Smoky images waft away on baby-breaths,
smoky evenings flutter feathers in my face,
smoky memories trouble not anymore,
as smoky laughs burst bubbles of happiness.


Shifting changing time, passes me by,
singed moments of pleasant stagnate;
hazy lines crossed and re-crossed -
and life moves on playing its game
with vaporous circles of now and then.

He would

If I asked you a question,
would you answer it today;
if I told you I loved you,
then what would you say?

Would you answer me,
or pretend you havent heard;
but if you said you loved me,
would it be just a word?

If I were to stumble,
would you take my hand;
if I confided in you,
would you try & understand?

Would you laugh at me,
if you saw my tears;
if I lost my battles,
would you fight my fears?

Would you share my joys,
in pain be by my side;
would you be proud of me,
and allow me my pride?

Would you ever lie to me,
and still look into my eyes;
would you be yourself,
or hide behind a disguise?

Would you be my perfect man,
make me wonder if you're real;
if I couldn't find the words,
would you still know how I feel?

Tell me, would you be,
all this that I hope;
or would you vanish when I reach out,
just like a dream that broke?

Stepping it right

Feet -
moving
step by step.

Walking on aimless,
they led me straight to you;
and you without me knowing –

swept me off my feet with a glance.

As I will

Swiftly I move,
strong belief in myself,
leaping across
boundaries set by time -
space is not a constraint;
I live as I will.

No barriers halt me,
no hurdles slow down
this sprint I have begun.

Now a gentle lope,
devouring the colours
of the world
as they go by.
Each image links a moment
to itself and sleeps -
waiting till I call on it again.

I go on ahead,
searching for new ways
to understand
every old question.

And I shall say

I lived as I willed.

Enough

Unopened book
unturned page
unused words
unwavering gaze
unspoken questions
unseen dreams
unbidden fear
unheard screams
unreturned kindness
unrequited love
unending thoughts...

That's it. Enough.

Crowded head

Thoughts crowd my mind
but refuse to speak,
some just ignore me,
some silently shriek.

So many at a time,
I hardly know which is mine,
to each one it's own,
so many minds in my mind.

They look, they stare,
they smile and even frown,
faceless and nameless -
some tragic, some clowns.

Silently they came, silent they stay,
silent like the walking dead;
always there, but never there,
my thoughts in my crowded head.

I did

I teetered on the edge,
I don't know if I fell,
I woke up to nothingness,
neither Heaven nor Hell.
The cliff crumbled under me,
it couldn't take my weight -
I paid a dear price, I had to
I'd tried to tempt fate.
I don't know what I lost,
or if I lost at all;
I tried to pick me up,
but did I really fall?
Did I then find something,
did I win, did I?
Did I just meet me there,
or did I lose my lie?

Fatality

She beckons,
holding out her hand,
she reaches for you.

Do you see?
..she holds you now.

Soon you are her,
and she is you,

and soon you are no more.

She took you,
made you her own;
but she isn't what she seems.

You thought you found life.



Death found you.

Silent

The higher I looked at the sky,
the further the stars seemed to be -
reaching out
at the same time
drawing back silently.

The quieter the night,
the darker the shadows;

and then the silence spoke
as darkness froze.

Home

Somewhere,
light must have shone.

Some flight,
you must have flown.

Some roads,
you have been shown.

Some dreams,
you have seen alone.

All in a place,
that you have long known,

some place,
you could call your own.


Home.

A little too much

So much is so strange,
so much we don't know,
so much no one says,
so much we can't show.

So little we have learnt,
so little everyone cares,
so little has any meaning,
so little that it scares.

So much must be done,
so little one will touch,
so much, who asks it all,
so little, and yet so much.

Him

Wordless, staring out to sea,
too tired to speak,
too proud to be weak,
still, defeated, so plain to see.

The fire long since burnt out,
but eyes smouldering,
how tears must sting,
so bright once, no doubt.

A wounded heart, so alone,
deserted, left to die,
old age, years fly,
loneliness helped turn to stone.

Final submission, a muffled sigh,
who heard, he cried,
broken, but inside,
hand outstretched, head held high.

On nimble feet tonight

A mist just out of reach,
dares me to jump across
claim Tomorrow for my own
and leave behind
that tangled web of the past.


I gaze on Her shimmering Self -
I plot,
and plan
to move ahead;
posses Her and keep Her with me.


But in my hurry to run away
from what has grown cold
and faded in my wake,

and in my eagerness
to bottle what can
never be restrained,

I almost forget
what I already have.


The Present moment is silent,
waiting for me to notice
that She was always there
with a twinkle in Her eyes
and a smile on Her lips;

giving me reason
to dance with Her
on nimble feet
tonight.

The Highest Low

The highest low
builds a whole new world -

falling, falling, falling,

I try to push the air below me
and rise on my flailing wings,

but I am

still

falling, falling, falling.


Spikes and jagged edges
come deceptively close :

they are only testing my nerve,

I know,

and unflinching I'm falling,

falling, falling.


My wings are spread,
I risk injury on this
downward spiral,

and yet,

in a corner of my mind
the images flying past
are building a cosy nest.


In a sole heartbeat
my helix has been turned

inside out.


And on my new
colored feathers,


I fly

further than my highest low.

Old habits

Back to old basics.

Assumptions never end,
accusations don't stop.

Priorities are questioned,
importance is dismissed.

Emotions misunderstood,
anger always misdirected.

Affections is denied,
support not granted.

And through it all,
we stand unspeaking -
silent spectators.

After all,
old habits die hard

Battle

Blood-spattered moments stain the grim
Breeze across this land - so void of life
Barren as the hearts of those who created this
Battle without a cause or justice : war never
Bides by wisdom, nor does it listen to reason;
Broken families, and broken hearts, among broken
Bodies that stand testimony to blind power struggles.

Permanent

Petrified in stone by the hand of man
eternal memories remain etched forever,
remnants of an era gone past in glory -
mortal sight will watch and remember
a master's creations of art - his soul
nestled in his living work, alive still,
escaping time's debilating attack;
notes of beauty chiseled by an artist,
time-worn permanence stands true

Firstscript

Fine-lined portrait of a lady,
interred within a quiet mind,
rests in solitude, untroubled:
sweet slumber wakens the spirit
tying every moment to a thought
speckled with dreams and hopes,
caught in the sunlight, she shines,
reckless with the abandon known only
in those who are free, unchained;
poetry becomes the person herself -
thoughts of the self, words of me.

Lovers - Pleiades

Luminiscent among those alive,
Lighting the world of the bright,
Laughter personified to those who smile;
Lured unknowingly into the webs
Love weaves around open hearts,
Lifeless breathe the elixir of life -
Lucky are those who love and are loved

Marble Child

Marble child,
this stone is chipping away
at the edge.

Your beauty, so silent,
is smeared
with the grime of guilt.

Claw not
at the windows of your mind,
claw at your soul,
rip off these layers
that are not yours to claim.

Draw your blood
and cleanse yourself.
Better hurt and free,
than caked and caged.

You must believe.

Marble child,
you are beautiful.
Stand tall and proud.
You were never at fault.

Flight

Heavy with memories
from so long ago -


I've burnt myself,
and from my ashes,
the years gone past,
cold cinders under my feet,
I rise.


Golden feathers bear my flight
and I soar leaving behind
a heart I helped
destroy.

Termination

Bright colours of dreams
stream behind us
as we run.
Blinded by the sun's pride
we took his goodness
for granted,
and stood for too long.

Waxen beauty, you melt.
The colours run and smear
and the ugliness unveils.

Wet footprints set into stone
as I retrace my steps.
Disintegration sets in,
and my shell has collapsed.

I am uncovered.

The candle has been consumed :
the wick singed, but whole
seeks another cloak of wax.

And stops.

No more.

No heat can hurt
if she hides not
behind sheaths.

The burning has terminated life,
and given birth to
immortality.

Lines

Stepping over lines
in a haze
not knowing,
wrong from right,
she was led along
by one she trusted.


Fears, and secrets,
confided in privacy,
she had a friend
better than any other.

That's what she thought.


Venomous love bites
spread the truth
like a web across her skin

patterned in guilt,

and blameless shame,

and unwanted loss.


And this time she left,
stepped over lines again.


Thin red lines.

So Beautiful

"I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind,
that I put down in words...
How wonderful life is, when you’re in the world..."




Here I go again,
tripping and stumbling
over my own feelings ;

knocking down
and rebuilding
my walls :

letting some people in,
and then locking them out
again,

and keeping inside someone,
who aside from a few moments
keeps looking
out of a window...

Just another reason
I give myself
to break
this fortress
and draw closer in
to myself -
no more walls.

I sit and shiver
in the winter air,
sucking my breath in
as icy thoughts
hit my heart ;

threatening to paint
a snowy white
my canvas
bright with life.

I won't succumb,
I know.

I simply rest my soul
in its solitude :

warmth wanders
in and out
of my open home -
stranger and friend
at the same time.

I wonder,
should I just
take her by the hand
and hold her close to me,
and I wonder,
if she can withstand
these freezing moments.

And I just let her be.

I smile inwardly
when she lingers for a while
thinking about the cold aura
that surrounds me,

and I cringe inside
when she turns to go,
seeking something beyond here
that I don't understand.

But she leaves behind her
a peaceful afterglow
in which I breathe free;

and cold or not,
my whispers bring to me
a melody draped in happiness...

love is so beautiful.

Lost breath

Enmeshed we breathed,
till we could breathe no more,
hanging on to the dreams we had made
though they'd been lost long before.

Guilty breaths suffocate,
you hold a gun to our head,
heart weighed down by the loss -
you aren't the only reason we're dead.

I chose to breathe on my own,
pushed you away to sigh alone,
love once was, and stays beautiful,
but we are now just memories in stone.

Breath has been lost and found again,
and as I breathe free, rising above pain,
you too shall rise with a new refrain -

I breathe.

She

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
The clock marches its way
through the seconds
as they gather at Time's feet;
counting away at each breath
as it is expelled and lost,
yet collected in Her sweeping gaze.


Slivers of moonlight,
filtering through gaps
in the heavily curtained windows,
cover the room with a gauzy silver glow;
silhouttes dance to an unheard tune
as the breeze makes love to the dark night.
Dreamy eyes imagine
the stars twinkling brighter
as they look upon the world in repose,
and smile to each other.


Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Time has slowed its pace -
She intrudes upon quiet souls at peace,
searching for the secrets of their smiles;
tip-toeing across their fluttering eyelids
She pieces together the escaping fragments
She collects in the wake of their dreams -
filling Her emptiness with their thoughts.


Shadows move across the room
as the night grows longer;
wakeful eyes see the stillness
and the silence and nothing besides.
But a Dreamer -
She sees nothing,
She hears nothing
She feels nothing.
So many stories here -
threads woven into the fabric of existence,
such that only those
who understand the patterns
can unravel them;
the Dreamer spins reality into dreams
and stitches together a new existence
from these magical threads:
This is a night to remember.


Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Time is sated.
She gathers her skirts and prepares
for her ceaseless journey again:
precious pictures have brightened Her monotony;
a dreamer has shown her mind to Time,
and painted for Her a soul;
She too will remember this night -

the night Her soul was born.

Picture-Perfect

Temptation floats in front of his eyes,

leading away from home - from truth,

yet he runs in search of a scarlet dream :

what if that was the only reality ?


And a life, picture-perfect, is left behind.

Fragments of the Sky

Stormy eyes reflect the sky in pieces,

and tear-stain the world with myriad shades of blue;

be brave my little one, soar before the clouds burst -

I shall be glad you flew.

Individuality - Acrostic

Intriguing streaks of personality sparkle,
nascent in their innocent bubble-dreams;
delight smiles dewdrops on newborn petals
inviting a breeze of fresh coloured thoughts -
vision paints poetic pictures in eager minds
illuminated by the radiance of knowledge,
dancing steps taught by a master,
immortal music played in the souls
underlines the words inked across paper
assaying new chapters of discovered lives -
lowered onto clouds by his experiences,
in sight of where the rainbow ends, they fly -
though steeped in hues borrowed from the world,
you, unchained soul, are the individual perfection.

Firstscript - Pleiades

Flitting around on baby wings
First scripted patterns dance;
Faint sparkles of dewdrops remain
Flecking the pages of sweet life,
Freshly penned in my unsteady hand
Feeble words take on a new strength -
Freedom gives my poetry wings.

Under Construction

Windows of wishes swallow me whole,
throw open to me a world of magic -

pale moonbeams
dance a midnight tango
with a silver stream
and abstract digital dreams
sip at the fountain of feeling.



A master's hand
created perfection here -
sighs rolling off his lips
waltzed songs of smiles
into the eyes of sorrow -

melting traces of mascara
do not taint a masterpiece
painted with liquid strokes
of eternity.



I sway at the doorstep of infinity
looking back
into the void from which I came;
remembrances speak of a faded world,
stifled breath clouds it in the eyes,

but,

paradise enclosed in a hidden dream
cannot compare to the sepia tones
of reality in its nakedness;
my steps take me back
on a journey of self-discovery
while the souls of men still sleep -

when they wake
we shall all move on
to a utopia still under construction.

Non Omnis Moriar

Wisps of my being

will grace each dawn

that glows radiance

in your eyes;



tendrils of sweet breath

shall cling to your words

uttered in remembrance

of life passed by,



and

I shall never

wholly

die.




non omnis moriar ( Latin ) -- I shall never wholly die

Purple Cloaks

A procession of purple cloaks,
a halo of enlightenment over their heads,
glides down the bridge of attainment.


O how I run,
crazily seeking my place
in the studded belt of stars;
how i run, in vain.


In slow motion,
my steps forward fail,
and I slip back into moments past:
slow at first, then accelerating,
my return to the future
of smiling, sparkling life.


My robes slip away,
the halo burns:
my mind is singed with truth;
dissolving,
my layers of the world peel away,
turning into misty wisps.


And the radiance of the self
bursts forth in rapturous brilliance,
drenching life in a white beauty:
transforming mist skins
into a thousand rainbows
reflecting colours -
transparent to the eye
of the purple procession.

Existentialism

Eclipsed by torturous silence, thoughts break into song,
xylophonic cacophony overtakes the undiscovered music
inborn in the crouching foetal brains - yet unborn;
stagnating pools of human breath choke
the soul of liberty - she takes flight and soars,
eloping with the winds of change as they blow;
none see them escape, none know they even exist -
tomorrow lies listless, yesterday weeps for her loss,
in today's eyes swim visions of perfection
attained by moments as they slip through her fingers;
life moves on in its all-consuming passion,
inflaming the minds of those who rise with the days:
slumbering serenity shrouds the passive souls,
minding their breaths, while life breathes her last.

Beyond the Grave

They cry for me, but
they understand me not -
I am delivered from slavery
into the lap of freedom;
and yet they cry for me.


My flesh has grown cold:
the touch of liberty
caresses me with whispered
promises of dreams,
but even in my last moment
they seek to imprison me.


An ornate marble home
awaits my arrival -
I shall be buried in stone
while my spirit shall seek me
in the bosom of the earth.
I wish I had no worldly riches;
my bones would have found peace
in returning to dust
to mingle with the grains
that I was made of
before I died.


My coffers have gifted me
a prison for the body
I leave behind;
the world I lived in
will separate
my soul from me
in death.


They cry for I am gone,
but I have only
stepped into a free world.
I wish they cried
for my body, not me;
my tomb will keep him
from freedom
whlle I roam in the
realm of beauty -
and I shall then weep
for my aloneness,
and his cold solitude
bestowed upon us
as funeral gifts.


Oh they cry for me,
but not for me.

Yesterday and Tomorrow

Yesterday
I was happy:
I turned to no one
for my fulfilment
and I found joy
in my solitude;
my love
stood in the shadows
and reminded me of light
that still shone around me.



Today
I stand alone again;
but I seek satisfaction
outside of my soul -
I am restless in body and spirit;
I smile, but,
it doesn't reach my eyes,
and my love
questions me,
for no shadows shroud him
now.



Yesterday and Today
are but moments
in space,
and yet,
they are fenced apart
by Time;
they are brothers,
born of the same mother,
and yet,
they are different.



But Tomorrow
will give me nimble fingers
and I will pry away
masks
and make Time whole;
I shall make my days merge
and create Eternity
in my world
where
the past
and the present
will be

indistinguishable.

Memories of the Waves - Duette

Reclaiming its own, given up once,

waters rise higher against stairs

hewn into rock once by Time;

crashing in vain - again.

Do they not see

the sands are

not theirs?



Duette -- a primarily self-created type usually written in free or blank verse, (due to the word number limitations), mildly cryptic or obscure in content that concludes with an open question or statement.
Form contains 5-7 lines with syllablic count (frame A) or word count (frame B ) in this line sequence:

first - 9 words or syllables
second - 8
third- 7-8
fourth-6-7
fifth- 3-4
(if 7 lines)
sixth- 2-3
seventh- 1-2

This poem uses Frame A.

World of Wonders - Sestina

Sparkling, ripples hide a world of wonders
shimmering in the golden light of dawn
concealing the depths - home to mystery -
where a vibrant scaled body dances and sways,
sings to an unknowing sailor above her home,
a home where so many have lost their heart.

Fading memories of land are all left in the heart,
thoughts are drawn to the sweet call of wonders,
mesmerised by beauty, he hopes to find a home,
lured by the song of the water-maiden at dawn;
unsteady on his feet, precariously he sways,
the mind now bound to a dreamer's mystery.

He knows he's doomed, yet seeks unsolved mystery
the mermaid's song is etched deep on his heart,
he yearns to be where the waterweeds sway;
life will end as he knows it, but he wonders,
will he not find that there's a new colour of dawn,
when it's seen from below the ripples, from home.

He follows her melody, she is calling him home;
he longs to look into the deep blue pools of mystery
that are her eyes: the colour of night before dawn;
cascading in golden waterfalls, reflected in his heart,
the tresses, decked in shells - aquatic wonders,
to her tunes of an underwater love, endlessly sway.

He follows the line, where his steps don't sway,
he's headed to freedom, to a dream-spun home,
hidden deep, it is a fantasy world of wonders;
no longer are his thoughts steeped in mystery -
the stories he had heard as a child, in his heart,
he rises to meet a love-drenched rosy dawn.

Treading water now, with the first streak of dawn,
he is welcomed to the fold: foam-crested waves sway
over him, and gather him to their billowing heart;
the mermaid watches, as he makes way to his home,
once it was shrouded in the grey clouds of mystery,
now uncovered, it sparkles with the glitter of wonder.

With the break of dawn, the sailor has reached home -
the mermaid sways towards him, revealing her mystery;
he has lost his heart to her shimmering world of wonders.

Perfection Rebuilt - Sestina

On a day when the world was perfect,
defeated perfection showed me her flaws.
Her silent sheathed words ripped me through
and her agonised scream rent my heart;
disillusioned eyes see no more dreams,
and rainbows hide their colours from me.

Memories that escaped seeked shelter in me -
in a broken mind, painted picture-perfect;
hurt by a love that tore at my dreams,
I smiled upon her, and covered her flaws,
yet crimson tears blackened my heart,
and into my soul, reality saw through.

Years of beauty faded and passed through
the chinks in the armor surrounding me;
fragile stone walls built up around my heart,
came crashing in the quest for the perfect,
I knew they were weak, thay had their flaws,
but I also knew they were held up by dreams.

I lost that strength, the childish belief in dreams,
when the perfect day - ruined - walked through
those walls; out from the core that revelled in flaws,
away from the entity I once used to call me;
perfection was shattered, by a blow so perfect,
it bypassed even the defense of a loving heart.

Imagination had a world for me in her heart,
even she departed with fragments of dreams,
swept away in the afterglow of a lost perfect;
the shards she left behind cut me through,
new worlds I painted, scarlet ink drawn from me -
yet shades of the old, marked with the same flaws.

Perfection lost her battles, showed me my flaws,
she had learned my dreams living in my heart -
my greatest strength she took away from me,
I saw what she wanted me to - her dreams;
and defeated as we were, we saw it through,
imagining the world we could have made perfect.

Graced by her flaws, burdened by beautiful dreams,
past thoughts in my heart, perfection waltzed through;
breaking the best of me, and rebuilding it - perfect.

Ostentation - Acrostic

Overturning the belief in the self,
surrendering to the sweep of a show,
take the hand of a pretense, and bow -
endure the shame of knowing and yet not;
never will the truth be seen again,
taken as you are by the call of a world
attached to the strings of show and tell -
the flash of gold will light a moment,
in darkness will sleep the mind awake:
outshine each falsehood that faces you,
net the acceptance and lose your self.

Silent Prayer - Sestina

A prayer escaped my lips, sigh spun silence
fluttering across our lives like a baby breath -
so tender; heartbeats quicken, then still, quiet,
I question myself - do I deserve this gift?
Like slow burning candles, flickering flames;
yet steady in my mind, I surrender, I melt.

In your presence, frozen dreams start to melt,
as your loving looks caress me in silence,
passion ignited, rising dancing golden flames
waltz their patterns anew with every breath;
wonders never cease, for love is a gift -
drowning doubts ever raised with its quiet.

Think of a valley, swathed in white, snowy quiet,
and a trickle, cold yet born from the warmth of a melt -
in a stark life that is colour, a lover's precious gift
given selflessly - wordlessly wrapped in silver silence;
our hearts beating as one, mingling hot breath
as feathered thoughts encompass us like flames.

Like rainbow sparks that rise from crackling flames,
myriad hues traipse into my world, cloaked and quiet,
travelling through your dreams, on your breath,
they paint me a picture that makes my defense melt;
vulnerable I seek shelter and find it in your silence
you say it all with no words - you build me, that's your gift.

And again I wonder, do I really deserve this gift?
Sweet wind for a dying ember, bursting into flames,
lighting up dark nightmares that screamed silence -
thumping heart, alone and afraid, hating the quiet,
dissolves into your aura, and the eyes threaten to melt,
moved to life, but surviving on borrowed breath.

Sweeping away yesterday with a gust of fresh breath,
nascent summer dreams, I hope will be to you my gift;
and as a cold winter world dies away and melts,
welcome a new world, rising from phoenix flames;
beyond the cacophony and loud claims, in the quiet
lies truth - our home built with love-steeped silence.

New life, new breath, the old gone up in flames,
I take your gift, and treasure our world of quiet -
scarred icicles melt away, as I take your hand in silence.

Mermaid Murmurs - Acrostic

Mystical creatures meet my mind
evolving thoughts along the way,
ribbons of imagination flutter -
moonlit ripples cast all dread away;
alight with the flame of mystery,
inked in the perfection of creation,
divine beauty speaks, new history.

Mermaids blink sunshine into the day,
utopian shimmers cloak their light,
revealed only when they chose to show,
misted, yet plain - cloudless night;
understand the voices the heart hears,
rippling through to me in waves of music -
softly they murmur dreams in my ears.

Feathered Shadows

I hold my soul out to you,

feathered shadows of my self -

peck away at my veneer,

and make me whole again.

I Fly

Silver secrets

leaping across

the barriers of time and space

set by the ancients,


I fly

among the streaking colours

of imagination

soaring on butterfly wings.

Touch of Scarlet

A touch of scarlet

stains the mind -

pure wisps of white

bow down to colour;

smiles whisper in my ears

as I sing to the wind,

spreading my wings

towards perfect beauty.


A touch of scarlet

stains the world -

pools of innocence

blacken with time;

life flies high, free

from shackles born of men -

aerial dreams welcome

souls of scarlet beauty.



Inspired by the phrase - Aerial Geishas

There is a word in Japanese, ko itten, which means "touch of scarlet." The word is used as an affectionate term for women, especially Geisha girls. - marian.creighton.edu/~marian-w/academics/english/japan/geisha/art.html

Penguins Doing Aerobics - Acrostic

Penguins were dancing up and down
enjoying the summer sunshine,
neat and trim, smart and dapper,
grinning at me, twisting their spine;
understand their laughter, I told me -
isn't this sight a special sign,
nestling deep into my thoughts
settling sweetly into my mind.

Dreams that broke, no longer mine,
over and done with now that I am free;
in my mind I once cried, even pined -
never knowing I missed my smiles,
guessing I needed a love to shine.

Allow me now to explain, in this life,
every turn that is intertwined
returns us to our own special place,
out from confused musings - sometimes blind,
bleary eyes blink back broken dreams;
invite smiles to them, to yourself be kind,
catch those penguins that I saw,
splitting aerobics, dancing in your mind.

Eternally Dark - Acrostic

Encased in the light of yesterday,
trembling thoughts tread warily,
enraptured by the colours of night;
rasping breaths, shaky steps,
new-found freedom welcomes them;
alluring shades of dark fantasies
lilting tunes of ebony hues,
lurk invitingly - entice escape from
years of light entrapment.

Devoured by the shadows now,
appraised by their own follies,
returned to the fold of nothingness;
kneel - thoughts in the eternal dark.

To Be Yours

"If you go I want to go with you"


Caffeinated stupor
hangs heavy over my head,
I resist,
but the mind takes over;
on this day,
cold and alone -
sleep is forgotten
with the first step
through the dead gray stones.
Marking the rest of dreams -
joy and laughter,
buried six feet under.

Furred cloaks over my aching back
don't mask the cold
that stabs with every breath.
Playing out a charade,
I shiver my tears away -
there's no place for weakness here,
this is a theatre for the dead.

And yet you're here -
full of life and feeling,
cold and unmoving.

I tread the snowy ground,
tired and afraid;
when I see you,
ghostly lullabies will bind me,
and I know I'll sleep
eternally by your side -
but my heart leads me here.

I can't twist away
from promises made to be kept.
The silver grains trickle through
measuring against my every footstep;
so fine, seconds off my life -
laid to rest by choice,
and I know it's time.

Sing with me, my heart,
I have come to be yours again.

Nothing is Mine

I lay my claim to nothing.


Bones gleam -

bleached stark white

by the searing light

of a sun within.


Nothing makes me complete.


The world grows

in my heart - whole;

everything in my reach,

all mine forever.


I feel nothing touch me.


Stripped clean

from a mind grown old,

wisdom clears a path

and walks down alone.


I lay my claim to nothing.

Shades of Love

Like these blooms

that will fade and fall,

and re-coloured will return,

always;


the shades of love

will change and grow,

and walk with us

till the end

of our days.

Free

In the event

that I'm not around

to explain,



know that I am me;



what I wrote

and left behind -

was my fragmented soul



that I set free.

The Day I Met You

It rained the day I met you,
then I never understood why;
but now I think it was because
someday we'd have to cry.

It rained the day I met you,
and you sheltered me from the rain;
but now these falling raindrops
only remind me of our pain.

It rained the day I met you,
but it didn't drive us apart;
it only filled our hearts with love,
as tears now fill our heart.

Yes it rained the day I met you,
and a rainbow soon was born;
but when this rain is over,
our love will too be gone.

Return

Shaken up from sleep,
I watch life collapse
in a cloud of dust -
it won't return.

Dreams come crashing
as do years of toil;
I wish away moments,
but they return.

The earth yawns, mocking,
split wide open by its own;
to a home I once had,
I can't return.

Cracked vision searches
for those they loved;
in vain they seek those
who won't return.

Numbed and blue,
both body and soul -
I search for a warmth
that doesn't return.

Frozen in time, and space
my world swallowed up,
I turn away
to seek new life
in the rubble of the old;
never to return.

I Am

My words build me.


Little letters

trailed across in ink;

linking their arms

and gathering my thoughts.


Withered smiles bloom

again

in response

to a touch of beauty;

words that paint

pictures.


I unravel my thoughts

in patterns of blue -

type runs across

the bronze of my skin;

covering me

and creating me.


From a letter

to a word -

I am, now

poetry

I wrote.

Veiled Feelings Bend Gracefully

Veiled feelings bend gracefully,
escaping emotions hide away,
into the shadows swaying slow,
leaping across lighted thresholds,
every sense on alert;
disguises on display.

Frightened into submission once,
etching their presence now;
evolving minds sweep across,
lifting the spirits of life,
inert to outside vision -
nuances of unfurled emotion
grace the walls inside
soft dreams of tomorrow.

Between stretches of reality
entwined - yarns woven gently,
nursed through imagination,
drawn in passionate musings.

Glowing - radiance so pure,
restoring the former glory;
allure in its every step,
candlelit murmurs ascend:
entrancing each moment
further into a timeless dance;
utopian fragments cluster,
lowering lashes, thoughts skip -
lightly stepping into this world,
yielding with a graceful bow.

You Never Tell Me

I keep waiting
for a word
to break the silence,
but it doesn't come,
and I hear nothing -
you never tell me
that you love me.

A slow tear travels
upon my cheek,
dying all alone,
waiting to be dried;
your fingers brush
my skin - so soft.
Flicking away strands
that stray onto my face;
you bewitch me,
locking my gaze
with those eyes -
eyes I could drown in.

When you hold me
and I hide against you
just like a child,
you know I yearn
to hear my name
on your lips -
you never tell me
that you love me.

I clutch at your hand
and you relent;
fingers dance in tune
to my hushed whispers
that you collect with love.
Leading me through
my own mind -
sheltering me,
and exposing me
to a storm within;
how could you know
what I need?

I've seen my heart
through your eyes now;
and even though
you never say it,
I know it all so well,
I always knew it -
I never need you to tell me
that you love me.

One Glance

It took only that one glance.

Years crumbled into nothingness,
life breathed baby breaths - just born;
my heart stopped, then sang again.

A thousand moments passed between,
every plane of your face I knew -
yet you were a stranger that day.

Unknown feelings crept upon me,
stealing pieces of my soul; quietly,
I was lost in the whirlpool of my mind.

Now entwined in the snares of love,
I soared, free from all restraint;
new feathers had lifted me so high.

And as I looked into your eyes
I knew, never again would I live
as I had before - I was now you.

It took only that one glance.

Repainted Vision

Hushed breaths stand still,

life moves past in a blur;

alive to thoughts, the mind

races ahead - speech slurs.

Images of contrived reality

repaint themselves to a child -

vision has new meaning again.

Nascent Vapours

Icicles stretch yawns

into the warm breeze;

frozen through time -

memories melt.



Pools of regret

reflect life;

soft smile cracks the

crystal facade of cold.



Stagnant air

breathes

again,



as nascent vapours rise

from the depths of the mind.

Within

Vapours -

my dreams

consume all existence;

leaving behind

traces

of a forgotten

innocence.



Shuttered,

vision blurs;

shadows rise and sway -

touch the light

and run,

with their death

they play.



Unbidden,

shivers take hold -

soft breaths tear open

the heart in

entirety;

the mind succumbs,

unspoken.



Fleeting

memories flash

inside desperate tears;

lost and scared,

defeated

soul gropes wildly

at fears.

Naked Abandon

Naked,
if you look at me as I do;
clothed,
in your doubts,
patterned with the guilt
of knowing not the truth.


Naked,
coloured glass masks me.
Tinted,
spectrums shed their hues,
wrap my world inside
their frozen multitudes.


Naked,
my thoughts race across your mind,
unchained,
unbridled - they roam free.
I hear your mind, not words,
as clear as I say them myself.


Naked,
I show you my deepest fears.
Embrace
me as I come to you,
lest my heart turns away
and heartstrings turn to stone.


Naked,
but not an empty shell.
Passionate,
the depths of my soul hold you,
pulsing with every heartbeat,
I breathe in your love.


Naked,
I am and shall always be.
Unclothe
yourself, stand before me as you,
laid bare with your flaws, your gifts -
watch life dance with naked abandon.

Salted Dreams

Dreams gaze back at me

mournfully,

trapped in the metal sheen;

screaming in my head,

now silent,

as the flesh gapes with a sigh.


Drops of crimson, they fade -

broken down by time;

fresh, bright stains remain

in these eyes,

watered by salted dreams.

On Wings - Sestina

Pecking away at fleeting moments,
one, or two, or three... lost them;
Leaving me behind, I soar away;
so many dimensions of space and time
mixed up with every flap of my wings -
Wonder where I will meet me again?

Fantasies build up in my mind again,
Linking reality with imagined moments;
Magpies flutter wishes on my wings,
each one the same, yet too many of them.
Gentle heartbeats tracking the time,
I arrive, but destinations turn me away.

Something is waiting, why look away;
I ready myself to fly far again,
crossing the barriers set by time.
Jumping over these past moments,
I smile a wave back at them -
years fall apart under my wings

Time was flying on these wings,
now they fly me further away
than time ever flew; I tell them
to take me to gentle life again;
relive some, and forget other moments.
I find myself dancing with time.

Looking for a life beyond time,
I rise higher on special wings;
blinking memories into the moments
that watch me live and die away.
I find myself - lose my dreams again;
still searching, trying to find them.

I hid my heart deep within them -
those dreams that are now lost in time.
Forward and back through life again,
didn't know even dreams had wings;
on new feathers they ran away,
skipping through gaps in moments.

Catching up with them again, I run, ask them -
where are those dreams, the moments missing in time;
one, or two, or three on wings, they smile at me and fly away...

Hope to Escape - Paradelle

Mirror of life, broken; lying at my feet,
Mirror of life, broken; lying at my feet,
the silver fragments cut through dreams.
the silver fragments cut through dreams.
Fragments of the mirror cut at my feet:
life lying through broken silver dreams.

Light strikes the glass and scatters,
Light strikes the glass and scatters,
my heart turns away in pain.
my heart turns away in pain.
Light strikes away, and pain turns
in the glass - my heart scatters.

Silence in these tears that escape me,
Silence in these tears that escape me,
I creep upon hope to live.
I creep upon hope to live.
I hope to escape - these tears,
that creep upon me, live in silence.

Light strikes upon glass
and scatters lying dreams -
the mirror broken, these silver tears creep;
fragments of my heart cut through me in silence.
And I live in the hope that pain
turns my feet away - to escape life.

Unfettered by earthly ties,
Nimbly they skip across the mind,
Chasing dreams into reality,
Hope gives them wings to fly.
Artist and his canvas,
Indebted to their melody
Nestled in the layers of colour.
Eternal freedom is their own :
Divine minstrels.

Musical mysticism
Envelops their touch,
Lifting souls to heights unseen;
Oasis of feeling in a barren heart.
Dictated, following a calling -
Yet their magic roams free.

New Feathers

Stars leap out of the waves

Reaching out to heavens.

Building homes in the skies,

little lights fly

on new feathers ...


A reversal of roles;

colours flood the inky depths -

moments of ecstacy,

riding on the waves of time.

Chained

Blue patterns

creep upon her skin -

Webs that trap

helpless thoughts.


Freedom is chained

to her existence;

Her love will break her.


Hurting with passion,

she implores through tears;

but even the pain

will not kill her heart -

she was born to love.

By Your Side - Acrostic

Between you and me, my love
yesterday stands forever.

Young lives in shambles,
out of turn, too soon;
unsure, time searches
reasons to stand still.

Slivers of a fantasy
interred to rest today;
dreams we wove, sleep
eternally by your side.

Shimmering Ripples

Shimmering in the sunlight
ripples hide a world of wonders.
Streaking past me, vivid hues,
little fish greet me with smiles.
They know I'm one of them,
even if by half.

Weaving through to my lair
I am surprised by a glare.
Mirrors underwater ?
I am blinded by the light.

I trip.

And fall straight out of my world.

Glazed eyes greet my arrival
to this prison of education.
Scratching words on paper,
understood by none, save one.
A gorgon who stands at the head,
daring someone to disobey.

All unmoving stones.

Boxed in from all sides,
I sigh and look out again.
Shimmering in the sunlight
ripples hide a world of wonders.

Yellowing Proof

Remembering forgotten promises,

broken resolve sweeps her away

to a memory cloaked in tears.



Words that spoke of hope, and love;

fade away into time's embrace,

yellowing proof of betrayal

by time not man - never understoood.

The hand that wrote it long still,

the bones returned to dust, she knew not.



Like so many years gone by,

she lifts that last to her lips again;

it crumbles with a kiss.

Innocence - Triptych

A moment fenced in time, and space;
a pillar standing tall and proud
looks down on two innocent souls.

Whispering childhood sings its dreams,
scattering bubbles of a first love.
Two heartbeats quicken, and rush,
and quieten again - moment's embrace.
little fingers clasp and release;
secrets shared in the gentle touch.

Grassy carpet for bare tiny feet,
summer sky covering their heads;
a picture painted in innocence.

Unseen Angel - Rictameter

Stranger.
Sometimes even
before we realise it,
angels touch our lives with their love;
caged, mundane existence brightens and smiles
dreams into eyes tired of seeing
a vacant reality.
Angels - unseen
stranger.

I Will Move Away

Stifling, suffocating silence
follows me - my shadow
jealous of company.

Pooling around my feet,
my world questions me
through tears,
implores me
to rest my mind.

So scared -
afraid to embrace life
it continues to fade.

I plead.

But I know.
It won't stop, till I leave.

So I will
move away from here.

The Candles Light Your Face - Cinquain Garland

Don't cry,
I tell myself.
The candles light your face,
golden flecks of life that dance - free
your soul.


Mourning,
time stopped for us
it's ever moving hands,
so I could hold you one last time,
again.


We're here.
Stolen moments.
The last flight of the shades
has not yet begun - two lost souls
still meet.


I'm quiet.
I know it's time.
My tears won't stop those who
will take you away, while I watch
in pain.


Silence
echoes around.
The flickering flame sees
the eternal shroud cloaking us
with love.


Don't cry.
Time stopped for us.
The last flight of the shades
will take you away, while I watch
with love.

Tears - Nonet

Molten, my eyes hurt to look at you.
Your words, your rules, you - I shudder.
Bit by bit, my world of love
withdraws from your embrace.
Soft moments of bliss
there should have been.
You give me,
Mother,
tears.

Not

I hold myself.


Fragile

fragmented

love.


Sharp edges

slice through belief

in an age-old

truth.


Betrayal flows

through my

veins.

I wish

my blood was

watered with tears.


I cry.


How could I have known

You were a different sort ?


A mother, but not.

Burning Bright - Villanelle

No lamp ever burned so bright,
As the love shining in her eyes,
Twinkling like the starry light.

A heart sparkling with delight,
Though cloaked heavy with disguise,
No lamp ever burned so bright.

In his mind, she was a sprite,
Gaze reflecting sweet surprise,
Twinkling like the starry light.

Lost, he called on her in fright,
Body wracked with tortured cries,
No lamp ever burned so bright.

She waited, unaware of his plight,
Unafraid of gloomy goodbyes,
Twinkling like the starry light.

Her love died alone that night,
So many came, all futile tries;
No lamp ever burned so bright,
Twinkling like the starry light.

When These Days Pass Me By

When these days pass me by
I'll know for sure where I stand
Learn who'll leave, say goodbye
Who'll stay behind to hold my hand

When these moments are long gone
I'll know what should have been said
Where it was that I went wrong
Whose smile it was that I left dead

When these dreams break I'll know
Why the truth is never seen
Why desire makes the sorrow grow
Why is what should have never been

When I find myself again
Questions will be lost to time
But how long will I remain
Till your home is in my mind?

The Chains Within - Acrostic

Trembling limbs gingerly stretch;

hard bone both inside and out
encompasses their existence.

Cloistered within each breath
heaving against stone-like will,
astonishment at the effort
invades the staid determination :
numb to all external impulse,
striving to strip away shackles.

Wishing away the restraints;
ivory cage for the brainchild,
trussed up by itself, no other
holds it - still no release;
intense thoughts have no fetters,
none, but the chains within.