Braille

I washed away the dust but couldn’t wipe away the tears
That started forming in the mist of words we say but, all the same, nobody hears
I placed my hand upon your chest and tried to feel it rise
Beneath the breath that I was holding, as if doing so would stop the sun’s demise

I bailed the water filling up the boat that ran ashore
And tried to save the anchor plummetting and promising to pull me to the floor
I placed my fingers on your wrist and tried to feel your pulse
Beneath the slowing of my own as if, in silence, I’d secure what truths avulse

I wrote your name in frost upon a broken window pane
And found my feet were wayward wanderers that never chose to pick a better lane
I placed my thumb upon your cheek and tried to find a tear
Beneath the ones that I was shedding when I finally realized you weren’t here

I wore away the shackles but I couldn’t shed the chain
And tried to give you every smile without telling you I was, I am, in pain
I gave my heart to you without admitting it was frail
And pressed my fingers to your lips and hoped they said the words “I love you” even if they only said the words in braille

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Aglaia

Did you see the light that flickered in her eyes?
The candle of her soul that she protects with little lies?
And how she fails but smiles just because she tries?
But later cries…

Did you see the thunder in her storming heart?
The lightning and the hurricanes she puts into her art?
And how she fears the end, but never fears to start?
Or to depart…

Did you see the ink upon her fingertips?
The worlds of inspiration that are locked within her lips?
And how her silence lingers like a long ellipse?
Like an eclipse…

Float

What began a note proclaimed
Of words and what they ought contain
So spiraled out and over like a portrait that could not be framed

Slipping past and so beyond
Like little worlds on floating fronds
Where tangled tongues were trying not to jeopardize a bond

So became a final note
That flew and fell as any mote
Of dust, for in the winds of want, not every soul can float

Litany

Does it claw at your heart like an echo of winter in June?
Does it tear at your soul like a violin playing goodbye?
Does it pull at your ocean of watery will like a moon?
Does it promise to hold you
In all that you go through
And cherish your laughter, and soften your tears when you cry?

Does it weigh on your shoulders in ways that you cannot define?
Does it cling to your chest like a breath that you’re fearful to take?
Does it leave its impression in all of your best-written lines?
Does it tell you tomorrow
Will lessen in sorrow
And be like a kiss that from slumber could pull you awake?

Does it hang at your neck like a locket from someone you lost?
Does it hold to your wrist like a lover afraid to let go?
Does it sing like a siren in waters you dared never cross?
Does it know you’re imperfect
But tell you, “You’re worth it…”
And see all the roses you fear that you’ve hidden in snow?

Does it haunt you like memories made of the moments you miss?
Does it pluck at the strings in your heart in a delicate way?
Does it hang in the air like your answer to, “What do you wish?”
Does it whisper forever
In each written letter
Til love is too pale of a word to convey what they say?

Redemption

I’d steal the sun to let you live a while
And lose the will to move to let you have another mile
But woes upon my shoulders
They cannot repair your smile
So the sun, it merely smolders
And we, motionless, remain in hushed denial

I’d burn the world to keep your heart from chilling
And brave the hurricanes in life to fix the pain you’re feeling
But seeking out tornadoes
Cannot stop your heart from stilling
Or repair your broken halo
So we watch the winter come, however willing

I’d break a million vows to save your promise
And wage a war of eons if it leads you where the calm is
But wounds of my endeavor
They cannot make you admonish
What was never mine to sever
So you slip away and still I act astonished

I’d die if just to know that you were living
And drown within our sins, however dark and unforgiving
But what I’d lose to save you
It cannot replace what’s missing
From the heart I never gave you
But I look into the sky, and all the same, continue wishing

 

Eclipses

There were banners made
And every one
Was streaming shades
Of morning sun

From parapets of my imagination
Like the bare regrets of dimming fascination

There were clouds of white
And each the same
Was filled with light
Til each became

A window that was opening to greet you
A crescendo with no confidence to meet you

There were images
Of closing eyes
Where limits live
Composing lies

A quill I took from you in admiration
With a willing look of somber supplication

There were written vows
And every one
Is silent now
And sealed from sun

Just sentences that fade like an ellipsis
That were sent away like days with long eclipses

Elysium

Circle back to heaven on your wings of air and soar
To places I recall, for you and I were there before
Resting like a eulogy of hope that dared adore
As if an intersection where the sea and sun could share the shore

Drift into the wind as if a feather meant to fly
To consolations crafted like a letter sent reply
Held forever hovering as “whether” went to “why”
As exclamations made of you then punctuated the intent of I

Fall beyond the precipice that held your view to here
To places that are beautiful and skies are blue and clear
Made into the symphony I heard in lieu of fear
As if your words were an Elysium you granted me when you were near

Pull me through the shadows and the absent barren view
To valleys and to vistas long ago, for there we knew
The sky was never large enough to keep you where you flew
And all the same, I didn’t care as long as when you landed I was there with you