Sweet Sorrow

You are the tremble when I am alone,
that lingering fear that won’t subside,
the nightmare that intrudes on my sleep,
memories that make me feel sick inside.

the little voice that says I’m not good enough
and will never realize my dreams.
You took the sun, the moon
and the stars from my eyes;
left my heart bursting at the seams.

You are the pain in my children’s sighs
the scars I continue to bear,
the darkness I try to leave behind,
the rumors, the lies, the stares.

You are the misery that pushed me
to finally say goodbye,
the courage to walk out the door
and the desperation to fly.

~

Look in the Mirror

Pointing fingers,
fingers pointing
to everyone but yourself.
Blame is an easy exit,
no traffic and accessible
from any angle.

What angle
will you access next?

I flick away your daggers
like mosquitos, eyes closed, flailing
until you run out of ammunition,
and just when you think you have me
in a corner, I claw my way out,

bounce back, like your lies will
when truth floats to the surface.

Rumors are superficial
and my skin is getting thick
like the air when you speak,
but, at the end of the day,
we both have mirrors.

What do you see in yours?

~

Reincarnation

It is just so easy with you,
like chords to a familiar song
lyrics sung a thousand times
we never tire of.

Too cliche for poetry,
these sentiments;
this heart,
this touch too natural
for just one life.

That first day –
you, coming down the escalator,
me, waiting
in the little black dress;

lesson:

always wear waterproof mascara
at airports.

I had never noticed a sunrise
like that one the morning after

and every day since.

~

Rise and Fall

Before you leave,
fill me

with thoughts;

dance my petals.
Swirl, stream,
flow, flood my mind
with sweet possibilities;

breaths of anticipation
to keep me warm

until stars come.

~

Saturday, in the Park

It was not
when you picked that flower,

but when you placed it
gently in my hair,
that I knew.

~

After Midnight

Should I wrap syllables around chords;
adjectives in pirouette, falling softly
in sibilance, would you accompany me
in collaboration, just we two and the stars?

Trimming the Tree

Two days after Thanksgiving,
so I need the step stool to get
last year’s Christmas tree box
from the garage to unwrap my
chubby-cheeked snowmen, red
birds with feet covered in tinsel
and ten or twelve post-a-notes
with addresses I never added to
the Christmas card list. You
put on some hot chocolate with
cinnamon and leftover berry pie
and I’ll get our pj’s and the
Elvis Blue, Blue Christmas cd
and meet you under the tree.

~

Let’s Just Talk About the Weather

Stop, just for a few minutes
and let me trace the laugh lines;
find new journeys in your eyes
where naivety used to be.
I will listen, vehemently
to your viewpoint
while passion lights the face
that I have come to know.

For just a few moments
of precious time,

Sit with me,
drink a cup
and watch time fly,

because it does, you know.

~

Words, Like Diamonds

Upon watching me open my eyes,
he has a different look
and when he touches my face,
this time,
his fingers pause
to meet my gaze

as he mentions my intelligence;
not in his usual comedic tone
that I love so much,
not with a smile,
but, a declaration!

I never thought he saw
through the giggling and affection,
the baby talk,
the flutter of lashes
and tears
when I read his love letters.
or find the flowers
hidden behind his back.

No one has ever called me that before.
I have never felt worthy of these words
spoken sweetly
and for no other reason
than to make me see it
for myself.

~

Love in D Minor

Had I a harp, there would be the saddest song
as fingers, like syllables, express my each note,
every lump-in-the-throat moment releasing pain,
noise, doubt and fear into a simultaneous chorus,
but, oh how lovely a sound! If string strokes were
blessings, I would be prosperous; an old oak tree
bearing green, shadowing flowers, kissing stars in
blush of Spring. A thousand moons cannot mend
this heart of hearts when the tearing begins and
one more shower floods possibilities attempting
to drown faith with torrents of fate-filled ache.

~

A Blues Overture

I.

Have you ever looked into a crystal clear ocean
so clear you can see your face
and dreamt of warmth trickling down silky skin,
your tresses swooshing as every inch of you
floats without a care, but then you jump in,
and the water isn’t so pure, but a clouded,
polluted pool of displeasure?
Moss covers your once supple skin
and twinges of regret drift to the surface
before the tide rushes in,
shoving your face in the sand,
subsequent waves
kicking you when you’re down,
and you feel too weak to ever rise again.

II.

The sun shows its face for the interlude,
smiling down like a mother upon a child.
You wake up leafless, but blooming
like flowers in Spring- fields of daffodils,
pansies of every color calling your name,
blushing like the pink in your cheeks
and your bare feet fall in adoration
with the soil they run upon;
lips curved and counting beautiful days.

III.

The moon serenades the constellations
in a clandestine concert with the wind
and the letters of your future align with his;
perfect symmetry in an errant atmosphere
no one thought existed, because in a perfect world,
miracles don’t exist. In minds void of imagination,
fairy tales never flourish, but here they do
where him and her become them with nature
dancing this perfect uninvited dance,
this parade of fireflies and giggles
until the finale.

~

She Didn’t Even Mind the Rain

She left everything
but the clothes on her back
and a notebook of poetry
written in hindsight,

tiptoed into the light,
barefoot and wet
just like she came in.

~