the sun glitters atop a river’s bend the breeze softly lifts a single leaf, soaring above the river, between the trees
slowly it goes,
never falling,
never settling
for a moment everything pauses, animals stop to turn, stunned by radiance amongst the greenery
a rare moment of silence,
of peace, of joy,
produced at exactly the right time
and I’d like to think
that when others look upon us
with our hearts in tune,
they too will rejoice in the quiet sunshine
of the peace, joy, and love
of how deep it runs,
how wide it flows,
how everything it touches glows
after years of hoping things would change
and giving in to “well, that’s the way it is,”
look me in eyes and realize
this is who we are,
who we’ve become,
it’s finally come true –
our love’s become old news.
we never lived up to the story of make-believe;
when we face each other
I must believe this is the choice
we’ve been making.
every morning & every night,
from here on out
this the only way to keep going,
alone.
turn these dog-eared pages of our lives
for other truths to be told,
for other hands to hold.
from countless days of emptiness
from your professions,
your attempts at affirmations,
something in me knows better:
there’s more to love than a collection of memories, there’s more to see than foil-wrapped treasuries.
what passed in the space between us?
a moment, a disappointment,
and I leave it all in the past.
what’s to come? a path we’ve never tread, yet time’s been stolen and minutes slip away.
the clock stares and we wait for affections from a new love, a new life in a new bed.
The title comes from a comment Joni Mitchell made when describing the theme of her music, one part hopeful and one part “the portrait of disappointment.”
With a flip of the wrist
there’s a song
directing you on a time warp,
back to the time you fell in love
with the girl of your dreams,
or so she was at the time.
With every turn of the dial
there she is
and yet, there you are
years apart.
It only lasts 3 minutes but it’s the one that crawls under your skin late at night when you’re all alone, when thoughts run in circles.
During the middle of the day
it’ll punch your gut
as time melts away,
sending shivers
down the corners of your back.
When you look across the way,
there she is,
and yet, there you are
years apart.
When you hear that song you wish it’d send hope for something better, instilling excitement.
You want that song
to be sent in your direction
expressing “Think of me,
as much as I do you.”
And yet, there she is,
and there you are
years apart.
There’s no stopping it. There’s no going back. Even if I tried the pull of your force is stronger than my will to go.
See how the current meets the sea, not stopping midway to ponder its existence, to debate whether it should or if it belongs. It flows where gravity takes it, where nature pulls and it goes where it should go.
And so, I stop to wonder- is nature at work pulling us or do you possess a magnificent force pulling me in to the deepest sea without a way to return? Is it wrong to ask or shall I flow naturally where the current leads?
There’s no stopping it. There’s no going back. Even if I tried the pull of your force is stronger than my will to go.
Eyes down, eyes averted from the truth I took a chance A glance in your direction Then your eyes met mine
Me in my red dress You in that captivating charm We couldn’t ignore the electricity that sparked As we longed to embark on a fiery journey
It didn’t take much
A sly grin as a welcoming
A slight brush against my thigh
A beating began within our chests
And traveled to our loins
And we knew
And you said, “Now the real danger begins.”
It was a spark to ignite the nuclear holocaust
Everyone in its wake affected
caught by the fire
or deserted after the storm had passed
All I wanted was your hands lifting my red dress
To feel your warm breath next to my skin
To hear the song of poetry between two lovers
I didn’t want much but I craved it all
After that first taste.
I wake to the sound of him
pinging my phone.
It’s too early for
bright-eyed longing stares
to the love of my life
as my eyes burn from
the phone’s bright light.
With eyes barely opened,
I reach over to tell him
“Good morning, my love.”
He sends his love in return
and I feel his love beating
through my chest from across the pond.
How his smile awakens every
nerve in my body, how it eases
every ache that arises as my body
shifts. If I lie here long enough
to soak in his beaming smile it’ll
surely eradicate the piercing forming
through every extremity.
Tender love is our medicine,
taken in various doses throughout
the day to coast along a high plateau.
And in this moment, our morning routine
of enchanting greetings and air kisses,
it’s exactly what we need.