Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Sigh

hazelnut vanilla tea,
red and orange dahlias,
big sunglasses

rosewood fretboard, 
fresh basil, lemon thyme,
slate flagstones.

picture frames,
double-stitched leather, 
orchard apples.

first snowflake on forgetful tongue,
vanilla-lavender pillow spray,
camel-colored flannel sheets.



My Most Feared Critique

Fraudulent,
self-involved and contrived.
Undeserving and meritless,
a sentimentality that reeks of inexperience.
Writes as if trying to keep a reputation 
she has yet to earn.

Lacking nuance.

Aches with predictibility.

Afraid to get messy, dirty, covered, stumbled upon.
One-dimentional characterizations fail,
are pretentious
purely without risk.



Monday, March 30, 2009

Outage

Losing power creates idleness.
Walk,  turn;  Flip, switch
Footstep count communication
Button, cord, wire.
When it's gone
We sit.
In the dark.


Losing power creates renewal.
Candles, dusk
Function trumps aesthetic purpose.
Return to flame, warmth, comfort,
Sight in darkness
Protection from the damp and cold.


I try to explain this
He says,
"When did we lose electricity today?"


I smile to myself.



To Love

Too frail to last and fleeting
Love
        Turn-of-the-Century, Date-Night Love
wanders through my years
Hoarse whispered and softly breathing
Its voice echoes in my ears
And one by one
They come undone
The joinings of my peers.
For one might say,
"Love endures, is not boastful or unkind."
And one might say,
"Charity endures, is not wanton or decietful"
And one might say,
"These things endure, greatest all is Love"
But each lover has boastful, wanton pride
We patrons of Love
So falsely proclaim our forever-ness
While coveting spontaneity,
Rush and flush and fiction
And quickly put asunder are the ties
So Love,
too frail to harmonize
shatters from the first sign of dissonance
of temptation or anger or hurt
        And so did I
But Forgiveness prevailed

And the greatest of all is Love?