in millennia
someone will sift
through my ashes
and find that some part
finally turned into
a diamond
it will glitter
in their gloved hand
under dust clinging
to rough facets
looking in
will they see
me or just their
reflection in me
Tag: writing
Poem 20160109
the abandoned heart is beating
it struggles on, but not in spite,
or beating, rather, not to spite
but because it knows nothing else
dreading the silence of the night,
the abandoned heart is beating
to hear itself, steady rhythm
the only comfort it has left
cold darkness too, this loss of words,
a handful of half-told truths–though
the abandoned heart is beating
it will–can not beat forever
these days are soft sun-filled hours
and gray clouds hiding silent stars
that whisper, it is a lie that
the abandoned heart is beating
Poem 20160108
i can’t wait
to tear out my heart
when we meet
please accept
the gift of my affection
–beating does not cease
Poem 20160107
easy enough to count
the breaths
to breathe in
breath out
one
feel the tension
in your whole body–
make it tense
on purpose
two
and let it go
feeling muscles
go limp
droop
three
you did this
to yourself
or your body did it
to you
four
and now you have to
find some way to
even it all out
wait, what number–
one
Poem 20160106
this rain has not watered
the garden of my vocabulary
the opposite
it has dried up my word-hoard
left my tongue and spirit withered
and filled my cheeks with dust
Poem 20160105b
the smell of rain
is the smell of everything
ground into the earth
into the pavement
the asphalt
rising back up to heaven
the odor of ghosts
phantom deeds
and ethereal desires
to walk in the rain
is to be haunted
by what falls
and what rises
Poem 20160105
vast blanket of clouds
everything is gray–even
as my vision clears
Poem 20160104
every movement between them
like a clockwork
made of gossamer and shadows
the heat
long cooled into something
less malleable but so much more
flexible and durable
Poem 20160103
they stick in your throat
the words
they struggle
under your adam’s apple
a constriction
a spasm of the muscles
poorly coordinated nerves
preventing them from exiting
they stick
“i’m sorry”
try to swallow them down
“i was wrong”
let them
let them
let them open your mouth
let them open your mouth
“i was wrong”
let them be heard
“i love you”
Poem 20160102
still water
cut by boats
cut by the sun
shining like a knife
across the surface
still water
supporting floating gulls and cormorants
lazily chasing darting sandpipers
–somewhere out of sight
the bark of a seal
a dog shakes the winter water
from his coat
emerging from the sea
smiling as only a dog can smile
in this mix of warm sun
cold ocean and fresh air
Words and Feathers 