Sample 1: Draft
"Faith in the Flame"
it only takes the
tiniest flame
(that is, of hope)
the subconscious,
persistent tug of
undying sparks
coming from life's
most crucial and
unapologetic
impressions of faith
a singular perfection
rotating in orbit
around our earthly home
your thoughts are
permitted to roam
where they please, simply
because an unnamed angel
will always be there
to add kindling
to the inner fireplace
that keeps your soul warm
by sending out
toasty waves of
fire-roasted compassion
throughout
your bloodstream
making it impossible
to fall into
a kind of deepest despair
never fear, darling,
for you do not
belong there
(I linger here for you, evermore...)
Selections
"Embowered in the Hollow"
it is enough for me
to close my eyes and see the stars
the crescendoing sound
of leaves whipped up in a breeze
I crouch in the hollow of an
old oak
undergoing a melodious and slow
decay into night
I vanish into the breathing silence
bewitching the lids of my eyes
so they won't open
upon your rustling step
into this shady abode
you drank up the midnight
and crept along the forest floor
to where I lay amidst the vines,
like my arms I'll wrap
round and round your so tempting torso
bathed in milk-brewed moonlight
the wandering moon crosses the sky
and blesses the land
where we sleep
blue-light subtle kisses
reflecting off of blades of grass
and lily pads
your warmth
keeps away the chill of fog
and my heart scoops out love
in cups
poured forth into your heaving
breathless dawn
Sample 1: Edit
"Faith in the Flame"
it only takes the
tiniest flame
the subconscious,
persistent tug of
enduring sparks
stemming from life's
most unapologetic
impressions of faith
a singular sphere of hope
in slow revolution
around our earthly home
a place where
your dreams
are invited to roam
where they please, simply
because an unnamed angel
will always be there
to add kindling
to the inner fireplace
kept warm by your soul
by sending out
toasty waves of
fire-roasted compassion
throughout your bloodstream
rendering it impossible
to fall into
the deepest pits
of despair
never fear, darling,
for you do not
belong there
we'll linger here,
evermore...
"Rails in Parallel"
the way your name
hums its way through me,
coming to rest
like a welcome splinter
in my mind
surfaces smooth
like shards of glass
released by the
salty sea
edges sanded down
by knowing hands
my blue eyes
brim with recognition
as all my tired walls
dissolve around me
I noticed,
my love,
the foresight
you must have had
to mold and shape
the wedge you've placed
so I would feel
no pain at all,
not a single trace
I slip
without falling
onto our shared
synaptic trailway
our connected cars
travel backwards
and forwards along
the once shallow
grooves
widening ever wider
and digging ever deeper
you lift me
into your arms,
carrying me home
to the luminous
cavern we've created
a fire in the corner
roasting cinders
of remembered wounds
smoldering now
into shades
of gray smoke
Sample 2: Draft
"Hummingbird"
Dark-bellied hummingbird
with back feathers
so vibrant and green
it's as though you've
tucked the sun within
you hover there in middair,
performing a dance
of hectic suspension
rays of sun triangulating
to illuminate
your effusive greens,
your electric orange hue
I'm hypnotized by
your neon beauty,
jealous of your freedom,
enraptured by
the measure of
your treasure
my utter shock
to have caught
you in my gaze
seeing you there,
caught completely unaware
it was like staring
into life's beating heart
seeing these beating wings--
the very pulse of the universe
the hummingbird
divulges the universe's
most secret song...
a tune, it turns out,
I knew all along
"Lady Luna plays a game"
the moon is
intrusive in the corner
of my eye
as I drive by
this midnight pasture
half alive
I try to close my eyes
against her brilliant face
like a fatal trick
while her heavy-laden
impressions weigh down
reality's bending fabric
I feel thirsty
and drawn
to her sallow complexion
I yearn to be her audience
captive and incomplete
having never
ventured to taste her
milky sweetness
my maiden, perforce,
haul me inside
your fragile gravity
so I can see
the thin sparks of fire
hovering just above
the lack of air
in your graveyard atmosphere
they're waiting
to be ignited by footsteps
that tarry no longer
I lean back,
interlocked with your
romantic power
caught in the florid waves
of the sunny side
of your face
and my soul
bows down to thee
Sample 2: Edit
"Hierophany of the Hummingbird"
bird with belly
of bruised blue
ink dark feathers
imbricated in
tempest waves
dark folds
no light betrays
hovering outside
the window in midair,
performing a dance
of hectic suspension
a strung balance beam
of attention
bridges outward
from my eyes
as rays of
channeled sun
triangulate
to illuminate
the emergent emeralds
and cresting carnelians
nestled within
your effusive wings
how utter my shock
at finding you here...
how jealous
my vulnerable heart
as its beating
threatens to cease
I feel my body
dematerialize inside
the refracted facets
of your neon beauty
for your wings, your wings
generate the subconscious hum
beneath all things
borne on dissected wind,
the rhythm
of your parting gift
tunes me to an
elemental frequency
the measured chorus
disclosing the hidden pulse
of a holy transparency
“For Reckoners”
I wanna crack you open
and pour you out like an inkwell
dip my old-fashioned feather pen
in the pool you make
and spread your soul across
a million blank pages
the ink's shades an electric neon
that glows in the dark and
occasionally pops up off the page
I wanna scrunch your body small
and sit you on the tip of a needlepoint
poke thread through the stars
and weave you into
a shapeless constellation
that makes unborn sailors sigh
on the planks of shadowed ships
I wanna take a swim through
the blackness of your eye's pupil
glide through the darkness
until my arms go numb
and when I'm done, I'll rest
on the edge of your iris
until midnight comes
and the clock never changes
I wanna make you expand
along like the universe
until your pores are stretched so wide
they swallow up galaxies
creating pathways of recycled time
until you yourself
time itself
lasts forever
Sample 3: Draft
"Forest Witch"
Knocking at your
door across the sea
ivory-honed wand
resting inside the
deep-slung pockets
of her robe
knocks three times
so faint at first
you glance toward
the heavy wooden door,
but only peripherally
asking yourself
whether or not
you dare to dance
with midnight
whether or not
you'll allow
howling wolf-song
to darken your doorstep...
you find no solace
in indecision
for the carved ornate wand
has slowly made its way
into her omniscient hand
the spell so subtlely cast,
you never even noticed
she'd done it
your mouth
so suddenly weeps,
tongue salivating
for the taste of her
ambrosia kiss
your hands
finding their way
to her swinging waist
one wave of
her wand
sends you
floating on her
hexing melodies
to a bedpost
blessed by fate's
soothing embrace
a lone candle
shines in the corner
of the room
casting shadows
and doutbt
she draws you
slowly down upon
the mossy mattress
her entire being
quenches like an elixir
untouched by malice
both of you yearning
to give into the
strength of this curse
intoxicated by her
midnight magic
you wake into
the dream of her dawn
Sample 3: Edit
"Forest Witch"
Knocking at your door,
far away across the sea
honed ivory wand
resting demurely
within the
deep-slung pockets
of her shaggy robe
knocks three times,
so faintly at first
you glance toward
the heavy oak door,
but only peripherally
reason's blade held firm
against your throat,
demanding an answer
it glides back and forth
as you ask yourself
whether or not you
dare to dance
with a lady draped in
tattered midnights
whether you'll allow
the howling wolfsong
carried on the wind
to darken your
lonely doorstep
knowing you'll find
no solace
in indecision
for the ornately
carved wand
has already made its way
into her impatient,
prescient hand
the spell,
so subtly cast,
you never even noticed
she'd done it,
that the door's been
flung open...
your mouth
so suddenly weeps,
tongue salivating
for the sweetness of her
ambrosia kiss
your hands find their way
to her swinging waist
revolving and
undulating to the tune
of her hexing breath
she waves her wand,
and your feet no longer
touch the ground...
your suspended body
floats in beams of moonlight
spying through the windows
you glide
through the air
underneath the bedroom's
shadowy canopy
following the trail
of her scent,
fragrant like
a forest
full of herbs
her entire being
quenches like an elixir
innocent of cruelty,
untouched by malice
a lone candle's
stretching light
reaches forward
like fate's own hand
to soothe and to bless
she draws you
down upon the
moss-softened mattress
each of you yearning
to succumb to this
incantatory bliss
intoxicated by
the essence of
her evergreen aura
you wrap her tightly
in your emboldened arms,
aching to meet her mystery
in the hours before dawn