Bittersweet Charm

Review: Murder the Stout

2012-01-08T01:14:00.000-08:00

Easy to sing with and merry to shout to, Murder the Stout's latest EP packs a heptad of heady tunes bold as Scotch whiskey. Fronted by native Scotsman, Hugh Morrison (Lead Vocals and Squeezebox), Murder the Stout's rousing sounds are sure to delight listeners young and old.

The jollity begins with Scottish traditional "Sound the Pibroch", a stirring call to arms that seizes the ears and thrills the imagination. Kilt-wearers and their ladies will cheer for "Donald", the Highland laddie who refuses to wear "breeks" (pants) in "Troosers".

Other lively-arranged, traditional songs include a rocking rendition of "Leaving of Liverpool", "Tell Me Ma", and tribute to Ireland's Easter Rising, "The Foggy Dew".

"Six o' Clock Swill", Murder the Stout's own, is a delightful song about the last call of the day - a working man's anthem. Another MTS original, "That's Just Me", concludes the disc, telling of life being lived in full, from good lands to bad lands, high roads to low roads, good girls to bad girls.

From first note to last, Murder the Stout proves itself far more than the average pub-song rock band. With vigorous vocals, full arrangements, and excellent musicianship, this EP is certainly one worth revisiting.

Copyright: January 2012

Loblolly

2012-01-07T13:04:00.000-08:00

"Loblolly" is such a curious word. For their shade I pine; their scent, divine. Tiresome, this rhyme.

Candy Cane, Lack of Rain

2012-01-06T23:36:00.000-08:00

Feasting on a Candy Cane (I'm such a procrastinator), wondering why it's 70 degrees in January. I miss misting rain.

Carrying Daylight

2012-01-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

Devouring tunes, old and new, unbidden morning glory bathing me in warmth. Business meetings carry on, carry on.

http://www.writingourwayhome.com/2012/01/welcome-to-river-of-stones.html

Beaming, Enchanted

2012-01-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

The feel of lotion on my skin is most enchanting, its sweet fragrance tickling my nose. I beam at the prospect of tonight's adventure.

http://www.writingourwayhome.com/2012/01/welcome-to-river-of-stones.html

Red Quiet

2012-01-03T21:46:00.000-08:00

Silence but for the familiar clacking of the keyboard. I turn to the wall and laugh, recalling the firetruck lipstick adorning my mouth.

http://www.writingourwayhome.com/2012/01/welcome-to-river-of-stones.html

"Lens"

2012-01-03T02:03:00.000-08:00

Brushes tickling,

Rouges tricking,

Lenses clicking,

So bewitching.

Photos which tell you,

"She is beautiful."

Toothpaste dripping,

Tile slipping,

Toe-nail clipping,

Blouse ripping.

Photos which tell me,

"You are beautiful."

Fingers shaking,

Hearts racing,

Limbs quaking,

Love making.

Photos which tell us,

"We are beautiful."

Society, scathing,

Media, grating,

Women, pacing -

No gyrating.

Photos which tell them,

"None are beautiful."

Pen and paper,

Water vapor,

Tongue scraper,

Midnight caper,

Photos which tell me,

"Life is beautiful."

Copyright: January 2012

Music for Grackle-Viewing

2012-01-02T12:34:00.000-08:00

Admiring the purple sheen of a grackle, I twirl my headphone cord. Inside its jelly casing, wires translate waves into Radiohead's latest.

Part of the River of Stones Writing Challenge: http://www.writingourwayhome.com/2012/01/welcome-to-river-of-stones.html

Horror & Tea

2012-01-01T19:59:00.000-08:00

Watching a Spanish, brain-sucker flick seems a delightful way to begin a new year. Tea water quietly bubbling in the background.

Part of the River of Stones Writing Challenge: http://www.writingourwayhome.com/2012/01/welcome-to-river-of-stones.html.

And no, I don't typically participate in such "challenges", but as I've been stuck in a poetic dry spell for months, what have I lose?

Review: Michael Brunnock's "The Orchard"

2011-12-07T20:30:00.000-08:00

Enchanting and serene, Michael Brunnock's "The Orchard" is a rich harvest of lush lyrics and moving melodies. Mixed by Grammy-award-winning Patrick Dillett and showcasing an array of guest musicians including Ari Hest, Glen Hansard, Julia Stone, and Joe Sumner, Brunnock's third charms from first swell to last ebb.

Soft, White, and Indigo is a track true to its name – a delicate, toe-tapping number of lost-love and nostalgia. Brunnock's velveteen vocals whisper in the ear with the softness of down and the very soul of the Emerald Isle. The imagery-rich Man Overboard tells of an emigrant's quest for gold, only to find the greatest wealth was what he left behind.

The dreamy, whimsical tones of Song of the Lark weave a tapestry of simple and complex, rounded off by harmonies honeyed enough to lull the bees. The inspiring, upbeat message of Change conveys a vision dreamers everywhere share.

But perhaps the best was saved for last with the magnificent Down by the Araglin, a tribute to Brunnock's balladeer grandfather. Lyrics so seamless and a melody so pure, one would swear it a traditional Irish song.

"The Orchard" is set to release in February 2012. With such marvelous musicianship, expert composition, and a conclusion so resonant, how can one not hit "repeat"?

Copyright: December 2011

"Walking"

2011-11-29T01:34:00.000-08:00

Walking to the Walking Company

In shoes, tattered and worn

To ogle the pricey merchandise

Like virgin eyes to porn.

Copyright: November 2011

"Hallelujah"

2011-11-29T01:29:00.000-08:00

Hallelujah,

I have lived the song,

Its chords haunt me no more.

So what? I was a holy whore -

'Twas then a blissful chore.

Release the fourth, release the fifth,

The lyrics that did smart,

Killed me softly,

Played the part.

Life imitates art.

Copyright: October 2011

"Carried Away"

2011-11-29T01:26:00.000-08:00

I carried away

The Carried Away,

For lack of being carried away...

Am I getting carried away?

Copyright: October 2011

Carried Away is a fragrance collection at Bath & Body Works, where I can, at times, be found lotioning the masses.

"Re-Construction"

2011-11-29T01:12:00.000-08:00

Glue my heart onto this paper,

So I'll n'er lose it again.

Sheets of construction-strength

Can still be scissor-cut.

Fill my glorified Kleenex box

With your humble Valentine.

Copyright: October 2011

"Bare"

2011-10-29T00:54:00.000-07:00

Strip me

'Til there's nothing there

But flesh.

Toss my halo out the door,

Burn my devil tail.

Lick off my mascara,

Slide my dress to the floor...

Strip me

'Til there's nothing there

But me.

Copyright: October 2011

"Man Next Door"

2011-07-16T01:46:00.000-07:00

I've just received the cheapest thrill.

The man next door

Slid his heavy chair across

Our shared concrete floor.

The consequent vibrations

Set fire to flesh,

Rippling down my form.

This, the nearest brush with carnal touch

I've had in months.

Tryst with the man next door.

Copyright: June 2011

"Consciousness"

2011-07-05T00:11:00.000-07:00

A bulb I am not,

But the light within the bulb,

Shining through the glass.

Copyright: June 2011

"Fin"

2011-07-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

This is the final hour.

Our sun is caving in.

Derelict dandelions let gale-force winds

Molest them, spilling seeds.

Inside the red-brick house,

The lady stumbles, spilling milk,

Letting loose loud obscenities,

Cursing the increasing gravity.

Copyright: June 2011

"Aromatherapy"

2011-07-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

Huffing maple,

Snuffing cinnamon

To get a sugar high.

Aromatic pleasure,

Gentle scents,

Tingling nostril fuzz.

The power of ingestion

Occurs not to those

Lost in nasal ecstasy.

Copyright: June 2011

"Intersecting"

2011-07-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

I am the center.

Everything is the center.

Intersecting lines.

Copyright: June, 2011

"Justice"

2011-06-16T01:40:00.000-07:00

I can't find the ground in common tonight.

I sit at the scales, my halo askew,

Divvying out affection and grief.

The bag called "kisses" I set on the right,

"Tears" I place on the left.

The latter collides into earth with a bang;

A simultaneous heart-pang.

The scale can't be tipped,

You had me whipped.

Once more, I'm gypped.

Copyright: June 2011

"Spelunker"

2011-06-16T00:32:00.000-07:00

A kiss I ask,

One taste to satiate

My growing craving,

My cave filling.

If you weren't otherwise engaged,

I'd beg you to go spelunking,

All my qualms and codes debunking.

At resistance, I am flunking.

Copyright: June 2011

"Germs"

2011-06-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

"Never put love

At the mercy of fear"

Is a lesson you have missed.

But 'tis all right,

My lips by you

Need not be kissed.

Pull me out on rainy days,

I'll love you on your terms,

But do not act

A bit surprised

When I have another's germs.

Copyright: May 2011

"Lucency"

2011-06-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

Aqua veins beneath

My aquarium-glass skin,

You're the fish within.

Copyright: May 2011

"Bliss"

2011-05-30T23:24:00.000-07:00

The clock chimes the midnight hour,

I stretch my ink-stained hands.

Yawing, I gaze outside the glass,

Closing my mouth on the moon.

I laugh as I think of lunar consumption,

Deciding 'tis time for a stroll.
No better meander than nine past twelve,

I abandon my rhyming creation.

I take two steps, then halt,

As I spy a blind bird chirping

Beneath my window pane.

It seems no one has told him

He is singing in the dark.

Copyright: May 2011

They say, "ignorance is bliss". Sometimes, this rings true in positive ways.

"Lobster Legs"

2011-05-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

Woman-child,

Bereft you sit,

Feverish and blister-bit.

You stayed too long

In scorching sun,

Burnt far passed cerise.

Take no more critique or guilt.

You're beautiful

And shall not wilt.

Copyright: May 2011

Written for my sister after some fun in the sun turned sour.

"Tingle"

2011-05-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

Rushing up her spine,

A thousand angel kisses.

Utmost sensation.

Always the dreamer,

Never before was the dream…

Now she awakens.

Copyright: May 2011

Double Haiku.

"Kowtow"

2011-05-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

Her loveliness fades,

As she groves at the feet

Of a vacant shrew.

Crimson bloom recedes;
Only wilting flowers bend
To another's stem.

Copyright: May 2011

Double Haiku.

"Pensive Peony"

2011-05-30T22:04:00.000-07:00

Classical cacophony captures my ears,

Caresses my soul,
Coaxes my pondering.

Fertilizing unplanted flowers

With bodily salt water.

Successful mimicry:

Nature's answer,

Growing beauty out of misery.

Copyright: May 2011

"Divine"

2011-05-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

Taste the fruit

Of the forbidden tree –

Knowledge of duality.

Serpent tempted you to breathe,

Now life itself is sin.

Love instead thy breath and flesh,

Bask in your humanity.

Every movement, every whim,

Natural, divine.

Copyright: May 2011

"One Word"

2011-05-30T21:37:00.000-07:00

You can see her veins beneath her skin.

Blue lines: intersecting highways.

Trace the tracks, connecting kin,

Reminders we are all the same.

Coursing down the hollow roads,

Red fluid like the Nile:

Water which can be transformed

By a single word.

Copyright: May 2011

"Stay Golden"

2011-05-30T21:20:00.000-07:00

I will shoulder the angst.

Ask the questions,

Experience doubt.

Live in sensation,

Walk in twilight.

You may stay hidden in light,

Plaster smile, eyes of faith.

Never a query,

Only belief.

Trust of a child-

Golden-green sprout.

Copyright: May 2011

"Diminutive Dame"

2011-05-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

I'm an orbiting spec in your universe,

Waiting to collide.

Plankton in your ocean wide,

Longing for the tide.

Copyright: May 2011

"Fool's Gold"

2011-05-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

Golden flecks sparkle on the concrete

In the early morning light.

The rains must have placed them here

To beautify our lot.

Who but a dolt can't appreciate their glimmer?

Tiny fragments of rocky soil -

Nature's glitter art.

Who are we to assign worth?

Your child's painting

Vs. Van Gogh's Wheat.

Fools chase a different gold,

A gold which never gleams.

Endless pockets without seams,

Stingy hopes, gluttonous dreams.

Copyright: May 2011

"Gelled"

2011-05-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

The gummy-bear in Jello green,

Suspended in eternal Now,

Fixedly struggles to free itself.

Copyright: April 2011

"Home"

2011-05-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

We wallow like swine in our own filth,

Many of us going blind.

But those who can see,

In a mutual plea,

Peer up at the heavens, divine.

Oft have we found a friend in the stars,

Or howled with the wolves at the moon;

Leapt like the dolphins,

Aiming for sky,

But these, our brethren, ask not 'why'.

All earthly things are cosmic in origin;

From the dry desert sands,

To the depths of the ocean;

The birds, the trees,

The bears, the bees...

Your hand, your foot,

Your hair, your knees.

Some wear Crosses or David's star,

Carry an Ankh or Saint in their car.

Bowing to Mecca,

Speaking in Tongues,

Zen meditation,

Whirling Dervish: dance sensation!

Our faiths are based upon the cosmos,

Gods created in image of Man.

We are the children of exploded stars,

Collecting lunar dust.

All paths yield but one destination.

We all simply long to go

Home.

Copyright: April 2011

"Different Drum"

2011-05-07T21:51:00.000-07:00

I'm bad with rhythm,

For it lacks verse and reason.

Dance rather than march.

Copyright: April 2011

"Wonderful World"

2011-05-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

I ever will smile at the misting rain,

Rejoice in every rainbow.

Cry at every sorrowful waste.

Laugh about that damn toothpaste.

Every sad song,

Every angry outcry

Will be eased by the words:

"What a Wonderful World".

Copyright: April 2011

"Sometime"

2011-05-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

My clock ticks in relative time;

There's no rewind,

Save in my mind.

Struggling in a fisherman's net,

Writhing and wet,

Since first we met.

My drain is blocked in summer,

Absolute bummer;

Must call a plumber.

Wish I could pluck handfuls of thyme.

Eternal this rhyme.

See you sometime.

Copyright: April 2011

"Grand Old Party"

2011-05-06T22:48:00.001-07:00

On a silken web,

The elephants play and dance.

Soon, it will collapse.

Copyright: April 2011

"Moon Spoon"

2011-04-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

In the languid evening air,
Sol casts his visage
On Luna's looking-glass.

Crystalline night,
Cradled in Nox's chandelier,
Swinging back and forth,
Rocking me to rest.

Storm clouds race to fill
A vacant sky
Formless slumber swirls
Spin and swell,
Like twirling skirts
On a star-lit floor.

Eons tick by,
Content remain I,
Unfettered by meaningless minutes.

Copyright: March 2011

"Courting"

2011-04-03T21:31:00.000-07:00

Wee royal me,
Me, the Royal We.
Jackals in the court
Times three.
Jesters charge
Whilst earls flee.
Minstrels singing,
"Dear to Thee".

Copyright: March 2011

"Vexed"

2011-04-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

Euphoria wanes.

I peer out from dusty window panes

At a sky of uncommon rains,

Hoping to spy your form.

Alone tonight again.

Absent Love, my chagrin.

Specter with a wayward grin,

Plague me, haunt me.

My edges fray

Whilst you're away.

Yearning makes my stomach sway

Only stars glimpse my tears,

You're not here to calm my fears.

"The Beholder"

2011-03-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Your gaze
Melts my core
Like butter
In a maze
Of haze and
Sugar glaze.

Here, lay I
Deep in the tide,
Nothing to hide
With thee, abide;
At my finest
In your eyes.

Copyright: March, 2011

"Heat Wave"

2011-03-11T20:14:00.000-08:00

I swell to your touch,
Sizzling, rippling like heat waves
Above the pavement.

"Tag"

2011-03-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

Yes, 'tis true,
I'm 22,
But rivers flow,
Far older than you.

Children play,
Hanging from trees,
Tagging to freeze,
Wiser than we.

Observing adults,
Both vast and small,
Makes me tag you
Higher than all.

Copyright: March 2011

"White Sands"

2011-02-23T17:08:00.000-08:00

Let me be your island,
Your White Sands;
Refuge from the raging sea.

Copyright: February 2011

"Birth of Subtle"

2011-02-23T15:45:00.000-08:00

Straddling the lines
Between yin and yang,
Subtlety is born.

Copyright: February 2011

"Afterglow"

2011-02-23T15:30:00.000-08:00

Amaretto tear slides down polka-dot glass.
My tongue darts out to thwart its fall,
Tasty parachute.

As you speak of business and life,
I wade in the tide-pools of your eyes,
The scent of you tickling my nose,
Your hands on the table,
Teasing to please.

You linger on my clothes
Long after we press close.
I bite my lip,
I curl my toes,
I churn out syrupy prose…

Your palms, so clear
In my mind's eyes,
Slowly traveling up my thighs.

Two dreamers,
One reality.
Baking in the afterglow.

Copyright: February 2011

"Salt Rain"

2011-02-22T00:35:00.000-08:00

The mist outside my window
Beckons me arise
And join the silent chorus,
Ten thousand whishing cries.

The only appetite I own
Is for neither food, nor flesh.
I long to quench this smoldering fire
Beneath my ample breast.

Give me water,
Give me flood;
Salt rain,
Streaming down my face,
Salt rain.

Copyright: February 2011

"Mist"

2011-02-22T00:22:00.000-08:00

Favored precipitation.
Neither rain nor dry,
Clouds descend
To make Earth sky.

Copyright: February 2011

"Dear Texas"

2011-02-11T00:12:00.000-08:00

Dear Texas,
I miss the winter.
Though it's February,
I see children playing in the water
Of a swimming pool.

Toss to me my sunscreen,
I wouldn't want to burn
As I walk in haste
To get the mail:
"Extra Extra!"
Ordinary.

Copyright: February 2011

"White Flag"

2011-02-05T00:31:00.000-08:00

Throw up my hands and sigh,
Surrender to contentment.
Many things I know,
But more I've left to learn.
I've reached an epiphany:
I shall not understand,
And in so doing,
Understood.
I am precisely where I need to be.

"Return to Sender"

2011-01-23T00:11:00.000-08:00

The blackness underneath my nails
Is not soil, but chocolate:
Fertilizer for the lips.

From my alabaster hope chest,
Pull forth a dusty star,
Forgotten by the ages.

But thee I will remember,
Even when resting in my pine box,
Marked "Return to sender".

Copyright: January 2011

"Fool Hard"

2011-01-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

O Universe, art though sadistic?
Or am I, in fact, masochistic?
You gave me precisely my desire:
Paradoxical, soothing fire.

Now it is here,
Too afraid to draw near
I'll singe my eyebrows, I fear.

So befuddled, I sit,
Ironing my wit,
Writing my writ,
Tapping my slit,

Screaming with laughter,
Void of all banter,
Nothing but chatter
In the realm of abstract,
Feather boa pillows.

I concede to your teachings,
Whatever they be,
For I see now,
The joke is on me.

Copyright: January 2011

"Black-Eyed Sign"

2011-01-05T23:52:00.000-08:00

Upon the glinting silver
Of the polished chrome,
Rests a solitary black-eyed pea
Winking back at me.

Somehow it withstood
The cleaning of the sink;
Chemicals, water, foam
Could not it remove.

A remnant of a celebration,
The New Year, past rung in,
There to silently remind me
That all things shall be well,
All things shall be well.

Copyright: January 2011

"Pedestals"

2010-12-20T00:17:00.000-08:00

"Hullo down there"!
I call from the pedestal
Upon which you've placed me.
There is no substance in cyber space;
Towers cannot contain flesh.

From castles, high,
Perspective is lost;
Peering up causes vertigo.
Never will you know the touch
Of those you place on pedestals.

Copyright: December 2010

"Lock Keeper"

2010-12-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

I cut a lock of hair today:
A keepsake for when I wax grey.
I watched stray strands
Fly out the window,
Catching the breeze as they fell.

'Twas soon a russet field mouse
Happened upon my hairs,
Deciding to pocket them for his bed
Upon to lay his lady doe.

Expecting a litter of nine,
She exclaimed the new fibers, fine!
Warm and neat, the bed complete,
The mouse family grew ten-fold!

One night the smallest mouse pup
Tracked out a fire-gold strand,
Caught between his little toes,
Tickling as he trod.

His mother found the pesky strand
And fished it from his foot.
She placed it neatly on the ground,
Upon neglected turf.

A song sparrow fluttering by
Spied a sparkle, catching her eye.
A flash of gold, novelty untold!
Perfect to cheer her vacant nest.

She carried her prize to the tallest oak,
On which her home was placed,
Built to offer snug sanctuary
To nestlings, now flown away.

A song she warbled to the wind,
Both mournful and gay; bittersweet.
A nearby cock picked up the tune
And echoed her 'tweet, tweet, tweet'.

She beckoned him fly up to her nest
And nestled her head against his breast.
The new love-birds spooned, lost in the swoon,
Dislodging the small share of hair.

Far above rivers then traveled my hair,
Past streams, meandering,
Over deltas, dwindling,
Dispersing, and kissing the sea.

As though aware, my golden strand landed
In a hair pile near the shore.
Waiting to be stuffing for nylons:
Relief for an oil-soaked Gulf.

Blackened and slick, no more to gleam,
My hair strand's journey was done,
At last at rest in a stocking sack,
Cleaning up humanity's slack.

I cut a lock of hair today:
A keepsake for when I wax grey.
I watched stray strands
Fly out the window,
Catching the breeze as they fell.

Copyright: December 2010

Just a simple children's poem I may one day expand upon.

"Imaginary Branches"

2010-12-19T23:15:00.000-08:00

Unrequited love is fun for none;
'Tis best you learn to let go,
For it's better to fall and kiss the earth
Than to cling from imaginary branches.

Copyright: November 2010

"Rapture"

2010-11-28T00:35:00.000-08:00

The alarm won't sound.
No awaking, only dreams.
Infinite slumber.

Copyright: November 2010

"In Your Shoes"

2010-11-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

At last you arrive,
Tracking earth onto pristine floors,
Virginal, prior to your boots.

Here, nothing changed,
Whilst you trekked through forests,
Over deserts and oceans,
Tied by strings to the yo-yo moon.

O, to taste Italian breads,
And hear Welsh choir boys;
Feel the salt breeze and misting rain
Upon my ample brow.

You've been to Sapanta,
Seen merry death,
Smelt the lavender bloom in Hvar!

When I ask of your travels,
Monosyllable answers,
As though your eyes were closed.

You are unchanged,
Unaffected, the same.
The soil on your shoes
Gleaned more than did you!

Not to bleat on,
But I would have basked
In each culture and various decorum...
But instead, hard fate!,
I cleaned your linoleum.

Copyright: November 2010

A fairly high percentage of the working class cannot afford regular travel. The grandiose sights and simple pleasures of "foreign" lands are often lost on the wealthy. Many can only dream of the places others have seen. Even still, dreamers see more than those who walk through life with their eyes closed. It is better to imagine and never see than to see and still be blind.

"Romance Lost"

2010-11-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

The clothing hangers
Are attired for Valentine's Day,
Swaying in closets,
Musty and dank,
Away from crisp air
And scented rooms,
Attiring not the frames
Of tiny dancers.

Copyright: November 2010

"Pearlious"

2010-11-03T19:21:00.000-07:00

If the children of stars
Cannot live in peace,
The tiny black truffle
In the oyster of my eye
Will never become
A pearl.

My child-like, abstract way of bemoaning a species which refuses to be peaceful. I will never fully feel at ease in such an ill society.

"Sauna"

2010-11-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

I open the door
Of my self-made sauna,
Allowing moist air to flee.

Droplets form
On the looking glass,
Sliding down my figure's reflection.

Heavy breathing,
Hot discourse - a mirage,
Peering into another place.

Copyright: November 2010

"Star Stuff"

2010-11-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

I like to connect
Seemingly opposite things,
For all is star stuff.

Copyright: November 2010

"Sub-Atomic"

2010-09-23T01:20:00.000-07:00

Night, here, is silent.
The woman who never sleeps
Sings a ballad to the town
That never opens its eyes.

Cicadas keep cadence
As her murmuring tones
Stir the blackened stillness,
Like a sluggish river
Flowing into the sea:
Sound waves and hush
Become brackish.

It is difficult to recall
The chaos of day
In the folds of swathing darkness.
One might seize the moon
To play marbles with planets.
The fabric of space
Is one's velveteen blanket,
Cradling the spheres
As they spin and dance.

The universe is orderly;
Seamless circles
Circumnavigating centripetally.
One could croon continuously.

But on the marble
Of Blue-and-Green,
Pandemonium reigns,
And the harsh light of day
Will awaken the kings
To the land of
Sub-Atomic.

Copyright: September 2010

"Mirage"

2010-09-23T00:38:00.000-07:00

Eternal red in the corner of my eye:

A fixed ruby set in a blue-and-white sphere

Drips liquid onto desert sands,

Forming an imaginary oasis;

Trees plump with ripened fruit

To compensate for my eye's missing apple.

"The Multifaceted Red"

2010-09-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

I compose geometry on my face,
Connecting red dots,
Camouflaged to resemble the monocrop;
Another strawberry for the blender.

Rouge runs, scarlet streams,
Pulled to torrents, till cascading falls
Break the surface of the water:
My ponytail brushing the pond
As I swing from the modified plank
Privateers might have fashioned.

Back and forth, crimson birds
Flutter like cherry flames,
Honeying the breeze with dulcet tones.
From outstretched hands, they feast on crumbs,
Tracing the lines which whisper the future,
Reading palms like winged soothsayers.

The sun sets, casting ruby beams
Upon trails of yellow clouds,
Stretched by mischievous airstreams:
Elastic bands set ablaze.

Burgundy berries dive into ice
Before I employ the power.
The concoction swirls till uniform:
Sustenance for encultured veins.

Copyright: September 2010

As I'm sure you've gathered, "red" in this poem is symbolic of a variety of things, including culture, anger, nature, and foresight. I'd intended the prevailing theme to be Enculteration, the process by which we learn our cultures and places in society. The overwhelming pressure to belong, to "fit in", seems to govern most of us throughout our lives. The verses sandwiched between the first and last are really just imagery run amuck.

"Open Mic"

2010-09-05T02:02:00.000-07:00

There's a whisper in my voice,
Stirring the once-still air,
Moist and thick,
Like a dairy maid,
Churning butter.

The night settles in,
Enclosing me in her embrace.
Her breath, warm on my skin,
Draws salt water from pores:
Holes in a wicker chair.

Lilting, lightly wispy sing I,
As allegorical candles flicker.
Cars flash by,
And people glare;
My wit could be much quicker.

Copyright: September 2010

An only slightly auto-biographical poem, dedicated to open mic nights located by drive-thrus. I love the foreboding microphone photo I found!

"Donation"

2010-08-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

Cold piece of the Arctic
Wipes a circle on my arm
Before the antiseptic needle
Assaults my vein like a tiny icicle,
Sucking forth red fluid,
Precious as rubies,
Like a parasitic fiend.

I watch the clear bag,
Made from organic things, long dead,
Like a macabre juice box,
Empty in reverse.

I wonder if a child shall receive
My type O,
Or will it be given to a convict,
Or worse, a politician?

Morbidity is on my mind,
But torpidity I'll leave behind.
In this room,
I wish I were alone.
Cookies eye me from their shelf.

Copyright: August 2010

"Grey Whale"

2010-08-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

Paint on the wall,
Hath thee no hue?
Now grey, were ye not once blue?

Discolored Humpback
In tarnished oceans;
Art becomes life in hasty motions.

A stranger I met;
Paintbrush for sale,
You'll find me brightening up the whale.

Copyright: August 2010

"Fleeting Genius"

2010-08-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

I should have heeded
This exceptional musing,
For fast it faded.

Copyright: August 2010

"Spill"

2010-08-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

My notebook pages
Stiffen and crinkle as the
Water on them dries.

Copyright: August 2010

"Vice Versa"

2010-08-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

Perhaps if I stopped
Writing always in verse, I'd
Cease speaking in prose?

Copyright: August 2010

"Demitasse Damsel"

2010-08-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

Who am I but she who serves your coffee?
Just a modestly pretty face
Whose eyes you never meet?

I have not the power to make you smile,
If never you return my gaze,
Or put down your mobile phone.

I pray one day you'll lose your cell
And inquire: "Who is she?",
But I doubt you ever shall see.

Copyright: August 2010

"Opportune View"

2010-08-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

Standing, exposed, before the glass,
My eyes instinctively seize my flaws.
I hold my own gaze, appraising its features,
Trying to love them as you would.

For vanity's sake, I rub cream on dark circles,
Concealing small specs and bumps.
Wishing them packing, dead skin in the breeze,
I think on you, over the seas.

A new mark hails from my brow,
Where the swinging door brutally kissed.
I suppose I heard not a knocking,
'Til leaving, Opportunity clocked me.

Copyright: August 2010

"Long Time Since"

2010-08-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

O, lend to me thy silver tongue!
My lily-skin, parchment to thy quill.
Grant to me thy penetrating sword,
Firm as stone in lover's palms.

Let not my words be fantasy,
Symphonies resound my arduous plea,
Orchestral cicadas heed their cue!
O, hum the tune you once knew.

Copyright: August 2010

"Cocoon"

2010-08-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

In the darkness,
Garments of red
May well be of blue,
For in the night,
Even bright colours
Hath no hue.

Sans light
Lit from candle flame
Or sun beams, bright,
The eye's black mirror
Cannot reflect any
Wild heart to tame.

Copyright: August 2010

"Sugar and Sand"

2010-08-05T00:37:00.000-07:00

Where hides the shy moon
On this frigid night?
Heaven's fog shrouds not
The gleaming stars!

Might lunar beams
Sport Welkin cloaks,
Sewn of dark velvet,
Veiling their light?

Darkness, my love,
Infinite darkness
Smothers the fire from my eyes,
But never from my breast.

Hark, at last, I hear the tide,
Rushing forward to greet my flesh!
O sand, I long to taste you,
Feel you writhing on my tongue!

Desire is impish,
No god hath mercy!
Surely sugar canes and sand grains
Share the selfsame rain.

Copyright: August 2010

"(Im)Mortality"

2010-08-01T13:45:00.000-07:00

It seems I just turned the page,
Hailing another new month.
In just a few turns,
A new chart shall be needed
To count my collection of moments.

Time is numerical;
Elementary mathematics,
Reducing days to equations.
Gravity reigns o'er the body,
But thoughts refuse to wax linear.

Copyright: August 2010

"Dust to Dust"

2010-08-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

Grey paint on the wall
Cracks like rhinoceros skin,
Flaking off as dust.

Ash drifts down to Earth,
Revealing barren landscapes,
Soon to be lush woods.

Copyright: August 2010

I wrote these two Haiku's together and couldn't bring myself to separate them.

"Play Things"

2010-08-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

Wait, wait, your brain has fallen
Out of the pocket you keep it in!
I've picked it up,
And dusted it off;
I thought you might like to use it.

Stop, stop, I see your heart,
Hidden away in your toy chest.
Turn the knob;
It plays a song,
In hopes Mr. Jester pops up.

Copyright: August 2010

"Caricatures"

2010-07-31T23:50:00.000-07:00

Some have bodies chiseled like stone,
Their egos overgrown.
Some are soft with tender heart;
Some clumsy, but sharp in mind.

Some abuse, while some reuse,
Washing and polishing smiles.
Some adorn, festooning with frills;
Some hide, concealing their form.

Some drop the ball,
Some watch it fall,
Some are able to catch it.
Hold it, throw or sink it;
Isn't this a silly game?

Copyright: July 2010

I'd intended this to be a satirical piece on the behaviors of both men and women, as the title and most of the poem reflects. But as I was writing, the basketball episode of "The Office" was playing in the background. It suddenly struck me how similar to modern life the game was: people competitively, repetitively running up and down a court trying to gain advantage and score a goal. Somehow, the two thoughts merged.

"Happy Camper"

2010-07-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

What merit badge
Might one obtain
By ever smiling
When in pain?

The other campers
Have long left
These remnants of
A cheerful blaze.

Copyright: July 2010

"Kindred"

2010-07-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

The libertine is
Anchorite's antithesis,
Still, both die alone.

Copyright: July 2010

This Haiku is dedicated to extremists, both pious and perfidious. Direct opposites are surprisingly kindred.

"Reverie"

2010-07-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

In the confines of my skull,
Limitless expansion.
Formless shapes writhe,
Poignant sans meaning.

Incorporeal essence
Tickling, licking.
Relativity made sublime
By subconscious whim.

Copyright: July 2010

"Watercolour"

2010-07-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

Worlds dance in my mind,
Merging, swirling together.
Watercolour paints.

Copyright: July 2010

"Fireworks"

2010-07-06T02:43:00.000-07:00

Pyrotechnics fill my senses:
Smoke in my nose,
Fire in my eyes,
Booming in my ears.

But, there's lightning
In the distant sky.
Nature's fireworks
Prove superior.

Copyright: July 2010

"Gentle Rain"

2010-07-06T02:40:00.000-07:00

How gently weeps the sky,
Soft and fragrant as tulip petals,
Delicate as orbweaver webbing.

I can hear the celebratory songs
Of leopard frogs and Texas toads.
I do share their sentiment,
Showering, naked,
In the rain.

Copyright: July 2010

"Fair Grounds"

2010-07-06T02:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight is a pensive night,
A lonely night.
Gravity tugs the tears from the eyes,
Like the moon to the tides.

In my mind,
I walk the empty fair grounds,
Where hours before,
Hundreds danced and sang
The day away.
If time I could turn,
I'd gladly be amongst them now.

Embers smolder, becoming ash.
Smoke rings rise and dissipate,
Joining cheerful memories,
Where time may not pass.

Copyright: July 2010

"Incubus"

2010-07-06T02:19:00.000-07:00

I await sunset,
Craving the commencement
Of nightmares, delicious.

Clockwork-akin,
My invocation brings you,
Though from whence I know not.

Every night a different taste
Greets my lips,
And I wonder who you are,
Whom you've touched,
And where you've been,
But all former thoughts are silenced
When from out my hypothalamus
Screams the answer to the question:
"Where do I want thee?"

Though ever new my inclination,
You hear my silent plea,
And exactly obliging you will be.

Beneath unkempt shrubbery,
A ruby fruit beckons thee,
Ripe within a hollow sea.

Your tongue is rarely
Used for speech,
Though oral is your forte.
The letters you trace
Form waves of verse and crash
Around my isle,
Rippling through my every glimmer,
Searing into me.

Sweet, intoxicating smoke
Fills the room
And strokes our glistening flesh
As we, entwined,
Dance our rhythmic, horizontal waltz:
Un, deux, trois, quatre;
Un, deux, trois, quatre.

My rushing pulse
And quaking limbs
Surrender to seizures of bliss!

Time, frozen, dissipates,
And I do not see you glide into the darkness,
Escaping my view.

Copyright: July 2010

"Two"

2010-07-06T01:54:00.000-07:00

Rough tongue,
Smooth teeth;
Skin is red,
Suckle fed.

Plump fruit,
Ripe juice;
In the chase,
Pulses race.

Head rush,
Lush joy;
All is through,
We two.

Copyright: July 2010

"Oral Quill"

2010-07-06T01:46:00.000-07:00

Your flesh is parchment,
My tongue, a quill.
I write phrases upon you,
As it be my oral will.

Copyright: July 2010

This is a very simple piece, inspired in part by the movie, "Quills". For a more explicit work inspired by said film, see "Incubus".

"Warm Springs"

2010-07-06T01:36:00.000-07:00

However much I rail against it,
I am human.
I see only what I see.
I claim not to have the answers,
But I understand the questions' irrelevance.
The universe is larger than I,
Larger than my perception of it.

Because I breathe, I desire.
I desire the impossible, peace.
I strive to heal the wounds
Of living by living,
Singing songs,
Offering smiles.

Somewhere there is balance
Between old and new,
Light and dark,
Hard and soft.
In a world without time,
Without breath,
Without,
All worldly cares
Vanish.

I have healing to do,
But perhaps all I need today
Is solitude.
Let the warm springs flow.

Copyright: June 2010

"Imitative Magic"

2010-07-06T01:28:00.000-07:00

Tonight is alive wi' the songs
Of Scotland's broom,
Where the weather's soft,
And the men are hard;
The whiskey flowin' free.

I sway with the tunes
In heat enough
To bake ten thousand tatties,
But like imitative magic,
As we sing o' mist and moors,
These Texan hills
Become Scottish braes.

Across the lapis sea
In a foreign, familiar land,
Are you strumming a banjo
As I sing your golden songs?
If thoughts could ferry me over
The wide, sapphire water,
Would in your arms I be tonight?

Copyright: June 2010

"Front Seat"

2010-07-06T01:22:00.000-07:00

This audience is a classroom,
And you are its teacher.
I, your vehement pupil,
Grasp every word
Like life vines above a ravine.

I attend university
To learn a fine trade,
But I've gained more
From watching you
Than any price I've paid.

In the front seat,
You will find me always,
Ever listening,
Ever singing.

Copyright: June 2010

"Icicles"

2010-07-06T01:16:00.000-07:00

Frail, icy spindles
Imitate cactus needles,
Scratching up my throat.

Copyright: June 2010

"Red Sea"

2010-07-06T01:11:00.000-07:00

The thorns on the rose
Are made of glass,
Concealed and delicate,
Deadly to flesh.
The red drops they draw
Meet tears as they fall,
Stinging salt: the red sea.

Copyright: June 2010

"Illusory Throne"

2010-07-06T00:56:00.000-07:00

The burn is enough
To keep us inside,
Hiding in caves,
In company of fear.

Outside, the river cries,
Drowned by the drones
And moans and creak
Of machinery.
The buzz of blades,
The felling of another tree.

Take, take, take:
The beating
Of one heart, soon dying.
Harvesting crops
Before they are grown,
Devouring all
Atop illusory thrones.

Copyright: June 2010

"Ordovician"

2010-07-06T00:25:00.000-07:00

The land upon which I stand
Was once a sea-bed;
Its limestone, the remnants
Of plankton and coral.

Though the sun bakes hot
And I'm miles from surf,
I can see ancient cephalopods
In my mind's eye
Swimming idly by.

Copyright: June 2010