Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Abdication

You turned
And pulled the veil across your face
The white linen wavered
In time to your mind
You raised
Your hand and took the crown upon your head
Sad were those fingers
As you dropped it
You backed
So slowly backed away from the diadem
Those tender steps retreating
Hidden beneath a white flag
You bowed
And said your adues to all
And returned to your stony keep
To slumber once more
You sighed
As you promised and prophecied of a different day
When you would walk down the tower steps
With crown and veil once again
In time to my mind

Monday, February 20, 2012

The Game

The game is on
Shall the romp commence?
Shall we move these piece?
Once again
There was a time when you were
The queen of the castle
And I merely a pawn
To bend to your persuasions
But now we are so evenly matched
You circle left
And I write
But to the end of things
Who can say
We both make plans
And try not to smile
You counter me
I step back, but forth come I
This is the dance we dance
With swords
and words
And eyes
So no banter made
No tapestry of love to weave
Shall we be rivals then
Or lover caught in sweetest heaves
I'll be a general, you be the queen
You move your pawns against mine
I command words
You command hearts
Together apart
As two dwarf stars dancing
Nearer each other
Our mutual destructions arise
So apart we keep
And dance only with eyes
But maybe destruction can also be sweet
When the dance draws closer
And our desires then meet
For destroying the self
For the gain of the twain
So now let us move this way
You this way and I that
Parallel each other's minds
Countering each other's souls
The game is afoot
And I love to play
When an excellent player's to be had
This shall be the most excellent game
The game is surely on

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Said a thought to me, in passing

Said a thought to me, in passing


And you remember don't you
When her eyes only danced for you
So long time ago
When your love had not tasted winter's breath
And you remember don't you
When the world would stand still
So long time ago
When all you ever wanted stood before you in her
And you remember don't you
When the inferno grew hot
So long time ago
And your passions were stoked to fire
And you burned to touch her skin with longing
And you remember don't you
When the fire went out
So long time ago
And you tasted the dust on her heels
And you knew a thousand slow, cold deaths
And you remember don't you
That you made that empty promise
So long time ago
That you would never love again
So why would you hold me captive tonight?

On this St Valentines'

I have tried to drink you away
Wash these marks from my heart
From my mind

I have tried to forget you again
With the taste of gin, and whiskey, and wine
From my being

But even though I no longer love you
Or her as I once so fervently did
From my heart

You have all shaped my soul with your absences
Sculpting who I am without you
From my memory

So this day I shall raise my cup to all of you
To the memory of your sweetest smiles
From our pasts

And I shall no more weep these sweet tears
For anyone of you
From my soul

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Burnt Offerings

And then there was light
And it burned us
But a little

And then the tingle grew
And became a prick
A drop of blood

And then there was life
And feeling once again
But a little

And then the life grew
And became a note
A burst of song

And then there was a love
And it bloomed up again
But a little

So shall I let it grow?
And let it become a fire
A burnt offered soul?

Friday, February 10, 2012

Draconian Meditations

So many shades of venom
Spring to my tongue
To my mind

That I have mind enough
To mind what thoughts race in yours
I am thankful

But ere long the walls cannot contain
These riotous inmates of pain
And leaping like the young ruiders on the veld

They'll break from me
They'll break free
They'll break upon you like waves on the strand
And break your walls of sand

And I will console myself
And say that you pushed me to it
I shall comfort myself
And say that I am just human
But I shall not deceive myself
With these or a thousand and one other lies
For I also know myself
And how I savor each turn of the screw

So build your walls of sand
And I shall build up the venom
Until each shade is perfectly formed
Each syllable like the blade of Brutus
The heart of Judas opens to all

Compassion stays this hand for now
But her arms are ever-wide
And her wrists are ever-weak

Take to heart this warning given
Rise not the dragon's bile and derision



Thursday, February 9, 2012

Another thought

Another thought for the night
I would dance this dance with you
Though I'd try it with all my might
These things that you just do
I know I'm irritatingly specific
I try so hard to make this rhyme
You terrorize me, so are you terrific
Or do we just keep byding our time
Keep me close this eve in slumber
Keep my face in your mind's eye
Pity this poor poetic blunder
Just take it as a piece of mine

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

To be My Queen

Your father brought the offer to me
With promises of a rich dowry
And while the lord of my reason
Rejoiced at this sound
My lady of passion cautioned
I cannot, will not love you for
The inherent entail you carry
Like the Queen of Sheba at the head
Of the endless line of plodding camels
Heavy steps sinking into amber sand
Weighed down by the silks and spices

Your mother brought the offer to me
With promises of sons a plenty
And while the lord of my reason
Rejoiced at this sound
My lady of passion yet cautioned
I cannot, will not love you for
The endless line you shall conceive
Like Hecuba standing above the battle noise
A rampart of proud Illium's white walls
Bearing her breasts as a call to arms
A generation of heroes she called her sons

Your brothers brought the offer to me
With promises of strength in arms
And while the lord of my reason
Rejoiced at this sound
My lady of passion yet cautioned me
I cannot, will not love you for
The promise of a sure sword
Like the mighty one Semiramis
Whose reached crushed far off kings
Her walls so high, her gardens higher
Yet her king lay buried in the sand

Your sisters brought the offer to me
With promises of beauty beyond measure
And while the lord of my reason
Rejoiced at this sound
My lady of passion still cautioned
I cannot, will not love you for
The form in silk impressed
Like the temptress Cleopatra
The perfumed sighs filling her sails
Slipping her barge further down
The waves lapping at the edge

Come yourself and offer to me
The promise of your every tear
For those precious drops of life
My lord and lady ever revere
I could, I would love you for
Yourself- no other reasons abide
Let your smile be only for me
And with joy I shall seek when it hides
Be no mortal queen or Helen for me
And I shall be no mortal prince for you
My River, Your Doctor now and forever
Then I could, I would, say "I do"


Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The Minefield Before Us

O Dew-eyed
You call to me to venture
Through fields I have trod before
How can I follow once more
When too recently
I have found the secrets hidden there
Lying in wait, the trap for the travelers
These fields are meant for naught but death
And yet as you walk among the bodies and the flowers
I see the new life seep into the grass again
And all things dead stir once more
And all things are remade anew
And at that song that resounded
How the dead things trembled with near life
And looked to me with hollow eyes
As the breath of life they so desired
But I cannot yet set foot again
This battlefield carries too many memories still fresh
I shall linger a while here at the demarcation line
And look with longing as you dance in the mud
Where the flowers spring up to meet your feet
And soft dew washes away spot and stain
I shall watch and long to join you
And know that I too may dance as before
But not yet
Just wait a while longer
I hear your calls to my heart
And my heart would follow your dance
Yes those waters that you cherish
Twin pools of glistening starlight
That shine when they reflect my face
How I would follow them
Wherever they would dance
Dance me away on dewdrops
That explode with morning light

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

River Song

There were the river bends
I shall watch by starlit night
And there were the river curves
I shall wait until your dance begins
There where the river turns
I shall be watching only you
And as the river flows
I shall wonder at your beauty
When the river begins to churn
I shall rise in time to you
And where the river calms
I shall dream in your embrace
Until the river ends
Until this song ends