Love Poems
Love Poems
Angels Fear to Tread on Barren Earth
I opened the door this past monthAs summer came to town
And grass turned golden against the blue sky.
The wind rushed in, refreshing my lips
With smooth and passionate kisses.
That made me feel sixteen
Alive
Unfrozen.
And you held the door
Open
Invitation to come out.
So I poked out my head
Rushed out until
A cooler wind came through
Banging the garden gate shut
Bringing a tear to my eye
A lump to my throat
A sense of loss for something
I had not glimpsed in a while
The wild beyond the wall
Or perhaps it was
Just reaction to a seed
That had blocked my sight
Leaving on the wind
Away
From my barren earth
No longer gold.
Shot Half Fired
My peck
On her right cheek
Done in the French style
Was incomplete
No chance for completion on the left
Like a hurt animal
She shied away
Fearing more pain
Forced a smile
Fragile.
Like a wounded deer
She poured out her blood
Her man served her papers
Just last week
Realizing
Her future had disappeared
She had bought a massage chair
To replace him,
The scrounging and saving
For now
Their children would
Go to state college
Catching herself
She remembered
I was there
Asking perfunctorily
Who I might be
But not yet able to hear
Deep in the abyss
Into which she had been cast
She wore brown suede
That matched the colors of her hair
Sat there
Like a doe
Caught in life's headlights
And before I could complete my quiet sentence
She ran from hers
Recovery
There is magic in our lives
It lies within
I don't know where.
There is magic in movement
It comes from within
Taking us we don't know where.
There is magic in our speech
When words collide
And new ideas spark.
There is magic in loving
And being loved
When worlds crash together
There is magic in the undressing
And the dressing
And the love-making before and after.
There is magic in the knowing
And the unknowing
Magic in the growing and the falling.
There is magic in the perfection
And the weakness
And the subtle understanding of decline.
There is magic in hello
And magic in goodbye and all between
And the memories you leave.
California Weaving
It begins with the beauty
Vegetation
Grass, the spring flowers, summer blossoms, the green trees oasis-like in the golden hills
The almost perpetual blue sky.
Then there is the freeway
With
Unfamiliar exits
Mysterious houses
Billboards and signs
Uncertain links and futures.
Over time
Each cloverleaf, entrance, exit, intersection
Reveals different edges
Its own itinerary of goal and hope
Observations and amusements
Destinations reached and destinations lost
Adds itself
Like tendrils from a vine
Spreading…
Past visuals link to today's direction.
Past purpose
Past people
A web of time
Underlaid beneath today's route
A fourth dimension extending
The archeology of my travel
Deepening
Reconstructing
But not yet a new Troy
Though Helen has left
And the last rebuilt Troy has burned down
And Odysseus has been a long time on the freeway.
Shared tendrils exchange histories
Shared histories tenderly tip toeing into a mesh
Repairing, replacing two vines savagely torn down
A fault in the city architecture and expectation
That went undetected
Until too late.
It's always easier rebuilding
If you can forget the rich loss of deep connections
And enjoy the neural net construction project.
With time a spell is woven.
The Tree, the Face, the Petals (Poem for four voices)
ACT 1
Man: I am an eldest child
Woman: The petals on the plum tree have come so soon this year
Boy: Her face appeared
Man: And have gone where siblings have yet to go
Woman: Small pink petals on the walk beside the pool
Boy: She turned to me
Man: My history writ in scars visible
Woman: Pink petals, oval, flying in the wind
Boy: Launching a thousand thoughts and ships
Man: Invisible, my history checked with ups and downs
Woman: Each petal flawless translucent to the sun
Boy: She glanced at me and glanced again
Man and Boy: I caught her glance marveled at her symmetry, long dark hair
Woman: In morning sun, the petals glorify the day
Man and Boy: I looked again. She turned away.
ACT 2
Woman: I am a youngest child
Man: The petals on the plum tree have come so soon this year
Girl: His face appeared
Woman: And have not yet gone where siblings go
Man: Small pink petals on the walk beside the pool
Girl: He turned to me
Woman: His history writ in scars visible
Man: Pink petals, oval, flying in the wind
Girl: Launching a thousand thoughts and ships
Woman: Invisible, my future may have ups and downs
Man: Each petal flawless translucent to the sun
Girl: He glanced at me and glanced again
Woman and Girl: I caught his glance marveled at his grace, his calm
Man: In noonday sun, the petals glorify the day
Woman and Girl: I looked again. He turned away.
ACT 3
Man and Woman: I am a child
Boy and Girl: The petals on the plum tree are new this year
Man and Woman: Spring brings petals. The tree will flower again.
Man and Woman: We have not yet gone where we will go
Boy and Girl: Small pink petals on the walk beside the pool
Man and Woman: Love turned to me
Man and Woman: Love leaves history, making scars visible and joined
Boy and Girl: Pink petals, oval, flying in the wind
Man and Woman: Launches a thousand thoughts and pleasures
Man and Woman: Our future invisible will have ups and downs
Boy and Girl: Each petal flawless translucent to the sun
Man and Woman: We looked and looked and looked again
Man and Woman: In morning sun, we touched, we spoke and intertwined
Man and Woman: We spoke. The petals glorify the way.
Boy and Girl: In evening sun, the petals glorify the day
Man and Woman: We looked again. We turned away.
I Can Do Anything Now
Isabel
He tied her up tight
Important if you're going to fall
He cinched her in places
Husbands would know to be intimate.
Then pushed her out into the blues.
Isabel fell
Ten thousand feet
A man tied to her side.
He spun her in the air.
And ripped the cord.
Isabel fell well.
History husbands drifting off
Buoyed by air.
Viewed from the ground, Isabel fell well
Five thousand feet under gossamer wing
And landed walking
As if nothing had happened
Except the adrenaline.
Isabel felt well
Rooted on the ground
Her mother breathed
“Next time, do this without me.”
Her voice drowned out
In the draft and song of Isabel's new flight.
Lament Transformed (draft 2)
Sad
To be disappointed
By the wind
Foolish
To regret the rain
Even if you fall and slip
Pick your body up
Stand strong
Again
Against the storm
Unfurl your sail
Catch the new wind
A new harbor bound
Ships in havens
Can splinter here
Against the shore
Moored by jagged rocks
So
Let's build upon the land
Away from sand and storms
Relishing rain and howl
In our warmth
Looking back at history's paths
To our new peak and view
Aphrodite Diet
A drunken Aphrodite
Dressed in black,
Spaghetti straps
Barely holding up her cleavage
Stumbled up
Wrapped her arms around me
And holding on for support
Said
She loved me
Oh, life is wonderful
I let her go
And down she fell
Slowly
Gracefully
Half on the pavement
Half on the sidewalk
Oh, so mellow
I picked her up
A boy
Told her to get her arms off
The old guy
Oh, so unsubtle
We offered to pick her up anyway
And put her in the pickup truck
Catching the attention of
Her girl friend
Emerging from the restaurant
Oh, so angry
So my friend and I
Went in for sushi
Talk of his far traveling woman
And the ups and downs of mine
Between
Two new Aphrodites
At the bar
Oh, I do like sushi
Voyage
She wanted to expose herself
So they sat outside
In dark and drizzle
Not sure she wanted him
Or any other
She told her tale
Blown out to sea
Unable to tack
Looking down
For fifteen hours
Through deep clear water
She wondered
Small and feeble
Of her future
Alone
In turquoise beauty.
The four sailors
Would not let her capsize
Their small boat
But towed her board
Indifferent to her exhaustion
A different fish
Than their normal catch
Her life was happy
Two great girls
Friends with her ex
Glamorous career
Yet she sipped her tea
And dipped her toes
Once more
Afraid she might drift out to sea
Finding solace
With sailors
Seeking other fish
Afraid she might capsize their boat.
Or leap screaming
Back into the ocean
He smiled
And held her hand
To test how warm her toes might be
Thinking she could warm his boat
But freezing in her dark.
The Dance
Consider crystal
Light divided
Colors of life
Consider
Beginnings of endings
Endings of beginnings
Consider
What you do not know
What you have forgotten
Consider
Where you are
Outside of love
Remember
The inner side of love
With no wall or separation
Consider symmetry
Feel your health
Your lack of balance
Dance
Upon the thought
Dance upon the light
Dance
Until you are young
With light
Perhaps
Perhaps it was the sunlight
Not her at all
Perhaps it was the ocean
Not her shock of hair
Long and proud
Like horse's mane
Brilliant in the sun
Perhaps it was the view
Across the bay
As I came upon her
Slowly
Standing
On the corner
Scanning
Unsure of our meeting's destination
Perhaps it was the gentle wind
Not the softness in her voice
The intelligence in her eyes
Past pain from loved betrayed
That made me hear and see
Beauty
And balance recovered
Perhaps it was the picture
Written in my memory
As if chords were struck
Tones lingering in my head
When later as I strolled away
A kiss and smile and dance
Too unfamiliar
To my face and walk
Lit up my day
Moments of Awareness
Driving
I realize I have not been aware
Have been so accustomed to the drive
I rediscovered the commuter fugue
Did not have to think
In order to arrive
Tennis
Volleys back and forth
Across the net
Every attention focused.
Ball sent back and forth
In surprising, exhilarating grace
Up and down
Between four rackets
Before falling
And we smile, laugh, look up
A moment you could not program
Cannot recapture
Golf
Nine iron
A high precise curve
Over the normally magnetic water
A ball that drops
Almost vertically
Four feet
Away from the flag
And the putt is easy
A birdie
My first ever
Skiing
All attention on the rhythm
Pursuing smoothness
Increasing the speed
Leaving trails of white parabolic powder
Long graceful curves
Heart pounding
Thighs burning
And the clarity of mountain tops
Forgotten rhythms
Then we synchronized
And arrived together
Rolling half apart
Hearts and legs entwined
Aware
No,
Much more than aware!
Run Silent Run Deep
She whispers
Later on she moans
And
Writhes.
She whispers
How it feels inside
Giving words
To his sensation
She whispers
Of how good she feels
How good he feels
She whispers
Of wanting more
And then she moans and cries
At pleasure
Everywhere she feels
She whispers
Compliments to her lover
Like a rider
To encourage her horse
To the finish line
Don't want to arrive
She whispers
She whispers
Wonders and pleasures
To her
Horse panting
Until he foams and neighs
Collapsing
Her legs and arms wrapped around
Happy
She whispers
Happy
He whispers
Ending his silence
Ready to surface
His emotions
A Thousand Stars Falling On Our Heads
We are all going to die
But I have lived
One night
When a thousand stars
Streaked orange and blue
White and red
Exploding
Across my dark sky
We called the incoming
So all could see
The invasion of light
Painting the night
With color
Streaking from left to right
Leaving visions swirling in our heads.
The earth rolled round
Ninety degrees of change
In six hours
As we lay
Wrapped against the cold
Of night
Huddled together under blankets
Sipping from a thermos of coffee
And during the brief fog passing over
In fitful sleep.
Oh, we are both going to die
But we have lived
One night
When a thousand stars
Streaked orange and blue
White and red
Exploding
Across our dark sky
Bringing in our new dawn.
The Tennis Racquet: A Poem About Love
It has been suggested
By Greg
That I sleep with the new racquet.
It is untrue.
But I have been tempted
I feel addicted
To the magic of its control
It lets me place the ball anywhere.
I can't get enough.
If this is love, then give me more
But the racquet is demanding
I need to approach the ball just right
Take my arm back
Follow through
Focus upon the ball
And the racquet's sweet center
It almost moans with pleasure
When all goes right
And all the court is mine to measure
Its sound different
Than every other racquet I have owned
High strung
Taking all that I can give
A sweet sweet sound
If this is love, then give me more.
How To ***
Perhaps if lightning struck
And eyes flashed
If rains fell from the sky
In July
As you tore your clothes off
In the storm
Forgot the past
And flung yourself naked into the future
And you spilled your life out
In a quiet accidental meeting
Unsuspecting
Unexpecting
And your body suddenly
Felt quiet, calm
Then you might be open
To see his confusion
Ebbing
When Love Fails
When love fails
It can be a plane falling out of the sky
The bottom dropping out of the earth
A fall without end
When love fails
You can be angry at her
Angry at yourself
Angry that such little things
Fluttering like butterfly wings
Triggered tornado winds
And blew you apart
When love fails
Sometimes, if you are very lucky, it can fail in love
Loving her for the failure
Loving her for the leaving
Remembering the good times
When love fails
Love need not fail
No, love need not fail
You need not fall