Our Hearts Need

My lady, your wistful wishes are drifting
afloat amongst the fall trees leaving
chords so quickly strummed, playing loudly
crooning crazily among flavored sunshine

It is all that we do when we're allowed
claim ourselves, push past these savory drinks
flowers stemmed, delivered, and leasing space
lying across and over bad blue kitchen counters

Clear mugs, brimming coffee, talk out in the open
some milk, some black, drunk caffiene morning
seems too often to lead to bittersweet emotion
laid out on a messy table, optional background music

Photos laughing on the mantle, holding hands
on random walls, awkward love smile, just silliness.
All missing, never put on display, empty mantle
too much prevented such simple affection, unreceived

Cold days poured into a hot summer, stirred hastily
unpredictable outcomes, messy wind laughing hair
nothing could have slowed us down, just time
shiny, buried past days, we're there, loving

My mistakes, enough for both of us and more
if we never forget, can we thread fate to us
aimlessly adrift, shining moon we'll chase you
need to run after you, our hearts need

Then it rains

Overfull clouds bleed over the horizon.
They lift their heavy legs over each
small hilltop. They fill into quiet sun
stretched meadows, stretching shadows,
dark and overburdened, heavy and upset,
they have come to stay and want us to know.

They are monsters peeking out from under some
child's bed, speculative and observing
across the sun drenched landscape, the view
that is soon consumed by their hungry teeth,
teeth of looming shadows, making true collection
after collection of a child's storm born fears.

Children look up from the playgrounds, they
stop driving their toy cars into the sand,
the sun shudders, it draws away from this
dark place that it cannot go, hidden
underneath those voluminous, jagged
gray edged clouds, those beasts scream,
dark forests grow even darker, evil creatures
with wicked nightmares will soon run rampant.

It is so dark, so afraid, such fear impending,
running for shelter, seeking mother, emergency
signals take over broadcasts, local horns on towers
scream, "it is coming!" and "be prepared!" They
don't know what to expect, but the warning is
clear, soon, it comes! We stare, we wait, helpless
to do anything, but wait.

The invasion, oh God, they invade with such force!
It was preceded by only one signal, a boom
so loud, so ear splitting, we all know was too close,
something nearby has to have been torn to shreds. The
flash so brilliant, blinding, it lights the battlefield,
it exposes everything, if you are not hiding you have
been discovered.

The herald beating on those thunderous drums speeds
to a fevered intensified pace. Sound more alarms, crawl
deeper into hiding, if nothing else, hold your hands
over your head, stop under awnings, seek shelter
wherever you can, "it is here!"

The warm rain has us, it takes us away, we're stolen
souls now, lost to humanity. Clothes soaked, heavily
laden, they are all that holds us on this Earth. If
not for them, we would leave this place behind. Our
minds are lost, up there, the storm has torn
out our soul, taken it from our daily toil, free of
our body we see clearly, but for only seconds, for the
storm, that monster, it creeps away and leaves us
alone again in our minds.

Its beauty consumed us, its intensity thrilled our
soul, but it has gone. Leaving only imprints on our mind,
forever sparks on our soul, whispers always speaking
to us. Sweetly sublime, if for only moments at a time.
Life cradled us, washed over us, if for only moments,
we'll never forget.

I'm here

I'm not the same
as I was then, it's
still so hard to
believe that was me.

The anger you could
never understand, broke
so easily, it was all
that I ever knew.

Unknowingly he made
me afraid to speak
to you, afraid to say
what I felt.

Inside that fire has
subsided to someone
else's memory, someone
with whom I once struggled.

I'm here, watching
the sunrise today. I
wait in the darkness
for it each morning.

Staring as it grows
so luminously bright.
Staring as it gives
each day light.
And to me, it gives
hope.

Cold Today

This day is ending as the car is put into park,
the lights turned off, and I look over at you
sitting beside me, blank stare looking forward.

My hand grips onto you and you come back to me,
a glimpse of you, it bursts forth and my heart
jumps, loving you, for only a second before we go.


It is so early, before dawn, I'm awake and staring.
You are still dreaming, still waiting, still not here.
Soon it will come, the light to show us laying here.

My hand slides underneath these many covers,
it touches you and wraps me around you,
I am much closer now, to you, to hold you.

You respond, and you will until your mind starts,
starts racing, all those things that you hold onto
it's been a while since you've faced them.


It's going to be cold today, and you tell me
that it's already cold today. I'm here beside you,
if you need anything, listening, and loving.