Dunia

he lowered his gaze

looking away 

from the whet

of her whimsical want 

longing

listening 

to the unfurl

of her rhyme

he brushed the loose curl
of unkept time 

from the carefully carved curvature

of her porcelain spine 

his will waned
his heart stained
her silence seducing
to the tune of his name

revealing 

temptation’s noose

her eyes like beacons

bore him a ravenous rush
bittersweet intoxication
too weak to hush the whispers
undressing his soul

he splashed truth onto his mind 

desperate to find 

a safe place to escape
a home to unwind

begging time to coalesce 

his limbs did digress

he found himself bound

to the sirenous sound
of her lies

he fell prey to her test
suckling poison

possessed
by the prowess of deadly illusion

how quickly the transfusion begins

as sin circulates

and darkness debilitates

such

is the promise

of Dunia 

Second Chances

there is beauty

in second chances

in stolen glances

hope waiting to be found

'round the bend

where the sound of hearts

that take the time to mend

lend to us the courage to believe

once again 

to weave our wounds of war

into transcendent tunes that demand more

pushing us to soar

above fields of forgiveness

child-like dreams

holding hands of hope

leading us back to innocence

awakening the believer within

where possibilities begin to bloom

and gentleness embraces the fears we once gave in to

too soon 

where tears fall a little gentler

and moments are just that

moments

where trust comes

naturally

and smiles warm us

unintentionally

and souls surrender

to the stillness we can now call home



free from need

we bleed beauty, not pain

we walk along the shore of surety

fully knowing

none of this has been in vain

come


it's time

to try again

One Day

one day

we'll put down our shields

of judgment

and open our hearts

to “them”

we'll stop mocking

those

who are different

stop talking

about things we don't understand

we'll reach out

with sincerity to

those

who isolate themselves

from the world

never truly being able to imagine

the pain

that stains their souls

leaving their lives

shattered

full of holes

full of emptiness

one day

we’ll realize

the weight of our words

only then

will this madness end

In Between

between reality

and dream

between shadow

and light

between silence

and scripture

lies doubt

between rest

and desire

between poetry

and pain

between hunger

and trust

a child

without a fear

without a reason

without a place

to hide

how hesitation does confide

in the soft silhouettes

that ride the waves

of persecution

we lose our balance    

we lose our sight

gasping for touch

raising our glasses

to the wind

we wait

anticipate the descent

of daylight

into anything that feels real

daring to defend

our darkness

Waiting for Dark

I close my eyes

and hold my breath

waiting for dark

to unveil me

I touch my scars

picking at noise

waiting for dark

to exhale me

I trace my path

where love once bled

waiting for dark

to complete me

I mask my pain

retreating in words

waiting for dark

to release me

Saturday Morning

i woke with a sense of urgency
perhaps
knowing the beauty of a brand new day
perhaps
knowing not to allow a single moment to slip away
perhaps
knowing how much my entire being longed to play
and so i did
i held my boy in my arms for a long time
he kissed my nose
he giggled
in that mischievous way only a six year old knows
i popped sections of a tiny tangerine into his mouth
he lit up
as if to say
this
mama
is how we’re meant to love
i played scrabble with my older boy
he asked me if it was ok to put down the word ‘fart’
i replied with the kind of laugh every grown person should have the chance to know
i chased my youngest boy around the dining room table
my fingers wriggling
preparing to feast on his belly’s bouts of hysteria
stop mama!, he yelled with a huffing seriousness
only to get a head start on me and tease, come and get me now!
i sipped ginger tea with a teaspoon of raw honey
i played, and sung with all my heart, Puff The Magic Dragon on my guitar
I wrote poems
about butterflies, silence, love, life...
I wrote poems

to sprinkle seeds of gratitude deep in the soil of my soul
i sat at the keyboard by my bedroom window
and let my fingers fall onto the cold white keys
resting there for a while
smiling at the silver squirrel balancing on the bare of winter’s hush
i felt a rush of longing
missing the canopies of leaves
missing the song of the blue jays
missing the smells of summer
kissing my moment
my eyes closed
my fingers fell
into unrehearsed rhythm
conducting my breath
on Saturday morning

mint tea and slivers

my heart heavy

weighted 

with a love 

i was not yet strong enough

 to hold

all i wanted 

was to grow old with you

sip mint tea

 under the stars

swing on the porch

listening to the lull of the cars

 on the highway

smiling

reminiscing

 about moons that waned

while our souls rained

childhood dreams

somehow 

while i was carving my heart

 to fit your key

i lost sight of the me

you needed me to be

and so our love grew grey

and drifted away

and what i wanted you to say

was that no matter what

it'd be ok

we'd be ok

but that's not the way it works, is it?

shit happens

vows break

who woulda known

that an innocent mistake

might take us out of the fold of forever

turning a lifelong endeavor

into yesterday's news

i'd like to believe

we choose our fate

that as we grate bone

to fill fleshy fears

tears might bleed us back to clay

i laugh

seriously

who would stay

to wade through knee-deep madness

who would have enough patience

to bear the weight

of static sadness

who wouldn't run

at the first sight of silence

who wouldn't break free

from chains that only stain

sentiments better suited for postcards

alone i stay

collecting shards of half truths

painted just the way i like them

sparkly

sharp

slivers of hope 

that still sting when I breathe

and all i can do is believe

clench fragments of dreams

crazy glue promises we made

to the blades i hone chaos with

wrap myself in your voice

make the choice to sever

to weather the storm inside my gut

and for all but a moment 

of false sanity

not regret stripping myself down bare

and as i prepare to take my leave

careful not to breath

 the dust of my own devastation

without a single moment of hesitation

i walk away

into the darkness of light

no longer willing to fight

for this

eyes closed

as the distance between us grows

i blow you one last kiss

from my heart

so it is

that we must part

start to live again

heal the wounds of want

holding tight to the hope

that one day

we’ll free ourselves

from ego chokeholds

and learn be friends

again

the poetry industry

the poetry industry

where hearts have become commodities 

and pure love is now an oddity

we are the prodigies of our words

begging to be heard

by any soul

that may create the illusion 

of us feeling whole

we seek to fill our man-made voids

relationships

like toys

tinkered with 

and tossed

we seduce our own minds

till all humanity is lost

to the rhythm of delusion 

we succumb 

to intoxicating profusion 

of false gods

our egos 

we stroke 

invoke 

praise

held in a delirious daze

until death 

echoes

instead 

of sharing 

our gifts

we judge

one another

only revealing 

our own 

inadequacies

instead

of giving

our love

we hoard 

haphazardly 

waiting 

to receive

more

we only deceive

ourselves

more

til the shore no longer

reaches the sea

and the lighthouse

fails to be

a beacon

 of hope

but rather

a grey mound

off of which

the sound of regret

echoes

filling souls

 with empty promises

of revival

bittersweet scars

you were never

 really with me

your mind

 always racing

to far off places

the many faces

 of poetic impulse

lured yourself

 into the rabbit hole

where you stole a taste

of someone else's reality

simple love cannot compete

with the bittersweet scars

 we carve with words

when all we long for

is to be heard

reassured

cured

 of violent voids

that bleed marrow

to dust

lacing lament

with the kind of lust

that thrusts us

 into flames

of futility 

yet

 i wait by that hole

peeking in 

reaching in

steeping

into silence

picking

 at the rust

that corrodes

my heart

i start to wonder

if you’re ever coming out

© jd 

the answer

fierce winds blow

sins deep inside

self destructive souls

self loathing minds

to places prayers dare not fold

fantasies fray

where temptation’s sold

scalpers inflate

egos rise

we row our reasons

we know our kind

quick circumcision

of fears that bleed

I’m the only one I’ll ever deceive

tangled tricks

pick up sticks 

a dangerous game

of squandered shame

one wrong move

foundations sway

lose a turn

lose a life

lose yourself in blame

or

simply refuse

to answer his call

that’s his job

to make you fall

to poison your palette 

to blind your ears

to busy your todays

with yesteryears

and

tomorrows

that may never come

and if we busy our todays

on the run

from ourselves

from Truth

from silence

we may never hear

the answer

© 2012