Fade

Time will tell
Ticking through the day and night
Hours slowly slipping by
It will tell me all is well

All the hurt and fear and pain
Growing fainter, healing slower
Dimming like a worn out bulb
Fading like summertime

I'm waiting to be healed
But I'll never truly be whole
Because I've given a part of me away
And I can't have it back

So this shadow
Incomplete and unfulfilled
Will watch the time tick
And wait for Spring.

End of Days

Dangling, I wave you over your inevitable fate
I am about to douse you
Drench you
Scald you
Suck the life out of you

After your life blood is flowing from you
Swirling around the steaming water
Blending, melting, dissolving
As a further insult I will smother you
In a sticky yellow mess

Then finally, I will jab you with metal
Beat you vigorously
Before pulling you out
And rudely discarding you
You are no good to me anymore

But the tea is delicious.

Stability

Growing and reaching to the sky
The tree stands, majestic and tall
It's round trunk is a fixture
Immovable and impenetrable

Though it changes through the seasons
It constantly harbors life
In spring time, the green leaves unfurl
Heralding in new hope for a good year

The summer brings sunshine and warmth
And the tree provides shade
While every fall, new acorns are shed
Creeping through the grass, trying to grow

And then the long cold winter
Bare and brown, but slowly breathing
The years all pass like this
Never changing. never slowing

And still the lingering oak tree
Stands proud and tall
While the busy world changes around it
How nice standing still must be.

Chilled

It is cold here
My breath mists gently
Adding white to balance the grey

People are hurried, bundled
Snuggled in wool and fleece
Scarves pulled tight around necks

In my house it is louder
Heat running, water boiling
More blankets, more tea

The cold slows it all down
Makes the nights seem longer
Makes me want to stay in bed

But the tea is nice
The blankets are nice
Being bundled is nice

Winter has a few perks

Unexpected

Did you know that I loved you
The first time I kissed you?
Did you know that I worshiped
The ground that you walked on?
Did you see in my eyes
That you're all that I wanted?
Did you feel in my touch
That you're all that I needed?

I never meant to fall in love
I never meant to lose myself
I never meant to walk this winding road
And now I'm here with you
And there's no place I'd rather be

Did you know that you stole my heart
The first time that you told me
That you loved me
And now when we're apart
I wish that I told you that I love you
More than I do.

Frozen

Write me a letter
Paint words on a page that whisper sweetly
Telling me beautiful stories of our life

One day, when it is cold and drafty
I will take them out of a box to read
And each one will be a picture of our past

When my hands are thin as the paper
I might show them to our granddaughter
So that she understands how long love can last

Maybe some day, they'll be kept in a frame
Memories of long ago people
Who stand frozen in time, frozen in words

Write me a letter
Tell me of the long life we are going to have
Paint our future with your words.

Sick

My heart hurts
Lovesick, homesick, comfortsick

All I want is to be held
Rocked
Comforted until I fall asleep

I need someone to care
I want to be put first, above all else
Worshiped, revered, held sacred

Not a frightened lonely little girl
I need your strength to pull me through this
If only you would open your eyes
And see that I'm struggling

Gratitude

All in all
I have to say
After a long and tiring day
Of being perky, nice and sweet
To everyone I have to meet
I feel a deep resentful wish
To turn into a raving bitch
And though sometimes that wish comes true
And that bitch takes it out on you
I'm glad you stick around and say
You love me each and every day
You are my rock, my soul, my heart
And loving you's the easy part.

Regret

We painted the wall green
It was you who decreed it so
I wanted it to stay white, like canvas
Beautifully blank

I remember watching you climb the ladder
Feeling regret that I wasn't helping
Too stubborn to do anything but stand still
Hoping you wouldn't fall

We were younger then, stronger
And now in the midnight of our lives
With the tides shifting against us
I cling to your light

I have hope for us
That everything will be okay
But sometimes I wish we had never painted that wall
I liked when it was beautifully blank.

Illusions

Swish and sway
To the beat of the drum
To the deep bass rhythm
And the sounds of the melody

Stomp your feet
To the heart of the music
As you twirl in the light
Let it all be a remedy

Lose yourself
In the steps and the swirls
Of the boys and the girls
As they cast off the misery

Hide yourself
As the world starts to fade
Singers step from the stage
Dancers show their true age
And we all have to cave
To the end of the melody

Language Barrier

When I say hello to you
I'm really saying I love you

When I ask you how your day was
And what you've been up to
I'm really saying I love you

When I hold your hand
And kiss your fingers
And rest them against my face
I'm really saying I love you

When I hug you tight
And bury my face in your neck
And tangle my fingers in your hair
And let out a big sigh
I'm really saying I love you

When I say I love you
It's more than words.

For Ryan

I love the sound of strummed guitars

Music echoing along a line of thought

Like a stream of consciousness

Singing along steel wires

I find the casually picked notes enticing

Wishing I could follow the thread

Of other peoples fingers

As they progress up and down the neck

I am buoyant with lifted energy

And calmed with gentle joy

As I listen, watch, breathe

I miss the way you used to play to me

Omnipotence

If I ruled the world
I'd give every can of food that was about to expire
To a family in need, so it isn't wasted

If I ruled the world
I would turn all trees that line the city streets
Into fruit trees that people could eat from

If I ruled the world
I would take all of the nuclear weapons
And turn them into thornless rose bushes

If I ruled the world
I would give all the money spent on bottled water
To organizations that build wells in Africa

If I ruled the world
Every house and car in the world would have a solar panel
To offset the amount of energy they use

If I ruled the world
The icecaps would stop melting
So the polar bears wouldn't have to drown

If I ruled the world
All of the guns and bullets
Would vanish, preventing thousands of needless deaths

If I ruled the world
Everyone who smoked would realize how bad it was
And they would all quit for good

If I ruled the world
People wouldn't put mayonnaise on everything
Without asking you first if you like it

If I ruled the world
It would be cleaner, brighter, happier, well-fed, not thirsty, not melting, non-destructive, peaceful, honest and healthy.

If I ruled the world
People would be so mad at me.

Eternal

You looked wonderful today
And I thought about telling you how gorgeous you are
As you said goodbye to me

Sometimes it feels like it falls on deaf ears
When you tell someone how great they are
They don't always stop to listen

I could tell you I love you every day
And it would never truly explain it
And you would never quite hear it the way I meant it

In a thousand years
After we're forgotten and lost
After time has swallowed every trace of us
My soul will still love your soul

Dichotomy

How patient I am
Waiting and watching the time pass by
Staring out of a window, longing to be in the sun.
I am out of the spotlight
While I wait for your light to fade

Is it wrong or sad of me
To wish that you would hurry up and dim?
Should I feel guilty over here
Wrapped up in shadow
Waiting for my turn?

Don't pity me
I can wait.

Rhythm and Stillness

The swirls of white pound across the sand
A gentle spray misting up, coating the air
With a thick, luxuriant salt taste
The wind carries the smell of the sea
The sounds of the surf

The water recedes around my feet
Dragging tiny grains of sand with it
I push down with my toes
Feeling the strength of the water sink them
Watching them disappear beneath the beach

The wind against my face feels like promise, like life
A moment here, with toes in the sand
Brings a world of possibilities to my mind
It's a quiet kind of hope
And I feel my soul lighten with every wave

Inevitable

Suns and moons and stars collide
Drifting through an open tide
Space expands, contracts and dies
People sever blood filled ties

Time shall pass and love shall go
And all the seeds you stopped to sow
Will dwindle distant in the shade
Forgetting careful plans were laid

Mortality will beckon you
You'll feel there's nothing you can do
And all the light will fade to black
You'll never get these moments back

Take a breath, before your last
Before you slip into the past
And look around at all you know
For time shall pass and love shall go