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

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.

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

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