Relic

Couched applause, politic
Awful, un-restorable,
Politest greeting, given for
Peace own presence fearing
Flaws encased in costume
Flaunt through clenched gut
For fame and beaten beauty
Truth? Abandon solitary space
To clutch each straw-strewn
Stall amid this rubble, rake
Avoid of coals and colas,
Coda strain, melodic twist,
Return again, as could I wish.

Bravado

Thin, tin smile, tight
Reach after slender corseted
Stalker, crumple, face in
Hands out, held for
Helping. Plea in fogged
Machinated end, for
Meaning

sol, o solo

And he said, thank you for
Great story, shared, and I
Remembered crying alone.
And he said you are so
Special to me, and I felt
The loss of overcompromise. And
He said you are amazing,
And I said,
I know

Respite

That lift, those arms don't know or seek, just
Hold sweet and close. Wash soft love over
Brokenness. Over cataracted gaze, and muffled moan.
Bundle in sobs, clutch in wrath form coldening.
Let fly but grieve chance to love more, save
One more, but save, you did, save
Hope, faith; soul winked out with goodness
Waved on and swift, on highroad of your gift.

Show

Shriven, graded, packaged so;
Whalebones laced and lashes
Placed to win a crowd's acceptance;
Race to blocked and chorded rounds,
Abounding sounds roof-shattered raises
Pasted, wasted, groaning zip and lock
Lips to face the lights, and shine.

Solution

Heart's a fool's toy, falls
A silly thing, for eyes, for
Hands, for moments gone
Wrong, so blame, so rotten
Seared in ink and scar for
Time, remembered or forgot,
Lover's lot, this knotted cord
Gnawed by desperation through,
A name regained, a life revived,
A stringless song skipped stepping
Down from judges benches
Whistles as it flies.

Alarm

Grab, go, roust from deep
Frozen depths of slumber's
Sought embrace and pact to
Keep therein dreams' secrets,
Aye, so tight own memory fails
Recounting time again and now.

Another

Rolling wave crash asunder and over
And under and into oblivion
Dissipate singing fate brought
Soughing doubt crawling and
Rout kinder passions to spare
Roughage blessed and passed
For broken alms and swears
And never mores anew recanted
Deviant past eschew and fresh
Mount soggy tor to cry again.

Aside

Dare this itch assist desire?
A grand design? Or
Canterbury tale inspire? To
Waft and whistle aimless by?
Welt on dry ambition build
For space, to stop mad
Writhing in the sky or mind?
To burn a wicket soft and dry,
Bench, useless, flaunted,
Amazon's restless child.

Chance

Morn spent, dreary
Inhibitions gave
Away and warmth
Ensues and fog-breath
Spun to candyfloss and
Drips precipitate, and make
Insulated flare affair
Take flight. In drenching
Gale a spinning fool,
Finite-less, gaze up
Accepting calloused hand
Design thy own reformed delight.

Moment

Ill-advised as lightning fall,
Rash, forethought bereft, but
Sailing, trailing, waltz of dazed
Beam this sideways kick
Started so stranger a brand
A song to belt away in crowded
Room.

Solo

Array demolish, airtime spent.
Abolish evening's sapient core,
Expose to way of milky night
A soul, a sound, a friend,
In starry sky
Sublime

Establish

Fold, place gently, pile and close,
Expose, excise each pattern bold
Adhere to order, fit in space,
Adorn, admire as works artfully
Grace and complement bare
Chrysalis of arms, embrace
Bejeweled self within
Shy face.

Some Say Love

Embraces all, encumbers so,

Entwines in knots of folly, robs

Of wit and will to wander, holds

The key to happiness, excites, inspires,

Drives one to transient madness, sparks

A change, feeds a flame, sends

In pearly hardened gaits a soul who

Bought the rule, the thumb,

The Love that overpowers,

Gulfs in, hot, and presses one

To run.

Err so Tiny

Even so, a
Candle flame can
Bring the building burning
Crash about you, lash
And flare to embers all
Possessed and loved and
Worshiped in a lockbox, kept
In privy, cold, beyond old
Kelpers' reach and fishers'
Lure, and so secure until
That latch undone, that
Carpet corner torn, and tripping
Beat all safeties ends to
Meet, thy fascinating fibers
Face to floor.

Royals

King to wise men round,
What say you? stay?
But fools, oh, foolish rush
To bind another's will, another
Bluster, blind and swell to
Get her, gather specters, crowd
Of cheers, fanatic ravers, want
Adored. This wait, right here,
For you, love, maiden cast
Of ore and found, a mix, a
Sundry solace shard, a
Dance? Pandora's skelter
Haven built, Gerrard and sweet
Lorenna bring a piece of peace
In pace with bright Adonis. Shift
Aside yon palace, bring this
Beastie softly in.

Growth

Daren't wager sixpence,
Fathom hindrance,
Prior rout aside, for gain upon
This millstone, ground soon,
Chaff from pellet fled. My
Kingdom for a route to
Fly, fast-forward on to thyme
in relish fuse, akin to sigh,
to Know thyself, and
Learn to Die.
But saffron beacon beckons
Daren't wager lessons,
Audience,
Azalea's royals trill and
Thrills abound tonight, as
Whisked from 'fore,
Displacing last,
To dance at Stephan's
Crowded path.

En Route

writing desk, flys none,
raven no scholar, nor
a bit alike, but aye, some runes,
capricious chicken scratches ply
a simile a'tween, and grand
adventure, this, bears solvent
peace grasped in understanding
so, what light through yonder window,
fair, and sweet as roses
dawn to dusk and ponder brings,
among all twists and gallows' way
how found this imp, tonight
beleaguered soul, or lay?

Anastasia's

She left, she turned
venom spoken, gone,
and rift existed then.
Crumpled bauble cast
beside, but snatched
before forgotten, taken!
Held, adored, and doted,
alabaster neck adorned.
Can blame appear, can
envy rear a verdant arm
upon her peace? The
warmth of arms, those beads,
they never looked
so good on me.

Shift

Daily walked, same
Way, this path, same
Footsteps follow, falter now
It's different today. So
Hazy, tremble as I
Go. Same way, as
Every day, but this,
This ache makes all
A new thing, sharp against
Background of loss, of
Used to have, of didn't
Stand tall enough, hold strong
Enough, for long enough.
Or wrong enough to never
Make this last, oh, wasted?
Never, brought upon such
Joy, this pain worth any, all
To feel, again, a stranger foe
My friend.