A Month of Poetry

Mourning Before Dawn

2009-03-17T11:14:00.003-04:00

fear has a habit of
waking the sleeping dog
who lays whimpering
with legs engaged in motion

the sand of yesterday's
beach walk
lingers in your eyes and ears
like a salt

this is what we have come to
taking turns pacing
the soil in this Eden

of our own creation
like foolish miniature gods
going through the motions,
manufacturing a destiny

written in stone
before we were ever plucked
out of the cosmos
and our possiblity existed

in an unreleased egg.

I forgot to think what it
means to jump the track
and drive through an open field
still asleep, undisturbed

clearing throat
unable to consider anything
but the inevitability of spring.

ksaint

Poem After Paintings

2009-03-17T11:11:00.002-04:00

watermelon rind sunset
gives way to the stench of a
night gone bad before
the last ray of sun
punches out for the day

like a dog-tired man
in faded blue jeans
stained and with a scent
all his own

besides, she won't notice
if he turns away
when she reaches the door
like a nun at a window

of stained glass
this night is a relief
this day was a catastrophe
we throw barbed wire

across the table
daring each other to bleed
what was sanity
pools like spilt milk

under the stars
welcome me
I am bettter
in darkness.

ksaint

Well that's it!

2009-03-01T11:50:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to Mary and the others who completed their 28 poems! The month is the shortest month of the year and has gone by accordingly, but has also dragged on agonizingly with the dark and the cold and the briefest glimpses of spring. Writing poetry each day has been a challenge, but hopefully has provided everyone with time for reflection.

I myself finished only approximately half of the month's poems so will not be joining those in the winner's circle.

Congratulations again to those who finished! See everyone next year!

A Quiet Revelation

2009-02-28T09:45:00.002-05:00

everything I say
i've learned about living,
you already know
you've already heard
my words are like wallpaper
my words are like gray cement floors
you don't even meet my eyes with yours
you are onto another face or place
move your body to another space

yesterday driving down
open country roads
with the radio off and only hearing
my own head
I knew I could tell you what I know,
knew I could say the words with
all my heart behind them
knew you would still give me that blank stare
knew that to really know
you have to lay yourself open
even when it hurts too much to see.

ksaint

#28 Mary 2009

2009-02-28T02:07:00.000-05:00

Carved

Words fly
Landing nowhere
Blank slate

Hearts cry
Sweet stare
Readily wait

Poets die
Lovers share
Timeless fate

#27 Mary 2009

2009-02-27T21:11:00.000-05:00

Another Haiku

Ambiguity
Creates monsters of the mind
Discovering life

Coming Home

2009-02-26T22:48:00.002-05:00

there is much to be said about coming home
after a long time away from the big, old empty house
that seems to groan "I missed you"
as you cross the threshold, road-weary,
dragging suitcases up the stairs

the cats are dancing at your feet
you throw open windows to clear the air
birds begin to mysteriously gather on the rail
somehow noting the movement of your
figure crossing the room to fetch a cip of tea,
to just sit and take notice,
the delicious pleasure of the familiar.

ksaint

#26 Mary 2009

2009-02-26T11:20:00.001-05:00

If Only

Doubts linger
Fading revives
Continual sequence
Reliving moments
Decisions inspected
Universally flawed
Roads unexplored
Seem greener
Pastures ahead
Dreams flow
Ebbing away
Longing days
Never known

#25 Mary 2009

2009-02-25T12:56:00.000-05:00

Win The Game

Trapped by the past
Burdened baggage clings
Saddled spirits creep
Lethargic echoes of frustration
Relaxation soothes souls
And mends minds
Open and suggestible
Changing habits into happiness
Dreams become reality
Hello to goodbye
Fly free toward the future

Ash Wednesday

2009-02-25T11:16:00.002-05:00

a fat gray cat with a pink collar
sits in the green wicker chair
pissing off the squirrel in a tree
who curses in a foreign tongue

what snow was left melts away
displaying the winter-ravaged
yard, the naked soil,
the piney, prickly dead things

dried and broken
dust I am
dust I shal return

as sure as the snow will melt
the cat moves on
the squirrel descends
finds sustenance
among the dead.

ksaint

Beach People

2009-02-25T09:30:00.002-05:00

I draw beach people on Sanibel Island
I draw them randomly without asking permission
I draw them quickly
lines indicating shape and gesture
I am a voyeur behind shades
the beach is seashell-coated
the people have organic bodies
that grew out of the sand
sketchy limbs jutting out beneath
plaid shorts and rolled sleeves
bulbous bellies protruding
above lycra suits
seagulls circle and cry

I give them color without paint
I breathe life into their faces
their noses and mouths
I lift their arms or leave
them dangling like weak branches
I lift their legs, make them
run along the shore
a few dance, the young ones,
with abandon and without seeing themselves
the others move slowly,
eyes to the sand, searching,
some hand-in-hand,
eyes to the horizon, knowing

For today,
we exist here only
as beings, one with the earth
only in the searing sun
our faces kissed
our eyes closed
thinking we have
found a paradise
feeling
like we have come home.

ksaint

Twenty-four

2009-02-24T18:49:00.000-05:00

I can be perfect - if I only try a little harder
I can be perfect - if I only try a little harder
I can be perfect - if I only try a little harder

I am not trying hard enough
Work harder, work harder, do more, do more!
Be the best, be the best
I can be perfect

I am a failure - I am worth nothing
I am a failure - I am worth nothing
I am a failure - I make myself sick

I cannot succeed, why did I try?
I am nothing, nothing, nothing!
I am not perfect, I am not worthy
Shame shame shame

I can be perfect - if I only try a little bit harder...

#24 Mary 2009

2009-02-24T14:35:00.001-05:00

Choice

Stolen desires mourn
Hiding in obscurity
Merge on the horizon
Listening to agony murmur
Faith considers facts
Examination graded failure
Persuading moments
Belong to none and all

Day 24 - anna kiss

2009-02-24T11:03:00.000-05:00

tasks drop in open barrels
labor's fruit
ripened and readied,
and checkmarked,
weighed for content,
inspected for form,
and dismissed
into waiting assembly lines
of time passed,
of neglected memory,
that no longer needed,
yet also satisfied.
ultimately, the hunger stops for nothing,
so this days' sating
is relegated to oblivion,
recycled,
and tomorrow's need thrums
loud and proud
as ever.

#23 Mary 2009

2009-02-23T21:25:00.000-05:00

Hope

Sorrow meanders
Flowing over rocks
Pouring into the earth
While shadows rise
And dreams chase
Time sketches existence
Ambitious hearts race
At the speed of light
Eternal in all its glory

Twenty-three

2009-02-23T18:46:00.000-05:00

With a sliver of remorsement for the days we used to know
Leaning toward the future, with a silent wave, you'll go
There is no chance of salvation
We can't stop this presentation
Just a hope that life will treat you well no matter where you go

With a longing heart imprinted on the sandy shores below
The last touch of remembrance, you'll turn away; you'll go
I have no separate dreams waiting
I'll just sit here contemplating
The impact that the winds of change can blow

And with time parting, I will stand and through the years will grow
But one day oh so silently we both know that you'll go
You'll go softly with no tears
And I will overcome the fears
Of misconception of the days we used to know

Twenty-two

2009-02-22T18:22:00.001-05:00

nail me to the cross I've built, oh shepherd boy
a lifetime's work I've put into it, oh nail me, shepherd boy

no we cannot be together, hear the chimes, you must go now
hail ye now the mighty dollar, shepherd boy walks off to war
hey hey the steeple cowers, thrust my cross into the ground
hey hey his young mind wanders, to the great cause he is bound

all around me lay the bloodstains, oh shepherd boy
the soldiers' ghosts prophecies around me, oh shepherd boy

here he marches on the field, hear the grand old cannonballs
fire to save your burning spirit, shepherd boy can see no more
hey hey battle has begun, nails wound me to the bone
hey hey the war is eternal, hear my creaking spirit groan

hell burns in all her glory now, oh shepherd boy
the fires that rage cannot be silenced, oh shepherd boy

all the dreams of power and righteousness, hear the cries of the boy's heart
do what's told and don't you dare ask why; shepherd boy can hear no more
hey hey the sky is lighted, i am bound with ropes and gore
hey hey the flame's ignited, welcome to the depths of war

hear the last of my sobs tonight, oh shepherd boy
all is fair in love and war now, oh shepherd boy

tortured, twisted, all the horrors no child's face ever should see
so shall you meet the face of death, shepherd boy there is no more
hey hey the cause of justice, now my cross does stand alone
hey hey the body perishes, all the world has turned to stone

goodbye to our one last factor, oh shepherd boy
my soul is scratched, the wounds forever, oh shepherd boy

hey hey the steeple cowers, thrust my cross into the ground
hey hey the war is ended:
no one left to hear the sound

#22 Mary 2009

2009-02-22T09:02:00.001-05:00

Meditation

Silence breeds softly
Humming memories
Yearn in the distance
Diligent surrender
Listens to the light
Bottomless peace
Escaping gently
Spirit over mind
Present versus past
Clarity rescues reason
Tranquility divine

#21 Mary 2009

2009-02-21T23:04:00.004-05:00

Help Wanted

Unsolicited advice
Miles in moccasins
Trails and tribulations
Befuddled incompetence
Screaming to be heard
Through skulls too thick
Boxed ready to ship
Journey unexplored
Reflected in the mirror
Life never lived

#20 Mary 2009

2009-02-21T22:24:00.001-05:00

Here We Go Again

Brooding through the months
Cursing days and years
Half empty glasses smash
Flooding calendars with hate
Stomping emotions past the deep
Festering to the surface
Sweet putrid love forgiveness begs
Charming inside again
Round and round the gloom
Another ballet begins

Twenty-one

2009-02-21T18:16:00.000-05:00

What's wrong, little child?
Hanging pendulum from the ceiling
Licking the thorny vine
Millenniums pass and still looking
Silent stars, your single companion
Lost, lonely girl
Where has your life gone?
And what have you to show for it?
Picking trash to stay alive
Tripping over dead and decomposing dreams
Left to rot in a pool of acid
Dripping chemicals like a ladybug's tear

Strong scents of incense
Drifting through the heavy blankets of smog
That stings my eyes and makes them tear
The songbird sings no more

Fear not, she says
There is a safe escape
Do not listen to what they tell you
You have chosen your fate
Planned it thoroughly
And you dare claim to be afraid?

Death smiles all around us
Kneading his twisted fingers into a ball of success
Grinning with his evil eye
Life becomes powerless
Overcoming neither the simple task of survival
nor the eternal dream of happiness

I see your face is covered
Peering through the eerie silence
There is nobody left but you and me---
Find your own way home.

Twenty

2009-02-20T18:12:00.000-05:00

And evermore I long to run
And in the end there is only one

All the tears that I have shed
Leave no mark in the world
This glorious, strong goddess
Is a lost and lonely girl

All the times I looked your way
You never heard what I had to say

But the sun will shine before me
And I will walk the path of gold
And melt down all the walls of ice
In this dark and bitter cold

Bedroom Still Life

2009-02-19T22:25:00.002-05:00

keep the shutters closed so
I can sleep in past sunrise yet
black birds move outside windows
sing, sing, sing

the ceiling fan stirs a lazy breeze
that blows across the chaos of covers
the pile of pillows flung about the floor

I have left the desk lamp on
the Tiffany shade is stunning

I am certain it means something
the placement of the wrought iron

bird beside the bottle of
"curvascious" red nail polish

however,
words and their meanings, escape me.

ksaint

Bathroom Still Life

2009-02-19T22:22:00.002-05:00

rainbows hang like webs in windows
do their crazy dance when the sun
hits them laughing

the valentine's roses hang their redheads
to cry beside the neon blue toothpaste

spilled over coffee cup stains
and I lock the door to be alone

while I stare into the mirror
and try to remember my name.

ksaint

Nineteen

2009-02-19T18:00:00.000-05:00

Anticipation leads to nothing
You build me up to tear me down
I have once more, been forgotten
Beaten, defeated, on the ground

And who guards where I'm meant to stand?
How many? Many more!
So foolish for me to believe
It would be me whom you'd adore

What goes up, they say, must come down
You are my heartsick sin
Like I've done so many times before -
Will keep it all within