she never used to let her fear determine where she'd go, or went; and so it was, one summer night when, working far abroad, her bent was to explore this strange new world. alone, unguarded, restless, free: this was real life through her own eyes, and her as she was meant to be
This place was very different once. The brightly lit playbill -- They fell at an early winter show The day the earth stood still They promised, soon, to always love, A thing they did past dying; And when she went long after him, We stood here, one day, crying How much that crumbles once was gold, How memories can fool us; But love is the only tyrant left Who's really fit To rule us
how high these castle walls how long this royal road where honors and reward are regally bestowed upon those proven worthy by a power from above those marked with special favor by their old grandparent's love
how could he know —
that storm front of love in her
was always in her
and really independent of him?
cynics say,
“love is the illusion of togetherness”,
but that’s not true.
it’s the illusion of individuality
but autumn is real,
and feelings are real —
while memories are really
deceiving
YOU were the ground:
so happy, shoveling the sand;
so joyful, rolling in the grass --
soft and squishy, bare feet running,
the smell of flowers filling your nose, and
the earth itself filling your heart --
you were that ground.
YOU were the water:
lying on your back, arms spread wide,
held by the liquid embrace that cushioned you,
sound of the ocean breathing, as
the sun set on what was your tension --
ripples spreading from a black pond hidden
from the eyes of all but few --
you were that water.
YOU were the fire:
city lights ablaze, like the lights in your eyes --
hot the feeling, crowds in a frenzy,
inhaling excitement, exhaling the feeling
of bodies alive with the flames of desire,
two later, alone, in a tangle of burning,
and more, in the words you pour out in volcanoes --
you are that fire.
NOW become the wind:
let got of the past, and your ease, and your passion,
for opposites live in your very existence,
they're all of them you
yet they're none of them all --
there's more the moments that have been, there's those
you have yet to feel, like this one, like this one --
now become the sky, and the clouds, and the wind.
Is it 1983? ’Cause it is to me. At least — it is right now. I’m twenty one years old And although it’s cold in December, I’m burning like a midday sun, The course only halfway run On the last lap of the way to the finish line Called “college”. All that knowledge I Took in, hoping To win a little, just enough. Ambitions small and localized, Tough, but often, anesthetized, With the universe expanding Almost at the speed of my ego, A thing both wondrous and monstrous, And fragile as an old TV signal. Back at the dorm in January, now, Watching the old Oakland Raiders win An unlikely championship surrounded By as many beer cans as I had wishes, Pat Summerall’s voice echoing down The empty halls of memory
She turned to me with haunted look
Atop the spires of her pain,
I took her to my house and bed
And made it snow, and sleet, and rain
Her brown hair tumbled everywhere,
As she arched back in focus pure;
I thought I’d known that haunted look,
But never could
Be sure
he watched things break on the edge of soft sweaters and hair that became flowers that became rain falling on the rooftops of distant houses where princes dreamed of being commoners, and commoners dreamed of killing princes a face that made him want to go to war in the vain hope she would wait for him and the more realistic hope that he would not return; for in the time of learning, the real education is in loss and disappointment and even ruin; for there are two currents in life, flowing in opposite directions: the wanting and the being wanted
I’d see them chatting after lunch; They’d pass each other in the hall - He was a handsome sort of guy, And she was very shy - Sometimes I’d catch her watching as He and some other guys played ball; He was a local sort of star That she watched from afar. One summer day, right after work, We had a thing down at the park, A barbecue and get-together Just to mine the weather – The beer was flowing freely, and She stood resplendent, with her friends, When he stopped by to check in some She thought the time had come – But just right then, the world turned wrong, She watched his eyes as his head turned - A new girl: and to her surprise Her guy only had eyes For someone she had never seen. He walked away to get two beers; And she looked stricken dumb, as blankness To her eyes would come So, she drank fiercely most the night, But her friends - they looked out for her, At some point, she stopped glancing there: At the now-friendly pair – I saw all this, and took it in. I read it all as off a page -- That much emotion I recall As though ‘twas yesterday -- The love that never came to words, The heartbreak no one ever knew, ‘Cause some "new girl" just wandered in And took it all Away
