parry

a lilliputian army of words
impossible to parry
a million tiny thrusts
made not with swords
but stick pins
an aggregation of wounds
minuscule enough
to barely draw blood
hardly worth notice
were I not about to swim
in a sea of salty tears

sidereal

stretching like taffy
this exigent epoch
flat on our backs
on a threadbare blanket
halfheartedly protecting us
from dewy ground
heavens above
marking sidereal time
not in seconds or heartbeats
but in the eternity between
when you reach for my hand
and when we touch

quorum

my senses take leave
on little vacations
I hope they're somewhere warm
basking in the sunshine by a pool
with frothy drinks and umbrellas
while Reason and I sit
in this empty conference room
lacking a quorum and dithering

auspicious

fireworks & sunshine
fireworks & moonshine
salt breeze on skin
first kisses, reminisces
lost in the newness
of whatever this is
yet, suspicious
of the auspicious
burned by hope before
a sunburn that blistered
no aloe could soothe
faded now but damage done
and leaving me checking
each mole and freckling in fear
so cautiously, so very cautiously
into daylight I reappear
to bask in you but warily
lest skin ablaze already
merely from your touch
be seared by your sun
your light, for me, too much

winnow

the wind whips by

bracing with bluster

you muster the strength 

for the next step

as frosty gusts winnow away

the decrepitude of neglect

clearing the accumulation

of grim grime decaying 

you in quick lime

a million false starts

start you stuttering

and stalling 

to creep slowly onward

rising and falling

to be purified 

by sweat and salt 

a light ahead 

beckons and dances

mirage

storybook houses
gingerbread kisses
picket fences
and swing sets
air shimmers
on the asphalt
and it's gone
radio turns on
to fill the vacuum
mirage of peace
melts away
uneasy we sing
broken lyrics
to a song we
never really knew

undulant

warm cheek
cool pillow
eyelash flutters
hair cascading
an undulant waterfall
reds and browns
swirl like finger-paint
as he tucks
a stray wisp
behind her ear
pulls her closer
stray whispers
sleepy grin
like the dawn
as she is lit
novae within