Saturday, February 21, 2009

Riding at Daybreak

Awake in the darkness before dawn
In deepest night, You listen for us
And I can assure You
We are getting our gear together
We are cleaning and holstering weapons
In the silent darkness

I can assure You
I'm standing outside the camp
And my horse is beside me
Mist from Our breath - flowing
The men and women putting feet
Into their stirrups
A sound of metal and breathing

Hold on another day, hold until the dawn
We are riding now, on our way to You
We are riding side by side
The sun is rising, there is a glow coming over
On the edge of the mountains
And I can assure You
As a storm comes across the plains
Irresistible, I am at the head of Them
And all of Us are coming

We are all together now
My sister rides
Close to me
Her red hair is flowing freely
None of us fear death now
We are coming to release You
To relieve you from Your long watch
To carry the day
Once and for all

I can assure You
We are coming

Friday, February 13, 2009

The Suicide of Kevin M

In the truck in some corner of Massachusetts
The police find a body slumped over
Just one dead ex- marine pedophile

Whose family abused him when he was little

And beneath the old, black tires of the pickup
Weeds will grow, and flowers
When the ice melts in the Springtime

Thursday, February 12, 2009

On The Ridge

Three of them

You see the first one
Which is a knife edge of granite
There is wind howling across it
But you and a friend laughed
In the sunshine
With a rope between you
When you danced through the clouds on its corner

You know the second one
Which is in life, of life, is life
And where words and actions
Are the rope
Between you and your friends
And the clouds prevent, sometimes, a view
The thunder prevents sometimes
Hearing them call signals to you

And you feel the third one
A ridgeline across the grey horizon
Of your own interior wilderness
Standing, at its edge, you turn for the friend
With the rope

But there is no one there
So you wait for favorable signs to cross

Saturday, February 07, 2009

End

At sunset
It disappears

Or you just put it down

You stand from the chair

Or you step back from the table

Glancing at the clock

You know
That you have to go now

Sacrifice

The lamb is buckling under the weight of the knife
The martyr is crumpling beneath a hail of stones
Men and women, torn by wild beasts in a dessicated arena
While crowds howl and fornicate
Cast into one another's eyes, a final moment

The look of love

A mother offers her precious child to the man in armour
Who impales it; she collapses in the dust
Masses tear the ears and eyes from apostates
While in the distance, on a cold hill of 47 crosses
The ones still alive
Before sunset, raise their bleeding faces

Looking lovingly upon you and me

Farewell

Farewell, friend
Farewell, my love

Swimming in
You laid your hand on me

Walking with me
We spoke together

Flying away
You take your hand from mine

Where in the Universe
Are those things that were said
When we were crying
Either in bliss or in pain?

Into what space did they go?
What, in the end, do they really mean?

Farewell.

The light is passing behind walls
Passing into earth, passing down

So look for me someday on
Another shore.

The Shore - Farewell to L

I saw your sailboat racing
From the edge of the shore
Through the froth, through the foam
Alongside the swells
To the edge of the breakwater
To the jetty, to the sand bar
Where the waves lull, and luffing
Then catching a fresh breeze
And you pull across the outer range of whitecaps
Whipped by this freshe breeze
And your red hair is flowing
And your face is shining, you hold
A bronzed tiller, standing in the hull
Of your craft and the sun is setting
And you are leaving, and I stand
On the empty shore in dusk, your
Sail finally a glimmer on the edge of the sky
Before disappearing

The Trail - Farewell to L

You left a few things behind
You left gems glittering on the sand

And I trail along behind you
I see your footsteps

Listening to the sea
Holding gems in my hand

We sat kicking our legs off the edge of the dock
We watched the sun roll down into the bay

You chose another Way

I tracked you, but your steps

Passed into the ocean
I see you standing beside me

I see you in the trees, I feel you
Under me like a butterfly

Casting gems into the sea
And turning away