The dog has been slurping in the toilet
He saunters down the hall,
water dripping from his muzzle,
stops beside me, gazing adoringly,
and kisses my arm with long wet strokes.
As he flops to clean his privates,
I go off in search of soap.
poem- nestled June 15, 2014
I crawl between clean sheets,
inhaling crisp scent.
You snore softly on your side,
then reach out and pull me
against you, our ankles entangling,
fingers weaving together
your snores still filling the
dark, dancing with me
in your dreams.
poem- dead horse May 27, 2014
You rode your high horse
to water, but you couldn’t make it drink.
You beat that horse
until its flesh was pulverized
and the putrid rot rose in a stench,
repulsing people you wanted to impress.
Still you keep beating
that equine cadaver,
imagining the rattle of its rib bones
is dressage music
for your one trick pony.
poem- cat woman May 26, 2014
She slashed him.
.
Pain scratched and yowled around his brain,
longing for palliation.
He saw compassion and affection in your eyes
wrapped his hands across your neck and
in the explosion of agonized ecstasy,
you choked down his hurt.
.
She twitched her fingers.
.
With his backward gaze,
he saw anguish curling lithely behind your eyes.
You saw his pitying relief, even as his pain
purred so loudly in your head
it blocked the words
he should have said.
.
.
.
This one is for Amber
poem- alteration May 21, 2014
It begins
in awe
a stunned staring
with a grin that expands
from mouth to feet
’til even toes are smiling
with delight.
It grows
in time
as kindly sharing
expands experience
from then to now
’til familiarity leads
to comfort.
It rests
in fondness
warm embraces
transcending miles and
knowing paths will cross
again.
poem- yet May 20, 2014
You gather me into you
Entangling limbs and
Tickling kisses on the neck.
.
Your breath tangles in my hair
Escaping through quivering tendrils
Trembling into the night.
.
Your heartbeats drum against my back
Exquisite timpani.
Time stops.
poem- tonight April 24, 2014
Tonight
walking to the mailbox
I am stalked by mist
The lights blink through
the neighbours trees:
stars above,
down town below.
It’s so black between the lamps,
I expect deep quiet,
beneath the rustle of new leaves,
but the highway hums in the distance.
Trucks travel with an insistent drone
that climbs the hill to my house,
and silence suffers
in the hustle of their incessant transitions.
poem- Easter chimes April 20, 2014
The wind chimes
on my back deck
honour the day
intoning like sonorous church bells
calling for celebratory worship.
poem- dreaming in the tub April 18, 2014
In drenched sleep
dreaming
computer rests across my knees
I’m writing
with neck crooked awkwardly
of you
and what happens next
in my favourite novel
and pondering the universe
until wisdom unfolds.
I type it all down,
in my dream
take dictation
from the subconscious
but when I awaken
there are neither words
nor keyboard
and all wisdom has evaporated
in the steam,
or drizzled down the drain.
poem- Misty’s shoes April 17, 2014
I’m wearing Misty’s shoes;
her ghost clings to them
billowing behind the clicking heels
in the hallway.
Misty set these shoes
on the foot rest of her
wheelchair, but I’m dancing
to her memory down corridors,
blowing kisses to the sky
through windows
wide with wishes.
.
.
.
A few years ago on eBay I bought a pair of black and white Fluevog Harlows: T-straps on towering spool heels . Misty’s sister told me about how they were selling her shoes after her untimely death from cystic-fibrosis. I was so impressed with what she told me about her feisty sister over a brief correspondance, that I created a shoe-oholic character called Misty in the Grace books 3 & 4. The manuscript is sitting on a shelf, waiting for polishing. Someday you’ll get to meet her fictional namesake. In the meantime, you can admire her excellent taste in shoes:
Shawn L. Bird 