She searches
for
words,
music,
assurances.
His tongue
writes
her poetry
and she sighs
on the harmony
of their song.
poem- perfection
The poem is entitled Tiger Lily
but the accompanying photo
shows a Stargazer Lily.
I am trying not to mind.
poem- time travelling July 6, 2014
For my eighteenth birthday
He wrote me a song.
Flutes and strings danced
in my honour,
a musical farewell,
recorded on cassette.
I filled the rest of the tape
with a treasury of captured moments:
His playing, my laughter,
melancholy dreams.
All synthesized on
The Lost Tape.
.
Years of wondering where it went.
.
Today. My birthday
I picked up an empty cassette case,
and it was not empty.
The case showed my face,
listed harp tunes by me, but inside
not me:
Ancient history.
A birthday present
from eighteen year old me
to middle-aged me,
magnetic taped
memories,
for time-travelling.
..
.
I feel inclined to add a photo, which I probably will remove later, so enjoy it while it’s here. The composer of the song, compiler of the cassette, my grad escort. Me at 18. (I had just been swimming, excuse the hair). 😉
poem- wishes
She likes a bad boy.
She likes the attitude,
the tats,
the danger,
the rebellion,
the dissatisfaction.
She likes that he’ll cheat
on his wife with her,
plan their future,
dream with her.
That woman doesn’t
deserve him, she says,
while she wishes.
That woman doesn’t
understand him, she says,
while she wishes.
He embraces her,
briefly.
When he leaves her
pregnant,
crushed,
jaded,
she’s surprised,
by all he’d revealed
to her before,
and she thinks it’s
his fault,
she’d wished.
.
.
.
.
Another sad example of, “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got.”
poem-circles
one quarter century
one half century
one century
blood linked
chain,
a circle
of life.
.
.
.
Happy birthday to me, in a rather auspicious year in our family.
poem- Oh Christy July 5, 2014
Oh Christy,
who was the teacher
who provoked you?
Who was the teacher
who shredded your confidence,
made you feel powerless,
alone,
stupid?
.
Who?
.
For surely somewhere,
you sustained a deep hurt
that is still a festering wound,
that causes you to lash out
like an injured dog,
irrationally,
deflecting your pain with today’s power.
Some time ago,
there was a hurt,
that we are paying for.
.
Christy,
A counselor
would be cheaper.
.
.
.
It’s just a theory. But it would explain a lot.
poem- there July 4, 2014
Who you were there
eyes lit
smile glistening
passion sparkling
walking hand in hand
through the summer rain
fueled poetry
and wishful thinking.
Who you were there,
who I was then,
both left behind.
poem- nerves July 3, 2014
When
You sat beside me
I couldn’t find the gears
on this car I drive every day.
Your half drunk bottle of water
has become the holy relic in a
smile bestowing, mobile shrine
to your presence next
to me.
poem-then July 2, 2014
The dorm rang with
youthful enthusiasm.
We were learning to live,
expanding our limits,
and searching for a future.
So many years
and you are different
and the same.
We’re still learning,
expanding our limits,
contemplating our journeys,
and the next turn of the road.
.
.
.
Had a nice visit with folks I attended college with thirty years ago. So much is different, but so much remains the same whenever you meet old friends, doesn’t it? (It’s that ‘time has pleats’ thing again!)
Shawn L. Bird 