Archive of ‘poem’ category

Aegri Somnia Vana*

to the land beyond the sea

Always,
the fragrance of the earthen potpourri
    walking down the hint of a path,
    erased by impatient feet,
                      to the sea.
The forest marched down
to the waters edge
    clung to slivers in the severe wrinkled face of the cliff, and
    on islands the tide shaped;
Yet couldn’t,
   wouldn’t press,
   even a gnarled toe
into the rocky sand-shore,
    to feel a shy wave
    glide forward,
    reach around toes to heals, and
    tug you in closer to play.
How lonely!-
    to only drink
    the windward rains;
only feel briny breezes run wild fingers
    through needle-tresses,
only smell the suns reflection, scattered from every
    glistening pebble
    bull kelp, fallen feather;
To watch, and wait, at the precipice of a wonder;
To be rooted to this rugged, cumbersome land
    and never to touch, taste,
    one teardrop
                       of the Pacific’s compassion.

May your tears always find a path home to the sea. ~

Olympic Mountains

Written on November 5th, 2012

*Translation: A sick man’s empty dreams, a line of Horace’s

2013 Rhapsody, in A Major

A year of sailing seven seas, internal.
Year of the spirochete, infernal.
Mortal heart of a child, eternal.

Girl + Infection = Outcome Unexpected

Girl + Infection = more pills than Lego pieces, per capita

Rectangles, round, ovals, gel caps,
    pasties, sublinguals, compounded, and tablets.
    (to navigate the bottles, you’ll require maps!)

Yet…

I’ve swallowed more handfuls of pills
    than fears.
I’ve dripped more drops of medications,
    than tears.
I’ve flown beyond this body,
    but always come back.

If life = chronic infection:
    hold close the light: it’s more illuminating than blackness
embrace love: let it heal and guide you
    follow you heart, to your path
lead with hope, and courage will follow
    find this moment, and you’ll receive the present
trust in happiness: it never left
    welcome life, your old friend
live in your life: you’ll discover it’s waiting

open your arms, and embrace your future
open your mind, and wisdom and perseverance will arrive
open your heart, and love will fill it.

The beginning of the journey never promised
    a fairy-tale ending,
But
    the truth? At the end of five years?

Girl > Infection.

A note: This poem came to me this morning while watching the clock change from December 31, 2012, 11:59 PM to January 1, 2013, 12:00.

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