Mourning Before Dawn

fear has a habit of
waking the sleeping dog
who lays whimpering
with legs engaged in motion

the sand of yesterday's
beach walk
lingers in your eyes and ears
like a salt

this is what we have come to
taking turns pacing
the soil in this Eden

of our own creation
like foolish miniature gods
going through the motions,
manufacturing a destiny

written in stone
before we were ever plucked
out of the cosmos
and our possiblity existed

in an unreleased egg.

I forgot to think what it
means to jump the track
and drive through an open field
still asleep, undisturbed

clearing throat
unable to consider anything
but the inevitability of spring.

ksaint

Poem After Paintings

watermelon rind sunset
gives way to the stench of a
night gone bad before
the last ray of sun
punches out for the day

like a dog-tired man
in faded blue jeans
stained and with a scent
all his own

besides, she won't notice
if he turns away
when she reaches the door
like a nun at a window

of stained glass
this night is a relief
this day was a catastrophe
we throw barbed wire

across the table
daring each other to bleed
what was sanity
pools like spilt milk

under the stars
welcome me
I am bettter
in darkness.

ksaint

Well that's it!

Congratulations to Mary and the others who completed their 28 poems! The month is the shortest month of the year and has gone by accordingly, but has also dragged on agonizingly with the dark and the cold and the briefest glimpses of spring. Writing poetry each day has been a challenge, but hopefully has provided everyone with time for reflection.

I myself finished only approximately half of the month's poems so will not be joining those in the winner's circle.

Congratulations again to those who finished! See everyone next year!

A Quiet Revelation

everything I say
i've learned about living,
you already know
you've already heard
my words are like wallpaper
my words are like gray cement floors
you don't even meet my eyes with yours
you are onto another face or place
move your body to another space

yesterday driving down
open country roads
with the radio off and only hearing
my own head
I knew I could tell you what I know,
knew I could say the words with
all my heart behind them
knew you would still give me that blank stare
knew that to really know
you have to lay yourself open
even when it hurts too much to see.

ksaint

#28 Mary 2009

Carved

Words fly
Landing nowhere
Blank slate

Hearts cry
Sweet stare
Readily wait

Poets die
Lovers share
Timeless fate

#27 Mary 2009

Another Haiku

Ambiguity
Creates monsters of the mind
Discovering life

Coming Home

there is much to be said about coming home
after a long time away from the big, old empty house
that seems to groan "I missed you"
as you cross the threshold, road-weary,
dragging suitcases up the stairs

the cats are dancing at your feet
you throw open windows to clear the air
birds begin to mysteriously gather on the rail
somehow noting the movement of your
figure crossing the room to fetch a cip of tea,
to just sit and take notice,
the delicious pleasure of the familiar.

ksaint

#26 Mary 2009

If Only

Doubts linger
Fading revives
Continual sequence
Reliving moments
Decisions inspected
Universally flawed
Roads unexplored
Seem greener
Pastures ahead
Dreams flow
Ebbing away
Longing days
Never known

#25 Mary 2009

Win The Game

Trapped by the past
Burdened baggage clings
Saddled spirits creep
Lethargic echoes of frustration
Relaxation soothes souls
And mends minds
Open and suggestible
Changing habits into happiness
Dreams become reality
Hello to goodbye
Fly free toward the future

Ash Wednesday

a fat gray cat with a pink collar
sits in the green wicker chair
pissing off the squirrel in a tree
who curses in a foreign tongue

what snow was left melts away
displaying the winter-ravaged
yard, the naked soil,
the piney, prickly dead things

dried and broken
dust I am
dust I shal return

as sure as the snow will melt
the cat moves on
the squirrel descends
finds sustenance
among the dead.

ksaint

Beach People

I draw beach people on Sanibel Island
I draw them randomly without asking permission
I draw them quickly
lines indicating shape and gesture
I am a voyeur behind shades
the beach is seashell-coated
the people have organic bodies
that grew out of the sand
sketchy limbs jutting out beneath
plaid shorts and rolled sleeves
bulbous bellies protruding
above lycra suits
seagulls circle and cry

I give them color without paint
I breathe life into their faces
their noses and mouths
I lift their arms or leave
them dangling like weak branches
I lift their legs, make them
run along the shore
a few dance, the young ones,
with abandon and without seeing themselves
the others move slowly,
eyes to the sand, searching,
some hand-in-hand,
eyes to the horizon, knowing

For today,
we exist here only
as beings, one with the earth
only in the searing sun
our faces kissed
our eyes closed
thinking we have
found a paradise
feeling
like we have come home.

ksaint

Twenty-four

I can be perfect - if I only try a little harder
I can be perfect - if I only try a little harder
I can be perfect - if I only try a little harder

I am not trying hard enough
Work harder, work harder, do more, do more!
Be the best, be the best
I can be perfect

I am a failure - I am worth nothing
I am a failure - I am worth nothing
I am a failure - I make myself sick

I cannot succeed, why did I try?
I am nothing, nothing, nothing!
I am not perfect, I am not worthy
Shame shame shame

I can be perfect - if I only try a little bit harder...

#24 Mary 2009

Choice

Stolen desires mourn
Hiding in obscurity
Merge on the horizon
Listening to agony murmur
Faith considers facts
Examination graded failure
Persuading moments
Belong to none and all

Day 24 - anna kiss

tasks drop in open barrels
labor's fruit
ripened and readied,
and checkmarked,
weighed for content,
inspected for form,
and dismissed
into waiting assembly lines
of time passed,
of neglected memory,
that no longer needed,
yet also satisfied.
ultimately, the hunger stops for nothing,
so this days' sating
is relegated to oblivion,
recycled,
and tomorrow's need thrums
loud and proud
as ever.

#23 Mary 2009

Hope

Sorrow meanders
Flowing over rocks
Pouring into the earth
While shadows rise
And dreams chase
Time sketches existence
Ambitious hearts race
At the speed of light
Eternal in all its glory

Twenty-three

With a sliver of remorsement for the days we used to know
Leaning toward the future, with a silent wave, you'll go
There is no chance of salvation
We can't stop this presentation
Just a hope that life will treat you well no matter where you go

With a longing heart imprinted on the sandy shores below
The last touch of remembrance, you'll turn away; you'll go
I have no separate dreams waiting
I'll just sit here contemplating
The impact that the winds of change can blow

And with time parting, I will stand and through the years will grow
But one day oh so silently we both know that you'll go
You'll go softly with no tears
And I will overcome the fears
Of misconception of the days we used to know

Twenty-two

nail me to the cross I've built, oh shepherd boy
a lifetime's work I've put into it, oh nail me, shepherd boy

no we cannot be together, hear the chimes, you must go now
hail ye now the mighty dollar, shepherd boy walks off to war
hey hey the steeple cowers, thrust my cross into the ground
hey hey his young mind wanders, to the great cause he is bound

all around me lay the bloodstains, oh shepherd boy
the soldiers' ghosts prophecies around me, oh shepherd boy

here he marches on the field, hear the grand old cannonballs
fire to save your burning spirit, shepherd boy can see no more
hey hey battle has begun, nails wound me to the bone
hey hey the war is eternal, hear my creaking spirit groan

hell burns in all her glory now, oh shepherd boy
the fires that rage cannot be silenced, oh shepherd boy

all the dreams of power and righteousness, hear the cries of the boy's heart
do what's told and don't you dare ask why; shepherd boy can hear no more
hey hey the sky is lighted, i am bound with ropes and gore
hey hey the flame's ignited, welcome to the depths of war

hear the last of my sobs tonight, oh shepherd boy
all is fair in love and war now, oh shepherd boy

tortured, twisted, all the horrors no child's face ever should see
so shall you meet the face of death, shepherd boy there is no more
hey hey the cause of justice, now my cross does stand alone
hey hey the body perishes, all the world has turned to stone

goodbye to our one last factor, oh shepherd boy
my soul is scratched, the wounds forever, oh shepherd boy

hey hey the steeple cowers, thrust my cross into the ground
hey hey the war is ended:
no one left to hear the sound

#22 Mary 2009

Meditation

Silence breeds softly
Humming memories
Yearn in the distance
Diligent surrender
Listens to the light
Bottomless peace
Escaping gently
Spirit over mind
Present versus past
Clarity rescues reason
Tranquility divine

#21 Mary 2009

Help Wanted

Unsolicited advice
Miles in moccasins
Trails and tribulations
Befuddled incompetence
Screaming to be heard
Through skulls too thick
Boxed ready to ship
Journey unexplored
Reflected in the mirror
Life never lived

#20 Mary 2009

Here We Go Again

Brooding through the months
Cursing days and years
Half empty glasses smash
Flooding calendars with hate
Stomping emotions past the deep
Festering to the surface
Sweet putrid love forgiveness begs
Charming inside again
Round and round the gloom
Another ballet begins