Poetry
Selected Works from:
S O N G S i n t h e S I L E N C E
T E M P E R E D R A I N B O W S
Tempered rainbows fly
Buttressed heavenward ascending
Via a magical powder
Scattered among the clouds
Gentle translucent mirrors
Which reflect a dance
Played to subtle melody
Of flutes with string accompaniment
As iridescent showing
Multitudes of color
That hide along sunbeams
And frolic in the light.
S O N G S o f t h e C E L T
T h e C e l t
The Celt relaxed slowly
His axe laid ready at his side
The battle for now was over
Corpse of friend, of foe littered the plain
Ravens gathered, prepared for a feast
With a cold grey drizzle washing the field
The creek flowed brownish?red with fallen blood
The Celt looked pleadingly skyward
And cried.
T h e S u r r e n d e r
Oh, swift challenger behold
I am no longer the champion
Nor, do I claim the Warrior's creed
Let me have my peace
That is all I ask
If still you must slay me
It is your choice
Use your sword and cleave me twain
It is as good a day as any to die
But, if I must be executed
Lay my corpse on some lofty spire
Allow the sky to be my burial cloak.
A C e l t ' s D e a t h
Tonight the sun rises out of the west
To break stride and set in the east.
For the storms soon arise from the depths,
And destroy a world of make-believe.
Come with me and sing a final hymn
To raise the temples of olde,
Sing the ancient Bardic tunes
It is the Celt's last chance to find peace.
Too soon he comes to die
To be lain softly in the spring grass
The scent of clover flowers
Lilting past his empty corpse.
A v a l o n
Goodbye Avalon
My peace is not to be had
For it lies far from this place
But, your name, I shall carry
Next to my heart
As a shield of invincibility
I leave you, oh quiet isle
Destiny lies across the sea.
W H I S P E R S
Ages of time
Lost, forgotten
Recalled in frailty
Tenderness, mercy
As friend, as lover
As hours once spent
What are we? What are we?
Sings a gentle voice
As a bird in the night.
Moments of vulnerability
Shared and given
Time plays a gentle hand
Not kind or compassionate
But, as a whisper barely heard
Retained and shaped
To fill some void
Which creeps into the heart
Forgive me, forgive me?
Cries the soul.
L O N E R -- A J O U R N E Y
The loner rises slowly
Pretending to walk away
Lost in empty thoughts
He has wandered
And now, he stalks silently
His hazel eyes flash with despair
From the memory of a broken friend
He listens to echoing cries
Which disturb his soul
Some dispassionate wind arises
Disturbing his rust colored
The loner turns to face the challenge
His expression a rigid mask
Painted with stinging tears.
A N I R I S H H A R P
Slowly lifting mystery
Of Infinity's longing
Has portrayed my existence
In revealed reflection
Without sadness, nor passion
I have come to realize
The importance of the memory
Which surrounds my perception
There is glory in living
Found always
In the rising of the morning sun
And nightly in the starry heavens.
For many years, I have searched
For a forgotten friend
Who saw wonderment unfolding
Not knowing this brother
From the multitudes I chose to follow
I turn to the here and now
In captured reality told
Yet still, I call the distance
Where futures hold
Wanting once more to experience
What has lived in my dreams
The ancient forests and hidden grottoes
In which I would isolate myself.
In part they are illusions
Dreams that have been created
To fulfill sane necessity
Just as these words I write
Are both imagined and real
They become intertwined
Yet undeniably separate
As a celtic cradle which holds an Irish harp.
A U T U M N ' S E V E
Autumn is quietly coming
Summer draws near end
Spindrel clouds hang low in sky
Yellow spreads treetops fine
Odd I noticed not before
Now plain to all with sight
Alas, it must be three days gone
'Twas a shortened season past
Weather creeps back into my bones
Hills will fill, scarlet and gold
Twilight closes in for now
Promises of long winter bear
Quickly closes Autumn
-- cold will be the night.
Bloody is lit the sky
By the failing light
Crimson now wanes to violet
Breaking to deep sky blue
Fluttering birds fly south
Darkening further, as I watch
This sky comes with Autumn
Sudden is scattered the red
Violet becomes the clouds
As sun races onward to night
Leaving wispy strands of clouds across the sky
Quickly closes Autumn
-- cold will be the night.
Hills in silhouette adorn
Losing ground to night
Dark brown as drying gore
Become the trailing wisp
All falling from sight
Fading, fading with the sun
Graying above are the clouds
As lazy smoke dispersed
Waning with the gathering gloom
Quickens pace to dark
To be touched only by starlight
Flies past to home the lark
Quickly closes Autumn
-- cold will be the night.
With air of finality falls the last strands of light
Reveals clouds low foreboding
Strangely they reflect empty red, brown, and violet
The last rays glance the wisps closing deep the dusk
Reluctant the stars appear
Removing impending gloom
Last I hear, a lone bird cry
Quick challenge to the night
Darkness falls until the morn
Quickly closes Autumn
-- cold will be the night.
T A P E S T R Y
Thy memory is held suspended
As a tapestry of light
Sudden and quick which fills my thoughts
Sure of eternity and weariness of night
Can you see? The dream is alive
Born through pain and endless desire
On those gossamer wings, let us fly.
I N S I L E N C E S S H A R E D
In silences shared
at golden sunrise
near ocean shore
or in howling winds which gather
at mountain peaks
Rest peacefully in Life's embrace
the magical dawn passes
and tearing gale subsides
for in each breath taken
Our existence resides
with each heart beat
there comes a certainty
that only the moment can give
the meaning held ever tighter
and more precious still
that others can not understand
How can you explain?
the instance did not matter
those present were unimportant
But for that, even more elusive
and unique, if that can be said
There is clarity
and knowledge
more defining than birth
or final than death
they limit the boundary
from Life's beginning to end
It is in the sharing
the intrusion of existence
and day-to-day, we so freely give
that when we see
the morning first light
or stand braced
against the wind
there is need
to turn and look
and see in another's eyes
what we have seen
which touches our very souls.
P H A N T O M
Each day
I see
A silent phantom staring
Across the miles, the years
He stands so quietly
watching me, watching me
With empty eyes and empty soul
Echoing back each thought.
Staring back
He looks at me through locked doors
Separated by barriers stronger than any steel
We are ethereal brothers
Both doomed to perish
In Death?s ever-present grasp.
Yes, I have seen you, my brother
As I watched solemnly skyward
And seen through your eyes
My fragile self staring beyond the stars.
S T Y X
The river Styx lays before me
And Charon waits patiently
His boat rocks gently next to shore
Awaiting another wayward fare
Which to pole across the waters
Charon clutches me gladly
In his skeletal proffered hand
Glancing briefly, I meet his empty gaze
He smiles knowingly through me
As I make my journey to hell.
G H O S T S
Thy kindred servants have arrived
All aglow with spirited light
Shimmering images with ill-defined shape
Twirling and dancing to some silent tune
Their party advances in the dark
And disperses with the light.
R E A L I T I E S
Realities leave me barren, cold,
On a darkening plain, I stand alone,
Perception and illusion are uncontrolled,
Intertwine, mixing of minds,
Stranger, friend, unknown, I still am lost,
Stars sprinkled above, random, changeless,
Blackened soil below, powdered, shifting,
Is this emptiness? Or, just a lost soul?
W H I S P E R
Whisper the words of peace
Otherwise, they go unheard
Lost in the void with the other shouts
For no one cares to listen
To violent screams of peace.
W I N G S
The body is captive,
Held in mortal self,
Alas, the mind is free,
To soar on the wings of dreams.