24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
ancient symbols of burning gold
set in stone. pressed like buttons
a sacred code
secret doorway opening
must be kept safe
from thee
claustrophic seeds are sown
through the cramped tight,
wet hallways
once arm embracing
a fully rounded womb
the other hand clutched to hers
“this child comes soon”
must be kept safe
from thee
a repeated mystery
Amanda Potter©: 2019 Poetry Marathon
they
don’t
want you to know.
MAGIC
is everywhere.
to fortify!
to power!
to prevail!
they
would
keep this from you, if
they
could.
they cannot.
it is your birthright.
city rain paints rainbows around haloed lights
splashes colors that confuse in the addled dark
Iridescent, luminous, neon screams
hurtling through streets saturated with primary hues
streaming whites of glaring headlights
blind us to what might come
drizzling drops, rivulets forming streams
red streaks along the pavement
obscure, abstract visions in a deluge
colors fade with the dissipating storm
a world that changes green to stone
returns once more to ashen grey
Tiniest bursting, expanding our Universe with pure love and joy
gingerborn toehead, your cottony perfection redefined angels
…and then you were gone. I never held you, but I cleaned away your blood.
Can it be true?
Is that your face I see?
Welcome!
Please sit and talk with me
I’ve missed you so
It’s been far too long
Where do we begin?
I have much to catch you up on
What do you mean you cannot stay?
Heaven has had you for years
It’s my turn again
I need you near
Where are you going?
Stop fading away
I heard you say you’re proud of me
How so? In what way?
STOP!
STOP!
WHERE ARE YOU?!
Awake.
gj
. . . and I look down to realize I am rowing a boat. My arms create waves that loop white on blue-purple water. With each stroke, I come closer to the shore where the castle stands. Three more heaves, two more, and this final one come before I step onto the crag. Doors immediately open to me, and I look up high as I enter this castle. Treading upon the floor of a chess board, I note billowing clouds through the windows above opening to the sky. One step speeds into hundreds, and I stand in the center of hallways, but which to walk? Down one hallway I come upon self-portraits: two years old, then fifteen, then twenty, thirty five, fifty into ages beyond me now. Am I seeing my future? I wonder, for on the wall opposite I find the memories for those years. Memories yes - but I don't recall until just now, this walk, this moment. The hallway ends, and I stand on yet another crag, this a mountain with a path back down the hill to where I've been or a new boat with billowing sails, positioned towards the now setting sun. The day has passed. Which choice do I make?
I asked you something, never really expecting a response.
Yet, you came to me later
I could smell your perfume
And hear the subtle timbre of your voice
All at once, I knew
You spoke of many things
Alluded to much more
When it was over, I sat beside myself
Crying
Thank you
I wish I could wield
These fiery synapses
Like a pen
Drawing lines at my discretion
Coloring and shading at my will
But they resist
I cannot control their narrative
I am but a player
Free-falling and directionless
Under the blindness of my nocturnal occasions.
A poet friend asks me to take a photo of her
with a younger woman I don’t know.
They hide their faces with Japanese fans
while I fumble with a disintegrating camera.
Stacked cubes appear in the middle of the image.
My beloved partner in the puzzlers’ league appears,
even though she died last month.
She introduces me to a tall, gray-haired woman…
Image courtesy of Annca at Pixabay
Once upon a Summer Dream
On a beach tinted gold
By the rays of Sol,
I watched shadows
Growing old too soon
And disappear…
Startled, I saw the sun dive out of sight
Making way for
An overly- eager moon
And suddenly, it was dark…
But, as Luna smiled upon the ocean,
She turned the golden beach to silver…
I barely had a minute to admire the scene
When her silver began to fade
As she bowed out
And left only the stars behind;
I smiled and winked at my special star,
Amazed at how fast her glitter seemed to dim…
Early dawn, and Sol was back,
Galloping across the sky
And a few moments later
Luna smiled upon the waves again,
Then bowed and disappeared…
Leaving only the stars again
Disappearing in fleeting moments…
In retrosppect, I couldn’t help
but realize the tragedy of time
Just hurtling by us as we,
In ignorance, perpetually fail
To grip, and take hold of,
Even a single moment…
And virtually let our entire life slip away
And disappear…
Antoinette LeRoux © 2019