Awkward Valentine
February 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
brief comments, not lasting
nothing to remember, under bright lights
and thumping music
and a swirl of something syrupy
we smiled in passing, sugary grins
without much meaning
and you would sometimes toss a wink
over your shoulder, but it wasn’t
something I thought about
and then one day, THE DAY
when saints dance with cupids
and candles melt and drip
onto heart-dotted tablecloths
and the universe convinces
even bitter souls, they need love too
you winked and asked me over
so odd, I thought, of all the days
why not, I thought, why not
you were too tall for your kitchen
it struck me as sweet when you stood
at the island, a nervous man with a potholder
and pulled steaming enchiladas
from your oven, serving them carefully
on a plate with beans, and we ate
on a naked wooden table
under burning florescent bulbs
and talked about our dogs
the two of us, so odd, I thought
just eating enchiladas one night, THE NIGHT
and then you pulled out a pair of boots
took my hand and said, let’s two step,
and it struck me as sweet
the two of us, nearly strangers, two-stepping
to a cheesy country song
around your apartment
like it could have been any other night
Feb. 12th
February 13, 2014 § Leave a comment
This poem is for you and it’s February twelfth
I fear my day has been uneventful
I ate waffles for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch
A mid-day cookie was essential.
I won’t tell you in prose everything else that I did
It’s likely too bland to put into words
But I did think something I want you to know
I love you and I think you’re superb.
Ode To My Diploma
February 11, 2014 § 3 Comments
I trudged to my mailbox one day in the cold
to find an envelope proclaiming “Do Not Fold.”
I opened it quickly to find you in my hand,
a single piece of paper, worth close to forty grand.
So unassuming and simple, almost nonchalant,
your importance only revealed by your fancy Gothic font.
My years of arduous and tedious work, of essays and exams,
all culminate in this single sheet, weighing just 4.5 small grams.
While I hiked uphill to the library, in the coldest nights of winter,
you waited patiently in Strong Hall, blank card-stock in the printer.
You were just a piece of paper, not sure what you’d become
and now, congrats Diploma, you’re something to be hung.
On my office wall you’ll go, next to your undergraduate twin,
at the very top of the paper-chain, in a frame looking out from within.
So thank you, little Diploma, for validating my dedication,
without you I’d just be a student, awaiting graduation.
And on the other end of the coin, perhaps in another time and place,
without me you’d be just a napkin, wiping someone’s face.
If Only
February 11, 2014 § 4 Comments
If only I could write poems all day
fill my life with shaping words like clay
I would stare through windows concocting rhyme
If I could only write poems until the end of my time
If only I could paint murals from Finland to Spain
spreading my paintbrush across imperfect terrain
I would cover the ground, the hills, and the sky
If I could only paint murals for the wandering eye
If only I could bask in the sun without end
never shadowed by coolness, nor see darkness ascend
I would swing from the sun beams and swallow the light
If only the world was forever resplendent and bright
If only, if only, the wishers do say
forgetting to love the wondrous day
and if wishes and dreams are within a life’s scope
then cast doubt aside and embrace faithful hope
Lullaby
February 10, 2014 § Leave a comment
brush your teeth when you hear the wind
comb your hair when you hear the patter
wash your face with the splashes nearing
dip into your covers as the roar comes closer
rest your head on the pillow as water pounds
close your eyes with thunder’s shake
embrace perfection, cold sheets and nature’s orchestra
lulling you to sleep
Kitchen Dance
February 9, 2014 § Leave a comment
hot air spirals upward
toward haligen lights
a spinning, circling
steam of buttery garlic
and charred tomatoes
shines heavenly, a spotlight
framing four popping pans
of grease and glitter
that sing a bubble melody
of syncopated sizzle
circling and bouncing
across the very atmosphere
of that silvery room
then a punctuated ring
ends the glistening dance
a stir, a pinch, a lick, a whisk
three, two, one
and dinner is served
Every Word
February 7, 2014 § Leave a comment
every word
and story written
penned
etched on paper
can be read in daylight
by any searching eye
but the pure, tragic
emotion, the space
between lines,
the breath unheard
that gulps
and swallows
dialogue and meaning
before it can stain
the pen’s canvas
will only ever
begin to be
understood
not by the one who studies
the text, but
by the one
who holds
the pen
Sky
February 5, 2014 § Leave a comment
paths of blue above
cloudy monuments shifting
change never ceases
Winter Leaf
February 5, 2014 § Leave a comment
drifting
downward from a home
above, somewhere far
overhead,
rushing
to meet the glass
twirling
and spinning, the dance
of a lost soul, a spirit
freed, separated
from what it knew
as home, finally
touching
the surface
gently, then aburptly
drawing
an inky circle, and another
ripples scattering
in perfect patterns,
every direction of silky glass
waving
gently outward
from a small piece of nature
seperated from its home
above
rosepoems 