Sunday, June 16, 2013

Underwater filming

Deep blue underwater filming
the final cut 
the final act
on videotape

I barely hold on, and
break into tears 
it's the
pressure, pain. sand 
on the ocean floor 
that gets me

the shifting 
bodies
editing the final scream
then it cuts to black

you shout pack up

and I wake up
on a different shore.


Thursday, June 13, 2013

Men's locker room

A haze of steam
allows me 
to be discreet

and so like bluish vapour
and pungent sap
I'm everywhere 

not even woodsy 
or rain-kissed or exotic
I am working sweat 
dripping 
in dampness to return to you 

the drops
in your sweet
soft eyes 


Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Voices from the surreal

Voices from the surreal

bringing echoes of your internal war
s
and news 
that we are losing 
day after day

start taking possession
within me, of me. 
maybe

if your earnest words
can dissolve these nerves

I will grant you the wings

to answer the prayer
I read in your eyes

the first time we met
smoke rose 
between your fingers

casual prayers 
you didn’t utter.


Tuesday, June 11, 2013

I saw sparks (1986)

Sparks between you 
and a pretty boy

in the dark
I stepped out and stared
at my feet
in the park

your crush lighting
up the night 
and me lighting up 
like I can’t cope 

with the puppy dog hope 

in your eyes

I fled that cage 
that I was starting to weld for myself.


Saturday, June 8, 2013

Sunday

When I wake 
I'll feel for you
under the pillow
arms across
the sheets

and miss you
close my eyes again
around a dream
press my lips
to swallow your name

and let sugar cravings 
kickstart my day. 

Friday, June 7, 2013

Trace Paper

When the ink
has dried up 

and all fluid 
from your motion
is visible 
as residue 

left behind on trace paper
bleak or weak
with intention 

it's time
to remember that
all which is left

is still 
the purest essence
of you 

Thursday, June 6, 2013

At night

At night
at night you're not here
at night

at night you're not here 
any more than day
at night

you're not here
no more
do I dream
no more

do I wake 
any more
at night 

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

I am a wolf

I am a wolf
watch me at night
before I leave your bed

trading your warmth 
to wander the streets
and leave my scent on fences

watching over strangers
in darkness
catching some sleep
in open air
and stealth

It will be days before 
I scratch at your door
 again

spit-cleaned 
white fur
and shiny eyes

ready
for the new moon.


Monday, June 3, 2013

The book I wrote

You were a storyteller 
lurking on my pages
you told me your immigrant story
running through your veins 
in my language
and into my blood

until I knew it by heart
in my inner verses and
it became mine
you became
and i was
(yours)


Saturday, June 1, 2013

A taste of morning

Dried on my lips
last nights kiss
on a pillow at rest
tracing
the hollow of his chest

the morning air
now empty of him
but drifting freely
with his scent
the fragrance that showers me
awake
as the day begins.

Stuck on you

You want to be like glue
stuck and
warm, creasing my body
removable, but not easily
If I tear at you, it will hurt

It turns out I am plaster
even closer to you
I am imprinted
you can't peel me away 

we are not (thank heavens) like sticky tape 
clingy for a little while
but easily brushed off

I know we don't want to be metaphors
but the truth is
we like to feel stuck
like adverbs
and more than close.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Four Seasons

There are two things 
I forgot to tell you

the first had to do 
with the biting chill of winter
and the second with the way
the colours run in spring

I forgot to tell you
because I only knew you
in the summer and the fall
the time of long days and pretty sunsets.


Wednesday, May 29, 2013

The Mango Tree

The fruit is ripe

dust collects on the leaves
like sweat 

upon the squalid summer stream
where the tree 
stands,
shade has fallen

on the road
the light is clear 
and distant

the last anguish
comes
when the birds flee.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The Full Moon

The night of parting, now
rests on
your silent lips

the tedious love
we indulged
under a treacherous moon

when a dark and heavy, thunder
scattered brush
on the road.


Sunday, May 26, 2013

The Temple Road

Under hurried
footfalls
a limpid road 
runs metallic blue, and

comes upon a large temple

the sound of
bells and chanting 
fill the summer evening, where 
softly rest 
blades of grass.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

The last burst of shade

I stand
exposed
in your dying waves,
you smile 
endearingly 

I can only hold my breath
and taste your sweetness

Evening

you consume me
with the vanishing sun
in a last burst of shade.

Morning star

Hiding beneath the earth
morning reclaims itself 

in a golden blaze
the orange of summer inflames

the branches start crackling

across the neighbourhood
the dogs
start to bark, day has broken 

between sleep and vigil
dream was like a cloud