Swing In A Tree: 2014-06-01

Saturday, June 7, 2014

"On The Outside"

Required attendance

Yet superfluous and unnecessary

once there

out of place

in the drunken alien celebration

every weekend of the year

Standing unnoticed

Sitting ignored

Free to observe

the tribal dance around the fire

Invited out of habit

Mandatory appearances

Yet resented and misunderstood

for Differences

pointless as a fork in a bowl of cereal

Friday, June 6, 2014

"Careless Words"

Careless words cast without thought

bristle under my skin

leave me empty

Careless words sucker punch me

demean my life

belittle my dreams

Careless words stated as fact

insult my views

binding me in heartache

Careless words spoken to wound

choke and repress

make me mourn

Thursday, June 5, 2014

"The Lingering Dream"

"Smoke Lady" http://desperadofromhell.deviantart.com/gallery/?q=smoke+lady#/d21pmk1

traces of a dream

nonsensical, inconsequential,

inescapable

mood tinting

skewing my day

blurring the boundary with reality

chasing an elusive image

whispers of memory

a scent

here and gone

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

"Summer Begins"

Summer begins

shedding stress by

lusting for Father Ralph

I become Meggie

slipping into heartbreak

reliving my own devotion

veiling my Catholic guilt under Italian lace

missal clutched in small, white-gloved hand

crystal Rosary, blessed by Pius XII,

soothing my restless fingers

his Irish brogue a supple song

his blue eyes like laughter

he kneels before me, eye-to-eye

proposes a date

he’ll be my father—

a surrogate breaking bread

erasing my disappointment

drying my tears with his finger tips

tugging my hand to the crook of his arm

his brilliance dazzles me

my heart worships him

Every summer, to "come down" from the stress of the school year, I'd retreat into The Thorn Birds for a week. I'd either dust off the novel and reread it, or I'd pull down the series. Either way, the hours spent with these characters put distance between me and my work.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

"I Dreamt of You"

I dreamt of you last night

vivid images

sitting across from you at a table

your hands toying restlessly with a cup of stale coffee

impatient for a cigarette in this smoke free room

the scent of your perfume mingles with dust and mold

as you laugh at my inane joke

my attempt to tease you away from your grief

I dreamt of you last night

a muted mirage

mimicking reality

your haunted eyes deep set and dark

desperately darting here-and-there

avoiding my scrutiny as I peer through your façade

sensing sorrow under your kind words

as you offer support and comfort to me

I dreamt of you last night

"Study of Two Woman Grieving" by John Flaxman
http://www.metmuseum.org/en/collections/search-the-collections?ft=Flaxman%2C+John+(British%2C+1755-1826)&rpp=20&pg=2

Monday, June 2, 2014

“Child Play”

The morning song of child play

Tumbles over the fence

Harmonizing with cardinal and dove

Carrying respite from responsibilities

Whoops and hoots

Clamor and compete with wind song

Until insistent whistles whine

Heralding rules and regulations

Summoning silence and structure

As frolic and mayhem

Form a straight line to the left

Subdued for only a few seconds

Until a few notes ring and ripple

Surreptitious shoves

Dissolve into dancing feet

While laughter escapes around pressed lips

And control capitulates to

Child’s play