One, Two, Three, Four

A prize, a pair, a crowd, a score

You are only a number

And I am only a dream

But we can build bridges

And traverse their beams

Five, Six, Seven, Eight

A class, a horde, a very full plate

Hurried feet in your slumber

The only place you are free

Trudging over ridges

Coming back to me

Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve

Quiet, chaos, returning to self

Eyes deep pools of umber

Cradle both giggles and screams

You are only a number

And I am only a dream

A wanderer bequeaths to you

A simple song of silence

Instructing you what you should do

Your life hangs on compliance

’I will keep mum once they find me

Though they will know just the same

They will crush this flower soundly

Then it will be your time of fame

Precariously raise your hand

Recall every word I say

They will chase you across the land

So now run without delay’

You flee with what has been given

This includes your life, realize

For which so many have striven

Hidden within you a prize

A knowledge so valued and vast

One that grows with all you see

You are neither first nor last

To learn of worlds that be

Your adventures are so splendid

Comprehending benign

You told me more than intended

Or am I just next in line

To tiptoe past tyrants with whom I cannot trifle

To swim in streams the sun does not see

To run to the rhythm of ricocheting rifles

To bask in beauty that cannot be

Embraced by embery allies who shouldn’t exist

Terror twisting a transient tongue

Pursued by people who precociously persist

As they do now, wisdom must be wrung

.

.

.

As cautious as the rising tide

As thorough as the sun

Nowhere remains for us to hide

There’s nowhere left to run

You stand and tell of what you see

Flooded from all angles

You ask and beg me to believe

From this your hope dangles

I raise my hand

Promise held within my eyes

I understand

Silence is not a demise

Now I see | You struggled | With the silence

Now I know | Intrinsic | Demise

I am free | Befuddled | By a sly glance

Let me go | Acerbic | Lullabies

Here we stand | Confirming | Our choices

Far from home | Lost in an | Endless night

In a land | Out turning | Fearsome noises

All alone | Tossed in an | Epic fight

Now I see | You smiling | In the distance

Close my eyes | But you don’t | Disappear

Serenely | Whiling | Away this instance

In disguise | So you don’t | Need to fear

Could I be | Falling | Through a dream world

All I know | Can Never | Be explained

It’s just me | Bawling | For scrolls unfurled

That will show | Endeavors | Unrestrained

Now I see | You running | In the distance

Hear my call | You see me | Hold my gaze

Leave me be | So stunning | Such insistence

After all | Could it be | I’m the maze

Take my hand | I’ll show you | Adventure

Troubled hearts | And tears | Of mines and sand

Something grand | Awaits | Without censure

Now it starts | With you here | In my hand

Now I see | You motion | To my memories

Coming Clear | Unfair fickle | Lies

Like a tree | And ocean | There for centuries

What I hear | Acerbic | Lullabies

‘Open your hand’ he says

’Take this gift from me

Then run and leave this mess

I love you; now be free’

As she opens her hands

To see what is there

He vanishes in time’s sands

Fading in thin air

A heart sits in her palm

Made of tiny gems

It beats no more so calm

And she weeps for him

’I want a heart that will not shatter

Wrapped in faith that will not fray

If I don’t care what does it matter

In this fortune of decay?’

So she stands there waiting

She will not let go

Constantly restating

His last words, though

Even her own hope fades

And life presses on

Through others’ doubt she wades

Disputing he’s gone

She whispers so quiet

‘Will we meet again?’

No answer, no riot

Only cold within

’I want a heart that will not shatter

Wrapped in hope no one can steal

If I don’t care what does it matter

How many lives I can heal?’

Another approaches

Clothed in mystery

She listens, reproaches

In him finds a key

This one’s words are winsome

But clumsy, direct

Though still her heart is numb

In it grows respect

The other in her hand

Crumbles and she stares

‘Come back to me’--a demand

‘Save me if you dare’

’I want a heart that will not shatter

Wrapped in trust that can’t be tamed

I want to care when it really matters

If you don’t, then be ashamed’

To save others she leaps

Only to flounder

All are playing for keeps

Arms wrap around her

Slipping from her fingers

The shattered gems rise

But the touch still lingers

She opens her eyes

The one she left behind

Will not let her drown

Says ‘You’re hard to find’

She nods, looking down

’I give you a heart that will not shatter

Wrapped in love I cannot lose

I do care when it really matters

But now I have to choose’

I am loyal after all

I heed your commands

The last of my courage

Cupped in my hands

Drips between my fingers

Onto the sands

I kneel before you

Facing your demands

Begging you listen

no one understands

Straddling your hope

Into battle you ride

Cautious, uncertain

I follow behind

A fistful of power

Heart preening with pride

I wonder

Can one alone change the tide

No matter what happens

I’ll be by your side

Watching

Warning

Eyes never closing

Dodging

Soaring

Only supposing

I’ll tell them how brave we were

Gripping the wheel that turned the world

We are each an example

Good or bad

And there’s no room

For one like you right now

So sit, sit, sit

And hope no one notices

As drip, drip, dip

The time trickles by

Fear remains much too ample

Should I be glad

Watching it bloom

Exact on cue somehow

So sip, sip, sip

They say your wrath makes great wine

As trip, trip, trip

One by one they fall

For years

I have tiptoed over a sea of acid

With tears

Unseen, eyes closed beneath dry lashes

Thrown down

Now, bones melted, I am unable to rise

I drown

Tears still unseen, only adding to the lies

Do not

Ask, “How are you?” lest you wish to share the sting

It’s hot

I fume, I steam, I sink, losing everything

If I penned you a sonnet

Would you tuck it in your bonnet

And take it out to read all through the day?

If the wind then took note

Of the limerick I wrote

And with a with a sigh stole my lyrics away

Would you chase after the breeze

Stumble and scrape your knees?

It would be my fault no matter what you say

If you memorized my words

Never thinking them absurd

Then know I am with you as under the same sky we lay

#AprilIsPoetryMonth

If you lack the strength to stand

Look up, there will be a hand

If you lack the will to rise

Look at me, tell me you’ll try

If you lack anything else

Know that we are here to help

#AprilIsPoetryMonth

In those moments of madness

It all makes sense

I can see how the world connects

But when I’m surrounded by such clarity

No one’s understanding extends me charity

In a moment of madness

Shattering all pretense

Such impossible ideas it begets

Dreams forever lost in the void

Things the world could have enjoyed

In those moments of madness

Colors splash as dark pages unfurl

I grab and gather, holding on tight

If I can bring home the dreams in the laughter

I can make them come true after

In a moment of madness

I comprehend the world

If only I could share the sight

Then nothing would be beyond our reach

Nothing would be too hard to teach