Thy burning kiss

how can I sleep while all around
orange rays burn into ambiguous surfaces
heating thy night in morose operas
coercing upon thee one wish
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields
dream in a cool mist of thy selfish ice world
'tis a blush of delight in the summer breeze
and bend a brighter brow beneath thy burning kiss
in the burning June


Patchwork Poetry. Lines in green are borrow from these poems:
A Summer Shower by Henry Timrod
June Night by Sarah Teasdale
The Summer Dayby Mary Oliver

Splinter

yesterday, against admonishment,
I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking
and the sun is a flame-white disc
in the clear blue sky
all around me
tall whispers of green earth
I was in a forest, wind hymning
a song so bitter, it hurted my ears
I huddled in the cold, my mind splintering, unbending
in a sweat of liquid fire
I woke from consciousness
all around me blackness
winter was still inside of me


Patchwork Poetry. Lines in red are from these poets:
Robert Hayden
Mark Irwin
Gregory Orr
William Carlos Williams

Kiwi Dreams

upon a shifting plate
perfectly oval and furred
a tiny jade kiwi
its surface carved with sunlight
completely full of
wonders of a luminous life
which lasts just long enough to reach
the afternoon's setting sun
until darkness dust over it's appearance
green becoming violet
by the light of the moon
the kiwi dreams of becoming
a berry or even a beet


Patchwork Poetry: lines in red are from poems by Emily Dickinson, Alfred Corn, Maxine W. Kumin, Pablo Neruda, Ogden Nash and One More Believer.

A Blue Heart

a wish
I pulled from the moon
an invisible light
sliding down my mind

a piece of the night
cut me with the bitter blades of what
I thought was my blue heart

perched upon undemanding dreams
I settled into nothing
hoping for everything

untamed is the symmetry of my mind’s tigers
I tossed them away into the sea
knowing they would come back

to haunt me
to beat me against myself
the me that I have always known
but never tried to find

a wish
I sent to the stars
I bid myself farewell


Patchwork Poetry - I did make two small change to the other poet's line - 'cut me' instead of 'cut you' and "my mind’s tigers" instead of "our mind’s tigers."

Thanks to these poets for letting me borrow their words: Lirone, Gautami, Paisley and Writerwoman. 

Reflected Self

I know this much, my place
my world, bare naked
always open to rejections
but nevertheless
I live to hope

can you, would you
casually remember to inquire
how I am doing
can you see
from the other side of a mirror
an old version of me
reflected in you?

not knowing was
your excuse. you tore your own soul-
turned it into scraps
pieces that can not, would not
fit together anymore

my heart burnt with bitter tears
at the thought of you
lost in someone else's arms
bearing not a single part of yourself
or me

someday you'd wake up
and realize what part of you existed
then you will see
I am still inside you
hoping, waiting
for you


Patchwork Poetry

Thanks to these poets for letting me borrow their lines: Lirone, Jillypoet, Mariacristina, Gautami and Writerwoman.

Six Seconds

I saw a girl with dovetail butterfly wings
standing amidst the human debris

time tenderly drifted by
nearly standing still
silence fell upon the crowd

through the mass of sullen faces
I met her glance and she too mine

she radiated among the dull coats
glowing even without the winter sun in the sky

as I walked passed her
our fingertips brushed against each other

I felt my heart melted into her turquoise eyes
reversing everything inside of me
I was spinning- hard and fast-

unknowingly
she seeped in

in every pore and every nerve
in every tiny unbound corner of my mind

it lasted only six seconds
but she left me yearning
dreaming

of a dreamer’s words, memories
of relenting youth

of many unfulfilled desires
that maybe just maybe are still worth chasing after

the light turned red then
everything started to move faster
the noise blasted through the silence

in a wave of white smoke
she was gone

taking with her all my sudden aspirations

bending my mind to the gray sidewalk
I shied away
hiding in my black coat
as the heavy sky began to released its weary spirit


Patchwork Poetry. The lines in blue are from these wonderful poets: Gautami, Lirone, Mariacristina, Paisley, and Writerwoman. Thanks for letting me borrow your words.

Sunlight

hesitation, a life force
waiting with careless rumors
echo unanswered in my lonely heart

can I not bury my face in a dream
teetering precariously
on the edge of a storm
weathering my unwanted emotions

sunshine hides inside dark rain
waiting for the moment to escape
to drop from the sky

come daylight, as if the stars did not exist
my lonely heart cries out to you
can I not seek your arms to keep me safe
where you reveal hues
like sunlight upon my clouded face

but you don't know me
yet


For Patchwork Poetry. Thanks to these poets for letting me borrow their lines: Lirone, Mariacristina, Paisley, Gautami and Writerwoman.