tea, toast, and headaches

 

wrenching pounding in my neck
lights searing behind my eyes
my head must weigh twenty pounds
not counting the mane of hair
that twists and curls
right into my brain
which pulses and sends signals
of the most confusing content
I see walls bending
air moving
and the sky is a green hue
I taste granules of metal in water
and can hear plants growing
but I can’t seem to move my hand
so I look at it
– the left hand-
noting colors like on Munch’s bridge
mostly my hand is a light caramel beige
with bluish greenish undertones
with some pink and white and brown
and streaks of grayish yellow
but it still won’t move
so I note the way the skin hugs the curve of the bone
and how it all stretches and bends
when grasping something
when necessary
turning my head proves too much effort
pivoting brings on nausea
and I’m reminded I need to eat
any medicine that could possibly help
needs a food cushion
so I don’t throw up
but there’s not a damn thing I can think of
that doesn’t make me quake with dread
except
maybe toast would be ok
with a little butter to soften the crusty bread
and a little jam
so I don’t have to face yellow butter
and oh lord, yes, tea!
by all means a hot mug full
tea
brings so much comfort
just holding it
feeling it travel as I swallow
toast and tea bring me hope
that maybe this headache
will be fleeting

I knew

I knew your lips would be sweet
I’d been watching them for awhile
as you talked, smiled

I knew we’d fit when we danced
we’re too old to pretend otherwise
to believe in perfection
when just the feel of skin is enough

I knew morning would come too soon
the stars giving way to streaks of dawn
before we had exhausted our conversation

Seedy Ballad

The bats are in the belfry
the dew is on the moor
where are the arms that held me
and pledged her love before
and pledged her love before

Had he really wasted so much time, exploring dark recesses
Scooping up shiny rocks, hoping they were diamonds
When there was magic lurking beneath his skin
He was too sick to have ever seen any other path
He never saw her keeping pace but remaining a wallflower

It’s such a sad old feeling
the fields are soft and green
it’s memories that I’m stealing
but you’re innocent when you dream, when you dream
you’re innocent when you dream

His grizzled words growl off the yellowed page
Raging yet gentle like an autumn sunset
Howling, wailing, a lament for having been born
He had felt too much, drank too much, tried to tune out too much
This day was like a revival, a celebration of sensations

Running through the graveyard
we laughed my friends and I
we swore we’d be together
until the day we died
until the day we died

Breaking out of his too-tight skin, ideas poured out like cleansing fire
The years were transfigured in his memory, grotesque
Waiting like rusty weather vanes to find directions of the wind
She sharpened her pencils and softened her heart
Helping him over and through the tangled thickets of pain and despair

I made a golden promise
that we would never part
I gave my love a locket
and then I broke her heart
and then I broke her heart

They traveled through narrow alleys and wide plains
She cradled his head when he felt tortured
He caressed her with his words, sometimes roughly
She took what he gave, he hurtled through space and time
They sipped from seedy wells and tasted the fading gaudy sunrise

It’s such a sad old feeling
the fields are soft and green
it’s memories that I’m stealing
but you’re innocent when you dream, when you dream
you’re innocent when you dream

Will the Magic be Gone?

They moved together restlessly
She with hesitation
He with impatience
She knew things he did not
He understood things she never would
Exploring, guiding, testing, discovering, tensing, releasing, breathing
He reached, touched
Her body smiled
He understood the where and when, cause and effect
Like a scientist mixing vital chemicals creating a reaction
She was carried on a wave
Despite herself
Despite what she knew, how it would end
He moved in ferocious tempo
Moved to unveil secrets
She stopped with
“Will the magic be gone?”
Hesitation, empty platitudes.
“When you see me, the magic will go “
He created a new wave
She let herself be distracted
Closed her eyes.
Let go.
As he looked, she dissolved into warm light.
She was gone.
He was grasping at shadows and light
She could see, not feel
He could touch but not see
Too far apart
Dimensions to cross
She knew this world of illusion
He understood transience of flesh
They moved slowly
To find a way either back or somewhere else
She with patience
He with disbelief
Exploring, reaching, holding, tasting, hoping, being.

eyes meeting

the knots inside her started unfurling
his name rolled off her tongue
echoes dissipating into the twilight
he held her face close
eyes meeting, speaking silently
she fit against him snugly
like a puzzle piece
even if they didn’t know
what the picture was supposed to be

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