Poetry

Crawl Into My Mind

Crawl

Through brightly colored strings.

Trip over the blue one and discover

That rush of freedom found on a swing;

Flying so high toes touch the pinkest clouds.

Careful to tug gently on the red one over there.

It unleashes decades old anger

And is liable to incinerate an unwary visitor.

And then there’s the orange one

That opens the door

To sweet first love delicately wrapped in gauze.

Passionate and intense,

It remembers the odes to my earlobes;

Blues songs created in my name.

And turning to see you standing there

Just as I was talking about the mere

Dimple that lights up your smile.

Into

Twisted turning bolt holes of creativity.

This one leads

To improvising a slip of paper into a butterfly.

Over there

I’m lying pressed to the floor, struggling

To achieve the desperation of St. Joan.

Or peek into that hole

I’m auditioning at NYU;

Awaiting with eager anticipation the

Acceptance that arrived that cold May.

That hole there

May take you into dark, lustful stories

And scenes of romance yet unwritten.

Watch that one

You may end up glued to cardstock

And given away on someone’s birthday

My

Bumble bee ideas speed faster than a jet,

Darting and touching the petals of dreams,

Some unfilled and others discarded.

Always debating the need to land here

Versus the desire to sample over there.

Regretting the inability to experience

The entire meadow at once.

Mind

The trapdoors and false exits,

For you may become irreversibly lost

Wandering indefinitely amongst

The mushy gray matter and

Electric currents flowing over

Myelin sheaths.

But don’t be nervous.

It’s only if you dare.

The challenge is made to the brave and

Adventurous.

So come crawl inside or

Simply pull up that chair.

 

*This poem was inspired by a poetry book entitled “Crawl Into My Mind.” Each author in the collection was tasked with creating a poem using that title.

Miscellaneous Me

I am the snow-capped blue of the soaring Rocky Mountains,

The flat plains dusted with wheat,

And the dry, dusty, skyscrapered city that lies between the two.

I am the daisies, violets and bluebells bordering a hiking trail.

I am beige booths in an orange and brown restaurant

Surrounded by ten laughing friends.

I am lemon wars that pucker the lips

And that leave yellow rinds on a side plate.

I am pancakes and iced tea at midnight,

The smell of clove cigarettes in a blue Toyota Corolla

And “everything you’d ever want to know about the opposite sex.”

I am “Lucky” as I drive cross the Colorado border,

 “Not a Pretty Girl” as I sing, spin and swirl in my living room.

I am “Captured Angel” on acoustic guitar at Red Rocks

With the brightly shining lights of Denver in the distance.

I am “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy” over and over again.

I am musty castles and stony ruins

High on a purple Scottish hillside;

The arc of a cream stone window

At mysterious Glastonbury Abbey.

I am photographs of winding roads and graveyards.

I am King Lear and Lancelot.

I am an empty stage

Waiting for scrim, plywood and latex paint.

I am white lights filled with red, blue and green gels waiting to be focused.

I am written words waiting for a voice.

 

The Old Desire to Float

The old desire to float…

To where the clouds turn red

Surrendering to a cornflower field of blue

Weightless and drifting in a bed of nothingness

Above this city, hustled and noisy

Too filled and bursting with people

I fly where stress is no longer a companion

Untouched by anger and fear

I am safe and undamaged in spirit

The old desire to float…

Into a self I recognize

Where my skin isn’t so tight

And my heart beats unencumbered

With a light I’m unashamed to let shine

The River

Waist deep in an icy river

I struggle against the rushing current

Pushing

The fire in my muscles burn

My breath ragged, saws at my throat and lungs

I fight to keep moving

Like greedy shackles

A fast undertow surrounds my ankles

Captured

My feet slip and I’m slapped down,

I surrender to that freezing void

Unwillingly pulled and dragged over sharp rocks

Head above water

Gagging and coughing

My feet scramble for purchase

Breathe in deep, gulping oxygen

Reprieve

Ripped, torn and bloody

I push

Again

Against the current

*********ADULT POEMS BELOW********

 

Lust

Lurking in my dark depths,

The monster inside

Awaits,

Salivating with desire.

His dark need oozes from pores like sweat.

He is filled with reckless greed.

Breaking free of the rational bonds I have placed on him,

He surfaces with single-minded intent and

I’m wrapped in his arms of selfish want.

Reason,

that sweet safety net,

that protective defense,

Is ripped harshly from my mind.

I am overcome.

Through his eyes I burn with longing.

I am enticed,

Lured into pure sensation.

With irrational insatiability I pursue the object of my yearning

Lost in fantasy,

I am conquered.

Surrendering, I embrace the monster inside.

Reveling in his power,

His mouth that consumes

Me,

My body.

Leaving behind

Intense, biting

Pleasure.

The Morning After

Your scent lingers on my skin

Closing my eyes I savor the smell

The combination of us mixes into a heady perfume

Filling my senses

I don’t want to wash you away

I still feel your presence

Around me

Inside me

The melting sensation as you enter me

Over and again

It has only been hours and yet

I long for your touch

Alternating tenderness turned to roughness

Keeping me guessing

Ever wondering

I desire it

All over again

My nipples

Sore and tender from your…

Caress

Shoulders and thighs stretched

Reminding me of being open

An offering for your touch

I long to go where you lead

To surrender to your direction

To have you claim me

Possess me

Own me

Once more

As I relish the morning after