Shock
putting down the phone
the harsh meaning of your words
doesn’t register
–
distant rain-
unexpected
lightning
putting down the phone
the harsh meaning of your words
doesn’t register
–
distant rain-
unexpected
lightning
waiting on my touch
your warm skin rising up in
anticipation
–
rose petals-
the taste of
your breath
asleep on the beach-
so far away from winter
and your icy touch
–
caribbean surf-
tracing lazy circles
on the small your back
embers burning low-
on the rim of my wine glass
crimson lipstick stains
–
lingering-
ruby lips and
a good bordeaux
by her bedroom door
listening to my daughter
cry herself to sleep
–
leafless boughs-
no resistance to
the howling winds
echoing silence-
bodies strewn haphazardly
on the downtown streets
–
an absence of birds-
villagers gather fish
in the receding sea
heads bowed in respect
under an overcast sky
the flag at half mast
–
rising winds-
halyards ring
the flagpole
november evening-
skeletal trees charcoal black
in the fading light
–
graveyard’s edge-
bone fingers
in the mist
you can take my heart
and do with it what you will
I’m finished with it
–
driftwood-
sand dunes
strewn by the wind
cold and sterile rooms-
the emptiness of being
alone here with you
–
makeshift rafts-
icy waters
devoid of life