Madness & Euphoria MOONLIGHT STROLL We begin our moonlight stroll, up the city-blocks heart to heart and hand in hand He whispers words of strength and comfort Because of him Images of beauty are at my command. The Hudson’s breeze tempts us onward toward the darkening pier. We find our bench and sit marveling at the moon and its glistening mirror. The lights across the river bring another city nearer. Bridges in the distance twinkle in the dusk. The western sky is yet pink, purple and musk. Resting in his arms, my breathing slows. Our minds fill with magic, and a soft glow. Cares melt away as we chat of this and that; then simple silence. Night gently looms We must rise and return to our tomb Of electric lights and air-conditioned rooms. From our windows, we cannot see the moon. The spell breaks. My heart aches. We clutch the peaceful hour close in our souls. Life will go along, until the next moonlight stroll. Under a distant sky The gypsy woman said you have two loves One light haired, one dark Now both are white Unchanged their eyes so bright Their wits so sharp My palm foretold that After many years Chapters closed would not be forgotten Recalling laughter and some tears Dear friends, and lovers, misbegotten The cards boded Lingering behind closed doors Memories kindled, fond and fey Hearts and minds outpour Emotions of another day Oh gypsy woman Time has rested kindly on some faces Others unfamiliar to the eye Pictures of youths winsome Faces from a distant sky My fortune came to pass The pain of loss still sharp and deep I cannot choose but mourn The man I love today my soul must keep Yet my mind is sorely torn. Absence of Nurturing Only Lonely Accident Mournful Manipulated Cynical Wild Undisciplined Out of Control Eternal Child Fade to Black Ancient Wanderings Venice, 'Neath crumbling stone arched bridges You cradle me in your arms, Cobbled streets glisten under Shimmering lamp lit nights While rocking horse carousels whirl. Nubians, Dark bloods of ancient Egypt guard Camel caravans encircling tents where my lover and I caress under the stars. Echoes, Songs of Solomon Beckon as I sit In the kitchen at twilight, Gazing through the window Dreaming. Fairies Frolic Sunlight’s dance reflecting A flaming promise of dawn My frozen heart is melting After oh so very long. Sun's warmth permeating Its glow brings inner peace Basking in the radiant light Spawns ultimate release. Sun's rays cascading Sorrow turns to glee Sandpipers go scurrying Down to greet the sea. Gossamer guards attending As I lie upon the sand; How blithe they flirt and flutter Sprinkling magic in my hands. And when the sun is setting Brilliant sky all flame and fire The Fairies softly beckon me, Gently to retire Autumn Prelude I dread the coming of the cold The damp and dark my flesh enfold Without the light my spirits fall The summer’s warmth I faint recall. Rain falls upon the last of red And pale pink petals too soon dead I’ll put some heartier blooms in place To brighten up my living space. Within the lights are earlier on To mask the ever later dawn Try as we may with flowers and lights We cannot forestall the long, chill nights. To Green Another Spring A telling yellow slowly creeps Into the trees lining our street Leaves soon will burst bright red and orange Final flaming reflections of the sun. Too soon the colors fade and ebb Dead leaves into the cobbles we tread Denuded branches skyward gaze Seek in vain one final blaze. The trees in all their nakedness Not shamed shall find their final bliss A shimmering blanket silver white Covers them through the winter night. Beneath the blanket in the dark Nature tends a tiny spark A steady flame keeps life alive The tiny buds beneath survive To green another spring! SURVIVAL I am. That is good they tell me. I beg to disagree! They do not walk my path. Peaks and valleys rule me. Chemicals control me. The beast within wants out. They do not know its wrath. I am. I never should have been. An accidental traveler racing through time; Bending space, Hurtling toward my death. Splinters Tiny shards of light pierce the veil Glimpses of sunsets and sunrises Splinters of clarity Shades of sanity Reality’s hammer strikes the brain Unrest, unbalance, disillusion Malediction waxes, Depression Oblivion soothes the soul Black kid gloves stroke the brow Beyond thoughts, fast asleep Silent Dreams. Alone Secret niches I can find Amongst the mazes in my mind Not a soul may enter there To seek me in my dark despair. Narrow paths so dimly lit Lead to an ever-deepening pit Lofty hedgerows damp with dew Shelter me from any view. Gazing downward to nowhere Nobody here my thoughts to share Unbroken silence cloaks my dreams Leaving me to my evil scheme. No one gets out, no one gets in, No one shall dare to judge my sin Fate's mistake at last undone I am alone, and I have won. Ship of Dreams My ship of dreams Somehow, it seems You never sail home to me. My ship of dreams Your sparkling beams Are forever adrift far at sea. If but one dream came true I would never be blue So it’s all up to you Golden ship, what will you do? My ship of dreams Please change your schemes And fulfill just one dream for me. Land's End Fierce winds shift the sand Majestic dunes rise skyward Amon Ra rules the daylight hours His flaming chariot races toward ebb tide. White moonlight shines down The sea sparkles, tides swell The cooled grainy sand glistens Birds great and small rejoin their nests. At land's end the lovers sit On ancient crusted rocks Reveling in shells, stones, and each other The sky hangs low weighed down with stars. The water peaceful and warm Laps at their feet The night is still and heavy The lovers sleep in one another's arms. Memory Lane I saw a man today So like another from my distant, groovy past. He broke my heart. No, I broke it Deluding myself; Reckless abandon. My naïve eyes were mesmerized! Locks of platinum hair Hypnotic blue eyes His smile struck as thunder. Slow dancing His arms were as my fortress Honey baritone softly crooning “Scotch and Soda”. My heart prevailed! My mind sculpted an image, Illusion of his love. He was never possessed Yet pursued and pined for. Still, had it been he today Doubtless the remains of his charms would overwhelm. An apparition of his former self Conjured up by a lifetime of forlorn memories. I wonder. Would he remember me? MISSY She is a blessed child of nature, Full of special love and virtue. Her words dance on paper and make music to the ear. She is wise beyond her years. Missy stirs my thoughts and soothes my heart. Awakening my truths she breathes life into my Morbid mind. Healer, poet, teacher and truest of friends, She keeps herself afloat upon a sea Where others would up-end. Missy makes her way through darkened woods. She clears a path to sunshine and good. The Cozy Cottage Typical early morning, grayish blue Things the same though some are new Fuscia flora lines the way To the cozy cottage by the bay. The peaceful lake, Mighty dunes beyond, Through the kitchen window, Memories fond. Gulls and foghorns Storms forebode Dark clouds gather Wind blows cold. Restless waves drench the sand We leave the cottage hand in hand A walk in town where familiar sights Lift our spirits; our souls unite. Suddenly, shadows on the street Sunshine warms our sandaled feet. We hasten home to a brand new day We are safe and sane At the cozy cottage by the bay. Groping Darkened hallways Cloak shadows Mask hordes of horrors Feeling my way along the wall Hands cold and trembling Heart palpitating Brow moist The wall is reality The black awesome Dense darkness Thick with nightmares If I give up the wall All that remains is unknown Can it be worse than Everlasting groping? Flora There lay a field of lilies Silky white Swaying swanlike Craning toward the light. Purity surrounded by Purple’s passionate profusion; hypnotic perfume, and dangerous delusion. Blind bulbs beneath lie in moist cool sienna earth, oblivious to sunshine and beauty of rebirth. Reflections My existence; Endlessly redefined by a cacophony Of delusion, illusion and fantasy, Fails to support reality. Dreams, anticipation and expectation, Naïveté charts my course, ultimate frustration, Paradoxes, ever shifting paradigms, Impregnable boundaries, and desolation. All roads lead to annihilation. Where lies the crime in innocent perception? Hideous truth illuminates cherished deceptions Unveiled, stripped bare, sans exception Revelations, Cruel reflections. Cape Cod 2000 Bittersweet essence Shadowy presence Veiled illusions Breed confusion. Absent from reality Joy of sun, sand and sea Blind passage; Unnoticed bridge crossed. Bewildering! The glory lost. p.s. shake it off! snap out of it! get a grip, or jump ship? p.p.s. get moving! go outdoors! sit in the sun and Shut Up! Mental Minefields No foreboding, Absent a subtle click, Neither alarm nor alert, Unannounced. The trap The ambush No escape! The wire is tripped Deafening boom of silence Blinding lightening Searing hot Daggers from his eyes Edgy and dull Rip into my mind and soul. Torn to shreds I vow This is the last! But it never is somehow. Alas! The mark of a woman A woman Sculpts, molds, manipulates, Contorts and controls. She cripples. Snaring a man in her web Of guilt, secrets and lies Rendering him Ignorant! Unaware he is a buffoon Bewildered by the paths not chosen. A man shackled, Hobbled by a mighty weight Powerless and paralyzed Trapped in his sheltered childhood In fear and awe of the women who Limited and constrained. The women coo, fawn and simper. Placed upon a pedestal, Encased within glass, He is revered and protected Condescended to and patronized Bewildered Behind barbed wire. Stamps of the Soul Twisted personae Shaped by evil, one-dimensional forces. Borrowed inner sanctums from secret sources. We are constrained from testing boundaries: Overdosed on spoon fed realities. Whispered lies, and buried truths spawn Mangled perceptions of our youths. Obliterated goals, Lost in infinite black holes create Sorrowful scenarios. Wounds so deadly deep form Jagged scars. These are the stamps of our souls. Larry Pristine thoughts of love Guard against the hideous past Near naïve devotion Loyalty to the last. No drop of venom lingers Upon his eager lips Nor evil speak assail his ears He shall not lose his grip. Taking comfort in consistency Relentless balancing act Pervasive sensitivity His soul remains in tact. Perched upon the precipice His world so black and white Above him shines the light of good Below loom deadly dark and night. For solemn sanity’s sake His truths must be revealed He cannot give good counsel Before his wounds are healed. Grays How infinite the subtle shades Betwixt the dark and light Sweet illumination seeps Through fluttering lashes’ sight Pitch-black lacey curtains Drape themselves about the room. Random shapes and shadows Mysteriously strewn. O be delicate my fingers Do not disrupt the scene There, I nearly touched it Floating vision so serene. Countless images before me, Sweet illusions swiftly fade Too soon, my eyes wide open Onto endless shadows gray. Rapid cycling Sunrise, a reawakening of, searching for truth through a veil of gray black lace on a quest for reason, for value of existence. Midnight, thoughts race at a staggering pace ideals misplaced amidst confusion of purpose or plan, yet wait, there is only fate, thus eyes await the inevitable, Sunrise THE JOURNEY BEGINS! Cherished memories fade Childhood days Carefree ways Nurtured, safe and snug Sustained and loved Wrapped tightly Festooned with ribbons and bows Farewell Naïveté! Gliding down the aisle Aglow with hope Glistening with dreams Prayers, wine, and glass broken Vows of love spoken A fortress of devotion Wrapped tightly Festooned with ribbons and bows Husband and Wife! Two now journey as one Discovering paths and byways Around bends By land and sea Soaring ever higher Bearing fruits Wrapped tightly Festooned with ribbons and bows A Family Blooms! Trapped Just behind my eyes Between clenched teeth At my temples, left and right, In my throat, Constricted tight. Terror, waiting for the pain The inevitable shock My outstretched arms Cannot stop the train, Nor the ice-cold absence of light. Twinges in my heart Tiny fingers twine and twist Squeezing blood from my soul The sequence must unfold Dare I be so bold? Please, may I be excused? Munchkin He rides so hard and fast now, and waits up at each corner He swings so high Pumping with unabashed joy Our sandy haired boy. How proud we are, grinning from ear to ear as his brilliant smile touches our souls. His goodness shines as brightly as it has since he was the infant who stole our hearts, seven years ago. Is he really seven, our gift from heaven? His laugh rings out so clearly. Grandma, will you hug me one more time? He’s grown so tall, and has big feet too. Grandpa, will you take me to the zoo? Please may I have just one more snack? Will you scratch my back? Our sandy haired boy. Our cats curl up beside him. He brings warmth and delight into our home. Sweet dreams you munchkin as you clutch your blankie still. You’ll hold our heartstrings, Wherever you may roam.
Copyright © 1999 Louise Friedman |