Solitude

Solitary In my stance Let the waves Wash over In a hypnotic trance Catch a breath In a gulp of a frantic glance Touch the crests In a dream per chance Sigh of latent wisps Fragile in the last dance Hold on to the delicate treads Caress the moon in the deep expanse Flow with the atmospheric rhythms Grasp the air in a invisible prance Undercurrent begins to swell Acuity in the tow adheres to farewell Swimming to the island enhanced By the blooms of the violet Immortelle I see my life woosh by in a flash Startled jolted anew On the discovery of happenstance

Faded Memory

A memory is worn and aged, Its surface scratched and faded into sepia. What it depicts still exists, It just looks different outside the light of nostalgia.

One tiny snowflake Flutters against the window Landing softly on the cedar scrawled pane Encasing a stained glass mirage A downcast eye looks for a sign Riding inside the soft currents Swaying into the breeze of bygone eras A story told on the mountaintops of yore Scent of life outside the penned lore Waiting on the quaint asperous shore I stand on the rough hewn rocks Nod to the indigenous who roamed Forlorn, I see the washed out lighthouse Dim it's light honing in on a crescent dome Old Victorian on the cliffs it shone Haunted tales reflect it's ramshackle glow Tepid in my steps I walk hesitantly alone Towards the hearth calling me in droves Languished at the eloborate door Afraid of the creaking floors Eerie is the mood borne Along the peeling paint of scabrous scorned Inside its disturbed belongings lay scattered Quick look shows disheveled boxes On top of antique furniture Broken glass cuts deep into my skinned bruises Unbeknownst I continue my endeavor Scavenging through discarded reminiscence On the hunt for sought after answers Fearful of what is lurking Around every nook and corner Trying to stay clear headed I stumble through each brittle overture Seared in pain I continue with labored effort Strewn fabric falls atop weathered books Key located amidst the messy fractures I comb through the wreckage Left in a forgotten haste To reach the chest Holding my quivered heart in lace Aching in a fevered chill I cradle to the hope interred in quiet choke For what I seek is my last fork A stumble onto the lifeless road Craving for a place to call home Tired I crawl along the sloped cracked wood Planks of repudiated filth Litter the pathway to my hollow still Borrowed nostalgic I rest my bleary psyche Shivering I touch a object inadvertently Tattered papers of scratched out allegories Formulations to regain one's craved purity Bowed down in contorted simplicity Out-stretched arms seeking clarity Exhausted I collapse into a eyeful of rigidity Inflexible to the notion I will die in obscurity Eternal sleep waits forbearingly Confined in the whispered silhouette Posited in a heap of left-over frippery

I want to sit with you

Watch you drive

Maybe be allowed to control the radio

Wanderlust

Beyond the East the sunrise, beyond the West the sea

And East and West the wanderlust that will not let me be;

It works in me like madness, dear, to bid me say good-by!

For the seas call and the stars call, and oh, the call of the sky!

I know not where the white road runs, nor what the blue hills are,

But man can have the sun for friend, and for his guide a star;

And there's no end of voyaging when once the voice is heard,

For the river calls and the road calls, and oh, the call of a bird!

Yonder the long horizon lies, and there by night and day

The old ships draw to home again, the young ships sail away;

And come I may, but go I must, and if men ask you why,

You may put the blame on the stars and the sun and the white road and the sky!

Gerald Gould

“Rose Petal Tears”

If I cried with the dark rose

Impish rose petal tears

Splattered against your thorns

to lay naked and hollow

In a pixie field of mysteries

Know if was you—-

Who taught me to bleed

With enough purity to see

a divine cord

Flickering inside of me

Poem and Artwork ©️ HJ Cross

Bridal Veil Falls

Sun is illuminating this poetic day Petals flowering up in colorful display Vibes of positivity blanket my quintessential stay Embracing my life in a snapshot foray Ascending in obscurity along solar rays Placing my legacy in inked footsteps by the gate Leaving my dew drop stains on glimmering plates Cradling Earth's nourishing vibrancy Collage of my quiet memories Surround a lone tree in the heat of the Gobi Elusive yet free To sit amongst the ever shifting guise of humanity

Jessica Bahr

Bridal Veil Falls, Provo Canyon, Utah

Reflections of the Heart

Mesmerized by the light Your wings outstretched Across the glacial divide Carry me through In the speed of the divine Your heart timely melts Puddle of drenched sight Muddied into a grimy deluge Broken glass cuts my singular step Placed in your correlating halves Touching scarred projections Kissing down the jagged edges Shaken in your stitched caress Ache of a forgotten longing possessed Laying in the palm of your rugged hand Gracing my temple with your valiant lips In a gesture of comforted regrets Time dripping in the sands Hourglass of my waiting sighs Still holds court to nightly visions You gliding along the intrepid sky Flying on your black steed Sword held in glistened moonlight Glanced in my mirrored reflection Imploring in your steely penatration Deep dive along core of my essence Delicate birthright seen in ached confession Inside the curvature of photographic depletion Shown remembrance for borrowed decisions Untold depth hides in your coveted breath Hankered release waits for your seasoned ballad Wonders aplomb seek out the waved surface A rise of buried images beyond recognition Sprawled across the wide gap of the canyon Blurred figures erased in distraction New beginnings usurp past recollections King of my hallowed Camelot Round table holding court Bellowed in my weakened chords Gush of air lifts up a wearied tear Landing in the crevice you left open Gracing the astute stance of conquered regions Forging forward to arise anew Replenished by a sentiment-in-waiting Revelation in a chaptered column Interlude to a epic operatic anthem Two souls searching centuries Ascending on a destined odyssey Invigorated by melodious nectar Taste of love in a sought after reckoning You the marrow to my amaranthine devotion Faith inherent in our proposed melding Shadowed witnesses harbor jealous intention Unwavering you grasp in a tightened grip Vows spoken in quivered slips Fusions manuscript hidden Amongst written clouds Our spirits interlaced Long before time's opening bow

Rarely post songs but in the mood to sing poetry set to melody and this song says what I can't. Love when a song hits deep into the mood of my present psyche.

The porch

Place of gathering, reminiscent laughter, silent bonding

Place of solitude, escape, shadowed voyeuristic relaxation

Stain worn wooden boards taken for granted

Countless trips, door to steps and reverse concave the surface

The scratches from chair feet being pulled adorn it's petina

Repetitive unassuming energy etched into memory forever

Western winds caressing path meanders across structures domain

Sun pressing though high clouds carving a flickering midnight line

Rain's gentle melody, an uneven song on worn cedar above

Water merging, straining, dropping in unplanned intervals

Passing storms of gray merge with clear skies of blue

The porch will always be a special place

Painted Songs Challenge

Jackson Pollock. "The Deep" 1953.

Thank you for the tag @takingstockofwhatmattersmostand thank you for the creative challenge @definegodliness

Rules: Combine one of your favourite paintings with an oldies song that captures its feel to you, then tag others along to keep the challenge going.

Tagging: @waitingforthesunrise @mourningddove @skimbradsteen @warxpunkxmonk @memories-beneath-the-skin

Safe place Seems so abstract Notion of warm fuzzy nights Serendipitous filled days Sip of coffee on the chaise lounge Looking out at the rain Pattering down the wrought iron gate Fields of buttercups Remind of youth long gone Serene place to let go of what is lost A simple commotion Dreamlike state of oblivion Count me in Standing still While the turnstile leaves no end Alone in a partied den

This was inspired by a post written by @waitingforthesunrise

Within the field of scarlet

poppies' bloom,

A lark's sweet melody cuts through the gloom.

I, an explorer, seek what lies untold,

Venturing where no footsteps yet have strolled.

Amidst the expanse of seven skies,

seven planes soar,

and a phoenix takes flight, reborn from the fire.

Within my heart, the sin of envy creeps,

But through self-awareness, compassion seeps.

I, an explorer, seek what lies untold.

Moments with you Captivate my sentiments Halting time in a bubble beguilement Effecting us in the vacant interim Blips on the radar screen Exhibit drops of gray rain Sighing our subtle resonance Trickles of stoic air Keep our purpose imminent Hovering clouds highlighting Our footprints in shadowed diligence Emerging from the translucent cocoon Our wares of tranquil unanimity Appear on a cloak of weaved divinity Aspects of our world in sky blue threaded tears Woven in amongst strings of daffodil colored cares Our resilience pushing past a blackened silk patch Winding along the edges of brown braided denial To touch the dreams of the emerald Nile Crafted in a delicate cashmere slash Soft pink gossamer intermingles with lavender shields Heaven's Creator fastens the clasp In the canary haze of the cape's demeanor Spreading love across fractured believers Painting hope in emblazoned letters

Widowmaker

The majestic eucalypt

Standing tall

she could snap at any moment

Prune away her heaviest limbs

To fall heavily on unwise heads

...

joy-the-poet

photo: David Castenson