the bird

Tags

birds, boys, death, egret, girls, life, love, magpie, night, poem, poetry, Relationships, youth

He sat in the lucerne’s centre
beyond the half empty dam
the bird lay flat
dead

Blood smothered one beautiful white wing
he rested the gun next to his unclean left boot
the wind had stopped
death

He willed the white bird back to life
drowning in anguish
horror
weakening his young stomach
disbelief

Just as the black and white bird
had reduced him to helplessness one year prior
there was no escape
his heavy head grated through to his spine

She could never be his
to own
even when they touched
he would sit alone
as he did today
night time approached

the aftermath

Tags

death, poem, poetry, war

the streets were bare
grey darkened lines
wind blew wearily through these paper strewn alleys
he tripped over the remains of wreckage gutted with blood
returning to the aftermath drew visions of remorse
where grief had lay beside their melancholic plight

the only survivor of a forgotten world
he walked until only his mind could wander
aimlessly through time to streets of life
cafes
broadways
theatres
enhanced through autumn color

parks filmed with leaves danced in smooth easy breezes
shadowing abreast of winters cold
wrenching now deeply at his fragmented soul
lit only by the firelight of courageously burning debris
sitting for a moment to replenish his might
standing up he could touch each face
the terror gave way to shrieks of death
cries of bewilderment
sounded out gunfire beyond

passing the lives of broken comrades
he walked on alone
all that was their’s was nothing at all
as only he could now stand tall
the street lay bare as he walked further out
stopping
turning
to hear their shout

driven further onwards by an inner sense of strength
which thrived on fear
overpowering himself
the fear of the past was with him this day

with his lonesome journey now meandering to an end
the world of yesteryear was hear to stay
as a war riddled with greed
had encircled his soul

death reigned victor on these dark cladden streets
escape had caught up to him
shallowing his path
there was no life in wartime aftermath

the end

Tags

death, drugs, girls, heroin, poem, poetry, Relationships, suburbs

The light burned silently in her tray
flaring at infrequent intervals to take the powder
flickering toward the brilliant needle
which now leapt into her eager vein

Flat on her back
losing consciousness
the lamp above reminding her
of her lonely existence
the man who tortured her soul
semi detached houses in useless suburbs

Unused cars in unwanted lives
children lying homeless
near beaten wives
men in suits
struggling to survive
against newly spun immigrants in her countryside

Where the needle laid flat
the light burned to death
her man departed
to another bus stop
rain fell slowly on another night

Where syringes filled with blood
met living room floors
mud stained carpets
lay under half open doors
the television breathing quietly on test pattern
her light went out

Myocardial infarction

Tags

death, life, love, poem, Relationships

Where to now, he thought
toward the waters edge, of sand
palm trees
caressing those twilight hours
reflecting his autumn years
amidst the sun of that evening

Saying goodbye to her
there were never enough years, enough time,
overcoming fear, walking slowly
the island to far out for him to reach

She sat forlornly in the cane-laden chair
moving within the ebbs then flows of this tropical outpost
silencing the crickets
thoughts of him pervading her mind

Loneliness lay ahead
a past of togetherness
filling her soul
churning inside for one more day

The nights together on Queensland’s veranda
sang peacefully now aside her soul
goodbye he said to confront his illness
the gap closing between them one final time
goodbye

they had known

Tags

cancer, death, family, life, love, poem, poetry, sadness

driving suddenly to forget one’s self
lights passed by
white lines brought her memory forward
the front porch light
lay open the house door
two weary onlookers sat bewildered
go in and see her

the bed was so high
sheets lay beneath the eiderdown in which she lay
breathing
tubes
machines
metal wheels
cold
still breathing
heavily
holding one hand
talking softly
weeping

jumping upon her bed
what to say
could she hear
all thoughts met
an intersection
she moved ever so slowly from my grasp
over the waterfall

the kitchen looked at me
they had known
all before had passed on
the clock ticked
lonely
one flat floor
she lay grey
go in and see her

Ireland

Tags

death, fire, Ireland, london, poem, poetry, war

Trying to escape
the cold wet roads
the blood
death
oneself
striving to live
unable to forgive
fire
shrieking toward a wrenching past
London

Ireland
bullets pierced my soul
leaving water for blood
unable to live
to forgive
fighting
murder
people
souls
hearts
children
Christ
families
buried

But to escape
to run
from the grief
to live
to forgive
to mend
the end