The Azure Forest

The door swung open

Soundless

Before me lay a forest

Drenched in emerald

But fading to a deep blue

In little more than a few meters

As though the sun

Brilliant as it shone

Could only impress upon me

But this small section of sight

I walked and all of me was heavy

Like a dream torpidity I felt the drag

I opened my mouth to call

To search for another

Who tread these verdant paths

But nothing came out

I slowly turned my sight skyward

Then I saw it

Just below the treetops

A shimmering blanket of wave

Where danced the rays of sun

This forest was also a sea

I do not drown

And I know these paths well

Though I never walked them

And upon this path

Quite by chance

I found another

She took my hand

And I, hers

And together we forged ahead

Deeper down its winding paths

There was something familiar

Something familial in her touch

A lover long lost

But no memories to say so

Still

I know her

And she knows me

And together

We forge a world

In the endless blue

Finale

“Of course, hun

Everything will be fine…”

The last lie I told her

A loyal deception

Perpetrated from a place

Of warmth and love

Affection coating its edges

Hiding what lay beneath

The promise of loss

What loss inflicted

Infliction’s relief

No more waiting

The final end

I squeezed her hand

She sighed

And relaxed

The tears slipped down

Dropping dark pools on her dress

I was alone in a stark white nothing

Smelling of antiseptic and lemon

The silence she left behind

Bigger than the room

Engulfed those seconds

The moments before I let go

Of her already cooling hand

Goodbyes

Our lips pressed

A kiss like a goodbye

And as she leant back

I saw how something died on those lips

An “I love you” never to be spoken

And in her eyes

I saw what she had already made of me

Another mistake

In a long line of men

Whom had wronged

And moved on

So I fixed my hat

And with a nod

I was gone

Our Every Morning

Dawn breaks

Thin shafts piercing dark

My arms are full

But heart is fuller yet

As I awaken

To find you close beside

You sure as well

Eyes open slowly

Deep pools of dark

I would gladly get lost within

Instead I pull you closer

And let forth a growl

Deep and full of lustful intent

You gasp and smile

Kissing my neck

Oh yes this is how it starts

My nails claw at your form

This close, still too far

We both know the only distance

That will finally be enough

Gasps and groans

This heat kills me

Little deaths

And I hope this night

Will end the same

And every day to come

“Chance” Meeting

I cup my simple brew

Warm but I imagine

Quietly to myself

Something oh so warmer

And satisfying too…

As I meet your eyes

Is there a spark?

Do we feel the pull

The draw of fate’s strings?

I smile and give a little wave

You smile too returning wave

Though you waited a moment

I am so eager to know you

I’ve been watching for weeks

But I’m so very nervous

And terribly shy

Yes for weeks that’s right

I do hope I haven’t unnerved you

I have tried ever so hard

To go unnoticed

That is

Until now

Now you see me

Now I smile

You smiled too

Hesitantly

I felt that hesitation

A slight against me

So hurtful and minatory

Oh foul temptress

How could you so toy with my heart?

How cruel you are

And awful too!

You will pay

For hurting me so

I was your only chance

For love and life

A shame

You are so pretty

When you sleep at night

For that is where

I will creep within

And with careful hands

Snuff your life

At First Sight

A mess of midnight hair

And the rim of glasses

Espied over top of a cloth bound book

First time we spoke

His voice cracked

Nerves lit and burning already, sans touch

The night we fell

I gave a gentle kiss

Glasses removed along with our clothes

The heat was heavy

But our breathes more

And the crescendo mind-numbing bliss

As we lay in quiet

Arms enmeshed tight

He whispered soft “I’m sorry, my love”

The bite of steel

Cold snake stole breath

I gripped the handle tight and eyes alight

He shook his head

Pressed harder still

Fitting I suppose it would be this man

As darkness enclosed

Warmth returning

I closed my eyes and gave my forgiveness

My last question

My final thought

Just how long had this been his plan

When we lay

Or first spoke

Or even when furtive glance caught sight?

I felt his lips

Move close to my ear

“It was your eyes I couldn’t resist…”

A Hall of Sea-Sung Pasts

I’ve been walking long

No end in sight

Some parts are carpeted

Some barren, boards broken

Others shine like a Christmas Day

Allways continuing on

I’ve always feared peering behind

Looking back on those long untouched parts

As I look over my shoulder

The hallway curves

Almost imperceptibly

Beyond my vision

I decide to rest

Head against the wall

This part of me never hungers

But cries for respite

My dream is elsewhen

The hallway here shifts

A slow and steady rocking

Sea swell bucks beneath my feet

A window beside

Porthole in truth

Gazes upon an unbroken horizon

Even these waves not breaking that expanse

Slowly I walk on

Then a drawing

An artist’s rendering

Crew in revel

Watery ale poured freely

And there I stand

A different face

Voice rattling from sea-spray scratch

But eyes alight with the same life

And besides me stands

Her

Allways here

Allways finding me

Or I find her

What difference does it make

So long as we are beside

A bit further on

A moment frozen in time

The water breaks

As something hits it

My lungs fill

Hard to breath

Above she cries

Leaping after

Beneath the ocean

We embrace

As the cold stabs

As the air flees

We kiss

A promise

To find each other

Once again

Water

He was a sailor

Debonair and beguiling

All crisp lines and square jaw

All ladies fell for him

I fell alike

He would never shoot me

Even the side longest of glances

I found myself lost in the crowd

His pure apathy

No rejection

Mere refusal of existence

Drove me to it

To that most desperate of actions

Cliffs bare

Waves wide

I fell

He never knew

Away he went atop the ocean

That bore my body

And one night a storm struck

With all the fury my despair might muster

The waves washed over him

Pulling him overboard

And I

I was waiting

Far below

The Night

When I met her

I knew everything had changed

I was alone

Nursing a shot

The bartender close

Hands shaking

As he poured another

The door was open

I don’t remember it opening

But the night poured in

Cold and windy

Dark and stormy

Framed by streetlight

She wore a dress

Black as sin

Lips layered charcoal

Eyes smokey but sharp

“I’ve come to collect

A few of my things.”

Her voice was low

Sultry

Enticing

I swiveled around

Teeth flashing wolf bright

“A drink or two?”

She smiled back

Oh that smile

A dangerous thing…

“No just a few folks

Who are going my way.”

She clicked her tongue

But seemed to consider

“Maybe just one…”

I looked to the bartender

Whose eyes were wide

And staring at me

“Well? Pour her a drink!”

He stumbled away and left

Through a back door

“Rude…”

I grabbed a glass

Poured one out for her

And she sat down

With some gravitas

I held up my shot

And she, hers

“Sláinte!”

I tipped back

“Sláinte agad-sa…”

Her cool response

Her shot was empty

“So what brings you here?”

I bubbled cheerily

“Like I said

To pick up a few friends

Who are going my way.

I mean in the end

You’re all going my way…”

I paused in pouring

I looked back at the crimson

Splashed over the booths

The tangled limbs

The faces of horror

And gripped the pistol

Which sat before me

“And me?”

She laughed

A laugh like broken glass

A rock through an old house

“Soon

But not yet…”

She drifted from me

All grace

And power

Gently she caressed their faces

Lifting away

Something thin

And whispy

To each one she did this

And I waited

“Well do enjoy your whiskey

And have one for me

Before you call it an evening.”

With that

She left back through the door

Closed already

And the heat suffocating

That was when I met her

Call her what you want

Death

Hades

Valkyrie

I simply call her

The Night

Hypothetical

If there was a man

Hypothetically

Who was everything you ever wanted

What you alway desired

And he hypothetically lived

In a big old house

Alone and want for love

Could you see yourself loving him

Hypothetically

Only in concept

A purely thought formed man

Chiseled features

And flowing hair

The idea of perfection

Hypothetically waiting for you

In his imagined house

Dressed sharp

Just the way you like

Yes

You thought you could love him

You thought you were there

Holding him and kissing him

And living and loving

So perfectly lovely

But you awake each day

Alone

This man forgotten

For only a moment

And when you return

To this theoretical place

He feels like you were allways gone

You feel so guilty

Hypothetically

You thought you loved him

You thought it was perfect

Until the day

You found him dead

Edges fuzzy and blurry and red

Already forgetting his breath

His perfect laugh

You realized

You didn’t love this man

You only thought of him

Hypothetically

And so you went on

Your life none the worse

And from time to time

You think to yourself

The perfect man didn’t exist

Except the one

Who lived

Hypothetically