Somewhere
Straw Hat With Ribbon
Kisses Through Glass
O Time
Queen of Sorrow
Breakdown
Somewhere
Somewhere in vaulted dungeons a skeleton lies cold
Somewhere in echoed canyons a dream shines etched in gold
Somewhere honed claws seize hold . . .
~ ~ ~
Sometime in haunted memory ensnared doe shrieks desire
Sometime there leers up racing a mutilating fire
Sometime’s heartbroken pyre . . .
~ ~ ~
Sometime near treacherous rapids buck drowns in waterfall
Sometime in taunted mystery fired snowy peaks flame tall
Sometime’s stone barbed-wire wall . . .
~ ~ ~
Somewhere an eagle rides a wind of tempestuous needs
Somewhere my ghosts are galloping on sleekest silver steeds
Somewhere a river bleeds . . .
(C) 1997 Rosemary J. Gwaltney
* * *
Straw Hat With Ribbon
I put on my pretty straw hat with the ribbon
and the dried pink flowers
- the straw hat you bought me
at the Public Market on a sunny day -
when my dried soul ran away without me
and I was so lost I could not find
my way into my own mind.
I climbed the attic stairs alone
to water the insulation
of memory.
(C) 2002 Rosemary J. Gwaltney
* * *
Kisses Through Glass
concrete bunk beds with thin rubber mats
waiting in line
crashing doors
echoing halls
eyes ever watching
mundane things mingled
with tenderness
collect calls
miss you so much
four bare walls
toilets flush
beside the phones
how long? no one knows
waiting, anxiety grows
kisses through glass
hands palm to palm
pressing fingertips together
warm eyes smiling
through the pane.
throwing kisses in the air
he walks away, that slow easy swing
twisting my ring, I
follow his graceful form
with blurring eyes.
~ ~ ~
when a month looks like forever
takes a week to get your glasses
they don't care if you don't have your medication
coffee machine but the money isn't on the books yet.
~ ~ ~
was that dad on the phone?
does he still have a back ache?
what did he have for dinner?
did he hold hands with you through the glass again, mom?
(C) 1998 Rosemary J. Gwaltney
* * *
O Time
Broken wings; softened lines;
Life, camouflaged by twisted vines
Cannot be traced e'er more, behind
Echoing trails of time, O time.
~ ~ ~
Erected gleaming castle towers
Spilled hot and bitter tears;
Below in fated gardens,
A mocking bird shrieked fears.
~ ~ ~
Vision swimming through dreams now past;
Time's haunted face brought you at last.
(C) 1997 Rosemary J. Gwaltney
* * *
Queen Of Sorrow
Rising fortress made of stone __
Barriers all hers alone __
Ambushed by loneliness - her own __
Keening her deep spirit’s moan __
Exotic years of youth long flown __
Dark colossal storm winds blown __
Passion light years far off grown __
From Queen of Sorrow’s lonely throne; __
~ ~ ~
No desire for other arms __
Turned away from newer charms; __
Losing Him - the catalyst __
Vast life of pain then did persist __
Barren lips oh - ne’ermore kissed __
Heart-sore for the one she missed; __
~ ~ ~
Within her castle walls - sun set __
O’er her Kingdom of Regret; __
Queen of Sorrow - twenty-one years __
Not long enough to fade heart’s tears __
His face, His voice, her memory sears __
She ever sees, she ever hears; __
~ ~ ~
In burning unshed clouds of grief __
E’er in seclusion - no relief. __
Life rendered nearly meaningless __
An inner, freezing wilderness __
Survived alone, without caress __
O’er two decades of emptiness __
(C) 1997 Rosemary J. Gwaltney
* * *
Nervous Breakdown
Oh mother
surely too sensitive from the womb
you must have been born sad. I see you now, standing
forever on a porch in the photo album, two years old in black and
white, seventy-six years ago; little solemn face framed in
soft dark ringlets.
~ ~ ~
When you surrendered,
a terrible loneliness imploded echoing
through your heart. There came an eclipse across your sun;
a quicksand in your mind where you drowned through the years
of my childhood
~ ~ ~
You succumbed to a secret horror within.
I felt you manacled by emptiness;
I knew you fettered with chains of hopelessness.
I strived to be the one you would stay alive for,
but I slipped, invisible through
your frail fingers.
~ ~ ~
Oh mother
I’m so sorry for the ice that froze your fire;
the fragility of your spirit; the
shadows that drowned your
beautiful smile.
~ ~ ~
So very sorry.
So very sorry.
So very sorry.
(C) 1997 Rosemary J. Gwaltney
You are listening to the song: "Blade Runner"
from the movie of the same name.
mountainrecluse@yahoo.com