The Journey

by Claudia J. Laird Broker
a/k/a Grif, a/k/a KamaKamelian

Summer’s North winds blow in cold
And blue skies turn to gray.
The mood could not be glummer
In the merry month of May.

When oft I look toward my own maze
And dream of times gone by,
Vague memory drifts up from haze
And passes by my eye.

The time I spent in laughter
Are all the times I cried
They mix together after
The past that ran right by.

My searching mind sees what went wrong
And tries to set things right.
Sleeping, I wander through a song
And stay up half the night.

A blink of time will pass on by
As sleep creeps through my mind.
A mesmerizing lullabye
Sends worries back behind.

My journey’s been a long one,
Or it has just begun?
I’ll start in early morning
With the setting of the sun.

I’ll pack my bags with sunshine,
And wear snow upon my head
As I travel down the highway
That spirals from my bed.

A road map falls upon the floor
With faces I’ve forgot. I open up the closet door
With thoughts all misbegot.

A churchmouse walks right up to me
As boldly as you please
He scampers hasty to my knee
To see what he can see.

Turn left and look right down the hall
And see a shocking hue
Of colors standing nine feet tall
In passion’d shades of blue.

And black and white are tinged with red
As blue jays fill the clouds
Soft words are whispered by the dead
Into the lisping crowds.

The words are indistinctive
And run together, for
The drain is on the ceiling
And the plug is on the floor.

A whoosh of air lifts up the drapes
Right through the paper glass
It mixes with the water
In a fish tank full of brass.

The windows of the outside world
Are like kaleidescope
All cracked and mirrored images
Like fractured rays of hope.

The dusty shadows make a sigh,
In musty lakes they gleam;
And beneath the cozy covers lie
An earthly body’s dream.

The short day goes on endlessly,
The peaceful waves crash by,
The nightbird songs sound silently,
A sleeping baby cries.

I float, I fly, down to the lane
With trailing ribbon’d traces
My hair is like a flowing mane
Brushing people’s faces.

Flying back I see the signs
Of fog and frost rimed places.
The pictures frozen up in time
Bend onto dusty laces

Upon the barn-door’s weather vane
The trusty rooster crows
Awake the dawn along the lane
A truant dreamer knows.

The dewdrops tinkle like small bells
In shimmered notes and lines
The dreamer’s thoughts come hither
On dainty wind-blown chimes.

Faintly does the picture fade
As sunbeams light the room
Store images of night time shade,
Replaced by summer’s blooms.

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The Painting

by Jill Anderson
aka saphireeyes

As I stroll along the beach
among the waves and sand.
I set up my easel and canvas
and take my paintbrush in hand.

As I survey the scene I've chosen
my memory starts to roam.
Of a time not so long ago
when you were still at home.

I dip my brush in paint of blue
and spread it evenly.
I look back and I wonder
why this happened to you and me.

I remember the night so clearly
the waves, the sand, the moon.
The life we planned together,
but which has ened all too soon.

As I paint the scene before me
of waves and sky of blue.
Our lives held so much promise
and I planned to spend mine with you.

Making you happy was my goal
and you said I was yours.
We sat and kissed that night
as the waves lapped at the shore.

The night was almost magic,
the stars, they twinkled and shined.
The water was inviting
and you put your hand in mine.

A dip is what we need
to cool us off you said.
I watched in bashful admiration
as you pulled your shirt over your head.

I dip my brush in paint of white
and stare out at the sky.
I wonder what had gone so wrong
and softly start to cry.
Just one drink here,
then two, three then four.
Pretty soon you would be drunk
and stumble across the floor.

I never gave it too much thought
I guess I didn't want to.
I didn't want to realize
what drinking had done to you.

I dip my brush in paint of gold
and paint upon the sky.
I never really asked myself
the simple question: Why?

Why on that night,
when our future was so clear.
Why I even handed you
that fateful can of beer.

We swam together side by side
in a jeweled sea of black
you smiled at me, waved and turned
and started heading back.

Maybe had I been faster,
or hadn't had that beer.
But what happened next
has filled my nights with fear.

As I pulled you on the shore,
I begged you not to leave.
I gave one breath, two then three,
and yelled at you to breathe.

Someone called the ambulance,
and they loaded you inside.
I took just one last look at you
and silently said goodbye.

I glance upon my picture.
But instead of sun and surf,
I see upon it my nightmare
of your last moments here on earth.

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