Sonnettics

I know her life is not the life she’d choose
And yet her choices brought her to this day
The game of life is not a game to lose
The dice are cold and all of us must play
But in her voice I heard the warmth of hope
And that is how I know that she will win
She’s not content to sit and merely cope
with someone else’s rules; her thoughts begin
to clarify her mind and move her heart
into a life where everything is new
where she can have a second chance to start
Where every sky she sees is brilliant blue.
And every choice she makes compels belief
that life is more than just a random thief.

My love is not dependent on your love
No matter what you do, you have my heart
Like poetry I write, my thoughts are of
the metaphoric fruit that’s sweet and tart.
It fills my mouth with juice, and yet I thirst
I want the fruit; it nourishes my soul
Without the fruit, my hunger is the worst
of any pain I’ve felt; I won’t extol
the fruit for how it tastes; of course it’s good
By good, I mean the best, no matter what
They say I shouldn’t eat it, but I should
I want it all, so I would never cut
the metaphoric fruit; the fruit is you
I want you whole, no matter what you do.

It burns within my chest, within my head
Emotional response to being hurt
I’m angry that I almost wound up dead
And now they give me drugs so I’m inert
Well, fuck the meds; I’ll PRN the lot
I’m Ironman and more, and so I still
Can swim, can bike, can run; it’s what I’ve got
And yes, I want to win; and yes, I will
My arrogance is mine; it’s who I am
I’ll kick your ass in any race you name
You won last year?  I couldn’t give a damn
I rested all last year; I’ll run you lame
That burning in my chest will fuel me on
I’ll pass your sorry ass, then I’ll be gone!

The weeds were all around and yet she grew
She stretched her gorgeous petals in the air
I stopped and smelled her fragrance, but I knew
The weeds would block the sun and bring despair
Her roots are strong and deep; the weeds’ are not
Her colors are all bright, the weeds are dark
She should have grown within a flower plot
Or in a place protected, like a park
It rains and she is nourished through her root
With rain the weeds are easy to extract
The seeds she dropped have sprouted; they are cute
In time the weeds will disappear, in fact:
The joy her fragrant beauty brings her field
will grow her sprouts; the weeds will have to yield.

The noise of life compels my mouth to drink
I used to kiss, but now my love is gone
My brain’s a cliff; my thoughts are on the brink
I feel the danger when my breath is drawn
I’d turn and run, but I’ve forgotten how 
and if I tried to leap my legs would freeze
The sweat is cold upon my sacred brow
I want to find a warmth that I can please.
The words that fill my head are strange to me
I’d sing, but I’ve forgotten ev’ry tune
I wish my thoughts were something I could see
and each decision moved me more than soon.
I like the silent thoughts; they feel like wine
I’ll drink until I feel the thoughts are mine.

This world contains no simple metaphors
Perfection is a mine that has no gold
At times our progress comes through bitter wars
At times we know our stories won’t be told
This world is life; it ends with death and pain
This life begins with beauty in our birth
We fill our lives with love, our life’s refrain
Our choruses are words that tell our worth 
The way we treat each other is the way
Our lives become a symphony, a song
There is no grand conductor to obey
We hear each other’s tunes and sing along.
Compose a life of beauty and you’ll find
this world becomes the volta you’ve designed.

The warmth of her, a stranger in my hand
Her hand was soft; her voice was soft and sweet
So much of life this year has been unplanned
I sat, but didn’t know that I would meet
So warm a girl, so beautiful and nice
I wonder if my hand was warm to her
Her daughter made me smile, not once, but twice
I hope that my intentions weren’t obscure
She felt like more than poetry to me
We shared our pain, we shared compassion too
The moment wasn’t awkward; we were free
I wish I had some wishes that she knew.
Dear Casey, I would love to know you more
You may be what a second chance is for.

I hate what I’ve become; I hate to hate
But loss deserves no better frame of mind
I know it will come back if I but wait
I wish it was a penny I could find
Both hate and loss congeal within my brain
Emotion’s heart still beats; it isn’t luck
They gave me pills to stop emotion’s pain
And now I’d cry, but all my tears are stuck
I only have an accident to blame
I only have a life of hate and loss
I had a love, but then I lost her name
I hate the bridge to find her I must cross
I love to love and love what I will be
When I have found my thoughts and they’ve found me.

I love it when she curls up on her side
Within my dreams, she’s soft and she is warm
I love the dreams when she becomes my bride 
I wish that I could make my dreams my norm
I pull her body next to me and shake
Reality becomes intense and feels
The comfort of the love we love to make
It touches skin to skin; it stops, reveals
Intensity within her mouth, her lips
She softly moans and tilts her head, her hair
Is beautiful; she moves her silky hips
without a word she says she wants me there
Tomorrow I will wake and she’ll be gone
But in my dreams she’ll always carry on.

I hope you let me calm your soul at night
I like to read, to bring the warmth of sleep
I’ll let your beauty infiltrate my sight
Your dreams will be the images I keep
I want to be the keeper of your dreams
To earn your trust, more valuable than gold
To me your heart is love; to me it seems
Your dreams are all the stories ever told
to calm the children lying in their beds
and bring the warmth of sleep in gentle peace
as all their busy daytimes leave their heads
and rest becomes their happiest release.
It’s this, the calm of night, I want to bring
I’ll read; I’ll kiss your head, I’ll even sing!