BEYOND RAINBOWS

I dreamed a dream in sepia
and faded black and white.
there were no rainbows in my life
nor would there ever be....
how could I see otherwise:
stormy clouds of deadly grey
behind horizons blue,
sudden falls into the abyss,
the fear of life's turns and twists,
the curse of suddenness
a world of paradox
a world hidden by lies

churning air
a tired essence
the slow burn of autumn
simmering in the stillness
behind the blinds
beyond the thin slip of
curtians
outside the drywall
and brick veneer
down below the
stoop rooftop
drainpipe and leafy
urban tree
the street still warm
from a blistering sun
oily and bloated in
the west
swallowed up by the
liquid haze
the fan buzzes on
flipping papers
stirring hair
the clock tic and the
television
streams its low glow

Paradise that or this

that paradise is no illusion
its pure and simple your imagination
darkness
when you cannot see with open eyes
what will you do there
with no eyes

now read my version below
read it breathless
in one go
or punctuate it if you wish to do so

Another sleepless night spent at the kitchen table,
waiting for morning to come so that I am able to breathe again.
It's flat, like my chest, as I hold my breathing to rest
while the suppressed heart beneath my lungs is trying its best
to repent.

I have failed you, my heart cries.
I failed you, too, I realize.

RAVAGED

ravaged by the years,
deceived and betrayed
by the treachery of Creation,
I have become less than myself
too quickly, too soon, nearer
to my end than my beginnings.
there comes to us all one
faithless day a sudden epiphany
of growing old and a sickening
disbelief of Life’s final push.

[Richard for Joe]

my hands
on the wall
the tiles
dizzy
water pours over me
hot...
steamy

look left..
chrome holders
toilet further right
blue tiles
white groat
at once

where am I
whom am I with
coming down

watch the swirl at my
feet.......Im in the north hemisphere
far out there......

who am I with...
this time..
blonde brunette
red head
alone..

if Im in t he shower
Im not alone
always serious

Tonight, we hail the dead who fought with pride,
the bravest men who bled to save us all
We lay them now and pray that God will guide
their souls to stand in Lom, the Heroes' Hall,
and known as men who changed the battles' tide.
O Knights of Truth, come lift your heads, stand tall.
For you who gave us hope for days ahead,
your glorious end, a tale, we'll tell and spread!

Southern summer showers
Steam storms silently
Surrounding sleeping skies,

Lightening lures lovers
Like lovelorn luminaries
Leading luscious lips

Into incredible inklings
Ideas ignite intrepidly
Imagining inspiring intentions

Astounding attractive assumptions
Above accepted accustoms
Achieving alarming ambitions

With wonderful words
Weeping wet willows
Wearily waltz warmly

Together to tears
Tender tempting tunes
Tie thrilling thoughts

I’d like to blow minds
rather than just mine.
These mind-blowing rhymes
could do that just fine,
but they are explosive,
and I'm afraid of not getting them out in time.

An ‘exploptosis’ of the mind is what I fear the most, so I write.
I’d like to blow minds,
hopefully not mine,
and so, I write.