Sunday, December 24, 2006

a letter about Elizabeth


Lizzie on swing
Originally uploaded by Callooh.

she carries
my heart, in a bucket of sand, she
uses to make sandcastles,
collects water from the ocean
with seashells for its walls.

she regards me with eyes
older, more profound than
her oceans;
questions the universe,
in the voice of a child,
tapes letters to God
to her window.

Elizabeth walks barefoot, climbs
trees on an earth
she has tread long before;
senses its pulse, breathes its skies,
and later, paints them in
watercolours.

she dances, (barefoot) and giggles,
with raindrops and snowflakes,
cradles earthworms and spiders
as precious treasures, before
returning them home;
and helps me bury small birds
in our yard.

she carries my heart
in a fierce little body,
born with more wisdom,
more compassion,
more love,
than I may comprehend.

a letter about Graham


Graham
Originally uploaded by Callooh.

He cannot, step lightly.


Graham’s heartbeats and footsteps thunder.
the world, left without choice, expands
in the presence of absolute life,
resting, only when he does.

his eyes regard you with utter openness,
his soul, laid bare upon his pale, and bandaged skin.
is free to look upon,
to touch, to embrace, and sometimes, even kiss;
if you can bare its raw beauty.
for he has not yet learned how to guard it,
to shield it from his worlds blows, or joys.

his sorrows wrap themselves around the moon
and the oceans feel their pull.

in ecstasy he is flings brightness to the stars,
and they twinkle back their gratitude;
on earth branches arch from leaves’ laughter
a mere home may not contain such elation.

his heart, he sometimes carries
cupped, in his still small hands;
these are the times I glimpse the man,
he will become.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

untouchable


transformation
Originally uploaded by Callooh.
my naked feet
pierced by stones

barbed limbs caress
my undressed skin

kiss my face
with incisive stabs

somewhere

I lost faith in
life
god
sex
love

the most profound thorn

impales
my chest

pierces
my heart

now untouchable.

forgive me


last night
I made you my hero.

you,
my protective lover,
to walk with,
to care for.

last night
I made myself, safe
in your strength, trust
in your love.

forgive me. my dreams
they approach me, unbidden
please,
forgive me. I will never
speak them to you.


Sunday, December 03, 2006

still life


jack of clubs
Originally uploaded by Callooh.


pencil stub, eraser erased
a life spent for
middle school math
unacknowledged,
forgotten,
waiting for the impending
dog teeth, the
slow and splintered death.

he finds temporary solace
in the company of an
odd forgotten mitten
whose mate's
been left frozen beside
the half melted snowman
on the lawn.
alone, she is not touched,
her mate lost
to her.

the dime, slightly dulled
and dirty, but remembering
always remembering the
shinier days, anxiously awaits
his rediscovery,
his return to his musical,
and magic kin.

neglected and discarded
little plastic game
once in a brightly coloured
birthday bag, briefly treasured
quickly broken
now abandoned
prays not to be discovered
and placed in the black bags
that leave and never return.

sitting up, I drink my tea
and return to my book.