HOLIDAY HOME

Light slices the silent hallway
in the first moment.

We whisper:
as the eye widens
to the pool of speckled darkness beyond,
we are afraid that things
will be found uncertain,
that last year's passing
may have stolen the pleasure.

Then happiness elbows doubt aside
and rollicks into the house,
falling over the furniture,
casting about for play,
snuffling the dank insides of cupboards,
and snorting the fragrance of unfettered days.

Coming home here
makes the heart balloon with freedom.

~ Vicki Bawcombe

I yearn for the ceremony of shadows,
Where the black begins to shine,
Through the mind
into the heart.
Sacred time sustains the kiss,
Of vast longings.
I soar beyond the earth
and feel heaven.

~ Stacy Oerder

Unseen

The heartbeat of a woman
Reveals a world where anything is possible
Tearing at the limitations I hold inside
Pulling away the unseen masks
Leaving me to wonder about the rules of the living
Is there a future beyond the horizon?
Are there promises behind closed doors?
Perhaps I should stop
Become one with tomorrow
And undergo a rebirth at the end
Free to soar
Through the aching need
And though you come to me
In the sweet tenderness of innocence
I am overwhelmed
And drunk
On the impression your promises have whispered
But I have to somehow learn the art
Of holding you safely
In the broken world
Near to my heart

~ Carol Simpson

Many closed corners and gated detours
Lie unknown in winter selves
We shine less
We walk less
We carry spells
As we drink ourselves into closed corners and gated detours

~ Vanessa Davidson

Moist whisper from a winter kiss
No hesitation, no pity.
Ocean's horizon settles into late memory
And life soars above promise.

~ Vanessa Davidson

Lay soft letters
Beyond the undulating masks others talk up
Open it up
Let it live
When moving soft letters
Twist nothing
Wound nothing
So we lay soft letters
Beyond the undulating masks others talk up

~ Vanessa Davidson

A soul released

I am nothing
I have nothing
Light as air over the mountain,
Dark longings spirited away with the water’s song.
Acid tongues hold no power over me
Where eagles soar.
Easy to create myself anew
Or find my old self renewed
The way is warm,
I am at peace.

~ Kit Heathcock

Shadows

It's about time
The shadows played
Without hesitation.

Once afraid
Their naked shape,
By invitation,
Now becomes the natural voice.

Yet,
Fearing the sudden haunt,
The shadows ask for guidance,
They wait for a way out.

Think of me,
They whisper in the fading silence.

~ Nicole Chidrawi

Possibilities

Yearning for
Dark crossings
Into other worlds,
I fear I might fall
Experience rare
Summer losses,
Soon hidden from the senses
About to bow out,
The water cuts your soul
Into two,
Is that possible?

~ Nicole Chidrawi

In the wake of midnight
we reel together
drunk

Easy companionship
spoilt
by the poisoned pool of water
not yet passed under the bridge
and relegated to the graveyard
of over dissected issues.

Deep within, intuition awakens
as I brace myself
for whatever sharp new edge
will reveal itself
before the rise of dawn.

Fearful of what it may reveal about you.

~ Gill Freislich

Only glad Mercy

Only glad Mercy calling
us, small, under,
away
us, hidden, old;
only the wonder, the ocean
of glad Mercy calling
ever grows

Nothing we
I do
say can clear
this winter,
this hidden, old;
this impression of my
our
small, under, entangled.
Only the ocean, the wonder
ever grows
of glad Mercy
calling

~ Romaine Hill

Scream
sure Acid Friend
once glad
for fault between moon and border;
always leaving ...
Face
pleasure, our only stolen knife,

~ Roeline von Solms

Fast Me!

Stolen Moon-face Friend
acid-fast scream
always
our only fault; sure pleasure border.

Knife me once
glad for leaving.

~ Roeline von Solms

Seeds of intervention

Entangled evenings
Hanging heavy with moist passion
Seeds of intervention
Stuck deep inside
Burst into angry leaf
Angle wings about my heart
Searching for missing pleasure
A taste of things near

~ by Candy Bonello

Pools of remembrance

Drunk with fragrance
Vanilla ylang-ylang tamarind
Pools of remembrance
Shards of shadows
Tiny haircracks of mercy
Blank pages of peace
Below the surface
I walk in the shadows
Whispering your name

~ Candy Bonello

Unfinished dreams

Pleasing possibilities
Petals twisting through calyx cages
Anna Pavlova moonflowers
Fragrant in the night
Heady hints through bedroom windows
Ringing out unfinished dreams
Sudden decay in morning light
Broken sense of joy
Rare nothingness

~ Candy Bonello

Rainbirds skyroad

Wire, net, feathers
Cutout wings
Yearning to soar
Knife passing through
Iced angles
Captive in cement

Rainbirds skyroad
Whispering flight
Wavering evening oxide
Moon mountain clouds
Stardust
Foolsgold rain

~ Candy Bonello

tense present

small mistakes haunt her
like acid ooze below her life
dark and ugly

she floats above
borne along by a promise
talk of a doorway to be found

she can face many choices
while she waits
why is the future always too late?

~ Melody Kerchhoff

Last Return

The red sign at the ornate gate says 'for sale.
This is my childhood home that I wish to buy.

Walking behind the Agent through the empty house,
I have no fond memories breaking to the surface,
I feel as lonely as in the days of my early youth,
When I was yearning for a sign of my mother's love,
For my father's hand to make me feel safe in the dark.
Instead the hollow-heartedness of a politician
And the steeliness of a pleasure-seeking woman,
celebrating success and their selfish selves only
Denied me what should be the right of any child:
Time and loving freely given, inspiring trust.

No, this is no home deserving to be reclaimed.
Cold fury seizes me. I will not stay. But leaving
I pass the open door to the sun-lit backyard.
Wafting on the warm summer heralding breeze
The scent of a Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow
Brings with it the vision of a frail old woman,
Her greying head bent towards a tearstained face.
Thin arms hold the child to her shrivelled bosom,
While her bony hands are busy cutting beans.
I still hear the magic of the softly cooing voice,
The soothing song that will be mine forever.
Here I find that which is missing in the cold house:
Love, hope and charity given without reserve,

Now can I leave with softer tread and calmer thought.
I do not want the walls that held my unhappiness.
But in my heart I keep the grace of gentler moments.

~ Renate Scoble

Screams and Whispers

Screams come to us
late or fast
In a moment of hesitation
a detour from the world
a woman,whispering
things under her heartwound
thinks of warm,summer water

~ Anne Woodborne

In the dark I create
treasures from a casual touch,
which lingers.

Not your fault, you are more subtle,
nothing meant other than friendship.

Yet struggles are borne,
longings for a loving touch,
so rare, so hard to find
in the haze of despair.

~ Crystal Warren

In the doorway of decay
time is playing.
Nothing stays.
Even mountains crumble.
All becomes too late,
too soon.
But my being lies drunk
on your warm fragrance,
balancing on the blade of forever.

~ Maire Fisher

Moondrips

So, my love,
my treasure,
my little ship
of burning
hesitation -
do you see the moon,
its glad, yellow acid
knifing
the dawn? You ate
hollows
in my mind.
With you, there was only
the impression
I was free.

~ Maire Fisher

I will not ask you to carry this.

You would have to struggle it
into the boot of my car, heavy
with all I have packed in it.

Yes, it is so heavy,
this scuffed, tired suitcase.
It would leave your muscles burning.

I packed last night
while you sat in my red chair.
I tested and tasted words.
They stayed in my mouth.

I was packing
and a moth played near the lamp's late glow.
Hapless, I wanted to flutter back to you
To a space once natural, now hers.

I packed
clothes that do not crease (made for travel).
I will visit a friend.
and empty my suitcase,
so carefully packed.
She will hold my hand in hers.
We will talk fast and soft, late into the night.
I will take out the words I need,
unpack them, again and again.

~ Maire Fisher

Struggle

Things and
Midnight
hidden in cupboards
the moon wears a ring of rain

Glorious poison of
evening roads
Hesitation always goes
to the crossing
where a girl yearns
for a rare friend.
Struggles.

~ Vinita Agrawal

Only Way

Haze soars up
Winter mountains
Unfettered

Warm doors
soft, fragrant
us

Never easy
to cut her dark lies.

About - Only Way.

~ Vinita Agrawal

~ Nella Freund

~ Anne Woodborne

Passion inside selves soon went,
clouded wet by natural yearning,
so great, for sacred spirit.
Promise me melody; a story, letter,
lest we notice.

~ Anne Woodborne

stole the time to find the site, and on it found my voice
i screamed out loud and no one heard
they all have ear plugs in ...
just beyond the edge of the woods...
where cellos sing to swans in silence

what does a roast goose taste like?

~ Karina de Robillard

1.
Our song sudden,
please let my
small whisper never be stolen.
A letter asks why
now? Many women say
the unknown is the certain way.

2.
Many a woman whispers
why? Never certain the way,
please ask now. Let my
small stolen letter say
sudden, our
unknown song.