Not a Dancer
Time tapped my shoulder. "No, thank you", I said "I'm not a dancer." But it took the lead anyway Dragging me into a waltz With my memories In the twirling swirl Of mind, body, and shadow As the evening sun went down I remember
Carl Harvey
Poem
Screenings
The truth is We are screened in By screens From all sides One side watches While the other Is asked to lose their selves Like when before Our corrections We are told To put in the bin Our dangerous truth Along with Our dangerous Belts and wristwatches From the other
Poem
Falling
Rain falls causing all in its wake to slumber. And as they close their eyes Mountains fall into hills. Sleeping, dreaming. And as they dream, They cry. A river Sprouts from higher ground And it, too, falls As all things do. Apart, away, across, always Down slopes That were once
Poem
Force of Nature
I am waking. The pounding wet patter Upon my blind windows Pushes me from sleep Into life once more. You are the driving rain And I am at your mercy. I am flying. Grasped by the howling gale My old discarded selves Scatter, are thrown about Given flight once more.
Poem
True North
True North is that-a-way buddy. The rising sun's lies got us here. Forget those early morning Gas station revelations. "The cup has to be empty Before it can be filled." True North is wherever The compass turns its back on us Like Franklin's frozen
Poem
On The Rocks
This far out On the rocks We exercise A dalliance in exile Taking time Just to take time Like I didn't do When I was just A young punk In the city Broken glass cuts you But out here On the rocks It's like silk Ethereal
Poem
Mumford Terminal, 7am
Half asleep, I glance around Gently, because it's early. Trying not to catch the eyes Of the also sleepy strangers But what if... The border of my vision Meets the margins of yours To see yesterdays problems Hanging on by our eyebrows Which we can't just
Poem
Beauty
A young poet Lives An imagined future Of perfect words And perfect loves And even their pain is idealized Flawless exhaustion Brittle and crystallized In the palm of their hand Imagine then Their disappointment To discover the aches In their limbs Their mind And their heart Were not exquisite Leaving
Poem
We've Always Lived There
They say it's there still We hear its faint whisper And spend our years In solemn search Collecting secrets As if we could use them To find our way back Through the hidden valleys And unmarked paths Adding day by day To our hopeful burden Until we'
Poem
Strange Days
Yesterday is here Like an old memory Frayed edges And faded words I can’t quite recall Though I can see it Everywhere I look And hear it Spoken In today's language But the shapes and words Are mournful echoes Of yesterday Where is today? Does it live
Poem
The Spill
I’ll remind you That I don’t know much But I do know About being afraid Because I’ve been afraid For a very long time It's a feeling we share I can tell Because I can see it Spilling out The corners of your eyes When
Poem
Maps
It was only a touch But it linked us Like the one point On a scrawled map Between the scribbles Of our sprawling lives Two tangled tumbleweeds Of smudged lines And empty spaces It was only a word But its meaning Became our meaning The roads we walked And oceans