ART MUSIC POETRY The Poetry of Michael Langston THE COLLECTED POEMS: (1) Epigram for the Battlefield (2) Day to Night (3) On the Death of My Grandfather (4) Variance (5) Morning Comes (6) Passing Outdoors on a Summer Night (7) Existence (8) A Variation on a Theme by Moses (9) Lone Stanza to Nature (10) Somnolence (11) A Wish (12) A Minor Prelude (13) On Awakening One Morning (14) Forever Contained (15) Adam's First Words (16) Road to Nowhere (17) Our Past (18) Reply to a Curse (19) Love and Shyness (20) Love Comes (21) And Then (22) There More Real (23) Where Once You Were (24) Summer Night (25) Transience (26) Sometimes When You Look in His Eyes (27) Since You Are Gone (28) Said of Love (29) Epitaph (30) I Suppose They Weren't Really Lies (31) Self Portrait (32) A Longing (33) My Fondest Desire (34) Nights with You (35) A Pleasure (36) Divorce Poem (37) Spring Dance (38) How Do I Know? (39) My Beloved One (40) Good-bye Poem (41) My Remembrance of Thee (42) Together (43) In All the World (44) This Day (45) Perchance We've Met (46) A Broken Date (47) In Future Tense (48) My Heart's Condition (49) After the Fall (50) These Three Things (51) To Begin Again (52) Still (53) No Words Can Come (54) What Goes Around Comes Around (55) Love's Paradox (56) Metamorphosis (57) Wasted (58) To My Unseen Love (59) Bach's Music (60) Our Forgotten Love (61) The Decadence of Modern Art (62) My Secret Love (63) To Sara (64) To the Pseudo-Christians (65) Directionless (66) I Would Board the Titanic (67) From My Dream of You (68) My Wish Tonight (69) My Desire for You (70) Your Dear, Sweet Letters (71) My Consolation (72) Obscurity (73) Frustration Superhighway (74) Marooned (75) The Night Before Christmas (76) Never Far (77) Only You (78) No One More Real (79) The Wind Speaks Your Name (80) In My Beloved (81) Let Me Stay (82) Long Ago I Saw the Sea (83) Ever Farther (84) You Are the Best (85) Near to You (86) You Have Touched Me (87) Heaven (88) The Beauty of Your Hair (89) Three Little Words (90) With You (91) White Clouds (92) Lost to Me (93) A Really Good Friend (94) Thinking of You (95) If I Could Choose (96) Too Little Too Late (1) EPIGRAM FOR THE BATTLEFIELD About the men who here lie dead, Their raging, warring battle through, One sure thing can there be said: They'd better things to do. (2) DAY TO NIGHT Light recedes behind tall trees; The evening sun is set. Daytime sight and color flees; The night will soon be met. The sky receives the night's soft breeze; Its veil of blue is lifted, Revealing skies that set minds free. A veil again is lifted. Sense now spans the distant stars; The day has passed to night. The world leaps out from short to far As if by gaining sight. Sounds abound in dark and grey; The quiet of day is broken, Revealing thoughts no words convey: Forever kept unspoken. (3) ON THE DEATH OF MY GRANDFATHER The setting sun tomorrow rises; The summer's green each year renews. While some things change to different guises, Nothing in nature we chance to lose: The moon each month in thirty days Returns to its each separate phase; Water lost falls back as rain, And grass if cut grows high again. Such things as these did nowhere meet An end for us to see; The stars, the same, alike repeat: What is...can't cease to be. And if some things appear to die, Their different guise escapes the eye; Each thing thought gone, not noticed, stays As does the moon...in darkest phase. (4) VARIANCE The flatness of water suggests itself all over: In rivers, in puddles, in lakes, in seas... All over...over and over. And the world is at variance with the flatness, All around...around the water: In hills, in slopes, in fields, in trees That surround...surround the water. (The thinness of air is different from both.) The blue noonday sky projects itself downward With the greenery of summer at variance with its blueness. The movement of insects disturbs the still twilight. The dance of the fireflies is revealed in the moonlight By the darkness of night at variance with their radiance. Above, the stars vary with the black silence. (5) MORNING COMES Out of darkness into light, On to daylight from the night, Passing by where shadows stay, Nothing stands but in its way. Shadows fade and softly go; Morning comes...and slowly grows. (6) PASSING OUTDOORS ON A SUMMER NIGHT Passing outdoors on a summer night, Past the unnatural world of man's creation, Entering the company of nature's various forms Has with it, always, a sense of placid contentment. Quietly sitting, I hear the lessons of silence; Around and before me, the teachings of darkness: Away from striving, merely being; Away from thinking, only knowing A sense of perfect enlightenment... Not to be found elsewhere but in nature. (7) EXISTENCE The wind blows... and everyone knows the air is there. (8) A VARIATION ON A THEME BY MOSES In the end, Man destroyed himself and the earth. 2 And the earth was empty, and without life; and stillness was upon the face of the dust. And the spirit of Death moved upon the face of all the world. 3 And Man said, Let there be life: but there was no life. And the evening and the morning were the last day. 4 And it happened that when Man had at last subdued the earth, and had brought down his dominion unto every living creature, there came a time when each perished; even unto the last of them: 5 Great whales, and every creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly; grass, and herb yielding seed, and tree yielding fruit; fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven; the beast of the earth, and cattle; and every thing that creepeth upon the earth: 6 Till the last had passed, and all were gone, that only men and the rocks of the ground should be left. 7 And Man watched and comprehended not. 8 And Man said, Let us make earth in OUR image, after OUR likeness: and let us have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 9 So Man created earth in his own image, in the image of Man created he it; towns and cities created he them, and all things that hath not life: and every nonliving thing that moveth upon the earth. 10 But every LIVING thing was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth. 11 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, and every man: 12 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the whole land, died. And nothing remained alive: all they that were on the earth. (9) LONE STANZA TO NATURE All around, though seldom found, This natural world resides; And when at last by chance it's found, All our cares subside. (10) SOMNOLENCE The clock ticks. The light shines. A door slams. The wind whines. The hours pass. The day goes... It's bedtime now; Take off your clothes. Let darkness come And sleep descend. Dream of flowers, Rain, and wind, Of ages gone, Of times to come, What never was... What won't become. Lie in still and silent form; Let outward darkness be. Become the flowers of your mind Within the black infinity. Create the sun, the moon, the sky! And inward color be. Flowers growing, there to find, In the darkness see. (11) A WISH I wish I were a child again, Could pass the way from now to then. I'd view the world as it was before, As it ought to be, as it is no more; And all of time could pass me by And leave me there...and go and die. (12) A MINOR PRELUDE To a fish... a lake is an island. To a fish... the land is the sea. (13) ON AWAKENING ONE MORNING I think I could lie and sleep forever, Forsake the world and its light of day, And enter upon the darkness of an eternal night; Let the sounds of wakefulness at last disappear Till only silence remains; And consciousness gone and thought passed away, Fall into the abyss of a deepening sleep... Until sleep becomes as death; Existence extinguished, all life put out, Become the nothingness from which all things arose And to which everything must pass: To awake no more to see The glaring light of another day. (14) FOREVER CONTAINED My mind is a prison... where my spirit lies confined. It seeks escape... but is forever contained; It looks for rest... and finds none; It seeks to know... but is kept from knowing; It longs for peace... but none comes: there in darkness, apart from love, held by chains it cannot break. (15) ADAM'S FIRST WORDS I am. I hear. I see! I touch. I feel. I be... (16) ROAD TO NOWHERE With all my love going one way and with nothing coming back, this one way hopeless highway leads to nowhere; your love I lack. With all my letters going one way and almost nothing written back, this one way road to nowhere... leads to nothing; I'm turning back. (17) OUR PAST the thing most irrevocably lost; what dies... leaving only memory in its place, which itself then quickly fades... and in the end leaves nothing (18) REPLY TO A CURSE One who is borne On angel's wings, Who can ascend at will To such heavenly heights Need not fear Such ghastly demons Confined in the depths To perpetual night. (19) LOVE AND SHYNESS They'd now and then exchange a glance; And when their eyes did meet by chance, He'd turn and look the other way, Not knowing what to do or say. And she would do the same thing too As if to say, I don't want you, Would look away...but only too Not knowing what to say or do. (20) LOVE COMES The light shines... and imparts reality to all things; The sun rises... and out of its brightness the world is born. Love comes... and into darkness new light it brings; You came to me... and from our love my life is formed. (21) AND THEN You gave my life to me By loving me And then... Took it away again By leaving me. I gave myself to you For whatever you might do, Leave or stay. To keep or throw away, I'm yours. (22) THERE MORE REAL You are gone... and exist for me as only memory. I am here... but back there too still there with you, and there more real than here, I feel, for there I live while here I'm dead: buried in loneliness; to back there led. (23) WHERE ONCE YOU WERE Empty space fills the place where once you were. Beside me there: the empty air, where once you were. The space and air, your face and hair, are with me there where once you were, and for your touch I loved so much: a soft and gentle breeze. (24) SUMMER NIGHT A warm and windswept summer night Fills the world with its pale, dim light; The branching trees surrounding I Eclipse dark portions of the sky; Their dancing shapes upon the eye Sway and sigh. While in my mind the past I see In stilled and silent memory: A fallen snow, the barren trees, This place the way it used to be. All dull and indistinct are they; The color of the snow is grey, Now having less a presence there Than given to the summer air. Yes, dull and indistinct they are, Absent and removed so far: The fallen snow, the barren tree, And love's cold and distant unreality. (25) TRANSIENCE A car approaches along the darkened road, Its headlights beaming, Giving a transient lighted existence To the trees that inhabit the yard. It passes, And faraway seeming, Leaves them again to darkness And dreaming. (26) SOMETIMES WHEN YOU LOOK IN HIS EYES Sometimes when you look in his eyes And say, I love you, Sometimes then remember too That other person you once said it to, Who... Far away and forgotten, Somewhere now sits and cries And has no other eyes But the stars to look into... Holding close in his mind, There forever, and for all of time: The memory of you. (27) SINCE YOU ARE GONE My love for you is a thing that lives on As surely as do I, Holds to life, wants to live, And doesn't want to die. Inside me there its life I spare; It binds itself to me With so close a tie that this love and I: One and the same are we. You are gone, and my love living on Yet binds itself to me, And with so close a tie that both it And I... Die together you see. (28) SAID OF LOVE Standing alone... under the dome of night, gazing aloft... into the immensity of space, looking far away... into the stars above says of loneliness, says of distance what once your face and eyes so near said of closeness, said...of love. (29) EPITAPH Where the sun goes at nighttime, And the snow stays in summer, Gone there for ALL time, There SHE stays...forever. (30) I SUPPOSE THEY WEREN'T REALLY LIES I know you weren't really lying When you said those things to me: "I'm not giving you up for nothing." "You mean more to me than anything." At the time you said them, They were true: "I love you so much." "I love you." "You're so precious." "You're my world." "What would I ever do...without you?" But your feelings changed (so you went away), And you did what you thought you had to do. You couldn't help it. I understand... "You have a future with me if you only knew it." "Someday I want to have your kid." "We're the same as married." "I'm hanging on to HIM." "God, I love you!" (31) SELF PORTRAIT anger, impatience, resentment, and hate: my perfect description (afraid it's too late?) patience and virtue, understanding and love: my doctor's prescription (the Doctor above) (32) A LONGING How I long... For something to give my life an importance, To escape the boredom of everyday existence And find at last our life's true meaning: To bring to light an unknown truth Lain in darkness all ages past, To sail a vast, uncharted sea And reach the shores... Of an undiscovered world. (33) MY FONDEST DESIRE I'd like to drive with you tonight To some faraway place And sit and talk and hold you And listen to music the whole night through... Till the day-birds begin their singing, And till the long and dark and lonely night Fades in the light of our love's new dawn. (34) NIGHTS WITH YOU Your warm brown eyes, Both dark and bright, Turn cold, dark night To warmth and light. Your gentle touch, Though soft and light, Can change the world... Can give new life. (35) A PLEASURE betwixt our sheets, under our covers: our little bare feets... how great we are lovers! (36) DIVORCE POEM I don't love you less Since you're not here anymore; I don't love you less Than I once did before; I don't love you less Since you walked out that door. Keep our love alive In your heart as before; Keep our love alive... And feel angry no more. (37) SPRING DANCE Though in the crowd, I am alone With no one there to call my own; I walk amidst the people there, But there is no one there to care. Their eyes look blindly straight through me, Like a ghostly shape they cannot see, As though no one were really there, As though I were the empty air. I stand and think of times gone by Before we said our last good-bye When love was mine and you were there, Your smile, your eyes, your long blonde hair. I turn and walk into the night And leave this place of sound and light, But no one knows that I have gone, And no one cares... I am alone. (38) HOW DO I KNOW THAT YOU LOVE ME? I read it... in the letters that you write me, I hear it... from your lips when you tell me, I can see it... in your eyes when you behold me, And I feel it... in your touch as you hold me. (39) MY BELOVED ONE I saw her from afar one day, Beautiful and radiant in the glowing sun. Unseen I ran along my way, Unknown to my beloved one. The sun shone bright upon her hair, Upon her flowing silken dress And touched her face, a face so fair, With a soft and warm caress. Unheard I whispered, went round a bend, And left behind where I had run The words, I love you, in the wind, Unheard by my beloved one. (40) TO LAURA: GOOD-BYE POEM It's Sunday morning, I am home alone, The sun is shining brightly Through my living room window, My telephone sits silently On the table beside me, And sadly I realize: You are gone; You have turned away from me. It's alright though; I understand... You deserve to have The very best That life has to offer: To love and be loved. And as long as I exist, As long as breath Escapes my lips, There will always be someone... Someone in this world Who loves you. Though I must keep myself At a distance, Know that my love for you Remains undiminished, That I will hold your memory close... Close inside my heart Where it will always be a part... A part of me forever. Good-bye, my love, Though I wish With all my heart That it didn't have to be. (41) TO CHRISTINA: MY REMEMBRANCE OF THEE When life's many sorrows All press around me Like the icy winter winds Of a bleak December night, Such times I take refuge In my remembrance of thee... And warm my cold hands By the soft-glowing firelight. (42) TOGETHER Our love would end our sadness; Its joy would ease our pain As dawn is born in darkness, As sunlight shines in rain. (43) IN ALL THE WORLD There is no place I'd rather be Than by your side, just you and me, No other hands I'd rather touch... No one else I love so much. And as we dance across the floor, How could I ever ask for more? No other face in front of me Could make me feel this way, you see. No other eyes to gaze into Could look at me the way yours do. No other smile, no other hair, None other thing found anywhere Could match the joy of being there. In all the world this much is true: That no one else exists like you; Nowhere to look, no place to go To find another you, I know. (44) THIS DAY She seemed to care, to want to stay; I had no doubts nor fears That love would ever go astray, That she would not be near. I watched her turn and walk away, And through a blur of tears, I wait for time to turn this day To weeks, to months, to years. (45) PERCHANCE WE'VE MET Do you dream of an apartment Overlooking a great city at night With many, many tall buildings All adorned with myriad lights? Do you dream of a loving visitor Arriving stealthily on the balcony Bringing a copy of Dickens And reading to you eloquently? Perhaps then I've met you Because, it seems, On many separate occasions I've dreamed that same dream. (46) A BROKEN DATE Speaks to me most eloquently Of what you yourself can't say And tells me all I need to hear In a clear and silent way: That you no longer care for me, That starting from this day, All my dreams are shattered things, All hope is flown away. (47) IN FUTURE TENSE A dusty stack of love poems stands; I never thought that girl Would merely be the grain of sand Round which is formed the pearl. (48) MY HEART'S CONDITION From love's once sweetest dwelling place, Strange new odors emanate... Up my nostrils and in my face: The stench of rotting, putrid hate! (49) AFTER THE FALL I pray that I be healed... and be made whole again, that I regain... my inner strength again, find someone else... to fill my heart again, let go of hate... and know of love again. (50) THESE THREE THINGS Three things in all the world, I know, Are only loved by me: An old piano's untouched keys Laid out in symmetry, A lonely, open skating floor Where no one wants to be, The blank and lowly empty page From which springs poetry. (51) TO BEGIN AGAIN To be able... To begin my life all over again, To have all of the youth That I've lost restored to me, To have the wisdom this time Not to make the same mistakes, And to know, when I finally reach The same point once again, That this time I've truly lived And loved and enjoyed my life, And not simply wasted it... As I did the first time around. (52) STILL I saw her once again last night, More beautiful than ever in the pale moonlight. She once had meant the world to me; With no one else I'd wished to be. The moonbeams sparkled in her eyes On teardrops she could not disguise And softly lent unto her face The dearest look of perfect grace. We sat alone and talked awhile Of many things, but all meanwhile, Inside my heart, with ONE thing filled, Echoed the words, I love you still. (53) NO WORDS CAN COME I'd like to plainly state in verse How one cursed night could be no worse, But from the depths of my despair... No words can come from out of there. (54) WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND I would not want to be Standing in your shoes When what you did to me Comes back on you. The tears that fell When me you used Will flow again... Through your eyes too. And all the sorrow And all the pain That fell down on me Will gather up again And fall down from heaven In a pouring rain... You can't change this weather! It's by God ordained. (55) LOVE'S PARADOX Tell me how... that one lone thing can bring such joy... then bring such pain. How can its teardrops be both two things: both tears of joy and tears...of pain? (56) METAMORPHOSIS Long ago in a forgotten land, There stretched a beach of whitened sand Where oft a maiden, young and free, Would slowly walk beside the sea. The sea breeze streamed through her long hair, But no one else was with her there Save sea gulls ranged in perfect flight In sunset's fading, ruddy light. The mellowed sunlight lit her skin And warmed her to her heart within Till in the sea, the sun went down As sea waves made their crashing sound. As night approached and she walked back, She dreamed of what she'd always lacked: Beneath the shining stars above, She dreamed of someone she could love. Now underneath those very stars, Upon a rock that stood not far, There sat a man in this dark place Who wore a frock to hide his face. His face was marred; his heart was pure; Much sorrow had he thus endured, And only one thing he had known: A life of wandering alone. He'd watched the maiden in her walk; To such as her, he dared not talk; He couldn't tell her what he felt: That she had caused his heart to melt. Atop the moonlit precipice, He breathed a sigh and made a wish... Not for himself as others do: He wished that all her dreams come true. When morning came and he awaked, A sight caused his whole form to shake: From out his clear-blue washing place, Stared back a perfect, godlike face! Now in that far-off, long-lost land, Two lovers stroll the glistening sands... Clasped together, hand in hand, Beneath the place a bare rock stands. (57) WASTED I fear the ravages of time Upon the youth that once was mine, The growing lines across my face, The failing strength I can't replace; But most I fear that I shall be, Through all of time's eternity, A heap of bones lain in the ground Where grubs and earthworms crawl around, Whose sojourn in the world above Was wasted...never finding love. (58) TO MY UNSEEN LOVE [Introduction] What some have called their soul mate or their other half, I have called my Unseen Love. When I was once young and full of great dreams, my Unseen Love would come to me in my imagination, where we'd sit and hold hands in the warm, moonlit night, beholding the stars and feeling the night's soft breeze. I knew her quite well, even though she existed only in my dreams, and all that was really there beside me was the night's sweet air. My soul had greater depth in those days of my youth; I aspired to lofty ideals and dreamed dreams that only myself and my Unseen Love could appreciate and share. My connection to the rest of the world and its people was, in comparison, quite shallow and superficial. No one else seemed to see and appreciate what I and my Unseen Love shared together: our passion for discovery and learning, our yearning for truth, our love of the beauties of nature, and our appreciation of the truly exalted and magical things in life that everyone else seemed to miss. We loved great works of art, classical music, and poetry, and, most especially, we loved the music of Bach. The joys of these things made our eyes mist with tears, but the greatest joy, by far, was the joy of our love. Though split apart from me and existing in some unknown place in time and space, I nevertheless felt very close to her. I knew that somewhere she really existed. Her thoughts were my thoughts, and no amount of time and space could prevent our meeting in both our imaginations and longing for each other's presence in the world of reality. To have my Unseen Love actually present in the real-life world, to share the same tiny corner of time and space, and to have that vast unfathomable distance that keeps us apart turned into just a few short inches of moonlit air would be an ecstatic joy that my soul could scarcely comprehend, not even imagine. So I wrote her a poem which I called "To My Unseen Love," a poem that I hope will outlive its author. And maybe somewhere in a future time or in a different place my Unseen Love will happen upon it, and having a mind and soul attuned to my spirit, and thinking thoughts that are the same as mine, she will recognize me from her own imagination. For being split apart from me before birth, she is longing for me as well. I no longer dream of finding her as I once did. Most of my dreams have crumbled to dust. But in all my life, this was surely my life's greatest dream: being reunited, with my Unseen Love. What would I say to her if she were standing before me? What words could I say to express how I feel? Perhaps words such as these from Elise's soliloquy in Somewhere in Time: "The woman of my dreams has almost faded now. The one I have created in my mind. The sort of woman each man dreams of in the deepest and most secret reaches of his heart. I can almost see her now before me. What would I say to her, if she were really here? Forgive me, I have never known this feeling. I've lived without it all my life. Is it any wonder, then, that I failed to recognize you? You, who brought it to me for the first time. Is there any way I can tell you how my life has changed? Any way at all to let you know what sweetness you have given me? There is so much to say. I cannot find the words. Except for these: I love you! Such would I say to her, if she were really here." (58) TO MY UNSEEN LOVE I've never looked upon your face; I do not know your name; And in some unseen distant place, I know you will remain Forever kept apart from me Across both space and time; I hope someday these words you'll see, By chance that you will find Within this old and worn-out book The fact so plain and true: That all my life in vain I looked... In vain I searched for you. I'd sit beneath the moonlit skies In summer's warm night air And dream of looking in your eyes, Of you beside me there; And as I walked, in fantasy I gently held your hand, But in the moonlight next to me: No one there did stand; And if I could, I would have flown Across all time and space And left behind my world I'd known... And you, my love, embrace. (59) BACH'S MUSIC an open window through which I sometimes see a fleeting glimpse... of heaven and eternity (60) OUR FORGOTTEN LOVE thrown away, cast aside, of no further use... a crumpled, empty old tin can... worthless refuse... (61) THE DECADENCE OF MODERN ART the child smears sloppily... with his crayons as the cat steps stealthily... across the keyboard (62) MY SECRET LOVE Across the floor, not far from me, Within this dreary factory, My secret love sits busily Amidst the noise and drudgery. So beautiful, so young and fair, To her, none other can compare; And trying vainly not to stare, I watch the back of her long blonde hair: In all my life I've never seen, In all the world there's never been A sight more lovely than this scene: This long blonde hair of golden sheen. Passing time will soon erase, An empty chair will soon replace All this wealth of untold grace She brings into this joyless place. If broken dreams could be made new, If secret wishes could all come true, Then I would ask for only two: To touch her hair...and hold her too. (63) TO SARA (In Remembrance of Sara Teasdale) Though the flame be forgotten That once burned warm and bright In the cold, midnight stillness Of that long-lost winter night, Though the gray, crumbled ashes Strewn out across that snow Were swept away forever... To where only the wind shall know, Though the flower be forgotten That once adorned that spring, Her thoughts will live forever; Her angel's voice still sings. (64) TO THE PSEUDO-CHRISTIANS You are like a prospector who, searching long and hard, finds what he believes is a priceless gold nugget. But what he has found, upon closer examination, turns out not to be gold at all, but is instead fool's gold. 2 You are as a man who, dissatisfied with what he owns, sells all his worldly goods for what he believes is a handsome price. But only later, when it is then too late, does he discover that the money he has received is not genuine, but is in fact counterfeit. 3 You are like a traveler who, on his way to the Celestial City, looks for a place to rest from his journey and stops for the night at a wayside inn. But when he is there, he is deceived by the innkeeper into believing that he has reached his destination. And preferring the comfort of the inn to the hardship of the journey, he thus does not continue that journey, and so never reaches the Celestial City. 4 You are as a woman who, without having access to any firsthand knowledge, receives all her information at the end of a long line of gossip. But that information, in passing from one person to another, so becomes distorted. And upon reaching the end such person, it thus is without its original truth. 5 You are as a child who, standing at the window, perceives a tiny insect crawling across the face of the glass. But watching it intently and with his eyes focused sharply upon it, he thus does not see what lies outside that window. 6 You are as a man who, sitting down to dinner, is served what he thinks is a wholesome and savory stew. But along with the potatoes and carrots and gravy, what looks like the beef isn't really beef at all, but is in reality horse manure. 7 You are like an old man who, after an attack of appendicitis, is straightway taken to the nearest hospital. But rather than surgery to take out the appendix, he is given a drug to take away the pain. 8 You are as a man holding a red-hot poker in one hand and taking an aspirin with the other. 9 You are as sheep mistaking a WOLF for the shepherd. (65) DIRECTIONLESS The road that I have traveled, Though once a busy highway, Changed from paved to graveled And is now not even a pathway. No fellow travelers can here be found, Through this pathless forest onward, There is no hope of turning around, And there is no going forward. There is only aimless wandering here Within this endless, pathless forest, Murky darkness with nothing clear, Apart from all the farthest. (66) I WOULD BOARD THE TITANIC I would have gladly died in that cold, icy water for the sake of once knowing a great love such as that. I would quite happily be buried and be love's willing martyr just to have looked in those eyes and in that place once have sat. I'd feel that freezing coldness and be interred in miles of sea to just once escape the aloneness of a world where there is... only...me. (67) FROM MY DREAM OF YOU Though lost to me so long ago That tears for you no longer flow, You came to me in a dream last night, Arrayed in wondrous, angelic light. You sat with me and held my hand; I turned to you and then began To tell you all that's in my heart, Of all the time we've been apart. You are here; you are here again! How can I tell you or even begin To convey my joy that you are here Or restrain the flow of joyous tears? I don't want to wake or wish to leave! Let me stay with you so I'll not grieve. I'll forsake the glaring light of day And not wake up; with you I'll stay. But as Eden fell from Adam's grasp, I opened up my eyes at last... And once again like long before, The tears began to flow once more, For yet again you're lost to me! But in my dreams perchance you'll be. (68) MY WISH TONIGHT I wish so much... That you were here with me tonight, Actually here in my house, With me at this moment. I wish I could get up from this chair And walk into the bedroom And find you there in my bed... With your outstretched arms Inviting me to join you. I wish I could feel... The warmth from your body On my sheets and my pillow Instead of the coldness that awaits me Under those sad, empty covers. I wish I could melt into your warm arms And merge and become one with you, Knowing at last... That I've found the lost other half of me. (69) MY DESIRE FOR YOU I want to feel your soft hands All over my body... Like the warm touch of sunlight On a tropical shore. I want to touch your smooth skin And caress you all over Like the cool rain of August, Like a summer downpour. (70) YOUR DEAR, SWEET LETTERS moonbeams... kissing the rippling waves of a warm nocturnal sea as expressed in the poem by Shelley called LOVE'S PHILOSOPHY sweet melodic music... setting my soul and spirit free: the notes of Beethoven's MOONLIGHT SONATA like waves flowing over me (71) MY CONSOLATION Light is light... Because of darkness; The day is day... Because there's night. Only those... Who've known of loneliness, For only those... Can love shine bright. (72) TO JUDI: OBSCURITY She sang her song of life and love Though few were there to hear. Known to but the stars above, She cried her unseen tears. A distant bird now sings instead; Her life has ceased to be. A cloud now cries her tears, it's said; Its raindrops kiss the sea. (73) FRUSTRATION SUPERHIGHWAY I've sadly become a groveling dog... self-chained to my computer, hungrily devouring mere morsels and scraps from life's lavish table: leftover words tossed out in cold, scanty emails, an unsavory diet of bone-hard text. I long to again be a man with a real-life existence, to hear the sweet sound... of a soft voice once more, to behold the dear sight... of a fair face like before, to again feel the touch... of a warm, caring hand. So forgive me if I fail to respond to an email; excuse me if I choose not to post a new web page; my heart's no longer in this thankless endeavor. I prefer to have friends that I can hear, see, and feel. I prefer to have friends who are substantive and real. (74) MAROONED We must embark on a voyage From the land of our youth For no one who's there can stay. We must leave that fair place And our young lives so erase; We're sojourners there for a day. So while you're in that lush land, Fall in love while you can For I give you this warning in truth: The isle of old age... The journey's sad, final stage Is no place to be alone And marooned. (75) THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (The Most Erotic of Dreams) It was the night before Christmas When all through my house, Not a creature was stirring, Not even a spouse. No stockings were hung By the chimney that year In hopes that St. Nicholas Might somehow appear, No mamma in her kerchief, Just I in my cap Had retired to my lodging For a long, lonesome nap, When out in the kitchen There arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed To see what was the matter. I snatched up my Levis From off of the floor And hastily darted Through the dark bedroom door. Away to the kitchen I flew like a flash, Charged in through the doorway, And licked my mustache. I must have been granted My fondest of wishes: In the dark a Greek goddess Stood washing my dishes. She was draped all in satin From her head to her toe, As untarnished and white As the new-fallen snow, That yet in the darkness Shined ever so bright, Bringing with it its own Source of heavenly light. Long flowing tresses She had flung on her back That in the folds of her raiment Did silkily track, That yet in the coldness Of the dark wintry room, Imparted the warmth Of spring flowers in bloom. All beauty from heaven To her was bequeathed, And perfection encircled Her head like a wreath. Her eyes, filled with moonbeams, How they twinkled and shined! Her cheeks were like roses That her curls had entwined. The light on her breasts From the new-fallen snow Gave the luster of midday To objects I'd know. New stockings were hung On her ankles with care In hopes her Prince Charming Soon would be there. In that cold darkness There danced such a vision. It didn't take me long To make a decision. Her stockings I'd inch down Her ankles with care. With a sleigh full of toys, St. Nicholas had been there. He surely had granted My fondest of wishes. I was beholding a GODDESS While she clattered my dishes. "I'll stoop down to her ankle, As I merrily whistle, And work my way up Like the down of a thistle. "As she bends at the sink-top, In a twinkling haste, I'll clasp my strong arms Around her gloriously robed waist. "Eyes of green emerald, Skin soft and white, Oh what did I do To deserve such delight?" As I drew in my hand, As she was turning around, The clattering pie plates Ceased making their sound. But a glint in her eye And a tilt of her head Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread. This life-giving goddess Would soon warm my cold bed And give me to know That I wasn't yet dead. We spoke not a word, But went straight to our work Of giving warmth to the coldness And bringing light to the murk. She then turned to face me, Our arms intertwined, And as our hair intermingled, Her lips then met mine. Our flesh then erupted With volcanic desire. The warmth from her body Ignited my fire. The blazing inferno Burned through her as well. I felt her sweet passion Grasp tighter than hell. I could bear it no longer, And neither could she. I then quickly pondered What my next move would be. "Since I do not like football, And she's not into RAP, I'll suggest that we settle For a long winter's nap." She must have been psychic For before it was said, We started our trek To the bedroom (she led). More rapid than eagles, To the bedroom we came, With I in my Levis Still looking the same, But as we swift coursers Crashed through heaven's door, A funny thing happened To the white robe that she wore: It must have been magic, For right there in my face, A black satin nightgown Had taken its place. At my bedside I tarried To light a small candle To more clearly discern What delights I might handle. In the warm flickering glowing Of the candle's dim light, I could see her more clearly Than in moonlight I might. The sweet scene that befell me In this chamber of love Could only have fallen From high HEAVEN above! Words cannot possibly Even BEGIN to describe Beauty incarnate And perfection ALIVE! What once had been only The vaguest of dreams, Sad Longing's most hopeless And hapless of schemes, What once had been shrouded And buried in mist Was fleshed out before me ALIVE to be kissed. Like Pygmalion's statue: An IDEAL come to life! No earthly pretenders To a HEAVENLY wife. As her white robe had once beamed With the August sun's light, For a gown she was wearing The warm summer's night. Like a willow's drooped branches Amid night's starlit charms, Her dark, lovely tresses Draped down on bare arms. The bare tops of her breasts That her gown had not covered Were like ivory half-moons That had risen and hovered. Her eyes shined and sparkled Like twin evening stars, And on her black gown for sequins Hung Jupiter and Mars. This vision from heaven Brought tears to my eyes. My heaven-sent goddess Was DRESSED in night skies! More wondrously stunning Than I ever saw. I knelt down at her feet In mute reverence and awe. "I'll kneel down at her ankles And slip her out of the stockings As desire gathers around me Like birds that are flocking. "I'll inch down her stockings Off her ankles with care And invite her to bed Once her feet are both bare." When that I accomplished, I got in bed once again. I asked her to join me, And she jumped right on in. Like children we nestled All snug in our bed While visions of sugar-plums Danced in my head. Her stockings were off, And her ankles were bare, So I said to myself, "I think I'll start there. "I'll start with her ankle, Moving ever so slightly, And work my way up To the hem of her nighty. "I'll start with her ankle, Move up to her knee, And work my way up Till her thighs are both free. "And coursing up ever farther, In a twinkling haste, I'll clasp hot raring hands Around her warm silky waist." With brisk fingers like reindeer And swift hands like a sleigh, With my bundle of toys I did merrily play, When what to my wandering Hands should appear, But miniature panties (Felt by eight tiny reindeer). Under her nighty, All tiny and teeny, I could feel the faint outline Of a miniature bikini. "Sweet eyes of green emerald, Satin skin, soft and white, Oh what did I do To deserve such a night? "Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on, CUPID! On, Donner and Blitzen! "To the top of her panties! To the top of that wall! Now, dash away, dash away, Dash away all!" My Levis were bursting At all of their seams. She WAS the fulfillment Of my WILDEST of dreams. All over the bedroom On the carpet below, Our items of clothing Kept falling like snow: The castaway raiment Of two depraved strippers, Unhung Christmas stockings From which I had slipped her. In the midst of my kisses I could hear a faint groan So I listened intently To the sound of her moan: "There's no place, no place, No place I ever saw, No place on this earth Like Arkansas. "No place, no place, No place that I've been! Compared to Olympus, Arkansas wins." "But why on this earth Would she want to come here? Could it be that she loves me? I'll whisper this in her ear: "If you were a nut (I'm a terrible sinner), Then I'd be the squirrel That would crack you for dinner. "If I were your bread, It would be no surprise That YOU'D be the yeast That would make my dough rise. "If I were a bee And you were a flower, I'd be craving your nectar Every waking hour. "Let's wash all those dishes, And when we are finished, Let's hop in the shower With libidos undiminished. "If I had your psychic And magical powers, Then I'd be the water That runs in your shower. "If I could be present When you draw your bath water, Could you please cast a spell And change me into an otter? "If I were a towel, I'd be awaiting the hour When Psyche once more Steps out of the shower. "And when we're done in the bathroom, When we're finally through, It's His and Hers night shirts, One for me, one for you. "The idea of a back rub Sounds super to me. If you get under my shirt, I'll rub yours for free. "If you were a kitten (I am so mean), Then I'd be the cat That would lick your fur clean. "If you were my kitten, I would lick clean your fur And contentedly listen To the sound of your purr. "If she then gets too noisy, I know what I'll do: I'll just shut her up With a lip-lock or two. "Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on, CUPID! On, Donner and Blitzen! "Clothes strewn on the floor To the top of the wall! Now, dash away, dash away, Dash away all!" I had an idea, And was it a scream! I'd lather her neck With all-natural whipped cream. No need to add sugar, For she was NATURALLY sweet. Just the mere thought Made my heart skip a beat. While out in the kitchen (I made a reverse trek), I whipped up enough For her shoulders and neck. "I think I'll make extra, For I might just need more. I've never licked cream Off a goddess before." When I reentered the bedroom, What a radiant sight Awaited me there In the subdued window light! The light on her BARE breasts From the new-fallen snow Gave the luster of midday To those objects I'd know. Now all that she wore As she lay on my bed Was a pair of silk panties (Must have been green and red). With her head on my pillow And her soft hands on my sheets, I crept in beside her As my heart drummed fierce beats. Wearing nothing but panties And long ringlets of hair, Overlain with chilled currents Of sheer see-through air, In the red dying ember Of the candle's last light, She was wearing PERFECTION As she once wore the night. "Eyes of greenest emerald, Silken skin, all pearl white, If my heart beats much faster, It might just take flight." My jeans grew much tighter (I was wearing no shirt), So much tighter, in fact, That they started to hurt. But as if she were psychic, To my shocked disbelief, She passed me a pair Of tiger-striped briefs. "Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on, CUPID! On, Donner and Blitzen! "To break loose from these Levis, Out of bed I must crawl. Now, dash away, dash away, DASH AWAY ALL!" My heart DID beat faster. In my chest I could hear The prancing and pawing Of eight tiny reindeer. I unbuttoned my Levis, Pulled them down off my waist, And transformed into a tiger With the swiftest of haste. I leapt there beside her, Pawed my whipped cream, And licked it from off her For hours, it seemed. Her neck was inviting, Her shoulders lay bare, So I said to myself, "Why not start there? "I'll start with her shoulders, Move down to her chest, And work my way lower, All the way to her breasts. "As she lies there beside me, I'll have just a taste: I'll press my starved lips To her GLORIOUS bare waist. "And moving back upward, At her breasts I will stop, Before returning once more To sweet lips at the top." With breast to breast, With thigh to thigh, With tiger stripes to red satin, I thought I might die. My kisses rained down On her neck and her shoulders. She held me much tighter. My fingers grew bolder: All around and over And under her teeny Victoria's Secret Now soaking-wet bikini. Like leaves of autumn And snowflakes in winter, My kisses kept falling. To heaven I sent her. Like raindrops of summer And dewdrops of spring Splashing upon her! What paradise she'd bring! "The temperature's rising. Can it possibly be The end of December And a hundred and three?" The window got foggy, The sheets felt damn wet, Our bellies got slippery, It must have been sweat. With slippery slick sweat All covering her belly, I kept rolling right off her Like a bowlful of jelly. With thighs spreading wider She was hotter than hell. Something upon me Had managed to swell. I could bear it no longer. "I MUST have relief!" I rose up to pull down My tiger-striped briefs. When that I accomplished (My task half complete), I slipped her silk panties From off of her feet. I then went inside her (She guided me in). To me it did seem That to HEAVEN I'd been! "Closest eyes of greenest emerald, Silky smooth and so tight. I could live a THOUSAND lifetimes And never know such delight!" Our bodies intermingled. Our souls intertwined. I could scarcely believe it. The GODDESS was mine! I kissed her lips gently As I moved out and in, She matched every motion And lit up with a grin. In the midst of my kisses I could hear a loud groan, So I listened intently To the sound of her moan: "There's no place, no place, No place I EVER saw, No place on this planet Like Arkansas. "No place, no place, No place I've EVER been! Compared to JOVE on Olympus, Arkansas wins." That finally DID IT! When Santa Claus came, I tore open and shuddered And cried out her name: The most beautiful name That I've ever heard, The name of a goddess! Believe every word! "From faraway Olympus To right HERE in Arkansas, I'm lying here helpless And speechless in awe." We talked as I held her For what seemed like long hours As her breasts pressed upon me Like twin ivory towers. "From the depths of her body To the depths of her SOUL! On, Dasher! On, Dancer! On, Prancer! Let's roll!" She told me she'd come here On her own sweet volition. Not brought by St. Nick, She was here on a mission: For thousands of years, now, Her joys had been few. An ageless, fair goddess Can get lonely too. "But how in this world Did you find me, pray tell?" "Oh silly boy, can't you guess? I have Internet as well." "No older than twenty, This sweet girl appears, Possessing the wisdom Of ten thousands of years." All the rest of that night We made funny faces As our hair intermingled In all the right places, While there on the floor, Like two autumn leafs, Lay green and red panties And tiger-striped briefs. As I lay there all lifeless And limp in her arms, Exhausted and worn out From all of her charms, I got this idea That we just had to try: "I must have a piece Of her sugar-plum pie." So I pleadingly whispered To my all-pleasing goddess, "Before, I was HORNY, But now I'm HUNGRY, I promise. "Could you arise from our bed And join me out in our kitchen? We'll bake us a pie To put an end to my bitchin." So I leapt up and raked up From off of the floor My tiger-striped briefs And pulled them on me once more. I tossed her her panties, And then in a flurry She slipped them back on (I told her to hurry). Back out to the kitchen We flew like a flash, Opened my pantry, And raided my stash: Whole wheat flour (no sugar) And cherries and fixings. I tossed her a bowl And she started her mixing. In white dazzling radiance Like the snow in noon's light, I could now see her clearly For the first time that night. The light now embraced her As I had once done, In dazed adoration, As a kiss from the sun. It caressed her all over, From her hips to her breasts, And acknowledged PERFECTION As she passed its strict test. Those green and red panties Were all that she wore. Was I HUNGRY or HORNY? "I'm not sure anymore!" Wearing nothing myself But tiger-striped briefs, I crept up behind her (Seeking relief). As she arched at the stove-top By the paper towel rack, Her long curling tresses Spilled down her bare back. They streamed down her skin Like a meandering river, Changing its course At her tiniest quiver. Like a river of life Jetting forth from her head, Letting me know once again That I wasn't yet dead. I pressed up against her, My chest to her back. With my hands on her shoulders, I planned my attack. Her hair softly tickled The backs of my hands While my palms and my fingers Were exploring new lands. I inched my hands lower And embraced her bare waist. My fingers were searching. Her paradise they chased! Lower they ventured, And still even lower. "Not long," I then thought, "Till I will BIBLICALLY know her." Under her panties And into her soft fur, I nestled four reindeer (She let out a loud purr). They pranced and they pawed In her most HOLY of places! And with Old Donner inside her She made those strange faces. Toward that sacred, lush garden Like a dripping oasis, Crawled the sun-scorched and dying From the dry desert spaces. At that warm, steaming oven Amidst my pots and my pans, A cold pilgrim once lingered To warm his iced hands. My tiger-striped briefs Were born again as an arrow. "I must strike that sleek target So soaked and so narrow." I tugged at my waistband With the hand I had free And flew out like a flash, At a hundred and three. With a little old driver So lively and thick, I knew in a moment That this would be quick. He was rosy and plump, A right jolly old elf. (I knew that I should be Ashamed of myself.) But as leaves that before The WILD HURRICANE fly, We are driven by passion To mount to the sky! When the reindeer had landed, When I held BOTH of her breasts, I could hold out no longer In this Olympic love-fest. The night I came knocking At the goddess's back door Was a night to remember. I can tell you no more. As best I remember, That pie was not baked. More HORNY than hungry, What a mess we did make! With our bodies all tarnished With fresh whole wheat flour Like ashes and soot, It was time for that shower. So off to the bathroom We then flew like a flash, I turned on the hot water And in a mad dash, We stripped off our undies (They were still clinging on us), And in that Garden of Eden I received my next bonus: As I streaked past the mirror, I thought I could see MICHELANGELO'S DAVID Take a quick peek at me. When I mustered the courage To take a much closer look, The image, it shimmered As I stood there and shook. My shape-shifting goddess Had indeed cast her spell: Never once in my life Had I looked this damn well. Like the statue of David: An IDEAL brought to life! No earthly pretender For MY goddess-slash-wife. She was dressed in sweet NOTHING, In a raiment like Eve's, In the midst of that garden Interspersed with green leaves, She walked unashamed With no cause to conceal What God Himself fashioned With no faults to reveal. As a WORLD to herself, Her Creator had shaped her, And in beauty itself, Like the SUN, he had draped her. "On her hills, in her valleys, By her forests and shores, With her BEAUTY for sunlight, I will dwell evermore!" Her breasts were like mountains I was longing to climb! Her valleys, they beckoned Like shade at noontime! Her hair, like a forest I could LOSE myself in, Branched down her bare back Through soft clearings of skin. With mountainous breasts And whole FORESTS of curls, She was not a mere goddess. She WAS my whole world. Like Eve in the Garden With no fig leaf she stood, And wouldn't you know it: I Again turned to wood! Standing there gazing On the stark-naked goddess, I could barely endure it. I became quite immodest. As still as a picture, By the tub she did stand. There was no other motion But my swift sleight of hand. Standing naked like Adam, Before her I marveled. It was HER inspiration That had turned me to marble. For no other woman In this world I could see. Like Eve was to Adam, She was EVERYTHING to me. The light shone upon her Like the tropical sun. The temperature was rising (To a hundred and one). The warm waves in the bathtub Made a loud splashing sound. It was like sand by the ocean With all that flour strewn around. My desire came surging Like an incoming tide! She half closed her eyes And turned her head to the side. Her hair draped her shoulders In thick flowing curls. "There are no other women. There are no other girls. "In all of my life I have never once seen A PICTURE so lovely, Like out of a dream." Standing there naked So closely beside her, I could clearly envision Once being INSIDE her. It was almost as though I could feel her own grip, Grasping around me (Either that or her lips). Then into the bathtub She gracefully stepped, While carefully traipsing Behind her I crept. I sat down in the water Facing her back. My legs slipped around her (For space we did lack). She leaned back against me. My arms coursed around her. "How ecstatic it makes me To have finally found her." She was the perfect fulfillment Of my life's greatest dream. Pure joy poured upon me Like the warm faucet stream. I washed her all over. It was simply the best! She was all wet and soapy: Slippery thighs to slick breasts. As I teased her hard nipples And squeezed her wet thighs, She leaned her head nearer And looked straight in my eyes. "Sweet eyes of greenest emerald, Glossy skin, all soaped white, My God, how I hope There's no end to this night!" Her breath, it did quiver As she leaned back to kiss. That she wanted me within her Was impossible to miss. She placed my hand lower, All the way past her waist. It dived to the water With the swiftest of haste. I proceeded to rub her As she kissed my wet lips. She pressed back on me harder With her warm, sudsy hips. With a hard bar of soap Wedged tightly between us, I'd have been thoroughly embarrassed If our mothers had seen us. With our lips pressed together, With her tongue licking mine, And with Dasher inside her, Her kiss was like wine. Through her hard, pressing kiss I could hear a faint mutter, "Barely louder," I thought, "Than her heart's racing flutter." "I must have you right now. I need to feel you INSIDE me." So I turned her around So like a horse she could ride me. My legs stretched ONE way And hers stretched another. She slipped down around me And rode like no other. We sat tightly gripped In each other's embrace: Breast to breast, heart to heart, Eye to eye, face to face. She pulsed her soaked hips In a rhythmical motion. I pushed up inside her, The water like lotion. Her hips then pulsed faster And made waves in the tub As she pressed even harder So against me she'd rub. When I felt her tense shudder, I then knew it was time: Ecstatic WAVES of pure pleasure Had rewarded our crime. As she sank limp and lifeless And ceased her loud groans, I could hear her soft whisper Interspersed with faint moans: "There's no place, no place, No place that I've been! No place on OLYMPUS Like this warm tub of sin." She then asked if I'd ever Done it THIS way before: Interlocked in a bathtub With our legs getting sore. I told her I hadn't, That she was my first, The first time a BATHTUB Had so quenched my thirst. "I've changed you into an animal, A sex-crazed horned toad," Joked the wet, soap-stained goddess As tires screeched in the road. "No, I already was one. I'm no worse than I've been," I joked with my goddess, With a shy, sheepish grin. "Then you HAVE before done this? I might have known you were bad!" Cried the wet, green-eyed goddess, Getting more and more mad. Like a frog in that water That had once been a prince, I felt sharp words spear me As she grew more incensed. She sprang from the bathtub. To her white robe she did race, Then called me a liar And slammed the door in my face. And then in an instant, As a DREAM sometimes does, It all returned back To the way it once was. I turned with a jerk And looked frantically around, But my tiger-striped briefs Were nowhere to be found. Yet still, a slight trace Of my goddess DID stay, For NOTHING can take Her sweet memory away, As warm glowing embers At my hearth yet remained, Though the hot, blazing fire Had withered and waned. Clad in my bathrobe, All crying and wet, I'd not one precious moment With HER to regret. As I wiped frost from my window And tears from my eyes, I could see my beloved goddess Beneath the dark, late-night skies. By the road she was standing Where a DEER had been hit! It was lying there lifeless And not moving a bit. In the quiet, night-drenched whiteness Of the now-falling snow, I could see from my window A faint yellow glow. Her hands glowed much brighter As they touched the dead deer, And once more on my cheek I could feel a cold tear. For there in the snow Beside this glowing good witch, The broke legs of the deer Began slowly to twitch. It moved its furred body And raised its horned head. "Dear God, what strong magic! That deer had been dead!" I watched in amazement, For in the place where she stood, It leapt up from the pavement And ran off to the woods! The life-gift she'd brought To my dead, love-starved soul She also had granted To that deer in the snow. (76) NEVER FAR Though far, far away, Far away in the distance, Across a continent I've not traveled, Beside a distant sea I've not seen, You're never far from my thoughts, But always here with me, In my heart, in my soul, Never far in my dreams. When at night I awaken, Thoughts of you come rushing upon me Like the tide of that great ocean, Like the in-coming waves of that faraway sea That I've never once seen... Sparkling with moonbeams, Pounding upon the dark sands Of my lost, love-starved soul. When I awake in the morning, Thoughts of you come shining upon me Like an unseen sunrise Upon that same distant sea, Lighting its waves and warming its beaches. Like the warm morning sun Rising up from that ocean, Like a bright seaside sunrise, So your thoughts are to me. (77) ONLY YOU Though you are only one, Only one out of millions, A tiny speck in the distance Beside an unseen distant sea, Though there are others around me Who are so very much nearer, There are none more important Than you now are to me. Now blind to all others, I travel lost in a desert, Seeking the cool, clear oasis Of your soft loving hands. On the faraway horizon, Like shimmering green emerald, I can see only you Amidst the dead, sun-scorched sands. (78) NO ONE MORE REAL How do I know that you're real, you may ask? How is it I'm certain you care about me? Think of the time you'd put into the task Of typing that mail you'd write constantly. All of the time that you'd take from each day To share with me that small piece of your heart Tells me for sure, in an unclouded way, That you are for real and were from the start. When tired and sleepy and needing your rest, You'd sit and type letters to me, your pet. Of all of my reasons, this one is best. How much more sure that you're real can I get? Yes, I am certain that this much is true: There's no one on earth who's more real than you. (79) THE WIND SPEAKS YOUR NAME How is it I know that you are the one, That heaven-sent love and you are the same? I feel your touch in the warm autumn sun And hear the wind softly whisper your name. I sense your sweet presence around me like air And breath your dear spirit into my lost heart Where it has now become such a part of me there That no earthly distance can keep us apart. Every soft breeze that now brushes my face, Every warm ray that now shines from above Brings with it your loving and caring embrace And tells of your precious and undying love. The wind, the sunlight, and air all agree! There is no one on earth but you for me. (80) IN MY BELOVED I can see my God most clearly In the most glorious of his creations... I needn't look to find Him In religious congregations, But through tears of joy and reverence, As I look on my sweet lover, I see too the God who made her... And the God who made me love her. (81) LET ME STAY We kissed and parted late last night; I left and walked along my way. Beneath the cold and dim street lights I walked from where I'd wished to stay. I reached the shadowed parking lot; To my dismay my keys were gone! There's something there that I forgot. I must return; I can't go on. When I got back, her door was locked Just as I had sadly feared. But I stood and gently knocked, And in the doorway she appeared: Not clad in jeans as she'd been before, No modest, brightly lit up blouse: A silken, moonlit gown she wore, Though not intended to arouse. Nonetheless my passion grew; I took her back into my arms, And such satin smoothness then I knew! I had not the power to resist such charms. So I asked if I could stay, If she would take me to her bed, But that night I slept...ten miles away. "I can't," the angel softly said. (82) LONG AGO I SAW THE SEA Long ago I saw the sea; I walked along its sunlit shore: A distant, fading memory I hold and cherish evermore. I watched the sun go down in thee. Its golden light upon thy waves Still lights my heart and comforts me Like lamplight shone in darkest caves. But in my dream of perfect love I'm not alone; she's with me there. Beneath the wispy clouds above I hold her close and kiss her hair. I see that sunset in her eyes, Its golden light upon her face. We sit beneath the star-filled skies; Beside that sea...we long embrace. (83) EVER FARTHER Though once very close... (Drawn together as lovers, Across a continent I traveled To stand at your side On that snow-covered shore), Though once very close, You feel strangely more distant And seem to grow ever farther... In your heart and your spirit I seem to fade more and more. So many things That we try to hold on to Are like sand through our fingers: In a moment they go! It's so very sad When something so precious Is melting before us Like the late winter snow. Apart once again, In the dark I awaken From dreams of us standing Beside that cold, stormy sea, But like a ship in that harbor Sailing out ever farther Into the dim seaside sunset, So your love is to me. (84) YOU ARE THE BEST Lying alone in my bed In sleep's warm embrace, Under the soft cover of dreams, Tucked in from the real world, From cold, hard reality, I once turned my head When an angel, it seems, Appeared in its stead Fleshed out there before me. With bright loving eyes Only inches from mine, I said to her softly As I tell in this rhyme: You are the best thing That's happened to me In a very long time! You are the very best thing That's happened to me In a VERY...long...time. (85) NEAR TO YOU There's no place on earth I'd rather be, No place on earth Tonight... Than somewhere With you next to me. It feels so very right. You're in my thoughts, You're in my dreams, You're in my heart, It's true! No place on earth I'd rather be... Than near and close ...To you. (86) YOU HAVE TOUCHED ME I've never gazed upon your face Nor looked into your eyes Nor felt your loving, warm embrace While watching star-filled skies. I've never held you close to me Nor even held your hand, But you have touched my heart, you see, As sea-waves break on sand. (87) HEAVEN The silken smoothness of your skin, Your warm, sweet hands on me: Not even heaven can transcend The joy your love must be. (88) THE BEAUTY OF YOUR HAIR The beauty of your hair Surpasses the beauty Of all else in nature As the most glorious feature Of God's most glorious creation: More beautiful than the clouds, More beautiful than the sky, More beautiful than the sunset, More beautiful than the rainbow, More beautiful than the stars, More beautiful than anything! Merely to touch but one silken strand Would be to receive a newness of life As a trickle of water... To someone dying of thirst On the sun-stricken sand. I long to bury my hands in your hair Till all my fingers disappear In it there, And all my sorrow, And all my grief, And all my loneliness, And all my heartache, And all my longing, Till at last they are gone: GONE! Lost in the tresses Of your long, streaming hair. (89) THREE LITTLE WORDS These words can never hold you, Nor take you in their arms, Nor gently touch your moonlit face Amidst this night's sweet charms. But if these words were magic, If such things these words could do, I'd send these words, These words of love, To be tonight with you. (90) WITH YOU I was with you today... As the warm sunlight That touched you. That warm light On your face... Was MY sweet embrace. As the cool breeze Of this night... Streams through your hair, Just as I was light... I am the wind with you there. (91) WHITE CLOUDS The clouds... Are especially beautiful today, But not nearly as beautiful As the feelings of togetherness That float high over me When I come back inside And open your email. Words are not capable Of expressing such feelings, Just as they are also incapable Of describing those clouds: Feelings of soft, white togetherness That even the clouds don't know. (92) LOST TO ME I fear that I have lost you! With each passing day That I receive no letter, My hope fades more And its light shines dimmer... Like the setting of a sun That will never again rise, Like a night without end Where all hope of love dies. (93) A REALLY GOOD FRIEND A really good friend... You turned out to be. I want to thank you so much For abandoning me With no explanation, With no farewell, With no well-wishes, With nothing to tell, You might as well have told me To go straight to hell. Suddenly, you're just gone! So, lost and alone, I can barely go on. There's a right way And a wrong way Of doing such things, And you chose the wrong way And all the hurt that it brings. I might even have loved you; Yes, it's true! How is it possible To thank God enough For the precious gift Of knowing YOU? Is THAT what I said When now you treat me As though I were dead? I considered you my dearest And sweetest of friends. Too bad there's no grave... For you to visit And make your amends. (94) THINKING OF YOU You're the first thing I think of When at dawn I awaken And the last thing I think of As I lie down each day. Every day, every hour, Not ever forsaken, You're in my thoughts always, Every step of the way. (95) IF I COULD CHOOSE If I could choose to be loved by anyone on earth, I'd choose to be loved by you. (96) TOO LITTLE TOO LATE Please forgive me, my love, my unseen love, for being too blind, too blind to see you. Please forgive me, my sweetheart, for rejecting your love, for crumpling your heart, and for casting it away like a leaf in the wind. Please forgive me, my darling, for not being there with you and for not even knowing that you were physically dying, just as once you were dying of my cold-hearted callousness... that I once had the power to take back and rescind. Look down on me, sweet angel, from the clouds of high heaven, from where you have flown to, from the stars and the sun... look into my heart here and see that it's breaking and know that I'm sorry for what I have done. Though I will never forgive myself for such heartlessness, for hurting you so deeply like the death of your son, and though...since you're gone, I can never be with you nor undo what's been done, at least now our poems... can be here together, always together, together as one. INDEX: (46) A Broken Date (32) A Longing (12) A Minor Prelude (35) A Pleasure (93) A Really Good Friend (8) A Variation on a Theme by Moses (11) A Wish (15) Adam's First Words (49) After the Fall (21) And Then (59) Bach's Music (2) Day to Night (65) Directionless (36) Divorce Poem (1) Epigram for the Battlefield (29) Epitaph (83) Ever Farther (7) Existence (14) Forever Contained (67) From My Dream of You (73) Frustration Superhighway (40) Good-bye Poem (87) Heaven (38) How Do I Know? (30) I Suppose They Weren't Really Lies (66) I Would Board the Titanic (95) If I Could Choose (43) In All the World (47) In Future Tense (80) In My Beloved (81) Let Me Stay (9) Lone Stanza to Nature (82) Long Ago I Saw the Sea (92) Lost to Me (19) Love and Shyness (20) Love Comes (55) Love's Paradox (74) Marooned (56) Metamorphosis (5) Morning Comes (39) My Beloved One (71) My Consolation (69) My Desire for You (33) My Fondest Desire (48) My Heart's Condition (41) My Remembrance of Thee (62) My Secret Love (68) My Wish Tonight (85) Near to You (76) Never Far (34) Nights with You (78) No One More Real (53) No Words Can Come (72) Obscurity (13) On Awakening One Morning (3) On the Death of My Grandfather (77) Only You (60) Our Forgotten Love (17) Our Past (6) Passing Outdoors on a Summer Night (45) Perchance We've Met (18) Reply to a Curse (16) Road to Nowhere (28) Said of Love (31) Self Portrait (27) Since You Are Gone (26) Sometimes When You Look in His Eyes (10) Somnolence (37) Spring Dance (52) Still (24) Summer Night (88) The Beauty of Your Hair (61) The Decadence of Modern Art (75) The Night Before Christmas (79) The Wind Speaks Your Name (22) There More Real (50) These Three Things (94) Thinking of You (44) This Day (89) Three Little Words (51) To Begin Again (58) To My Unseen Love (63) To Sara (64) To the Pseudo-Christians (42) Together (96) Too Little Too Late (25) Transience (4) Variance (57) Wasted (54) What Goes Around Comes Around (23) Where Once You Were (91) White Clouds (90) With You (84) You Are the Best (86) You Have Touched Me (70) Your Dear, Sweet Letters Copyright (C) 1997-2010 Michael Langston art-music-poetry.com