Poetry Corner

I've actually never started a poetry thread before, can you believe that? *lol* It seems absurd because it's what I am, what I do . . . I breathe poetry. I know that sounds kind of corny, but it's true. I've been writing since I was around six, and it's really all I want to do--that and music. I think they're hand in hand, poetry and music. Music IS poetry set to melody. I think if it wasn't for poetry being my main outlet, I would have gone mad long ago and jumped off a cliff or something dramatic. *lol* But seriously, I think poetry was my first language and it's a big part of my everyday sanity. :)

So here we go . . . I hope you'll enjoy my lyrical rantings.

These first two poems are actually songs I wrote on the piano. They started out being instrumentals, but I added lyrics to the melody later. ;)

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I Lost Myself

And I’ve come so far
So far and fallen so deep
Until I disappear in sleep
How many ways there are
Ways to escape one’s self
And all I’ve put upon the shelf
Never to look upon in life
While I’m caught between two planes
And what you see of me is all that remains
Now the fragments lie upon the earth
They add to all that global girth
That drain the soul and blade the life
Once I felt I knew myself
In bright blue tints and shades of truth
Belonging to my distant youth
Where are you Self?
You left me bare
Sometimes I forget I’m even there
Devoid of inner peace, of calm
Equanimity that once was balm
As pure and bright and true as rare

Why ever did you leave me?
Where ever could you be?
There goes the rest of my vitality
My cells cry out in mourning plea
Somehow I lost myself, you see
And somehow I’ll never find a way to me
Because I lost myself, you see
I lost myself, you see

We’ll grow upon the glory vine
Try to make our lives something we can eat
Something to entreat
Oh well, I’d never find the time
Just falling from the hazel hue
Until I’m lost inside in you
And you forget that you were mine
Because it all comes back to the halcyon days of glee
It all comes back to me
And I lost myself, you see
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Euphoria in a Moment Lost

I should have bathed in the sweetness of you
When the moment in eternity was ripe
And your pure heat surrounded me and all I knew
Was that I wanted you, I wanted the nearness of you
What gripping fear strangled my feeling intense
And quelled the natural finality?
What turned on my every desiring sense
So that I felt happily lost in your personality
And rushing downward my every defense
Allowing the knowing hands to acquaint themselves
Amazed in the bliss of soft and hurried breathing
Drunk on kisses and the wet enticing tongue, I forget myself
All I know is that I am one with all that is living
All that is loving in you and your wanting
Wanting all that is warm and that can shelter the heart in me
Even if for a moment lost to oblivion in the madness of leaving
The ache of removal, of terminating connection with eternity
You are the eternity of all I want to know
Of all the heat of passion, even the pain that comes with it
Again I want to swim the extent of your ocean high and low
And let my universe be alive with your touch that every star is lit
By the fire of your nearness and the light of love you emit
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I Would I Were

I would I were a dove
Then I would fly farther than the eye can see
I would cover the expanse of the ocean
How I would fly, yes, how I would flee

I would I were a wren
Then my view of the world would be sharper than a thousand knives
I could superimpede any block in my wake
How I would grow, yes, how I would rise

I would I were a magpie
Then my speech would be sure and swift
I would use my persuasive powers to my advantage
How I would act, yes, with my speaking gift

I would I were a raven
Then to be alone in the world, I would not fear
I would be like a fortress impenetrable to the mordant world
How I would journey to the lands I adore, yes, so far from here

I would my heart were safe beneath the earth
Sleeping like a cat in a slumber unwakeable
Dreaming of a place where the flowers are bright and the trees are tall
How I would rest, alone, yes, unmovable

i love ur poems :) i think ur so talented.
they mean a lot to u and i really like that..tnx for posting them.

Thanx Sapph *hugs* sorry I'm super late with this reply, I wasn't able to get online all day yesterday. They do mean a lot to me, you might say they're like my children. Maybe one day I'll actually be published. Hopefully not after I'm dead. *lol* Just like some of our poor, dear great poets of yore. *sigh*

An Unsuitable Attachment

He speaks to her in a language
Incomprehensible to the rest of humanity
As they spin upon their globes of gold
And search for answers manifold
How oft they sink in these their slumbers
Dreaming of a day when the world becomes
Crystal in the ambience of a blue light
As they wait in impatience for the wake of a flight
He has waited in a search of madness
For the one he sees in the bleakness of his days
Clinging to the yellow trees of late November
He discovers a sparrow he tries to remember
Upon his tree is she in rapture with his face
And he with the wild sweetness of a dream
He dares not awaken from for all the golden gleam
Gently, he rescues the nymph from imminent her danger
Lifting her unsteady body upon the weight of his back
Lowering her back to earth from off her perch
She makes a promise with her lips, but better knows the birch
From off they climbed in so sweet an agony
That she wanted not to leave the tree that had united
Their solitary souls in a matrimony unseen
By the eyes of those in their simple mortality and green
With the ignorance that becomes their despair
Still spinning and staggering in aimless quest
But he has found her and will not forget nor release
Never to withhold the tears like drops that never cease
And she clings to him with all her strength
Knowing that clinging forevermore will she to him
Never finished will be their dream of each other
Silently in great their rapture do they name each other
In silence do they court each other
With a language incomprehensible
To humanity as they spin upon their globes of gold
And drift in fancies manifold
And we drop in peace, in dreams of old

I can’t help but love you
Can’t help but want you so
You are the love in my heart
You are the one who tears me all apart
And as I grow
And as I think for all I know
You are the one I love, you are the one I wanted to know

I need to find you
I need to be a part of you, you know
That I just so owe
I owe you my heart, I owe you my soul
I love you, I think I could die if I never knew you

If I never knew you . . .

I’d still be trapped within
This fragile self, this person I hate so
This body I disown, like a mortal sin
You know I’ve got to get away, I’ve got to go

mm is that about ana?? :/
i love ur poetry Bri.
:)

Faces I Love

by bart

I love the face of arabesque
You wear when you're on parade
The working world taken to task

Madly I love the one with soft fades
When you kiss little fingers
Makeing tiny tears abate

I even love the mask with lines
When the worlds troubles intrude
you hold it up and behind it hide

The laughing one is easy to love
When a friend has a little story
It fits you like a glove

Even the smoldering one that burns
Fascinated, can't help myself
When matters against you turn

There is a secret one full of fire
Passion, all raw and wild
Consumed by your desire

When things go badly, you fix the wrong
You hold me, you know me
I would do anything to turn you on

(((((Sapph))))) Thanks, my friend. I'm sorry I've not been around for a few days . . . as you know, on the weekend I'm not allowed on the computer pretty much (at least not with out someone always standing right behind me watching what I'm saying), and this past week I've had a lot on my mind . . . I've been meaning to get back here and post.

Anyhow . . . no . . . it's not about ana (the last poem) . . . let's just leave it at that, shall we? I wasn't really finished with it, actually, but I had to post it quickly since I didn't want to save it for fear of it being found . . .

Wow Bart5050 (and welcome, btw [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]) Your poem is really beautiful and soulful . . . you care deeply about this person, I can tell. I love the metaphor of the mask. It's weird . . . after I'm done with all of my initial posting, I planned to go have a hot bath, during which I put a mask on (beauty mask), so this image really speaks to me. Actually in more than one way than a physical mask. Ok I'm rambling on, sorry. I do that a lot. Oh and by the by, thanks for adding your poem . . . I was beginning to feel strange being the only one posting my poems . . . I really don't like to stick out so much . . . but I started the thread, which normally I don't do . . . I just don't want people to think I'm this exhibitionist of my work or anything . . . if I was really great I'd have a published book already, right? Well, anyway, that's my feeling on it . . . [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Ok, here's another poem that I've lately written . . . for someone special to me . . .

Sitting here gazing at a blank screen, half blind
Walking alone to the gym on the path I always take
You're running through my thoughts, running through my mind
You could ravage my heart and leave me in a constant ache

I know so little of you as you do me
We might as well live on separate planets as far as we are
From each other, separated by eternity
But my thoughts have sought yours no matter the cost, no matter how far

We're like two sides of the same coin, you and I
You galvanize my universe with a simple blush
Our love of cats is something rare, something I can't deny
And our helpless cravings just serve to further deepen my undeniable crush

Love doesn't play by the rules
We can't help what we feel, how deeply we yearn
Criminal it may be, impractical, and maybe we're doomed to lose
But while this moment is ripe and pure, I cherish the love that in me will ever burn

I dream to kiss the sleeping soul in you
Awaken all that you are inside, the brilliance, the artistry
I want to warm you with the heat of my affection, with all that is true
I just want to be near you, set you free

I want you for all that you are, my love
Melting into each other's arms, letting the fears we hold back go
Release my heart and float into happiness into all that we dream of
And all I know is that I can't return through the waters dark and low

I long to walk hand in hand with the person who makes me smile
Whose shy heart would talk to mine and know me better than anyone could
Because there's nothing to hide when I'm with him, no reason to beguile
I never thought I could be understood

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He that Lingers in the Oasis of the Mind

From high the tower wall there peers two eyes
Set in the face of he, who longing, sighs
Dreaming, hoping that he might win his prize

I told him once, and twice, and thrice, my word had been
That I could not be his bride, no, t'would be a sin
I wished that I could turn his frown into a smiling grin

"I shall brook no refusal!" vowed he, that stubborn man
"I'll love you even if it takes my whole lifespan"
"Then I'll take leave of you--I must!" I vowed and ran

But his words came to me and courted me at night
And on the morrow, still, they would not flee my sight
He had a piece of me with him, which he held tight

I made my life so very far away from him
High in the Silent Mountains where light will not shine in
I lived with Elves and I became as one of them

They taught me ways of disappearing and of stealth
What's more, they made me Lady of their land of wealth
And they would hold their goblets high, drink to my health

For I was soon to be the wife of one, the Prince
Who declared he had set the scheme in motion since
He first had spied me in among the scented hyacinth

And though I knew the match should so take place
Some memory did capture me, one I could not efface
It was the vision of the man's kind, smiling, gentle face

I felt the power of his love though years had fled
And I recalled to mind all those words that we had said
They, which were passing fancies, I had thought, were not dead

I had to see him once again, I had to know
What had become of him who so long once had loved me so
Was he still living, had he married long ago?

From high the tower wall there peers two eyes
Set in the face of he, who longing sighs
Dreaming, hoping that he might win his prize

"I never lost my love, indeed, here it still burns
It did not change as in the Autumn when leaf turns
A shade of age, a shade much darker, the sad lover learns

I love you now, I'll love you always, just you mind
No matter where you go, you'll not another find
No promise in the world could be more binding than this, I bind"

And I ran up the stairs and did not come back down
He knew not where I went, he could not see my gown
For I had come to him and here, destroy his frown

"I was betrothed, you know, to the Prince of all the Elves
But you were on my mind and in my heart still dwells
I'll live for you always and each day, the more, it swells

This next poem is in honor of Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, who is 45 today. She is the most influential singer/composer in my life and I remain a long-standing fan, ever since I was seven years old. I wrote this poem for her my very first year as a member of her forum and she let on in her charmingly clandestine way ;) (those who are acquainted with Miss Enya's personality know what I'm talking about) that she really loved it. I've never forgotten her kindness to me all those years ago--she who didn't have to be kind, and yet didn't think it too far beneath her dignity to reach out to someone who really needed her advice and friendship.

What Eithne Means to Me

I’ve never known someone so beautiful and free
A maiden fair, she is, in a castle by the sea
With all the stars of heaven in the golden galaxy
And that is all she is and what she means to me

When life becomes a well of tears that drowns me endlessly
The breakers tearing through my soul and slowly killing me
Her music brings me back to shore, and treats me lovingly
And that is all she is and what she means to me

When loneliness besets me and my world becomes empty
And all my talents put together fail to make me happy
Her words reach out and cradle, child on her mother’s knee
And that is all she is and what she means to me

I truly know not what I’d do, I say in honesty
As undecided as my death, the greatest mystery
Had Eithne’s music never touched or moved me musically
And that is all she is and what she means to me

Her music, it shall long live on as sure as sky and sea
Surpassing will be all her ways as far as eye can see
And always will she be a friend, a certain guarantee
For that is all she is and what she means to me
And that is all I want to know and all she’ll ever be

WRITTEN APRIL 2002 :)

Happy Birthday Eithne! [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

He that Lingers in the Oasis of the Mind is so far my favorite.

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Thank you, Jacklinger.

Sorry I've not been around much at whyeat . . . it's always been hard for me to focus at more than one forum. I still enjoy whyeat.net, though. I've made some really valued friends there.

No need to apologize. Maybe the reason you're not going to WhyEat much is because you're getting better? That would be nice wouldn't it?

Jacklinger wrote:

No need to apologize. Maybe the reason you're not going to WhyEat much is because you're getting better? That would be nice wouldn't it?

No, I just connect better with a smaller community. And I see ana as my lifestyle. It's my constant.

The Visiter

bart

I awoke in the stillness of a heavy night
air breathless and heated no leaf stirring
Cast my eyes through moonglides and shadows
seeking the cause of such restless plight

A shadow moves a shape assembles
forming not the form of any man
But of something unholy tall and gaunt
something familiar yet nothing resembles

Who's there I say and why purturb
a gentle nights slumber, perchance
you've lost your way, in err you disturb
I can give maps and compass to chance

With a voice like bones rustling in tombs
muted by silky curtains drawn cross shadows
Fingerprints wrapped tight round my imagination
He answered in raspy words of forgotton tomes

I strode the earth before the first man
Drew breath and burst forth from his mold of clay
I make no mistake tis you that I seek
and for you I've made a long journey planned

Ah tis merly some curious space alien
Come to steal what he must in the dark
Afraid to ask by the light of day
Sure that I would refuse such rude invasion

I felt the fingers slide deeper still
even as the words formed on my tounge
He needed not voice to know my thoughts
his hands found vibration yet unfulfilled

Foreign to no world, on all have I walked
and even the empty reaches between
Wherever there is life am I and always will
For I am the end of all, the last of all talk

Ah tis death you be and nothing more intense
You've lingered and dallied here far too long
just to have your way, something more is your intent
So speak your mind be quick, silky dreams await my return

That rustling voice of bones took stronger demeaner
Echoes booming, the shadows shook, moonlight shivered
Twas clear he took offense, that I should dismiss
and hold dreams, visions unvisioned, of more desire

You've lost your reverence for all that I am
It's a joy that I'll have back, for I come here
to renew the trembling that I evoke in all.
And from you I demand respect, you will learn fear.

Laughing, I composed a suitable response to this
Hemingway, Sapho in beauty, Shelly and keats
Homer and heroes, such noble company you keep.
That I have known the depths and desires of bliss

Falling leaves on a windy night
Chance casting where they land
More than this, there is nothing.
More than this, nothing can stand.

He withdrew his hand, leaving fingerprints
Across my imagination, like hasty footprints in burning sand
A few more years of pain I grant, so that you may learn
What you should know, when next I raise my hand.