Little Bird

•January 13, 2016 • 6 Comments

That morning
The little bird
Flew down our chimney
We stood still
Hushed and waiting
No sound
But the rustling of flustered wings
And my child muffling a scream
No movement
But the swirling of six month old soot
From her feathers like tiny contrails
In the morning light
She landed on the sill of our closed window
And stilled
Like us
Her body wound tight and vibrating
Staccato twitching, watching
Us, the window, us, the window
And then
She began rubbing her tiny feathered skull
With a fluid motion across the thick glass
Back and forth
Back and forth
Back and forth
Accompanied by a soft clicking
Each time she changed direction
Her beak quietly tapping
A Morse Code
An S.O.S to save her soul
And so You did
Slowly You made Your way to her side
She trusted You, she stayed
I swear I saw Your reflection in her ebony eye
You
Gently
Reached
And inched
That
Old
Window
Open
There was a pause, a moment
Of our collective breath being held
She looked around with a tilted head
As if confused by her own stillness
She took it all in
And then she leapt

That morning
Felt like
Magic

-a.r.

Bird

This is a repost of a previous poem, and an actual event.
Some days it feels as if that morning is still happening.

Pandora’s Ache

•January 10, 2016 • 5 Comments

This ache
Here you are again
Nesting nerves under my skin
The obvious and throbbing thumb
The growling ghost inside my gut
The drawer left open yesterday
The toppled pile of disarray
The hungry tug away from tasks
The dream today that just distracts
The chair pulled out and left that way
The knick-knack put back out of place
The water boiling down to bare
The scent of scorching in the air
The fitful feeling left ajar
The cold stuffs spoiling where they are
The dust shadow upon the shelf
The empty pang for something else
You reside inside this space
Here you are again
This ache

-a.r.

Pandora Waterhouse
Painting: Pandora by John William Waterhouse

Ember

•January 5, 2016 • Leave a Comment

I watched that last ember
Ash gasping for life
I mourned as it flashed
Spark to black

Then it surprised me
Clawed quick back to light
I stayed witness
To learn from its fight

-a.r.

image
Painting: Lady by the Fireplace by Gustav Klimt

Bent

•January 3, 2016 • 3 Comments

Sitting crooked on the floor
When all the lines are straight
I feel an urge to straighten up
This time
My selfish will can wait

-a.r.

image.jpeg Image found here: http://whitenoten.tumblr.com/post/81567132535

My Box

•January 2, 2016 • 5 Comments

Smiley face
Have a nice day
Shit happens
Neon yellow to mud to blood
And a face wiped clean
It all works out for Forrest, doesn’t it
All the pieces of fate falling into place
But what about Bubba?
His ending is so much messier
Closing eyes and lines but halfway through
We all imagine we are central
Characters in some passion play
But what if that is, always, someone else
What if we are all, always, Bubba
Dying too soon in a swell of river grass
And rolling thunder
Cold, getting colder, and asking for our mama
While our friends and heroes look up and live on
In a swell of strings and rolling credits
In truth, in life
In boxes of chocolate
We always know exactly
What we’re gonna get

-a.r.

image

I was unable to find who to credit for this painting.
If you know please pass along the information
and I will gladly credit the artist.
Thank you.

Home and Skin

•December 17, 2015 • 2 Comments

I should write
But I exhale
The “shoulds” whisper
To no avail
I settle in
To home and skin
Until the watch
Begins again

-a.r.

image

Painting by Jack Vettriano

Reposted because it is an annual tradition and an annual struggle…to let go of my ambition for a moment, in order to exhale and be with family.

Fog

•December 14, 2015 • Leave a Comment

There are ghosts that stay
Put like ancient trees rooted
But shrouded in fog

 -a.r.

tree and fog

Photography: Arbor by Julie-rc on deviantart.com

Severe

•December 10, 2015 • Leave a Comment

Yes
I am severe
I will not suffer severing
Unless / the slicing’s done by me

-a.r.

image.jpeg
Photography: Angizia by daunhaus on deviantart.com

Seconds

•December 8, 2015 • 7 Comments

A mutiny upon my tongue
Has left me paralyzed and stunned
Did I bite down but remain numb
Or has my palate’s play been run
and
Did I taste my world enough?

-a.r.

image

Painting: Preparing the Feast by Petrus van Schendel

Broken

•December 6, 2015 • Leave a Comment

I do not handle
Pressure well
A screaming teapot
Gone to hell

-a.r.

 

image