The Face in the Mirror

I never appreciated my face
until both my parents had passed on.
I would look in the mirror
and see just another set of eyes, a nose and mouth.
I didn't realize those were my mother's freckles
that sprayed over my father's ball-tipped nose.
I didn't see that I had my father's dark unibrow.
I couldn't see that my eyes were the very shade
of blue that my mother's were.
And wasn't my crooked smile
just a reproduction of my father's small jaw?
If I closed my eyes and thought really hard,
I could remember my mother's thin lips
that were now above my father's chin.
And the hair that surrounded it all
was the very blond of my mother's
and as thin as my father's.
When I smiled,
I could faintly remember
the happiness that lived in both.
My face is no longer just a set of eyes, a nose and a mouth,
but the sweetest memory my parents could leave me.

Stolen But Not Missed

I cried your name
And in response heard my voice echo in despair
Where have you gone?
And left me all alone in solitude
No one to console
Me and tell me I'm doing good and right
I need you to boost my self-esteem and worth
Now you're not here
And so I do it on my own, better
But I wish
You were here giving me encouragement.
Somewhere, sometime
I lost you to someone else far away
Your body and image
Remained to keep me company
Yet heart and soul
Were stolen by some unknown b*tch
I grieve for your loss
And hope you find your backbone soon.

Recurring Nightmare

Tumbling through the pillowy clouds
I dream
You appear from nowhere, touching my shoulder
And give me a shudder


I dream
But the pink clouds turn to the black of a nightmare
I shudder looking into the dark shadows
A tingling down my back


My horrid nightmare
Calls to the spooks and ghosts
They sweep by behind my back
Terrible dead things that haunt me still


The spooks and ghosts
Poke and terrify me
Terrible dead things still haunt me
Cry my name in the night


Poking and terrifying me
You appear from nowhere, touching my shoulder
You cry my name in the night
I tumble through the pillowy clouds.

Calm After the Storm

And the skies poured down torrential hate
In sheets of rain that crashed into the windows
As you cursed me in the dark stormy night
I felt the tension fill the air with electricity
The wrath of the wind could be felt in gusts
That howled 'round our little home
And the blows of anger I could feel in fists
That swept by my face, hitting my protective arms
I shuddered and cowered, pulling into a corner
Regretting how I had provoked you
And you swore one day to have your revenge
Sometime when I would least expect it
As if to mark your words, the clouds opened
Sending forth a shock of lightning
And in the damning aftermath of the fire,
Long after the echoes of the thunder,
Calm creeped back into the forest home
For the hatred died with you.

Where Does Love Go When it Dies?

Until three months ago
I thought I married the man of my dreams.
We were so much in love.
And one day
it just ended.
Maybe I'm to blame.
Maybe these things just happen.
But I couldn't help feeling
as if I didn't love him anymore.
And it wasn't as if I found someone else.
There was never another.


We just stopped
kissing
hugging
loving
all on our own.
I can't help but think
our love is still there.


Just buried
under the rubble of married life.
If we just took the time
to check underneath
pressures and worries
bills and payments
responsibilities and duties
we'd find our love
not quite dead
but floundering
half-alive
and starving for attention.
And if we took that love
and nurtured it,
it would grow and thrive again.
It would consume us whole
and we'd be happy again.


But then
who has time
to go digging in the rubble?

River of Love

My love flowed for you
like a stream through a valley
laughing and bubbling fast
until the force
sent it flowing in furious waves
the strength of which
tore down the streambed's walls
flooded the valley
and eventually ran dry
My love flamed to passion
but the heat of the moment
fizzled the flame
my love flows no more.

Losing You

You walked away silently
Amidst my lonely cries
And the one thing I couldn't see
Was covered by your lies.


I believed every word you said
And trusted we'd be forever.
Who knew you wanted her instead.
I wonder if you wanted me ever.


So I sit, my head in hands,
And cry myself to sleep.
The hour glass runs its sands
As I sink into the deep.