I light a candle
bid the day away
the sun winks at me
set below the frozen lake
Maybe tomorrow,
Maybe tomorrow
fortune and fame
But today I am I
I am me just the same
Tag: Poetry
Me & You
This is my…
life by design
Handpicked,
I made it,
mine
I arranged
the people
just so
some near
some not
I did that
you know
I can’t
take credit
for the trees
for the meadows
but I put myself
in them,
just in case
I don’t last…
my body
shall lay
in the grass
Does it feel
like a lifetime?
Just minutes?
Or days?
My mind is
conflicted but
I allowed it
to get that way
I know you
hear me
I know you
know me
I know you
see me
in you
We are
all masters
in this creation
you and me
me and you
Cave Dweller
I tiptoe back
into my cave
here I know
no love
and my dreams
are slaves
the walls they’re
painted with
a man and child
that have no faces
I am unaware
of the setting
and rising of
the sun
because these
walls prevent me
from seeing changes
notes of promise
are left at
my doorstep
letters dated
weeks before
by men
who’ve waited,
but wandered,
ignored
I must emerge
for work and play
but the delights
of the cave
forever tempt
me to stay
where I can
dream in
the dark,
write by
match
and
flame.
Dig
I think I’m at my low
I’ve been in the trenches
so often, so long it’s hard to know
I get down so deep
I dig I dig
until I can’t see the
sunshine no more
the only birds I see
are bats
the only signs of life–
my hallucinations,
my dreams,
my cat
I like it down here
it’s cozy, warm
but blinding
I refuse to stand
up, look around
and face what is beside me–
a life
a life I’ve designed
for one
I’ve got all that
I’ve asked for
as if my future’s
just begun
but my mind it
likes to default
to old habits
fears
and men
I’d carry this life around if
I thought I could depend on it
Mornings are good
my world anew if only
for a moment or two
but nighttime brings
a heavy load unable
to be lifted
no friend to call
no mother’s teet
no man strong
enough to lift it
Good But Not That
I’ve never been
more on track
Not that there
are roses blooming
in my eyes
Not that this love
runs clear like water
Not that I won’t
pull my hair out
tomorrow
Not that I am
unwilling to be
my own lover
Time To Come On Home
I’m almost at the place!
No fortune-telling
gypsy need tell
me now
I feel a sense
of grace,
of place,
of peace
The day just
opened up,
the sun shone
down so fierce
My father looked
into my eyes, he cried
then my tears fell too
We smiled at one another
under the pines
We stood in October’s
warmest day
I’m coming home, Daddy
I said to him
I won’t hardly wait another day
Fog
My mood
is reflected
in the night
in the fog
in the pre-dawn
four o’clock hour
My mood
is reflected
in the solitude
of my thoughts
Alone.
Again.
Forever.
My mood
is reflected
in all the
unanswered
questions
My mood
is reflected
in the street lamps
as I drive
they keep
sneaking
up on me and
aren’t really
helpful at all
just represent
more questions
My mood
is reflected
in the headlights
and how they
don’t work
in this fog
not when
they’re bright
nor when they’re
dim and something
says stop driving
but I keep going
because I am
American and
we are impatient
to a fault
My mood
is reflected
in the
auspiciousness
of this day
and I find
it strange
that I cried
I got all
red in the
face while
an email
from my
absent
mother
sat awaiting
me and I
did not
even know
it. Or did I?
My mood
is reflected
in all the
moments
that I sit
and I think
and I look
for the
answers
Only to
find I do
not own
them but
they belong
to those
who are
willing to
love me
And they
only belong to
me when I
bend myself
over backwards
to love another
The relief,
the relief
to the pains
of this life
are found
in those
rare vulnerable
spaces in-between
large events when
we innocently
love each other
stranger or
no stranger,
relief creeps
in on you like that
My mood
is reflected
in the fog
in the dark
in the pre-dawn
four o’clock hour
My mood
is reflected
on the
page
Reset
I want a
New Life,
mine is
dingy and
dusty
Not even a
year old,
this life is
wasted
This town?
This job?
I need another
I’ll take a
whole new me,
I’d like everything
to be nice and shiny
A rebirth, I’ll get
ahead while I’m
still young
then maybe,
by thirty,
people will
like me or
I’ll have a
baby
Boyfriend-ishhh
Her naive void
was formed of
his bones
his flesh
his spare time
She no longer
shooed him like
a fly
He turned her
from a fresh young
thing into a woman
over night
and their days
amounted to
Scrabble and
talking of dreams
that never seemed
to take flight
Society
Spin your wheels
and take, take, take
Not only you
but me too
Buy buy buy
Shake shake shake
Eat here
Try this
Shit over here
Look at that
Mans wonders
are plenty but
Earth’s are only
eight?
TERAH RACHELLE VAN DUSEN 