Her, Poetry

I do not write poems for her,
true,
she completes the poem.
Words cannot replace
her presence.
Emotions inspired
by our love
told by the twinkling
wealth of night.

Meet Again Where the Boardwalk Begins

This moment twists in on itself
A cruel freak show contortionist
Who stares agape, tear-carved
Deltas from his made up eyes.

If only it would twist into a pretzel
With lots of salt
That we’d eat with mustard.
Two kids on a boardwalk,

Father, Son, Stars, Loss (for Bobby)

I start to count them and stop
Not because there are too many
But because I cannot hold them
Accountable; the code sparkled
From their eternal glow calls
Me to be accountable to my life:

On a Hill in Wales, Father and Son

1.

To the beginning son, go back with me
Remember how I stood beside you when…

No, you only remember my absence.

Here we return with precision, an arrow
Fired by the great Tell who reveals us.
The apple on our heads, the gift of Eve
Who saw in us the beginning of Love.

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He Rebuilds a Lost Sister

Lost in the supermarket
My special Lego creation
Lost somewhere between
Gummies and hot dogs.

Mommy looked all over
But can’t find it
It’s okay, I’ll build another.
I know I can build another one.

A Mother’s Dreams

Your dreams do not predict the future,
Be relieved they process the past
So you can function this morning.
Your fear still burns
The sweet blood in your veins,
It contaminates your heart.

A Prayer to Mother (for Mom)

Mother
Open my soul to the music of the wind.

“The Virgin Mother
Blesses you
Carries you
Supports you
Feel her golden gaze.
One breath

One Prolonged Blast (for Grammy)

4 to 6 second pull on the ship’s whistle
Announces to others in the harbor
The romance of sea:

“Underway! Shift colors”

The Ensign now flaps from the mast.
Jack folded into a tight triangle
Stowed away until:

“Moored! shift colors.”

The Four Chambered Heart

Now, where are the words
The heart needs?
Sort through its four chambers
To mix blood for the body to keep moving,
If not forward,
Any motion is better than none.

From chamber to chamber
Soft walls,
Trim dangles,
Ceiling cracked,
Windows frosted with dust.
These images attract hope.

Word’s Worth

What these words are worth
To those without eyes to read
Or chips in heads binaring what pens bleed?
Take time before it melts
To look,
To see,
To listen,
To hear
All the tiny things the earth
Wants
Unveiled
Record them, Poet!

Yellow Butterfly (for Emma)

Every moment gives a gift
An opportunity to see
A yellow butterfly lands
On the pool deck to give
The daughter a smile
She seemed to have lost.

Yellow Butterfly (for Emma)

You’ll Never Be Alone (for Bobby)

Son
Today with oil, water and breath
I watched the priest
Open the soul of a boy
To God.

As
Mine
Was
A long time ago
And many sins past.

Since the Dawn of Love

Inside the hollowed halls of loneliness

Where nothing fills in the gaps

God calls us

With a unique voice that defines each life

Says:

Turn the Night On

This is a collaboration between S Francis (SailorPoet) and Christine Ray (Brave and Reckless)
Won’t you stay,
My love?

Outside snow falls steady
Gusted by north wind
Tapping at our window
Inside these walls
A fire burns

A Poem to Celebrate Birth

Like a baby thinks
before he understands words,
when he emerges from the womb
and suckles his first nipple

his tired mother whose fatigued body
still aching with pain where she felt
unbridled passion release in waves
and tremors through her flesh