loridaily
notes from the heartArchive for water
Voice Like a River
Your voice is like a gurgling river in my heart
Your smoky topaz waters carry me in my little boat.
The sky opens up
like a blue stage with cotton dancers.
Your effervescent waters keep me cool
and tickle my nose like good champagne.
Around every bend
you splash and cajole.
My pen on paper,
like an oar, dips into you
to see if you are still there
and you laugh.
Silver dollar leaves over us
shake like castanets
suspended from trees.
They are playing our song
and I smile.
Tales From a Paper Boat
ripples
like smiles
radiate outward
feel the breeze
gliding forward
gleefully smooth
ballet with swans on glass
one finger draws a line
into eternities past
playing liquid harp strings
eyes gaze forward
witness to this
diamond night
studded in riches
poets
soaking their pages
at the shore
like bathing their children
in the Ganges
hopes float
in origami bird song
paper blossoms fall
on parchment eyelashes
sail on
carry me to my dreams
I must find them…
How Long Do I Want to Live?
…Long enough to hold your warm hand in mine
caressing each finger
as you share your confidences
in the witness of only the incoming tide
…Long enough to return your embrace
ecstasy held tightly
in wordless quietude
while nature provides its heady music
…Long enough to hold my breath
awaiting the softness
of your lips on mine
while the ocher of sunset’s glory fades to amythest
Nothing but the fizz of the waves evaporating
as water turns into sky
Nothing but the echoing cries
of distant birds in their ballet
Nothing but your smiling eyes looking into my soul
as we breathe as one
How long do I want to live?
Long enough to fall in love again
and maybe
if I am very lucky
a little longer…
Golden Promises
I will wait on you
by this shore where morning breaks
in golden promises
my infirmities will be my long sleep
and in this bed of sand
I will slumber quietly
The birds will keep watch
the foam will make me smile
the waves will be my lullaby
the camp fire will burn bright
that my dreams will not lose their way in the long night
I may not know the day
I may not know the hour
I may not see any further than my own tears
but you will come to wake me from this sleep
And once more I shall dance with abandon
to music I knew so well
each strain memorized like a lovers eyes
each cadence a promise
for another dance
When the stars reflected in your black watery surface
have assembled
I will know each one by name
friends
loved ones lost
and found
their triumphant voices
fill up the holes in my mood
In the lines of my worried brow
you are here
in the spaces between what I want and what I need
you are here
So now let me slumber
among the shells
where the gateway to eternity
kisses each of my toes
like a proud father
Tidal Treasure
she washed onto the purple sand
her eyes still closed
water fills her nostrils and gently recedes
her voice a distant echo
the cool tide bathes the shells from her mouth
abalone patina-streaked hair matted with birth’s residue
ebony skin now sun drenched ocher
she waits to be awakened
by the kisses of a new lover
Again and Again
Through water’s surge
I saw a struggling life in the river’s tumult
the sounds of savage pain quickened me
I braved my way in haste to the bank
closer to save the thrashing soul
ne’er to let the drowning icy waters consume again
The dragons of wind and rain
reared up with mighty wailing cries
My heart beating in my chest, I drew my sword
The scene, a swirl of epic tears,
ripped at me like the furies of distant battles.
It called my name with horrific screams again and again
Into the abyss of pain I strode
cursing the torment I could not heal
sorrow upon sorrow for the losses I cannot repair
I reached out to the struggling soul
whose hand flailing above the raging water
sunk into the depths…
I saw it was me drowning there
choking on my own mistakes
crying out for one who would save me.
In the days that came after that drowning
quietude has been my teacher
No one can save any man, lest he save himself first.
Watercolor Heaven
Heaven’s kisses adorn my cheeks
While birds chime like carillon
My thoughts run in watercolors
Swirl, eddy
Well mixed
Until I disappear
God’s Sea
splash tears
swim free
float away in ribbony streams
past winding mossy banks
over smoothed stones
find your way
through cold rivers
to distant shores
where your salt will
find its home
join the tears of
the myriads there
who await you
whales will call you
offer yourself up
dilute your pain
fill the bellies of hungry birds
embrace kelp
in oceany dances
let your journey
be complete
from my heart to God’s sea
Amniotic Symphony
Easing into the glassy surface
the slippery cool water welcomes me
Muted whale songs billow
in melodic rhapsody
Kelp dances in jade forests
Tiny bubbles cloak me
in their pearlescent rhinestones
Azure sunlight streams down
drawing its silken bow
over my heartstrings
Life surges and recedes
in legato phrases
breathing with me
We are one
Close your eyes and hear
the amniotic symphony
of the sea
loridaily 