Monday, September 27, 2010

SUNLIT HEART

© Gloria Smith 2010

I stumbled into the day
Into the bright sunlit world
The key to my heart
Was locked up tight
Against the blinding light
Of your love
Somehow it shone through
And poured into
The bitter blue
Broken pieces of my heart
Reminding me
That it was torn apart
The morning sky
Turned a weary gray 
As I thought about
You and I
How I cried
How you lied
And just when I think
That these memories
Can no more damage do
That these tears are through
They race once more
Down crimson cheeks
And speak louder
Than any words of grief



HAUNTINGS

©  Gloria Smith 2010

Our haunted minds seek ghosts to find
Until one day we realize
They're with us all the time
They do not live within our walls
Nor walk with silent footsteps down the hall
They dwell in memories born of sin
Or thoughts of a love we could not win
Disappointments, bitterness and pain
Roam tirelessly through timeless days
Do not look far your ghosts to find
They linger in your mind
And ever will they remain with us
'Til we return dust to dust



HUMPTY DUMPTY HEART

©  Gloria Smith 2010

My poor little Humpty Dumpty Heart
All broken, wounded, and torn apart
No one can put it back together again
What a sin... what an awful shame
I fear that I must accept the blame

I was careless and fell off the wall
Damn near killed me that fateful fall
ALL the King's men; even the horses
Chipped in and tried but it was in vain
Nothing could put it back together again

I swear I think I heard them cry
So here I lie... scattered pieces all
They never said if Humpty was dead
Just that he could never 
Be put back together again

So... here I am and here I'll stay
Shattered pieces of endless pain
I cannot explain how I fell or why
I only know that I remain
Upon the earth beneath the sky

Amongst the horses, amongst the men
And I cannot find a way
To become whole again
Nor words to say I love you still 
Or courage to say I always will

Anxiété

© Gloria Smith 2010

The evening drops her silent moments
One by one by one
Sunlight fades and shades of sadness
Bring the evening slowly, slowly down
I wait... words fade while dreams come alive.
I thrive on fantasies born of passion and pain
And what remains is only this 
Each beat of my longing heart tears me asunder
I wonder if you care
I cannot share my secrets with you
On this long and lonely night
I hold my pillow tight as crystal tears
Run past silken cheeks and into trembling lips
Lips that once kissed your face
You hold my soul and do not know that it is true
I am whole in your embrace
In this imaginary place of contrivance and illusion
God grant me the grace to face another night alone

Sunday, September 26, 2010

The Fall I was Eighteen

The fall I was eighteen

The blue tint of the ocean called us, we went
and never looked back. At Navy bootcamp the
California sun baked us, blistering our ears.
We folded tee shirts perfectly, thin, thick, thick, thin.

We built our bodies the Marine Corps way,
we did push ups knowing that the number of push
ups that a man can do is directly proportional
to what he has under him, pushing back up at him.

We swam like fish, even with our uniforms on.
And rose out of those pools wet and cold knowing
that we could survive. We graduated and went to
ships and manned the rails and swabbed the decks.

We mess cooked, studied hard and played hard.
We left the smell of the ocean in the beds of strange
girls, with their sensual kisses. Boys on the playground,
and if I could, I'd go back to that very fall all over again.