Clover Ring
She made for me a clover ring,
With a sweet blossom for a gem,
Sealed my matrimony with spring,
For a day, with a loop of stem.
She wed me to a sunny day,
Tied happiness to me with string.
For a time I was joined with May,
United by a clover ring.
Roma
Let me tell you about an evening
In Rome – wandering aimlessly, finding
Row upon row of old shops, veni, vedi,
Caesar, steepled streets, Benedictus,
A trace of Medici and Raphael,
Michelangelo in every cobblestone,
Music from the Spanish steps,
Figaro, Figaro, Figaro,
An olive-skinned girl at a fountain,
And Mediterranean sunset
Opaque on my face.
Mona Lisa
MOna lisa,
moNA lisa,
mona LIsa,
mona liSA,
Speak all
Manner of intrigue.
Enthrall
My mind to fatigue.
Show
You know,
In style.
Smile.
I Have Found You
In the vast areas of desolation,
The endless expanse of universe,
Against the pride of race and nation,
Thwarted by the religious and perverse,
Across the tides of time and space,
I have found, at last, what is true.
I have gazed upon your face.
My dear friend, I have found you.
On The Pinnacle Of The Afternoon
He awaits her at the subway station,
His legs shaking with anticipation.
He knows it will be soon.
Then her face takes his breath away,
On the pinnacle of the afternoon.
And he could not ascend higher in a day.
Time Limit
Higher than a mountain high,
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Wider than a summer sky,
Endless as infinity,
Surpassing all is my love,
Broad as the heavens above.
And time, knowing all of this,
Limits my love to one kiss.
Thy Spirit’s Effervescence
Tiny bubbles in this fine wine,
Speak to me of fire in my blood -
Thoughts of thee bubbling truthfully
Through my heart’s vessel.
As I hold this glass to my lips,
As I take a sacramental sip,
I taste the sweet essence
Of thy spirit’s effervescence.
Reluctance
While I watched your shy gaiety,
Rain swept gently my face -
On my uplifted admiration,
On my heart burning like fire.
I consider the passing of lithe hand across your smile -
The moon dipping behind an alder branch,
Little brook rushing for the sanctuary of the willows,
Until the sun slips away into a curtain of mist.
Nocturnal Butterfly
Ah! Light on the corner of crimson and yearning,
Sweet flower in bloom at the deepest of night,
The moon shines down full on the crest of your bosom,
And captures the grace of a poem in flight.
The trees in the sway of the wind rise to meet you,
That glisten of dew on your pink satin wings,
To ride on a whispering silk magic flutter,
Unbound ’til the sunburst a new dawning brings.
In The Heart Of A Wild Night
A jungle beast
Came forth to feast
In a show of savage might,
In search of meat,
In steaming heat,
In the heart of a wild night.
A savage queen,
Supple and lean,
In search of a feral rite,
Brought odor sweet,
Something to eat,
In the heart of a wild night.
A storm ensued -
Lust unsubdued
Rose to a salacious height,
Put out the fire
Of brute desire,
In the heart of a wild night.
The Roll Of Rhythmic Rhyme
Unfold,
scintillating pastel dream!
Glow golden magical device!
Flow, subtle senses in a silken stream!
We made it through to paradise.
Riding forever on a poignant mist,
On the ebb and tide of endless bliss,
Beyond our bounds, we bend and twist.
We know no more than pleasure’s kiss.
We lie in a trance that disposes
All passing of tears and time,
Upon a bed of satin roses,
Within the roll of a rhythmic rhyme.
A Tart
A tasty tart
Is good for one’s heart.
A succulent strawberry pie
Can certainly please,
Can soothe the sore of any disease,
And ease one’s troubles by.
I really think
To pay with a wink
The price of fine cuisine
Is…a considerable art.
And to taste a juicy tart
Is to win the heart of any queen.
Queen Of The Night
Queen of the night,
I bow to your might,
The way you toot
That magic flute,
And that steed you ride on.
You touch with a lightning jolt,
Astride a thunderbolt
Until dawn.
The Magic Cave
The magic cave is plain to see,
Once the veil is torn away,
Once you unveil the mystery,
Once you reveal it, you may.
In the cave, lambs and lions lay.
As one delight, all abide.
There, dragons on warm kittens ride.
Fiery serpents and mice play.
Together trees and grass sway.
But in or out, none can decide.
Helen’s Valley
Schliemann, peel silken lace
From this nectar-wet oasis,
Plant a rigid palm in
Flowing milk and honey.
Cease Not This Exalting Fire
Love-afflicted, I am filled to bursting with ether,
Transubstantiated by her sweet inebriate;
Her boundless embrace – my dream incarnate.
I taste her! I breathe her!
In all forms I see her magical gaze.
She has strewn her smile upon me
Until I am sheathed in sparks of ecstasy.
I am wrapped full in a passion-induced daze,
Resigned to complete capture.
Up then! Away wherever you desire!
Cease not this exalting fire -
Least linger a while that I might die in rapture.
Wild Flower
Wild flower, public bower,
Fragrance of late hour,
Blossom of the field,
Generous thy yield!
You set the bees quaking!
Honey for the taking!
Nymph
Form on my pillow, O dream,
O picture of lustful desire!
Within a burning moonlight stream,
Set my waking night on fire!
Press softly to my wanton embrace,
O corporeal embodiment of aching want!
With churning modulations trace
The contours of my deep-hour haunt!
Let itinerant winds caress your hair,
Blow gently the waves wherein you lie.
In a licentious flow of summer air,
Cool the fever of my longing sigh.
Can You Take Me Higher?
Can you take me higher,
To a castle in the sky,
Fulfill my desire
To sprout silken wings and fly?
Can you take me higher,
Nigh unto the morning star,
With your look inspire
Me to glide where fairies are?
Take me to eternal rest,
Where I may always sigh,
Lie my head upon your breast
Forever – never die.
With my soul I inquire!
Can you take me higher?
One Last Taste Of Fire
Give me one last kiss.
Give me one more taste of fire.
Share a bit of bliss.
Fulfill my final desire.
Before you leave,
Please let me believe
My love goes warm to the pyre.
Give me one more kiss.
Give me one last taste of fire.
Specter
From my window, I listened for your sigh,
Thought I sensed your breath in a night breeze,
In the trees, your tremulous breast -
The rising and falling palpitations of your soul’s beating.
Illumination, upon the tip of my mind’s touch,
As a curtain, lifted for an instant, radiating.
And from a distance, I heard my name distinctly whispered.
Planets shall pass,
Stars rise and die,
Yet shall I remain steadfast,
Determined to embrace what eludes my grasp,
Determined to reveal what I sense from my window.
Am Main
Along a riverside we walked,
She and I, beneath an azure day,
Sun shining golden on the morning,
Glorious on the grain fields.
(Barley still painted with spring)
And Church bells rang clear and clean
From across the way,
Beyond the emerald-ribbon Main –
Bells not for us,
But as much ours as Bischofsheim,
And the water ours,
And the day ours, seized,
Time uncounted,
Eternity the hours
Passed as currents
Into the Rhine, with no Lorelei to sing,
And no one to hear the history,
Dawn become yesteryear.
But in my dreams,
The Main still flows languidly.
The Light Of Your Presence Shall Always Be With Me
I dreamed I saw you walking upon a bright blue ocean.
It seemed that you were floating on azure emotion.
Near or far,
Wherever you are,
You’ll always have the power to still my heart’s commotion.
Once, I thought I heard you singing in a soft breeze,
Out across the grass, and up beyond the tallest trees.
High or low,
Wherever you go,
The notes of your kindness shall always set my heart at ease.
When I thought I’d lost you until the end of all days,
When my hope had melted into a cold and glassy gaze,
I saw light.
Wherever my sight,
The song of your spirit unto my aching soul plays.
Now, I know you’re out there, floating as a cloud, free,
And truest devotion abides the tides of eternity.
Now, I see,
Wherever I may be,
The light of your presence shall always be with me.
I Will Remember You
I will remember you,
When time has turned to dust,
Never to say adieu.
Though death erodes all trust,
My will, I must believe,
A memory shall conceive
Beyond this mortal lust.
When the stars are but few,
When the sky has no blue,
When the heavens are through,
I will remember you.
She Was Young
She was young, and looked at me with bright eyes,
Companioned my lonely heart with laughter,
Seeing the world as innocent and full of surprise.
She led me through a graveyard, to a mountain height,
The wind there fresh, coming up from the valley.
And she surmised a future as bright as the day,
Playing, giggling softly, so joyful in being.
She told me that a wish is only a wish,
That what we pray for falls on deaf ears,
But we can dream.
A dream is free to wander where it will.
She maintained a resolute smile at our parting,
Holding to false hope, forcing cheer, refusing sorrow,
Braving the pain, persevering in the face of fear.
Sometimes after a rain, late in summer,
When night brings cool air into my room,
I reflect silently, staring at the ceiling,
Hearing distant cars out on the highway,
My dreams reaching out across time
To innocent days passed away,
And her eyes sadly searching, refusing sorrow.
Her smile undaunted is all I recall of her face.
Just Like You
She was young inside
Till the day she died.
She had a heart as wide
As a mountainside.
She was clear, and crisp, and clean,
As the sky is blue.
She took life in stride,
Though her flower dried
And washed on the tide
To the other side.
The stem lingered fresh and green,
And the fragrance true.
She gave the sun pride.
She made rain clouds hide,
She made humming bees glide.
With the stars she vied.
She was an immortal scene.
She was just like you.
My Goddess
In your eyes lies a light of hope,
A warmth that helps me cope
With this world I despise.
I see stars in your sparkling eyes,
A thousand points of grace.
I find quietude in your face.
My goddess, you are my belief,
My only source of relief.
If I ever lost my faith in you,
My empty soul would soon be through.
Portrait
(One morning in Bischofsheim, 1983)
I walked on a crystal morning.
I browsed a color-strewn path -
The clear dawn of
A certain dream,
The vapor of reality evaporated,
To her palace, her cathedral, her cottage,
Amber in the morning’s subtle rumor.
And rabbits pranced,
Joyful at my flanks,
Within a low fog,
In a mist of innocence,
On a lawn of twinkling emerald,
In paradisiacal frolic.
And pranced my heart with them,
In clover perfume.
And saw her my fervent eyes, at the window,
As the first effulgent ray of gold adorned her cheek -
A fairy,
The face of love,
Child of joy,
Above the primrose arbor,
A radiant smile.
O peace, I have witnessed your most refined gesture!
While evil
slumbered, and misery slept,
I trod in mirth,
Shod in rapture, in the sunbeam of her adoration -
My jubilee, my joyful serenade.
My spirit is free -
My scarlet heart,
My spotless soul.
Despair,
Your night is futile!
In my most infirm moments, I am immune.
I have seen a portrait of joy.
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