Love Eternal: Flash Fiction

I sat on the hill and watched the interplay. Young lovers thought the priests couldn’t see them, whispered sweet nothings that followed them into the ground. Hands clasped them together and all the rest fell away. Love was a gesture, no different from the motions I made to keep back the crowd as the others picked through their bones and pieced their story back together.

(Care of New York Daily News)

(Inspired by news of the 14th century skeletons uncovered in England this week by University archaeologists, their hands still clasped across 700+ years. It will be fascinating to see what people can find of the pair, the stories they’ll come up with, even if some will find it a bit morbid.)

 

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Spring’s Caress

Just a drink of you

young hearts turn to spring’s caress

burning in your waves.

Patient Spring

Lovers dangle barefoot

brevity against the water’s kiss,

the ripples like wishes

in bottles, SOS and MIA

where snow dawns in itinerant icebergs

lain bare and broken on the shore.

His hands in her hair,

the wind knows not the blooming

of petals-in-flight

–it is a patient spring.

It’s a special One Shot, my friends and fellow poets.

Yesterday, One Stop Poetry won the Shorty Awards prize – Twitter’s equivalent of the Oscars – for art. It is an honor all of you helped us achieve, and one that legitimizes all we have done, and all we hope to do in the future. Be sure to send your warm regards and your congratulations to my fellow One Stop team members: Adam Dustus, Leslie Moon, Brian Miller, Pete Marshall, Claudia Schönfeld, Gay Cannon and Jessica Kristie, for all they have done. They’ll appreciate it, I assure you!

Art is important to all of us, and we hope to aid our fellow artists in the pursuit of their love. This is just another stepping stone in the realization of that dream. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for One Stop!

Sunset Lovers

 

Image care of and copyright by Katherine Forbes.

Careful touch.

The shade takes more than hands,

its kiss—milky, fleeting

takes me to you and I am all around you,

liquid heart-spill across the peeling

paint, swirls through our darkness

and I am wondering—

is this right?

Too fleeting is the pool,

this monument of love, swirling—

it is engrained deepest in foundations,

breaks brittle at the bleating

passage of the owls,

when the sun doffs and says goodnight;

Then you and I,

and no shadows,

no sky.

We are Sunset Lovers,

we sing no sweeter

than the end.

* This piece was inspired by the above photograph – this week’s photo prompt over at One Stop Poetry for another wonderful One Shoot Sunday. The photographer is the talented Katherine Forbes, a portraiture photographer with some lovely shots, especially with children. Some great insights into the art, as well, so if you’re interested in the woman, or in taking up the photo challenge, check out my interview with her today.

This Plane’s Going Down…

Little bird let fly

Don’t you dare lie

Beside me in the grave,

I dug this cave

For me and not no other,

Smothered myself and fled my brothers;

Enslaved, if you will,

I know it’s no Seville,

But it’s my soul at the reckon,

And that wreckin’s beckoned,

And try as I might,

I’m dying of fright

Of life and of you,

Engrained on me as a stinging tattoo.

Won’t do us no good to wonder,

Tip our heads to call the thunder;

I’m already killin’ myself slowly,

Me, wholly unholy

And I’ll not see you follow me whereby

Your own bitter end supply.

* My latest contribution to the wonderful One Shot Poetry Wednesdays! Once you’ve had a look, check out some of the other One Shot Poets as well–they’re a skilled bunch of poets, with a strong and supportive community.  Enjoy!

Honeymoon

Late evening sunshine

reflects on the glass tray;

 

the breeze, blowing off the beach

brings flowers through the window;

 

tidied hands leave the pitcher

at the shelf beside the bed;

 

alcohol on the rise

brings dinner visions;

 

how many meals shared

by barebacks under the clouded ceiling;

 

the immaculate white sheets

are the only virgin here.

* My latest contribution to the wonderful One Shot Poetry Wednesdays! Once you’ve had a look, check out some of the other One Shot Poets as well– they’re a skilled bunch of poets, looking to form a community and support one another.  Enjoy!

Perceptions

Divinity in a smile

These eyes, like stars alight

To stoke the fires of this passionate

Elation, embrace of thought

That tickles yet the nervous breath

Coiling through the nerves—

Sensory serendipity.

–

Watching this Mirage

Deception of romance

Serpentine coils of medusan gaze

Wrapping around this memory

Of a man, once knowing

These lines, unrestricted,

Entwining about his heart.

–

The portrait and the face

Smiling through the frown

Of this imaginary madness

We’ve come to call a life

Will this define

Or refine

Your perception of meaning?

–

What dreams we greet

To hide the nightmare

Of reality.

Arctic Road

Downtrodden disaster

Dragging destitute through dirty drives,

The ice has broken through

And the hole is widening

As the whole is dividing

This trek, all too familiar

Along this arctic road

Is better left to

Colder men than I.

It’s breaking—

Broken, gone

Everything is cracking

At the seams—

Deep diving through the murk.

Heavy breaths hang

A crystallized admission

But no matter the passing

These burdens never lighten.

My latest contribution to the wonderful One Shot Poetry Wednesdays! Once you’ve had a look, check out some of the other One Shot Poets as well– they’re a skilled bunch of poets, looking to form a community and support one another.  Enjoy!

Morning Elegance

Star-crossed lovers lie

Snoring in the sand

Waiting on the rose-tipped caress

Of dawn’s fair light,

But the sun catches like

Little crystals in the waters

And they are sleeping through

The glitter and the glare.

The runner’s smile

Warms the streets as they rise

Amidst the shadows of red glare—

Early to rise

And early to rest,

Not like the frantic typing around

Those battered tables—

Early to rise

And early to work,

A desperate cry for more coffee is

As much a sign as these

Gleaming starlets

Carried in the sunlight,

Shimmering in the haze.

Dew drops beneath the leaves,

The covers dip beneath the waves

Of majesty and trees

Swaying in the breeze.

Birdsong, so ponderous in sleep

Uplifted in the daylight—

Just keep away those woodpeckers.

The body screams,

The mind elates

To greet this

Morning Elegance.