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"To Cherish Thorns"


Chapter 1
With Head Held High

By michaelcahill

Shall I rise to greet
                the grand new day?
       though spindled and sprawled
 

ridicule like so many
         carelessly tossed anvils
                                 weigh me
                                           

                                                down
 

the right thing
the noble road travelled
                the "well dones"
                                and "good shows"
                                                echo in the canyon
                                                with
                                                mocking
                                                honey
                                                dripping
                                                tones
 

                     isn't the wicked
                        sneer of victory
                             a haughty prancing preference
                                             to this snail's arabesque?
 

                I have my honor
                            my precious pride
                                      my dubious dignity
 

                            you have


                                                                 the girl ...           



 


Chapter 3
I'm Winter, Lest You Forget

By michaelcahill



Oh! It burns!
Foul sun, winking at me in mockery
pesky crocus shoots piercing my fading skin
the purity of my white pristine blanket
bespotted with all manner of cloying color
such a haphazard array
Spring once again vomits forth
its insanity
 
Yes, you laugh now
and smile with the very teeth
that chattered in fear when near me
your flesh exposed now
to the weakness of a pathetic breeze
you did not dare expose an ankle
to my penetrating glare
how you dance without a care
for I'm no longer there
 
So, forget...
forget the months of blizzards bluster
when every sigh you mustered
turned to frost upon your lips
those endless nights of snapping tree limbs crashing
your nightmares screaming
crying with teeth gnashing, begging
for a simple warming ray of hope

Yes, forget me now, you no longer
have to cope with me
I've gone away
 
I'll watch as I'm forgotten
over Summer your joy's wonton
It's as though you've never
had to trudge through snow
your life is blessed
you have a whim and that is where you go
 
but comes the day the greening fades
the pretense fills your mind
for Autumn is so pretty
such splendor there to find
beneath the ground
you stomp upon so recklessly

I dwell

I choke the very roots of every tree
I start their hell
for every leaf will fall
and crisp upon the ground
For Autumn is the death of all the joy you've found
 
A single snowflake tickles as it lands upon your nose
you laugh for you've forgotten
that I've been in repose
I breathe in deep for I remember
every mocking squeal
and every oh and ah
you've had your time of silliness
to frolic and to feel
it won't be long
with rest, I'm strong
best go inside you don't belong
within the world I'm planning to rebuild
a frozen land of white where
all hope and joy is killed
perhaps you will remember now

I'm Winter

there's no escaping me
I will always be fulfilled.




 


Chapter 4
The Butterfly's Lament

By michaelcahill

 


The Butterfly's Lament
                                             by michael cahill


 
Yes I see the eyes that stare and know
I hypnotize with garish colors some defying
names or blinding thought with bluish hues
but too I see desire's inner fire
within a need that pleads
 
possess
 
I must possess you
so as to brighten my dull world
 
My wings like flags
unfurled upon your wall as if it's
you
who's all the focus
imagining a world where you enthrall
the guests who merely marvel at your prize
 
Those lies hide deep inside you
and my wings reflect upon
your gleaming sweaty sheen
while you justify
your craving need to shine
by capturing my life and all the
glittered colors now imprisoned
you have gleaned
 
Think
of my reluctance
to be touched
or let you near
consider
my humble lonely life
when I was new
 
chrysalis
 
A speck among
a ball of specks
how soon I was imprisoned
in the darkness
of a tomb that held no light
a coffin
holding my life
trapped
within
 
and this was not my end but my beginning
 
I fought unknowing my fate
could I break through to find light
I only sought my freedom
from an endless blackened night
 
I clawed and scraped with one desire
a life where I could fly
I couldn't quit or I'd be fit to die
I wondered why a fate like this
would be bestowed
on any living creature,
was not some existence owed
 
Then a speck of light lit my heart
and hope sprung forth and strength anew
In little time I'd broken free
with but one thing to do
The sky was far away
from every hell that I had known
I leapt into the air and soon
touched all my eyes had shown
 
So no I won't be coming close
though clearly it's your wish
I know your longing for me
is a poison-bearing dish.
The sad part of my freedom
is
 beauty's
loneliness
 
even as all stare
 
You see only colors
nothing more
You'd gladly once again entomb me
for you don't truly care
Perhaps you'll think about
my soul's lament
and where I came from
you'll recall
 
As for me I'll carry on
still entombed in my cocoon
although you see no boundaries
nor perceive the sky a wall






 

 


Chapter 5
The Gathered Ghosts

By michaelcahill


free verse
The Gathered Ghosts
                                      by michael cahill



You haunt and flaunt the breeze
and float about
you spooky dancers
I'll continue livin' large
I have visions that I see
just me

 

I see you there--sneaking round the corner
the gal who swore she'd die if I passed her by
I told her that I'd never be a mourner
it wouldn't be upon me if she died
okay, I cried or rather sighed
for there never was a chance
romance does not work that way with me
you see it must be real; no threat can make me feel



 
and Dad, I never knew you when the knowing could be done
one year, two years, five and twenty,
'till you passed this plain
I never hid or slid behind in sadness--unclaimed son
you had no role, no peace you stole, I gifted you no pain
you hover now what can I say
you're no more now than yesterday


 
 
Mom, perhaps your mind is hidden in that silver cloud
you've wings to seek what lies within
perhaps remove your shroud
your burden called me to my duty taken on
some say the good son
but there was no other one
I was there, that's all




I never was the key when you were living
I'm not the key right now to ghostly dreams
One day my spirit will join in
with shadowed masses
those who were the old,
are now the lads and lasses

 
 
as it's always been in life,
my path remains my own
when gone
I'll be
the ghost who haunts
alone




 


 


Chapter 7
This Page

By michaelcahill


This Page
                       by michael cahill
 

this page
 
so blank and bereft of interest
 
left to my design
a spinning begins to churn within
 
for a moment I pause
a bead of sweat forms
brows furrow
eyes squint
 
I consider the stars…
 
I shoot through the clouds skyward
inhale lungs full of galactic materials
then return and exhale them
liberally over the page
it glows and dances in glorious gavottes
as puzzles are posed
riddles revealed
and reasoning resounds
 
then--
a reaction
do you approve?
are you peeved?
it matters not,
the page is full

 


Chapter 8
Sunrise Sunset

By michaelcahill


morning glory seed
sealed
precious repose
to never soil
now the journey begins
 
a bottle set sail
a blue whale's whimsical tale
of magic pods to scatter
on the breeze of the silver wind

is the wind
trustworthy                   with suspect origin
and catspaw entrances
leaving evidence
                                       dna          less

the winking wind in the willows
clever and crooked
                          as if it could be measured
       for intent or intentions or deemed
       to have any or many or none
 
beluga cold from blue to white
                      an iceberg
                             a bottle
                                     a seed within
marshmallow science focus
 
the iceberg melts
the bottle is free
                the journey continues
                                the cork master is extinct

 

an echo
hey buddy
spare a dime for a cup to sup
a daisy grew
the acme steamroller
flattened the bum who picked in hope

 
 
                                                morning glory seed
                                in a bottle
                washes to shore
a beach of bottles
                that once bobbed
                                the Earth spins
                                                the bottles too
                                                                no pause
                                                                                to kiss







 


Chapter 10
Clarion of Clarity

By michaelcahill



 

Clarion of Clarity
 



Mystical mirror
      such a cruel crime
                you dare smugly reflect me?
                                I breathe and toil
while you hang there without effort
 

my fist should awaken a response
                your fist              
                just as quick
                                but mine is deadly
                you shatter
               
 
even as I smirk in victory
                                I see my defeat
                                                in bloody shards
                                                                airborne—a moment of joy
                                falling and then fallen
 

                I stomp you without sense
                                my bare feet bloody and sore
                but my portrait sparkles now
                                                is it wisdom that shimmers?
                                in the random geometry of my demise
 

I wall us in and banish light
                what will you do without it?
                               

loneliness wins in the end
               

                                                I light a candle…






 


Chapter 11
Too Brilliant To Qualify

By michaelcahill




Too Brilliant To Qualify
 




a
nonette:
syllables
in succession
from one up to nine
containing meaning and
flow if at all possible
to be honest, most of them don't
mean much of anything—anything
 


haiku
   satori with connected
                  imagery
                      or, is it?

 

within massive structure is the conundrum of delicacy
a flower petal is found at the bottom of a pyramid
it is removed and the pyramid still stands
where is the genius in that?
exactly, nature seeks whores in vacuums
yet, it is the vacuum that sucks
 

high buns. a tray to hold my brewskies and Doritos. Sentences short and choppy. Meaning sloppy joes all around. Wrap this up soon. Hold that train of thought. Toot, toot! Charlie says, "Love that Good N Plenty." Charly…. you've got the look I'd like to know better, livin', playin', lovin'… Shoehorns and snapping turtles, Love American Style, Homie.
 

salty ocean flows
to a welcoming shore
Jersey?

 

Cletus! Y'all gots ta read this:
"What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the sun."
Haw, haw, haw! Does yew believe it? Here I go… the speakin' the obvious dance!
Hell's tinklin' wind chimes, I thought it was King Lear floatin' through the winder with a candle! Take yore britches off, boy, we's a goin' ta town!

 

 
and finally we reach a point
where we come to the
bottom
line

which is this:




 

Author Notes Thanks to Picasso for attempting this painting. Yeah... it makes a lot of sense.


Chapter 12
Tickling the Sky

By michaelcahill

 



Tickling the Sky
 



off the cliff
                why would wayward wishes
                                               just            drift away…
                                                               


like an indecisive feather
               
                               
                        they aim to plummet
                straight into the heart
                like a feather
                                discovering gravity
 

you see it isn't feathers
                                like you all thought
                it's the ingenuity of using feathers
 

A bird of many colors walks the land
the forest dwellers dance in delirium
they whisper, "Why does it not fly?"
 

the shimmering bird catches the soft words
                                floating by on a slight breeze
                                                the breeze ruffling its feathers
 

blue ripples
red flashes
purple… oh my!
gilded gold graces the imagination
and grey doesn't matter
 
               
the bird whispers, "why don't I fly?"
the wind cannot help but hear
                                it has been waiting after all
                gravity grimaces
               

I kiss the pretty girl
love enters my life
the most beautiful bird in the world
                                               

                                             takes flight








 


Chapter 13
Reflective Thoughts

By michaelcahill




I stand at the ocean's door and bid the sea rise
I clear space
suitable for writing
                a table for pen and paper
                a coaster to honor all mothers everywhere
                a cup sits to the right honoring all sons
 
I clear a path to the horizon
                                it opens to
                                                mountains in the distance as a reference
                                                               
                                the sunset changes … I'm undecided
 
the moon … now, hurry
                yes, moon's reflection … rise quickly
                                while the real moon floats          
                                only I know,
                                                                flying fish shy away
                                                                a dolphin leaps
                                                                                why so high?
 
another path leads to a wolf in a tree
the tree dances a tango
with another tree
                the wolf howls at the moon's reflection
                                the reflection shrugs
                                                and tips its hat
                my dog Kellie is on the moon taking a nap
                               
 

I'm a poet
I have dominion over
the universe
know it



 


Chapter 14
No Particular Day

By michaelcahill



No Particular Day
 



There is only turning it off
                                         all of it
 
why is that so?
    you task me with inquisition?
 
without sense
    so you say…
   
    are you the master of pondering
    the answer fountain
    with southing waters of logical lotion
        drenching me
            flooding me
                                             drowning me with sincerity
       
    beloved precious life
                        there is no other
               
so you say

           
                    and?
 
I don't want it
I don't like it
I don't want to live
        get it?
            it is without solace or reward
            pain requires medicine
                 until
                     the
                          pain
                                  goes
                                                a
                                                                    w
                                                                                       a
                                                                                                          y
 
wait.
I have your hand
I won't let go
I'll hold it till the pain goes away
I promise it will get better
you just can't see it right now
trust me
I care
 
"But, you aren't here
                                           today…"




 
 

 

Author Notes

Suicide leaves the living with that horrible thought, "If I was only there." And there is some truth in it. That is why it hurts. But, it takes such a brief time to commit suicide. No one can be watched round the clock.


Chapter 15
Awaken In Peace

By michaelcahill




Awaken In Peace
 



I was angry for a while
when you stole my smile
you took it away
with you that day
the last man on earth
I'd expect to steal mirth
blame my humanity
to make it all about me

 
but, you know I need to laugh again
and remember those crazy days
that non-stop marathon
           that I understand
                                so much better now
                                                running wild for your life
               
                well, Chief
                I think you won a long time ago
                but, what does Sparky know
               
I'm laughing out loud
imagining you in Heaven
what a thought
you, Carlin, Dangerfield
Nixon, Lincoln,
                         Moses!
                                Is that your staff or are ya
                                just glad to see me?
                   (Okay… that's why I'm a writer)
               

nothing to slow you down
the speed of thought
                you have that
but now there is no stopping
no dark hands grasping at you
                                pulling you down
                no voices that lie
                                telling you- you're no good
 
 
there's just a broken machine
in pieces, that puzzles you
you ask God, "Hey, Big Guy, what's this?"
               
                 "The measure"

"Measure? Oh no, Mr. Happy is getting scared!"
               
                 "The measure of good in a soul.
                   It climbs when you contribute
                   to the world and
                   it descends when you detract."



"Oh. Was I that bad?"
               
               "You were that good.
                Work with me, Robin.
                Do you notice anything different?"


"Well… I feel funny, ha ha. That's good.
I feel relieved… there was that waitress… well, you know
Your fault there… tone down the creating once in a while
I'm only human…
 
Oh. Yes! I see now.
I'm happy… WOW!
Does this last?"
               
 
"For all eternity."





 

Author Notes
Somehow Rest In Peace just didn't seem to be appropriate for Robin Williams.


Chapter 16
My Observations Of The Godly

By michaelcahill



My Observations of the Godly
 



These bodies pile high in Your name
such praise to You
we shout loud Your true believers
the Tower of Babel does not
                silence make
 
        the deafening din of righteousness
                is ear splitting with devotion
and the blood of the unholy flows
        and covers the ground in tribute
 
may the earth itself be an altar of sacrifice
        all to the glory of Your name
        glistening and glittering are our offerings
entrails, severed heads, disjointed limbs and entire bodies
piled to the heavens for Your perusal and blessing
 
 
we raise our voice in prayer to You:

 
Oh God bless our humble efforts in Your name
without You none of this is possible
every bullet fired
every severed head
every rotting corpse
is for You and to Your glory
we lie before You prone and humble as Your precious lambs
Your innocent children that You have said You love so dearly
Your presence flows through our hearts and souls
and into our very sinews
with this power we shall wipe all evil from the face of the earth
not one man, woman or child shall stand against our resolve
the very essence of truth and holiness from You flows through us
it guides our every action and thought
every swing of the mighty sword of justice in Your name
strikes true and swift through the necks of the sinful
may they rot in hell for all eternity
we send them there in Your blessed name God.
Amen






 

Author Notes
I could see no way to make my point strongly except to take off the gloves and condemn those that I hear speak this in the name of their God. Not all believers do, of course. But, there are certainly some rather loud fervent factions that sound just like this. I don't include the many true believers that spread nothing but love and peace. To them I wish complete victory. I count myself among them.


Chapter 17
Seasons Pass, But One I Grasp

By michaelcahill



Seasons Pass, But One I Grasp
                                                             by michael cahill
 



Ah Spring, how aptly named
for I do
to and                      fro
gravity is merely a rumour to mock
a flock of seagulls beckons, I reckon
I'll join them, the ground seems dull
even this mountain peak a dream to seek
a snore, I sought, I reached, my feet
are fleet and need to run, oh my, the sun
 
                                        seems near
 
It's Summer now and how perfection pleases
every sense the smells and sights the life in flight
the trees reach heights all dressed in garish greens
with carpets, rioting colors anarchy reigns
and malarkey seems a sane response
even as the rain does not feel cold
the world does not feel wet
 
yet
 
a leaf
 
falls
 
clever girl… Autumn my dear. Was that you with a soft kiss on my neck
                                                        while my head was turned?
Yes… of course… most welcome… a walk with you and a talk
I know, I know… you have spoken of it before… it comes and I see the signs
that you are pointing out to me. The colors alert and then they fade. Farewell…
 
farewell
 
                Winter, I've been forewarned
all my compatriots have fled
fireplace reveries soothe
window scenes frosted smooth
                with you out here
and they in there
 
Now, I feel your grasp
and I must tell you
I will not allow it dear friend
 
I turn and I grasp you!
        We will walk along together         
                I will regale you with tales of
        Spring and Summer
yes, even tales of Fall
you are acquainted, but you may not know her
                                        as I do
 
as I speak
I see my breath invade the air
I am alive!




 


Chapter 18
In Thanks For Service Rendered

By michaelcahill



In Thanks For Service Rendered
 


To protect and serve
limb
heart
mind
life
soul
    
 
languish on land
           crawling thru bloodied muddied muck and gore
           for freedom's foundations
    
     jaundiced in jungles canopied prison
           gasping sand saturated breaths
                as the desert shimmers
    
     falling as wings detach unnaturally
     embraced by an ocean
     where you become
     another mystery
     of the deep
 
a hero's welcome
the loud brass sounds
hurting the ears
with intentionally loud praise
 
           cool breeze on a July freedom
           kind of evening
           the sky explodes with victory's emblems
           songs of valor fill the air
    
a worthless bum begs for a dime
 

Author Notes The treatment of American Veterans is this country's greatest shame in my opinion.


Chapter 19
Ashes To Dust

By michaelcahill



Ashes To Dust
 


lost without direction or impetus
is there hope
kill the bastards
our reasonable response

senseless killing of innocents

we fumble for answers
towers crumble
vengeance stumbles forth
dust covered
bellowing justice


 
                 hostility
festering and congealing within hatred's cocoon--unmoving
but slowly a stronger force melts the red-hot senselessness, releasing—
                                                                                                    kindness

 
suicide bomber
approaches

with my arms outstretched
I embrace the moment
with my belief
 
our journey begins
 
we
part
ways




 

Author Notes I couldn't enter the antonym contest, but I liked my little antonym piece so I expanded it.


Chapter 20
The Sun's Stunning Glare

By michaelcahill



The Sun's Stunning Glare
                                                   by michaelcahill


like the beckoning of an endless abyss
I hear whispers that will not cease
are you my only friend
this endless bottomless miasma of sorrow
attracting me like a vixen feigning innocence
wearing a sundress in front of a leering spotlight
 

shall I believe in your purity
while you seek the perfect viewing angle
the perfect tilt to your head
allowing the wind to gently fondle your hair
your dress rises … just a little
any more would be obvious
 

yet I couldn't possibly miss its ascent
up your tense and woefully bold thigh
you stretch your arms slowly skyward
I climb them with my eyes
imagining I am your fingers
with the privileges they enjoy
 

I've already learned the truth
I'm the fool who believed--
the lascivious crowd on the other side of the hill
imbibes in the libation of their perceptions
and you are a well of sustenance for them
without bottom             without end
 

the white dove circles you
an impressive symbol to display
but it doesn't coo caroo caroo
it cackles cruelly as I realize
it's a myth just like you
yet I'm the fool who starts rumors
 

I'm the liar
not you
I found a willing ear
to hear
this fantasy
an eager ear
so very near
the one attached
to me….



 

Author Notes
Missed the deadline on "The other side of romance" prompt. A piece about heartache or betrayal.


Chapter 21
The Dreaded Door

By michaelcahill

The Dreaded Door
 

I can hear it creaking
squeaking as though hungry for oil
a lubricating gel would help
the sound of it straining grates on my thinking
but, I have to push that door open
the answer is on the other side
 
somehow, I find comfort
in the cacophony of desperate contemplation
my mind trapped in a padded room
that doesn't absorb echoes
how is that?
in spite of the racket, the room is safe
 
what's and why's and wherefores
dance an unsynchronized dance
or perhaps, it is a simple riot
doubt, fear, anger, cowardice
trying to get in step
still the rusty door looms
 
I've opened that door before
oh yes, indeed I have
I've even entered blindfolded
I've entered drunk
I've entered in arrogance
I've entered in stupidity
 
                         decisions, decisions…

 


Chapter 22
Seeking The Shine

By michaelcahill




the carousel slowly turns
 

easy access
falacious colorful fantasy mounts
await a willing rider
children of all ages
find a cushy satin saddle
 

ponies with wings
unicorns with blaring horns
securely fastened
strapped in tightly
the journey begins
 

the envious throng
crane their necks
keeping an eye
on their lucky traveler
smiles saturate sensibilities
 

Satan polishes with panache
anticipation feverishly grows
he extends his hand
all grab for the
shiny brass ring
 

the carousel slowly turns

             the carousel slowly turns

                          the carousel slowyl turns






 


Chapter 23
First Kiss, Last Kiss

By michaelcahill

 

First kiss

Image result for young couple kissing image
her lips part
a riot of fear
grips my heart
a forward lean
lips serene
love's calm
sweet balm
calm is near
this is our start

Last Kiss
 
her lips part
a riot of fear
grips my heart
a forward lean
lips serene
love's calm
sweet balm 
death is near
this is our end


Image result for death bed kiss



 


Chapter 24
Par For Prey

By michaelcahill



Par For Prey
 
                                                                   by michael cahill




four score and something
once worked
then
two score
in a rigged game
 
98 bottles of whatever
on the wall
always—
look into my eyes
sing the joyous song!

 
the high ground secure
armed and dangerous
glorious, victorious
 
sniper dreams now schemes
hilltops high-tops
penthouse telescopic
 
coyly philanthropic
injurious illusions
to the spurious masses below
 
impervious
to compassion's fashion faux pas
 


m                                        e
u                                   v
t                           o
a                    l
t                           v
e                                e
d                                       d

 


eyes relocated
one on the right
one on the left
like a silly wabbit







 

Author Notes
I think things have gone too far. The economy is not fixable. Whatever this country once was, it no longer is.

hypnotize






Chapter 25
Legacy

By michaelcahill

Author Note:Biographical, Auto? Perhaps...



Legacy
 


my heart is but an aching mass
and sorrow fills this dark expanse
        this chamber where my doubts
        like smoke envelope dreams
it seems all my screams are just for me
for I'm alone
                no one to hear
        clearly pity is my quest
        though it is self who heeds the tome
 
but I am twenty and I've all the days ahead

 

is it fear within or butterflies longing to fly backwards
fire chases me from dreams
before the truth of nightmares might reveal
graffiti carved walls close in
could, would, should
 
but I'm just forty-five with many days ahead
or so the hourglass pretends
 


I rush no more
for a hurry eludes me these days
it occurs but bones demure
with false disdain
        I applaud a beating heart
        and point out breathing
                with optimism
                my smile is loose and quickly closes
behind wise and thoughtful lips
 
sixty-three…
more to come
it seems so
it seems so

 
Will there be a ripple in time?

                             I'll wonder in the days ahead




Legacy finished second in the contest "Free Verse Poetry Contest"





 

Author Notes


Chapter 26
prodigy

By michaelcahill



prodigy
 
oh the burden
of expectation
the hopeful eyes searing holes
through every dream I dare to
 
yes, with ease
but if you please my needs
lie elsewhere
yet you stare for you once were a
prodigy
 
will I remove the sting of failure's ring
when all around you sing of my
rapid rise
will skies become a royal blue for you
if I

if I
 

the clouds are going somewhere
that much I can see
I envision chariot wheels turning and burning
the air with speed
indeed
 

and now I return
to your chagrin
you muster cheer
from wells of regret
 
I've none
failure only exists
when it matters
 
to you
the prodigal
son              returns
 
it began to rain
I've come home
from my journey
 
I never was a

prodigy



 


Chapter 27
Always Yes, For the Willing

By michaelcahill

Author Note:LOVE KNOWS NOT AGE

 


Always Yes, For the Willing
                                                           by michael cahill     


 
 
will I even survive this?
I see my hand and follow
from my fingertips
to yours
I cannot see where mine end
              and yours begin
 
it should delight
       and it does
              but as a roller coaster ride does
                     yet I know the outcome there
       the gears sounding with strain
       (though there is none)
       the screams when danger is an illusion
              the laughter
                     for that is the truth
 
                     this
                     is from a cliff
                     through fog
                     whose substance is a mystery
                           to a topography
                     filled with a dreaded unknown possibility--
                           sharp spikes of crystalline truth
                           waiting to impale me?
                           or a firestorm of unknown chemistry
                                  burning, perhaps, in a way
                                  my imagination cannot conjure…
 
I'm sure these clouds are tickling me
as an ocean filled with waves
of endless possibilities
awaits to whisk me
happily away
 
I needn't clasp your hand tightly
they have melded

 
a young person plunges forth unknowing, compelled
 
I, knowing,
still choose love
compelled,
 
      in spite of it all



 

Author Notes
Inspired by an astonishing piece by I am Cat, "Elderly Snow". This isn't quite up to the quality of that, but I enjoyed spilling this nonetheless. :)



Chapter 28
Narrowing Pathways

By michaelcahill

Author Note:Mankind is not synergistic



Narrowing Pathways
 

I dream in color
it seems I was told
by someone old
that colors
splashed across the sky
and when I asked why
the meeting was called to order
and the elders walled every border
someone wrote words
and murder
became punctuation
superiority became
a matter of brute force
of course
a horse pulled a carriage
and a wheel spun round
and at some point
hunger became
the norm



light

*
 
light arrives from the past
to enlighten us
we in turn send light
hopefully into the future
 
 
Twas my eyes saw color—I gouged them out
I heard "race" … had my ears impaled
I knew in my mind black and white
and could describe them with
clear meaning to all
I cut my tongue
…but I am
just one

man

 
 
there was a first man
there will be a last
the rest of us
struggle
to fit
in

 

most cannot be tasked to bother

a select few
stand
 
               
                                     alone




 

Author Notes
I have such little time for reviewing and responding. I am so sorry for that. I stopped posting as a result. But, I have to feed my addiction once in a while. I'll try to respond if you're kind enough to leave a comment. I always read and appreciate every word. Somehow I will make it up to you. :)


Chapter 29
A Treatise On Human Imprisonment

By michaelcahill

Author Note:PRISONS AREN'T ALWAYS OBVIOUS



A Treatise On Human Imprisonment
                                                                                       by michael cahill



 

~1~
 
flowing hair with blue eyes glowing
knowing no escape
still I tried to run
       but the sun
rose every morning and found me
 
the moon always fled as though it were
              designed to do so
       (I thought we had an understanding)
             
              I could never get her out of my mind

 
~2~
 
just a dollop of real whipped cream
supreme
on key lime pie
made from scratch
that first bite
                                  sigh…

 
~3~
 
a young man of sixteen years
without fears
jumped the five foot hedge
surrounding the old Endicott Building
nary a leaf brushed
as the wind rushed over the top
 
fifty years later
a fearless old man
shuffles along
remembering

 
~4~
 
infinity
is the world I'm in
 
       wondering—
 
                                    what's in the
                                       vicinity beyond




 


Chapter 30
Cyclone

By michaelcahill

              
          so, dream your sweet dream
                     while a river grows from a stream
                                  and a nightmare rears
                                                            and struts the sky

                                                 Hi ho silver
                                                 my oh my

                   and where is high
                   when low you fly
                   without the will to try

                                                   and did you die
                                                  when she told you
                                     well, not tonight...no baby, not tonight

                       is it what she said to you
                                 when you tripped the light fantastic
                       is it what she told you boy
                                 when she melted all your plastic skies

and deep inside where the demons lie
and you just can't help believe
                             that a dream is just
                                          a nightmare you think sweet

and still you cry
                        for a dream where you're the dragon.
cry for a dream
               where there's not a naggin
                                            doubt of what you're about

it's a world without that girl
            and within your world
                        no flags unfurled

                                                                  for you're alone

and the wind is not impressed
             a bow to the power of a love unknown
                                  a tip of the festive hat,
                                                           a feat of nature shown
                                                           to an audience of bones

a cyclone seeking wind
when nothing is within that roams

                                                did you not hear that she implored you
                                                that she could not afford you
                                                an entrance in a dream that you foretold
                                                for she is not the dancer in your centerfold

            she is the silver breeze
                                             that left you
                                                            blind and old.

what if a moment didn't mean
what you schemed and dreamed
                      in a vacant stare
                             that no one sought
                                                     to live?

what did you give?

a cyclone is a product of the wind ... it's whim




 


Chapter 31
Soul's Silent Sonata

By michaelcahill



Soul's Silent Sonata
 



My love, how I bow my head now
                   as I realize the mundane march
          I have allowed for us
                                                          for so long
                   da da da    da da da   da da da   da da da
 
when did that become the death tango with no flare
                   that I let compare to what was
                             a dance that never should have stopped
 
          alone
while the sun finally ceases to intrude
          its blinding interlude that puts me to sleep
                   just when "awaken" is the call
                                                          of whispering stars
 
and now the moon rises and for once
                                      I see it
                   I remember the
                                                melody
 
la      la             daaa       da      daaaa       loooo
                   la                       leeee                la la laaaaa                            
 
          I rise on the mist to meet you
                    over the ocean that moves
                                       only as we move
                                                           each limb
                                       directs each wave
                   at our pace         
          together
 
we play each other
                   one glorious note at a time
                                                with focus
                                                          harmony
                             a soft caress
of every nuance required
                                      counterpoint
          laa           laaaaa                     la     laaaaa
 
the universe is listening
it becomes new
 
                             this soul sings
                  
                                                                   and this soul sings

-pianissimo-
 soul's silent sonata



 

Author Notes The Moonlight Sonata is a simple piano piece that most pianists are able to play. However, to play it properly and bring out the beautiful melody requires great skill. Love over time can fall into the repetitious sound of the sonata and the melody is easily lost if the skill is not constantly applied.


Chapter 32
Rhyming Orange

By michaelcahill



Rhyming Orange
                          
                                                                          by michael cahill


here


this is where I truly            - am-
 

no one
       
INTIMIDATES me here
every snappy and witty response
                flows forth like
                        butter melting in a saucepan
 

my inner intuitive instinct invokes inward introspection, I
                instruct ignorance
                        to                                 flee
        truth is the order of the day
                                on these pages
 

my truth as seen by me
 

poetry in my motion
my own notion of an ocean's dreams
                carried to shore by the waves
                my mind wills-  travel!
                       

You, await the crash of angered-water on the beach,
        tense and trembling, terribly taut;
                I, holding your breath in the palm of my hand.
       

Open your eyes!
 
       
The wave rushes skyward
                (gravity holds no quarter in my world)
        through the clouds that break into song
                        in celebratory coloratura arias,    
                          washing over every planet
                   leaving
             worlds
          of
     new
life
     in its wake
        I put each unique world in my pocket
                for safe keeping
 

The universe shrinks
as my
imagination consumes it
 

I roam over the range
clover's color I change
Still you implore, "range-rover,
in a field of
orange-clover,
who are you?"
 

I am a poet.
as a poet-
I am


 

Author Notes To best answer the question put forth is to write something that is as completely in a form that pleases one's self as possible. This is what I would write for myself and most reflects myself and what poetry is for me.


Chapter 33
Forever

By michaelcahill


love does not recognize time's dominion
a moment and a decade the same
a year as a glance in contemplation
a kiss fleeting but immortally so
 
this faulty memory
where birthdays and holidays travel
        on capricious eddys of sparking electronic
                misfires difficult to unravel
sharpens to the picture of you
 

talking beneath a harvest moon
my finger gently to your mouth
your breath inhaled anticipating
forever passes between our lips
 
and now still trembling
I stand by a lamppost beholding you
all these years that have passed
gather in the moonlight together
my soul knows your souls answer
 
your husband turns and goes inside
your children follow close behind
you look in my direction unknowing
drawn by a force you cannot explain
                a force beyond your resistance
 
I put a finger firmly to my lips
               
I turn
                I walk away
               
                                     I prove it


 


Chapter 34
Winter's Concubine

By michaelcahill



Shy and vulnerable your pose, standing there naked
          branches trying to cover your shame
          but I blow them skyward
                   and see what I want to see
 
how lovely you look dressed in white my dear
          feigning virginity
                   though I have had my way with you
          night after endless freezing night
 
where are your fickle friends now?
no chirping or scampering or even a slick slither
                   how quickly they abandoned you
          as I swaggered down the path
 
only I am here now to caress every trembling stem
          feel the shiver of each kiss I bestow
you are mine my pet, every conquered bough
           It is my pleasure, concubine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Author Notes minimal punctuation.


Chapter 36
Alone Smiles A Fool

By michaelcahill



Fortune smiles for the sake of irony, whether
it stops for a visit or not
Perhaps, it is a sense of humor that causes it
to catch your eye
then coyly glance away
making you doubt your own senses
 
How silly you feel when you wave your hand
and then bend your arm awkwardly
to scratch your head
pretending that your intentions were always so
 
just like her
the glitter girl
 
smiles for the many miles of maybes
that you dreamed of
Are they mocking you as though you are chubby?
but you are not the pie-eating champion this year
 
Winks for the crowd making faces behind you
vanishing just as you turn around
you are just too slow
doltish dullard
Dancing dervish, you are not
The polka won't be in style forever more
 
You dive off a cliff
and they all laugh
Your vertigo wouldn't even allow
a belly flop splash to get them wet
 
But, you aren't really afraid of heights
are you?

You are just afraid
Why are you smiling?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Author Notes The dandy feeling of being in love with a girl that couldn't care less about you and doesn't even know that you exist. Good times!!


Chapter 37
Intimate Obscurity

By michaelcahill

obscurity is relative
between dissimilar minds
        an unbreachable gulf
                of doubt
                and perceived disinterest
 
        we stare endlessly
        into something unfathomable
                looking for a raft
                to float on
                for a moments peace
 
and sadly we look for a leaf
                 impaled by a toothpick
        as an ocean liner steams by
                with millions of outstretched hands
                               leaning in peril to grasp
 
Not always obscurity my friend is it?
Is it excused blindness
                or simple failure to adjust
                                         to the glare?
               
                a forlorn and irritated soul
                sits on an abandoned ant hill
                starring at a blade of grass
                growing under a mushroom
                and feels empathy
                "Poor little thing growing
                 in the shadows."
 
        but, only the blade of grass
        has the vantage point to see
        "From here I see you are soft
        beneath your intimidating helmet.
        I'll be damned. I can tickle you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 


Chapter 38
Our Ocean

By michaelcahill

-beginnings-

               an empty sea of longing

                                 yours

                                 mine

                 to fathom tides and the clever toying of the moon

                               smiling and making the stars giggle

                                      they mocked us with their winking
 

-longing-

               motion speaks of tiding reverie

                             we scan the vast waters with heavy sighs

                                      separated but of a kind

                                              dreams of sailing haunt our horizons

 

-belief-

          a kiss awakens a sleeping princess

          a frog the handsome prince through adoring eyes

          a jolly laugh slips a child's hope down a narrow chimney

                     faith transforms the stiffest wood to leaping life


-faith-

          a journey uncertain

                   whose destination holds joy or oblivion

                                   waves to ride to shore tumbling and shouting

                                                           or

               an abyss embracing separate sorrows unconnected
 


 -destiny-

            in the deepest and most wide ocean

                          two souls entered the water

                                                   they sought only love

                                   the most perfect love in the universe
 

                                                    and they found it

Author Notes I like this myself.


Chapter 39
Predisposed to a Poetic Predilection

By michaelcahill



It can never only be
                 just a poesy meadow's walk-a-bout
                                     oblivion replaces mere fancy
 
Winter's blue's a desperate dirge drowning deluge
                a song sung sans serenity
spring's hope a delirious dramatic dream-state desiring
                mirthful melodious madcap merriment  
 
a summer to find the truest deepest love
                   a fall from the highest oubliette
                               back to a winter's longing cold embrace
 
I am but a humble poet my darling
I do not merely love you
I breathe in deep the entire cosmos
and exhale a universe repainted for two
       
Red blood flows in waterfalls skyward
                     blue sorrows become transformed and fall
               persuading purple-passioned pressured pleading

"Please! Never stop!"
                               
A true poet believes every word written




 


Chapter 40
Stardust in Her Eyes

By michaelcahill

She sees me as a lustrous light of celestial origin
a blazing-blast, blistering-fast, free-flight beam
to thrill the sky's wide-eyed gaze

this little bright eyed boisterous boy
that spins and runs on Saturn's swirling rings
chasing marbles 'round and 'round against the wind
 

She thinks me powerful, an invincible protector
my flesh a shield from all danger
slayer of mythical-horned-armored-broaching beasts

this silly small boy that skims rocks
from shore to distant shore unseen
watching ripples write adventures
on the water's flustered face
 

She deems me the roguish romancer
with soft steel arms to faint
safely warm within securely spent

this foolish little boy that steals sweet kisses
laughing that she allows such brazen boldness
while standing on his head to just amuse
 

she proclaims me champion of her heart and soul
the one…the only…the everything

 
there is nothing that this lucky little boy
would not brave for
her, his beloved
blind with love
and stardust in her eyes  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



2nd place ribbon photo: 2nd Place Ribbon 2nd.jpg


 


Chapter 41
When Love Died, I Died

By michaelcahill

 

Was it I that said goodbye without a fare thee well? No!
How could you not glance back with longing just one time
Even as your guilty footfall pulled you lumbering forward
Never once embracing truth to hang your head and tell
 
Leaving was your answer when I asked if all was well, you
Only left me guessing when I surely should have known
Vacantly I glared ahead a drone within a dream long flown
Eagles soared in solitude, as this fool just stared with empty eyes
 
Did you ever truly love me? Was there ever any truth?
I ached inside and still you strode away with all my pride, taking
Every shred of what I was that day, the day when love died
Don't think that I'll tell wistful tales. You lied, you never tried.
 
I wonder…

dare
I
ever
dream again? Hope's
 
 
Interred
 
Deep
Inside…
Everything's
Dying
 
 
Is 

death
itself
even
denied?

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
 

Author Notes Acrostic with "I Died" repeated three times.


Chapter 42
la di da di da

By michaelcahill

so, I'm walkin' in this kind of tunnel
                strolling really
        that not quite strutting kind of
        ambling that tells you I'm better
                than you
        but, I'm not gonna rub it in
 
and I have this vague sense of
                "man-made
                 man-made"
        bouncin' in the grey
but, it just seems too ancient  
        like someone would have constructed
                during the march of the fish
                                        to dry land
                if someone were around
 
and though the seal is tight
I have an uneasy sense
of water all around me
with some kind of telepathy at play
        conveying feelings without language
                        it's music, I think
                        but, there isn't a tune
                        there's harmony but, no melody
        and somehow the feeling of the song
                envelops me
        and now I'm thinking: "Oh Lord!
I'm supposed to be the melody!"
 
But, I'm not fitting in
there are so many parts
in too many octaves
        and I'm being drowned
        without water
        though feeling surrounded by it
 
                                        and off in the distance
                                        I hear a pretty voice humming
                                        "la la la" over and over
                                                so, I join in
                                        "la la la…..la la la"
                                and add a little "la" of my own
 
                and now I'm losing the beat
                and I'm singing louder now
                                "la la la…….la"
                                "la la la…….la"
        but, damn it, it's not connected to anything
        and it's not matching anything
        so, I'm becoming frightened and forlorn
 
and I'm just screaming now
filling the tunnel with some kind of
                echoing screeching wail of sorrow
                        and I'm falling apart
                                        cell                 by                    cell
                        and the tunnel is collapsing
                        molecule            by                m  o  l  e  c  u    l      e
and the water I surmised
is seeping in
drop by
        d
        r
        o
        p
 
and I'm in some kind of primordial soup
cells meeting molecules surrounded by drops
and though I am completely dismantling
                                I am still aware
                                        even while I bond with foreign particles
                                        and                   dri      ft
                                        in some ever expanding sea
                        I feel countless cells
                        brushing by me
                        sometimes crashing into me
                        and further diluting me
        and finally all I am able to say
        is that I am a part of this
        and I realize in every scattered piece
        that all of this is a part of me
 
and now I am back in the tunnel
a sense, no, a knowledge of water
                surrounding me
 
an ancient structure indeed
filled with melody
past…present…future
all in counterpoint
all one work
 
                                I boldly sing my song
                                I cry as I hear it echo
                                through the tunnel
                                growing as it joins
                                the work in progress
 
and now I'm still kind of amblin' along
a little humility, a bit of arrogance
'cause I know I should be
so, la di la di da to you my friend

 


Chapter 43
Dominion's Brief Glory

By michaelcahill

Once again, mighty forest, the battle is engaged.
Long have I rested, midst these silly fairies
and this foul pukish stench


These garish flowers, pretentious colors dancing,
like so many stupid puppets,

with tangled strings in the hands
of a drunken puppeteer.

 
And you, shall I bow my majestic, ancient,
oaken, kingly, wrinkled wreck?

with your leaves, once vibrant
and a defiant, grand green;


Without humility, how you displayed yourself, for all to see.
I am so sorry, my dear friend,
about your lovely riot of color.

It seems I have turned it the most unfortunate
shade of bitter brown.

 
Oh, dear me, I have shown a bit too much passion,
when I blew a kiss

and every last leaf went flying off your limbs
and are now lying

like a crinkled, crispy corpse upon the ground.
 
Oh No! It is not laughter you hear.
Just a trick of the breeze, through your immodest

and shocking naked boughs!

But, still you do not bend. Dear me.
I am most chagrined. What must I do, sweet friend?

I will horribly howl and hellacious breezes blow,
relentless, tormentious and crippling cold.

 
Still standing, you damn fool? I am warming up,
as you stand there, without the sense to run.

Feel my wretched, drenching downpour
on your brittle, skinless bones,

frozen missiles, hurled relentlessly
downward…..sideways striking vicious blows.

 
Finally, torrential downpours of snow
covering every trace of your miserable self.

Not a trace of you remains in view.

A white ghost stands where you once stood.

I remain alone and victorious over everything.
There is only me.
I have won.

 
 

Author Notes This was for the personification of winter prompt. I was too late. If you think I would have won, I am happy to accept cash or McDonald's coupons. I accept donations out of pity as well. Pride is for sissies.


Chapter 44
Stiletto Heel

By michaelcahill



I careen through the poisoned underground currents,
holding my breath
               
                       with vague trepidation-

For I choose this pathway, somehow.
It is seeping through my pores;
taking me in a more subtle way,
             with my respect, of course.

As I wish it after all my false denial.
As I feared in every cell.
As I couldn't stop anyway.
               
         And finally
                 I breath deep the destiny
                 of that first glance;
                 subdued by endless wasted denial,
                 weary of an ego dance avoiding defeat.
                 The façade of my hidden power
                                                                 crumbles.
 

I fall to the ground.
As you walk by.
Your stiletto heel
pierces my eye.
               
"Sorry", you say
                  as you carry on.
                                               
                              My heart sings with joy
                                     for you noticed me.
                                                               
                                                  You actually
                                                         noticed
                                                                me.





 


Chapter 45
Hunger

By michaelcahill




I remember being poetic
                long ago
when my heart was a cathedral
        made of organ pipes
                shinning brass tubes
                untarnished
        and angled glass
                refracting light
                into colorful dreams
        surrounding the melody
        and conveying it skyward
        with a pretty picture of a galaxy's lost aria
 
I remember being athletic
hanging naked
from a trapeze
in a leather collar
        scaring them
        and inviting them
        at the same time
                of course, they had to know
                                had to
 
I remember the giddy pretense
of a ginger bread dream
that I baked inside their thoughts
 
                and now
                I must confess
                I wish I could capture
                as clever a liar
                for myself
 
I am hungry
tarnished
and alone



 


Chapter 46
Another Winter

By michaelcahill



Winter. Oh, dear friend, winter.
How endearingly long
have we solemnly spent
       our solitude silently together,
              as life doggedly endures
                     a stoic inspiration?
 

I seek your company every year,
and silently applaud,
       as spring...summer...fall,
              rest within the strong cradle
              of your steely-eyed resolve.
 

Yet, for all my reverence and attention,
I have never seen it snow,
              till now;
                     even as I, myself, have entered
                     my own perceived winsome winter.
             

This is my very own spring and dancing summer
                     come to sudden life,
                           a pleasant surprise indeed.
                                  This is not relentless rain-
                                         stern and predictable,
                                  nor haughty hell-bent hail-
                                         rude and admonishing.
This lives in defiance of every law,
       foiling gravity's stern admonitions
              with but the softest chuckle and wink.
 
 
I know God is well-pleased
       with every Summer's spectacular riot of color
              and the smiles of all his children
              frolicking carefree in the abundance of plenty.
 

But, I know as I see these snowflakes,
       dancing...darting...floating
down, in patterns designed by playful angels,
that this is where the Lord
       comes to play
              with me.


It is why I am not cold.





 

Author Notes
upon witnessing snow for the very first time.


Chapter 47
Mowing Balloons

By michaelcahill

words to soothe
            and smooth
                an aloe vera blanket
                to cuddle in

where is truth
in words measured
                and chosen carefully
                put in order
                to please the ear
 
the truth is in the thinking itself
                the endless downpour
                the mind's bedside vigil

if only I could lift off
                                the top of my head
                                and show you
                                               
                                                look at it!
                                                
                                                for God's sake!

               
                                that's what I'm trying
                                to
                                explain
                                in such a tidy
                                drip
                                dry
                                kinda way
 
I'm talkin' bout
                                  
                                   a lawnmower mowing
                                   a field of water balloons

 


Chapter 48
Wings

By michaelcahill





It is honey
          and nightshade
          that coaxes
                      a butterfly to beauty
    

born a caterpillar
           hope grown in chrysalis
                                 takes wild flight
 

 

it is love
that transforms
the humblest of creatures
and adorns them
with
                                   wings



 




 


Chapter 49
Another Time and Place

By michaelcahill



Another time-
Another place-

            And where is the road
                        that leads there?
What device of time foretells when?
 
                        So weary of irony and pathos,
                        Nobility, a thorn in my ass,
                        Honor is some hat racks companion,
                        Character, my assassin.
 
There will be another,
(but, I want no other)
            some tasty dish, to erase
         your limited visage.

But, I'm already blinded by merengue,
            in my lemon whipped world.

 
You'll love again.
But, not like this,
         not like this.
                                    And now I understand
                                                stalking and peeping,
                                                a voyeur's predilections.
                                    Those are by-products of want,
                                                obsessions relentless beckoning,
                                                mocked and ridiculed,
                                                by your own joy,
                                                            insanely happy,
                                                in the midst of your tragic failed existence.
 
I sit at a table,
surrounded by elegance,
broke and eating breadsticks;
watching them eat my steak.

 


 

Author Notes
the unwanted encouragement from friends when your heart is broken. you know who you love. you don't want to love anyone else. at least not yet.


Chapter 50
Secret Worth

By michaelcahill

maybe being admired
          for your nobility
is the ultimate goal sought
 

but, the conquering hero
receives but empty cheers
riding the winds of envy
          cradled in silent and bitter tasting
                                       rationalizations
 
         
          of course if you were there
          in that particular happenstance
          the cheers would be for you
                   you lick the urinal rim
                   to expunge that jealous taste
                   contemplating the cool waters beckoning
                             imagining your epithet
                             when they realize
                             their           sleight
 

and what of our reverence
          for your suffering
                    as all you sought is forfeit
                    all your just desserts
                    spoil in the burning valley
                             for want of a spoon?
but, aren't we all chuckling to ourselves
behind the stoic guise of pity?
          we somehow manage to avoid embrace
          for fear the jinx will rub off
                   a condolence by its very nature
                   only brings solace to the messenger
 

is there not a sweet taste
in a love unrequited?
surely we all sigh at the thought
                   or, maybe the remembrance
          but, what is more safe
          than a silent world of possibility
          where no door is opened
                yet, no door is closed
                       and endless journey imagined
                       rocked in the cradle of could've been?
 

but, in truth a thought has no weight
                             unspoken
                                                          unspoken
nobility after all
is just another word for inaction
inaction the cornerstone of cowardice
                             to endure your life
                                      without reaction
                                                or expression
 

how foolish to emulate the pallor of death
and accept the tip of a hat
as payment due for your effort
                   you don't get to hear your eulogy
                             no matter how elegant
you leave with your final thought
          a remembered victory
          a lie uncorrected
                             your private defining moment
                             known only to you
 

I'll be thinking of a kiss

 


 

Author Notes
a long warning for those that need it.


Chapter 57
Born Without a Belly Button

By michaelcahill

Author Note:PROBLEMS? WHAT PROBLEMS?



Born Without a Belly Button
 



"Arrested", says the power in the tower.
"Busted", says the cool cat cajoler passing by.
"Caught", says the trout, blameless, no doubt,
 despite the cry of the minnow with the hook through its eye.
"Escape", says the lifelong conniving schemer-dreamer,
"forego the blame and tilt the mirror anew".
 
Grandiose is the plan to save the world.
Hell on Earth is our potential should the skies
ignite, not in warming, but in a firestorm of proof positive.
Jabberwockies snicker snack in delight on crispy critters
knowing that the irony of myth has brought them to life.
 
Let the truth remain locked in the frozen tundra.
Millennia will march by before revelation. (they pretend)
No one shouts of doom unless seeking an audience.
Only a soothsayer speaks of "impending"; prophets portend--
Profits? Yes! Let's get back to the matter at hand. 
 
Quizzical as always, the children ask, "why"?
Response comes with resplendence: "be, Cuzz".
Should success suddenly be cast aside?
Thinking like that is thinking like that thinking.
 
Universal togetherness categorically identified,
verifiable cautious agendas optimistically shelved,
whateverness in cleverness displayed.
Xenocratic roundtable discussions about to commence!

Yes, a whale is a mammal. But it is certainly confused. No?

 
Zeus, please bring a little reality to bear…

 


 

Author Notes
xenocracy : government by a body of foreigners



Chapter 58
On the Cusp At Midnight

By michaelcahill

Author Note:A BRIEF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL VIGNETTE

 

On the Cusp At Midnight
 



drunken sperm brawling down the chute
         (a hero is among them)
a clever sober drive to glory
a small but determined race to victory
                against all odds to be
 

                                the one
 

oh those poor ovum, ovulated under duress
undulating in tortured worrisome worlds
                of dementia
                paranoia creates a miasma
                suitable for impregnators in a stupor
 

                                there is
                                one
                                though
                                waiting for a genetic miracle
 

Dateline: San Francisco Bay
Mare Island Naval Base
(Alcatraz Island drools in envy)
January 19th, 1952
The chicken or the egg?
               

                                the Eagle, baby!
 

Alone and content on an unobtainable oubliette
a mountain goat of many colors
eyes the great sea said to be forbidden
                he jumps and flies without wings
                the wind is impressed and smiles
                the water is churning indignantly
                mountain goats can swim
                                            if they want to
 

Well …

Ozzie claimed to be an insurance agent
                    (a secret duck and cover liason leaning
                      against a cold iron curtain ... Marilyn never
                      showed. Imogene Coca was on a different
                      chanel and Cuba was an island)

and while the cat was away
Harriet made curds and whey
and therapy would be invented in the near future
 

                Michael was mistaken for a girl
                with golden locks and bluesy eyes
                it amused him
                as did insanity
                and various imperfections of humanity
                he appeared unaffected by the pressures
                                attempting to cook him
                                                (the debate steams ahead)
 

Then ...


Dead President and yeah, yeah, yeah
promotion to omnipotent twelve-year old
leader of the pack
he appeared unaffected by the maladies
                enveloping his world
                                (he laughs at the debate)
 

HIGH school wasn't for him
the crowd being stupid and he being smart
accepted by
he rejected
                in secret
(Purple haze, war the craze, I left the maze)
 

yes, the girl, always the girl
 

things with strings
things with keys
things with valves and buttons
songs to sing
words to write
 

                a world to mock
                laughing at
                and with
                                sincerely
 

getting older
                measured
                treasured
                uninterested in assessment
                                                      
(or investment)
                               

                                 and the girl, always the girl
 

time eliminated from the continuum
age, rules, comparisons
for others
 


but the childhood, the hard life …
the Responsibilities, 
the family with the willies...
the effects debated still
the smiles questioned
the still waters plumbed for depth
the explosion anxiously awaited
It has to affect him@psycho.com

 
 
I, poet laureate of the universe,
laugh as I let off steam
 

disaster averted
                                        
Image result for mind blowing image



 
and the girl, always, always, the girl




 

Author Notes

Capricorn/Aquarius
Dad an abusive alcoholic, mother insane.
figure out the rest. :)



Chapter 59
Why I Divorced a Writer

By michaelcahill

Author Note:NEVER MARRY A REVIEWER

Warning: The author has noted that this contains the highest level of sexual content.



Why I Divorced A Writer
 


He called this dirty talk:

"Hey baby, how 'bout some enjambment?
This time I'll give you some alliteration!
I even brought a cork for my assonance.
Oh yeah! Feel those dangling participles slappin'?

I'll be back, Honey. I have to take an onomatopoeia."

Not one comma for me. Split my infinitive? Ha!
Yep, divorced him and his Heroic Crown!








 

Author Notes

This is all just stuff I heard. None of this is auto biographical. NONE of it ... really.





Chapter 60
Perseus and Medusa

By michaelcahill



Perseus and Medusa
 

 
Medusa young celibate
                beauty fair
committed to paths
                straight and narrow
 

Poseidon she found enticing
 and rare
                how she wanted him
                                                     deep
                                                                in her marrow
 

jealousy flourished
                and curses were thrown
                                her hair turned to snakes
                                and her eyes shot red


if ever a soul viewed her
it was known
she'd turn them to stone
 

But relief can arrive
                                guised in irony
Perseus had tasks to complete
                and her head was a prize
                for his epiphany
 

she sought death
he obliged
 

To Perseus she'd been
                                a deed to extol
 

from her view
                'twas mercy freeing her soul




 

Author Notes Yes, the staggered lines are intentional. It's a technique in free verse to draw the readers eye across the page. It highlights certain phrases and is designed to encourage pauses for reflection.
I realize that some find the technique distracting. If so, just read the words in order and try to ignore the format. Words are words.


Chapter 61
Bottle Cap

By michaelcahill

 

Bottle Cap



I wake up with cuts--
semi-circles
with ridges
a mystery to a groggy mind

 
another drunk night
another fight
with no one

I'm sure the sun would smile
if I deigned to draw the drapes
 
my hand sweeps under
that foreign land
under the sofa
a bottle cap
it's green
with red splotches
I know those blotches
were inflicted by some fool
(I use my sleeve 
to sop up drool)

this bottle cap
I know I've seen it
once before
 
a peppermint schnapps top
but of course--I remember
it's that cap
from days of yore
before my core became sore
I was a fool with a bottle cap to blame

I recall it put up no resistence
when I slipped my fingers
gently round it
and began to twist
it wasn't long
before I cast it aside

it offered no protection
for what it proposed to
seal within

well, that is just 
a memory unremembered
that she told me
most unkindly
wasn't my finest hour

my friend, this bottle cap
you did me no favors it seems
 
and now I place it on the table
and when my brain is able
I'll fill it with the good times
we once shared
 
but it might be night
and I feel like a fight
the guest of honor
has arrived
 



 

 


Chapter 62
To Gather No Moss

By michaelcahill



To Gather No Moss
 



the stillness of the river
stirs the butterflies
inside this stone
alone
amongst the many
the clinging has already begun
and moss grows
 
we tie together
and start to tether
as though the current
were a bad thing
an evil thing
 
this bed here
this bed we dig into
where we lean
against each other
and pretend
we are one thing
 
this bed is not for me
 
I leap for the current
even as I hear the cries of
"NO!"
and sure, maybe a whisper or two
regrets my absence
but it's the space and the buttress
that most bemoan
 
I see a bend in the river
and make my escape
rolling ever on it seems
the moss fades as do the
memories of it growing
 
the trap is no more
 
I find myself alone
in the sand
nothing grows on me here
nothing binds me
 
I've found what I sought
and endless time
to contemplate it







 

Author Notes
"A rolling stone gathers no moss".





Chapter 63
Love's Sweet Accusations

By michaelcahill



Love's Sweet Accusations



 
Childhood:
 
Hopscotch, monkey bars and merry-go-rounds--The stained off-white swimming pool at the city park.
But why are you late? Mom drove by the park. The pool was empty. The merry didn't go, the bars had no monkeys and scotches didn't hop … a lie? untruth? deception?

 
the need for
      explanation, accounting, evidence,
 
surprise
      interrogation, scrutinizing, investigation, castigation, toddler incarceration, supper deprivation
 
learning
      guilt early with curly locks to hide behind so they don't find the innocence destroyed
 
sweet child at play
conniving feigned innocence
mommy's sweet boy

 
 
Wedded Bliss:
 
and freedom rings  O O
one for me and one for you
I do, you do, we do two
the bridesmaid winks
we're on the blink
I swear to no avail
it's raining--no it's hail
I'm turning rather pale
I'm in my father's jail!
Well, I got a girl just like the girl
only the start dear heart
every move and word heard with every meaning
and every gesture leaning gleaning every possible
nuance and influential possibility of damnation
figured and deduced from what I didn't say or do
or what I might have could've did if I'd had the chance
regardless of what I say
that doesn't matter anyway

 
wedded bliss
my sacred vow eternal
cell door ajar

 

 
Seeking Love:
 
lesson learned
I won't be burned
a leaf's been turned
some joy's been earned
 

I love you
oh, the bliss!
 
 
                       but, what about this?
 
 
Ah, love's sweet accusations….
 
They do not sway me



Image result for lovers under the moonlight



 


Chapter 64
Just A Thousand Oceans

By michaelcahill

Author Note:LOVE IS LOVE REGARDLESS--A GOOD THING


 
I ponder oceans
but not their depth for that is known
to me and surely known to you
                and yes I've considered
                mountains tall piercing Heaven
                knowing you are of its fabric
 
it is miles considered
on this lonely beach
and how to breach
the vast expanse of circumstance
                the waves roll in
                                and offer not a ride away
                                away to you
                                where I know you've built a castle
 
our souls dance in the mist
far out to sea
where no one need be privy
                a sweet embrace
                                that is only beautiful
 
such is love
when the oceans
do not approve




 

Author Notes

This is me and Tori Amos. I'm sure she'd NOT be pleased. :))
Not exactly sure what the song is about, but many of the phrases
strike me as ones that pertain to the feelings I'm expressing, so
here it is.


Chapter 65
And Sometimes You Just Fall In Love

By michaelcahill


And Sometimes You Just Fall In Love



words can lie
they can manipulate and cajole and deceive
if that is the intention
of their invention
men know this all too well
 

but then words can climb
                an ascension
                                when they flow without agenda


a heart that empties
a soul in flight
a mind in thought unencumbered or slumbered
 

                in innocence, a like mind might encounter words
                                and see--
                                a heart
                                a soul
                                                thoughts
 

pure and simple strands of truth
that weave into a tapestry
 

it is a covering unknown to any but this lonely heart
shivering in the dark and finding the surprise of sudden


                                      warmth
 

                sometimes boys are reached just like that
                before the more foolish parts of them
                               

                                  can speak
 

maybe a poem
maybe a story
 

but sometimes
you can fall in love
just like that
 

                in secret




 
Image result for man alone in the dark
 
 
 


 

Author Notes



Apologies for the sound quality, etc. This is all I have. I had this little tune I was tinkering with and the phrase "A loss for words" in my head. So, I started playing and this is what came out. Overly long, choppy, sloppy and noisy, yes. When I get discovered and signed by Geffen Records I'm sure I can improve on it. :))


Chapter 66
A Fickle Majesty's Rule

By michaelcahill



A Fickle Majesty's Rule
 

 

Finally, the searing sneering sun sinks from view
and you join me, friend and companion
your smiles dance across me shimmering
I fear the sun pays not the slightest attention to us
                he gazes out, I imagine, unaware we are here
                                perhaps we are too small
                                                for such a grand showman
 

ah, look, upon the beach
they embrace as though nothing in the universe
               
                         exists
               

                                      but them       


come closer, dear lunar friend
help me to reach them with a little tickle
 



so lovely to see
let me serenade you with my song
the roll of my waves
the slap against the sand
the churning as I mix with the shore
and the whoosh and echo of my presence
as I retreat
the haunting mystery of melody from farther out
whispers of things unknown
truth lost in the fancy of a fickle breeze
 



your every sigh and intimate moan
enters my crests to be conveyed to parts unknown
another beach, another shore, other lovers
a song for them in perfect tone

 
 

why oh why do they not remain here at the shore
what more could they wish for
 

but they forget these nights as though dreamed of
 

does the sun anger them and drive them mad
 
 


                how well I know anger
                                the sun does irritate
                                intrusive and relentless
                                                nary a moment's peace
                                                yes, a friendly cloud to shield
                                                but the sun squeezes and worries
                                                                it to tears
 
 
 

                I rise up in frustration
                                futile, for she never leaves
                                but an evening's respite      
                                                always returning
                                                her power never diminished
                                these fools frolick
                                                feeling a frisk dominion over me
                                                I strike you down with a swift
                                               reproach for your discourtesy
                yes, the shore seems distant now, doesn't it?
                                my cool embrace not quite so inviting
                                                my wonders lie below
                                                your whimsical ponderings
                                                                your coming recompense
                                soon you will lie on my floor forgotten
                                                rotten as I roll by
                                                never shall I mention you again
                                                nor will I allow your discovery

 
 


Fools! You think me serene?
for I am wont to be so on a summer morn
torn will you be
forlorn should you be sworn
by the foolishness of your own mythology
I am no myth
is that not enough for you
a mountain that moves at my whim
to engulf you for my own amusement
your vessels so grand
splinters and twisted metal
                to decorate my floor
                seen no more
                                not even a bone survives
 
 

yes, sit by my shore
in the moonlight
I allow it
for now
it pleases me
 
however …. 


 

Image result for tsunami wave






 


Chapter 67
twin chairs rocking

By michaelcahill



Idle longing-- envisioning
lucky smoky-room encountering
endless daydream erupting
raptured entwining

sighing ...

            twin chairs rocking





 


Chapter 68
Souls Know

By michaelcahill

Author Note:IS THIS ABOUT YOU? YES.


 
surely, though a whisper in a prison,
souls know only truth,


words that aren't words waft on the wind.
and the fickle currents
bow to their will and intent
for the impish breeze does have one master.
 

the soul speaks;
the heart and mind listen,
and for a moment
all is known in certainty.


a sprite without a name
can only dance a joyful turn.
 

would that the heart harken purely
to the music
but hearts are healing places,
and wounds in the most delicate places
heal slowly and scars impede
a smooth touch confused by resistance.
 

the most well intentioned kiss
stings when applied to a bruise;
the most-tender caress
grates across an uneven surface;


words not even known to be careless
grip tightly to a meaning
unknown but to the rhythmic beat
suddenly interrupted.
 

being foolish, we solicit definition
and ascribe blame
or declare innocence
when neither need be considered.


the inexplicable retaliation
to the warmest smile
garrotes the tongue
and inflames it.


venom forms in the empty well
(a space heretofore unknown)
and spews forth in a surprise attack.


war commences in
the most peaceful of valleys.
and the burn obscures
the idyllic landscape.
 

the soul pines in


solitude,



                   ignored
 



love becomes a word
to bandy about,
   its expression
   paralyzed by the folly
   of awareness.
 

still,
it is real,
though encased in regret
and twisted by the past.
 

to set it free,


                            listen...






Image result for souls entwined





 

Author Notes

I told myself I'd stop posting. Something told me different.
This looks to my liking in classic Fanstory if you've a mind to switch over for a moment. :))

Thank you Rama Devi for pointing out the little details that elevate this piece so much!!







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