Suite: Your Awakening

Eleven short poems composed on 4/12/11.

The Theft

The water stole some sand from the beach today.
Witnesses say it roared in like a wave,
Like an army of renegades, perpendicular to the shore,
And took, amid the horrified crowd, all the grains
Which weren't bolted down.  Divers are out
Looking for the stolen sand while Detectives
Are questioning the Atlantic Ocean.

Spellcheck

I remember when it was my spelling
That you used to correct;
"There is more than one F in Affection
And only one in Fling!"
And you laughed at my inability
To correctly place my F's;
But I stood there with my misspelled words like
A patient child, and I
Hoped you might understand them anyway.

Independence Day

Nothing screams summer like fireworks;
Blaring in the sky like young Icarus,
Trivial, in the background, all while
We close the gates of my father's office
In a mahogany box, for the last time.

Its a Lovely Day for a Funeral

The last time I was here I got to see
How decrepit they have all become;
The relatives who once babysat
Now stingy with canes and apparatuses
Dangling off their favorite suits and dresses;
The end purpose of such purchases:
Their eternal clothing.

Even Muse's Lack Judgment Sometimes

My muse took me aside today and asked
If I remember that time when I was jogging
By the Bay and she made me stop
And stare into the water and think,
Think deeply about my routine and how
It would be going nowhere, how nothing
Could return me to what I once was.
She grabbed my hand and insisted
I go for an eternal swim in the reeds,
She offered to help me stay in the water
And I thought about her offer for a brief moment
Before continuing my jog.  She asked
"Do you remember that moment,
The only time I let my true heart sing
To my client?" And I said I did,
But then I reminded the muse that said water
Was far too shallow to drown in.

Processions

As you stand there in your beauty
Your eyes collide-a-scopes of brown,
Your bangs scattered gingerly
Across your forehead, your smile
Still shining after all this time;
You're doing some big things now
Without me, and here I remain
Picturing myself still there
Beside you, in our best attire
Holding this coffin.

Astray

And looking back on your life
I could see where I went wrong;
The morning sun is rising
Like the chorus to a song.
When I tried to hit the high note
I swear it wouldn't play,
My fingers hit the fretboard
In a thousand different ways;
I had wanted to be someone,
But I guess that fell astray.

12 Months of Revelry

One year later
I find that I
Cannot help but
Regret your beauty
As if I made you
Everything you are;
Although I did
And I guess I
Lied to myself.

Title Poem

Every time the song comes on
That once described us well
You cloud my mind, mistakes
I made loving you for
All this time after you left.
Good bye to melodies of
Fingers moving patterns
On the fretboard of your
Body. The tune has changed,
And your favorite novel,
Which I have just finished,
Explains all of your motives,
In our life's retrospect.

My Ex Girlfriend's Pillow

This is my ex girlfriend's pillow
I sleep upon it every night
It is plump and soft and fluffy
And stained, though that part's out of sight.
"What happened to your ex?" You ask,
Well now she's seeing someone new,
I flared up when I heard of him
And split our union into two.
And now she's just a memory,
Somebody that I used to know,
I'm looking for another now
To lay her head upon this pillow.

April 12, 2015 (5 years after we met)

My uncle killed himself in '94
They say, he walked into the ocean clear
Left a suitcase with a will and a note
And into the horizon, disappeared.
He must have been dead for about five years
When a call was placed into our home
My dad was thrilled to hear his brother's voice
Which played in such delightful baritone.
-And now I stand by the bay all alone
Thinking how long it takes five years to pass
And wondering if you, too, will return;
My phone blaring with your playful laugh.
I think about you on your current path
The memory of you in bathing suits,
Plus Kate Chopin, V. Wolff, Sylvia Plath,
And the calmness of the ocean blue.

Author's Note

This is the first time I'm trying a "suite," of poetry so I'm not all that confident. I think it came out more morbid than I'd envisioned but otherwise its okay....let me know what you think! Thanks.

I wonder what kinds of interpretations this work would get if I revealed that there is no suicide taking place in the lives of the narrator or the girl opposite to him, there is merely Kate Chopin.

Reviews

[.]

the first two..jumped out at me..clever witty and nicely written..this is a great way to present a selection of short poems..

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

Dynamic to say the least. Has the makings of a new role of poetry as it were. Private in your execution, though full of emotion and energy. Imagery flashes forward. Well done!

[Clarisse Nanoit]

DAY-UM.
That's nice. That was an epic journey you just took me on.
I super enjoyed (favoriting and requesting. yay)
KH

[Neva Flores Smith - Cha..]

I love it...........I feel like I just took a walk through your mind and heart.....wow!

[Saraplenty]

Like I said earlier, these are my favorite of yours. I love how it feels like scenes flashing through your mind's eye, allowing us to peek long enough to view your heart.