RickThePoet

Tarot

He studied her as she placed the cards
upon the table.
Did she hear his beating heart?
Could she sense his prayer
For a future of loving her
Could she read the desire in his body

Or was it all a game?

She read the cards
and knew that he was bound to the past
A past that carried only broken love
and incomplete promises.

He was a budding plant
growing towards a powerful sun
reaching for the sky
A boy-man
learning to love

The cards told him that he had much work to do.

China Doll

She seemed so delicate
Her pure white skin
against his dark arm

He was afraid she would break
if he held her too tightly.

She spoke of secret desires
and he understood.
He desired her with a fire
eternal in its power.
Brightly lighting his life,
it threatened to burn
but he came closer anyway.

He wanted to feed her
with his power,
To hold her with his arms,
Seduce her with his intelligence.

His words
were his tools
to let her know
that deep inside
he wanted her to grasp his soul
and carry it to ecstasy.

He imagined that she sat
before a quiet stream
Next to a forest,
while he admired her from a secret place.
He approached, unseen,
and she leaned forward
to hear the passing water.
He knew that if she heard him coming
she would
deer-like
run away to a place of safety,
thinking him to be just another hunter
looking for a meal.

How could he show her
that he was, like her,
a frightened deer,
running away from the hunters
who chased after him,
and that,
together,
they could protect each other
from the destroyers
and the breakers of china?

Sacramental Wine

As the wine travelled across the table
to its final resting place
He thought of the sacraments
with the religious fervor
of a zealot
praying for salvation.
He was spinning out of control
on her roller coaster
of emotions
He was looking for the off switch.
Was she the one he sought?
Her stunning beauty
made him forget, but
He had the faith
of a believer.

He gasped at the height
of the sleek cars
as they sped to the top of the ride
He closed his eyes on the way down
She held his hand
and he knew that he would be safe

He forgot her beauty
when he listened to her prayer
The bustle of the restaurant
faded into her eyes
He looked down
from the top of the mountain
and knew
she could give him the courage to jump.

Was it a sin
to wear the wine
like a badge
of honor?

He thought of the graves of dead loves
moribund reminders
of ghostly memories
as he looked at his future
and drank the wine.

He wanted to shout
her name
in a litany
sung with the voices
of choir boys
Lifted to heaven
on the souls of angels.

He only said goodnight.        

Photograph

He looked at the photograph closely
Image of his youth
Filled with promise
Overflowing with optimism

In a single dimension
the photograph reminded him
of another self
free to hope
free to wonder
free to grasp
looking for the future.

He remembered the photographer
prodding
annoying
motioning
jostling with the hangers on
and the wannabes
sharing his soul
whether he wanted to or not.

He took a picture in his mind
moved to another decade
and
wondered whether the wisdom
of age
would be enough
to bring the photograph back to life.

Did it look back at him
and laugh?        

Blue Madonna

The painting hung from a corner of the wall
Unassuming
and simple.
He held his Madonna's hand,
as they gazed at the pensive face
of Christ's Mother.
He was struck by the coincidence.
His Madonna wore the same gaze,
as she stared at him with soulful eyes.
He sensed a sadness behind them,
and he felt a tugging irony
at the comparison.
He knew that she was thinking
of another love,
wondering whether a new love
would allow her to be
his Blue Madonna.

Would he worship her
with the reverence of a believer?        

Zen and the Art of Spring Cleaning

As I push the vacuum around the house
and clean the counters
scrub the debris of a week
from the shiny surfaces
and discard
the used up trappings
of my life,

I think of you.

Every now and then
I need to adjust the inventory
and remove the extra baggage
from the carousel
Otherwise it will go round and round
forever.
The simplicity of physical labor
allows me to concentrate
on the complexity of my feeling
toward a new woman in my life

In the ordinary running away
I do every day
In the meanderings
and gallops
of my thoroughbred anxiety
I sometimes
stop
and listen
and look.
I get hit by fewer trains that way.

I love the way
you free my mind
to think about
the future.

       

Vigil

Everywhere he turned
His women waited;
watching;
a vigil of life and death.
Her breathing was peaceful,
She who once stood guard over her daughter’s virtue.
Now,  she was guarded
by a daughter
who guarded him.
He thought about the other women
passing through his life,
like diners in a fast food restaurant.
They wanted change back from their dollar.
Some of them stayed awhile,
Guarded him
Protected him
Injured him
Wished for him
to become what they expected.
Each of them,
offering up a chalice
filled with love and hate;
dispensing mercy.
He hoped that they would understand
That while he waited,
He wished for them
the happiness they deserved,
while he kept vigil
with the one he brought to the dance;
Guarding her
Giving her comfort
she so richly deserved.        

Other Men

I struggle to form a picture
of a restaurant
You are seated at a table
across from other men

Do you make the same small talk
you make with me?

I wonder if you spill your wine
or whether
you toss your hair
while you nail them to the cross
of male ego
Do they cringe at your courage?
Do you look at them with the looks
you have given me?

I fight the urge
to ask myself the hard questions,
what if they get a higher grade
on the test than I?
What if they are prettier
than I?
What if you will love them
and not me?

Do you hold their hand
with gentle fingers
and touch their knee
with the knee that touched me?

In my mind's eye
the landscape is filled with other men
grasping and groping
wildly pursuing
the one I love
Their lights are brighter than mine
Their souls are purer than mine

Can they change water into wine?
       

Beach

I lay in the sun
tanned and ready for love.
The lounge chair
reclines
at the perfect angle.

I squint at the sun
reveling in nature’s glare
I drench the perspiration
in water from the pool
in which my arm dangles
aimlessly.

My vacation is just begun
and in my head
I hear the quiet lap lap lap
of the water

And
then
the cell phone rings
the notebook computer buzzes
the PDA alarm rings out
The MP3 player starts playing music from the 60s
and the radio promises
riches for the tenth caller
and
a
relaxing
vacation
by the water
on the beach.
       

Snake Charmer

He slithered up to the bar
oozing romantic juices on the floor
He cast a sneaky eye
to where his wife might be
and looked around
for a warm dark place
to curl up in.

His eyes were black as coal
and his long, lithe body
slowly moved to the closest rabbit he could find.

Would she succumb to him
Or
In a flash of insight
look at me
and see the lover
behind the aging bull?