Futurelawyer

#PoetryFriday - Forgotten Memories

FORGOTTEN MOMENTS

He wished that he could remember the smell of her hair
The way that she wore it
and the perfume she chose that day.

He wished that he could remember the time
that she forgot her purse
and he drove 100 miles to get it.
He remembered the event
But he couldn’t remember the look on her face
when he returned it.

He wished that he could remember
the last time they made love.
Instead, he only remembered that they did.

He wished that he could remember
the last time they held hands.
Instead, he only remembered that they did.

He wished that he could remember
buying her a necklace or a ring
at a store or a craft market.
He only remembered the day.

He wished that he could remember
the last time they fought.
Instead, he only remembered that they did.

He wished that he could remember
the details of the times his photographs
captured a moment in their lives.
Instead, he only recalled the moment.

Memory is a strange thing.
After a time, it colors the events
with a rose red blush;
but is it true?

Perhaps all that matters is that
he remembered that he loved her.
And, he remembered that she loved him.

That he would never forget.

#PoetryFriday - Seven Weeks

Seven Weeks

As he counted the hours
until her visit
he thought about the fragility
of time.
Lives changed in a moment
and seven weeks was an eternity.

He trusted his instincts
and followed them
day to day
like a dog
sniffing for addiction.

If love were a quantity,
he was overflowing
and time stood still
for him;
He stood at the edge of a cliff
without fear
trusting that she would hold his hand
and pull him back to her.

He wondered how to show her
that he understood her pain
and, like a piano out of tune
he played his notes
carefully
wincing at the tinniness
of his voice.

It was early spring
and his orchard
bore ripe fruit
waiting to be picked.

 

#PoetryFriday - Shadows In The Closet

Shadows In The Closet

He spent a weekend
in the shadows
with her clothes and shoes.
He had forgotten how beautiful she looked in them.
Each trip to the car
brought back memories
of events and places.

He brought his monsters
into the light
and they sat quietly
waiting for him
to move them to a new home.

Would he miss them?

Once the closet was empty
he set about filling it again
so that the next occupant
could store their own monsters
within its walls.

Why was it so hard
to step from the shadows
into the light?

#PoetryFriday - Amor Fati

Love your fate. You really don't have an attractive alternative choice.

Amor Fati

In his dream
she was interested in someone else.
He followed her around
looking for a spark of interest
but she stopped at every booth
looking at other people’s goods
and chatting about the weather.
He stumbled and fell
and no one noticed.
After the fair
He was pulled over
and the speeding ticket
was more money than he had.
The traffic lights
seemed to turn red
as he approached
and he narrowly escaped another accident.
He carefully stepped to the door
and into the house
when he came home
and sat in his chair
waiting for the next problem to happen.

While he waited
she called
and asked him if he could come over
and hold her tightly
so that the world
wouldn’t smother her
with another tragedy.

He bravely
stepped outside
and confidently marched
to the destiny
that Fate had planned for him.

 

#PoetryFriday - Memento Mori

MEMENTO MORI

When I die,
Remember how I lived
Remember that I started the day with a smile
but only after several cups of coffee.
Remember that I loved gadgets
and the rain
and making computers dance and sing
and making friends
with complete strangers.
Remember that I learned to accept
death
as a necessary part of living.
Remember that I loved
and lost
and loved again.
Remember that I went to bed early
and got up early
and loved to write poems
in solitude.
Remember that I tried
to make you understand
that loving and living and accepting fate
is the only way to be happy.

Remember that you will die
and live like it will happen later today.

Never forget.

#PoetryFriday - All Dogs Go To Heaven

ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN.

When we brought you home
you were a tiny ball of fur
full of life.
You filled our days with affection
and ran away often.
We chased you down the streets
into alleys
and backyards
and into scary traffic.
We bothered the neighbors
and screamed your name
until we were hoarse.
We got into the habit
of looking around for you
every time we opened the front door.

You always came home though,
and we forgot to be angry.

As the years passed,
we aged together
and all of us became comfortable
with our bond.
You slowed down
and no longer felt the wanderlust
that gave you the urge to run.
We no longer watched the front door
anxiously when it opened.

When you died,
it was a blessing that your pain was gone.
But, maybe the pain just transferred to us.

We feel it every day.

More than once
it has occurred to me that you have been
in my life
for as long as my human wife and family.

What curse leaves me on this planet
after you both have gone to heaven?

Sometimes I think
that waiting here to see you both again,
looking for signs of your presence,
is my penance for my sins.

Will you forgive them?

#PoetryFriday - Twins

Gemini

He raised his tail
Stinger ready
Took aim
and missed

His double vision
deceived him
as he struggled to see
twin images
and uncertain beauty

According to legend
the twins were Adam and Eve
expelled from Paradise
Facing the renewal
of new birth
and
Dodging scorpions

Would she let him take her across the river?

#PoetryFriday - Lover's Quarrel

Recycling some old work. Too soon old. Too late smart.

LOVER’S QUARREL

He ran from her
Down the busy streets,
Horns blowing,
Wind in the alleys,
Daylight giving way to darkness
Colder
Wet.

He ran through the alleys
And the shopping malls
Through the stores
Filled with busy people.
They had no time for him
No directions here.

He ran from the ghosts
That haunted him.
He feared them.
They followed him everywhere.
He wondered
Did they have photographs
Alive
With fear?

He ran into a Church
And settled into a pew
And prayed for guidance.
If he stayed in the warm embrace of the altar,
He might never leave.

He wanted to run again,
But he found her outside
In the rain and cold,
Arms open
Her embrace didn’t feel like death
Or dying.

He would try this for a while.
He could always run away again.
Away from the ghosts and goblins,
Away from the photographs with no face.
Away from the one dimensional images
Of dark citizens
Of a world
He wasn’t yet ready to join.

#PoetryFriday - Deliberation

Sometimes, we spend too much time deliberating, and not enough time living. What will you do today?

DELIBERATION.

He wondered whether ecstasy was a lie.
Was it a whisper lost his daily life,
A life filled with responsibility and debt,
An illusion shimmering over blue water
created by sunlight
and filtered through the trees,
unrecognizable
like the truth told to strangers
on first dates?

Would absolute truth
heal the wounds of the past?
Could it bind the broken limbs
and broken hearts?

He resolved to move slowly,
But his resolve melted
in the milky white skin
and her beauty and purity
of her soul.

He knew that he would pursue her
with the intensity of a flame.
He burned with desire and longing,
Secure in the knowledge
of her love.

#PoetryFriday - It's A Jungle Out There

WOLF TRAP

In his dream,
he walked in a wood;
branches in his face,
mud under his feet.
He enjoyed the battle for survival.
He ate berries and leaves,
slept next to the water
and awoke to sunlight
filtering through the trees.
He happily faced the enemies in his night.

Each day he walked a new trail,
choosing bramble bushes
over paths paved in concrete.
He never gave up.
He never surrendered.
He never allowed the she-wolves to devour him.

He was a young wolf,
sauntering through the wood,
looking for prey.
He howled in the night,
scratching and serene.

He was king of the forest.

As he grew older
his pace slowed.
His saunter became a steadier gait;
but, still he pushed
ever forward
looking for the next kill.

He stayed with the pack
never alone
but always apart.
He kept free of entanglements
with the other wolves.

He growled at the enemy,
while the she-wolves circled.
He was unaware of his growing discontent.

The she-wolves grew louder,
insistent
and bloodied him with their fangs
until
looking for peace
he left alone
into the night.

He grew older still,
ate what he killed
slept when he liked
content to be an old king
alone in the peace of the jungle.

Then, one day,
the queen of the she-wolves
approached in a glade.
She smiled at him,
and nuzzled his face with hers.
In an instant,
he surrendered to her charms.
He had grown tired of the chase
and accepted his fate.

He knew that only a queen
could be his match.
But, he wondered whether she would devour him,
or,
after a lifetime of struggle,
she would make him again
into a young wolf
howling at the night
hunting for tomorrow.