Elephants

Here’s a new poem — it needs some polishing, but here’s the first draft.

elephants thunder
marking their presence in my mind
thick calluses imprinting the carpet
wrinkled trunks swaying widely
as they try to change course
360 degrees with a wide turning radius

locked away in their minds
hidden by giant leather ears
memories
which trap my pain
haunting restless nights
trunks snaking across
reaching pails of water
sucking it up
and spray it forth
an endless stream of tears

they huddle in rooms
stomping out truths
imagined to be invisible
an SOS
to those clinging against the walls
pressed against the boundaries
searching for an exit
from this crowded room

The Piano That Is My Mind

Your fingers
pause, bent over the keys of the piano
the piano that is my mind
you force sweet melodies to rise forth
from my throat
melodies which you have given to me
and the temp increases
the rhythm beating wildly in my soul
pounding to be set free
dum ba da dum bum
madly I sing forth the notes
singing with a voice that is no longer my own
the voice soars, as your hands float over the keys

until someone wanders through me
up into the cabinets of my mind,
where they tear you from the piano
I hesitate, and then the someone that is me
sits and with a glance at your fleeting back
places delicate fingers on the keys
and I begin to sing my own song

Poetry Drips Like Poison

Poetry
drips like poison
from his fingertips
and passion
seizes his mind
until there is no more hope.
Salvation
is found in the most unlikely places
and freedom’s price
is a life well lived.
Behind
safety, anonymity and assurance,
good intentions
may rob your soul
of its open window
may close out the light
until your love wastes away
in a dark cellar.
The prisons of our minds
are no more dangerous
than the eyes with which we see.

And I wanted to love you.
But you took away my voice.

Dreams For Your Children

I dream of you
with your round, brown eyes
which are always
looking past the sand in your hands
I wish you could focus
on the well in your midst.

I dream of your children
embracing life with both hands
running
with the eagerness & trust of children
towards a peace you can’t
(buy)
(create)
IMAGINE

I dream of your
freedom
when you learn of a love that
overcomes all you’ve been
(lied to)
taught.

You, my sisters and brothers,
may not now see what I see
but I will dream it for you.