******** Love Poems... ...and Other Lies... by Dan Leach (For All My Loves) ******** Copyright c 1996 by Dan Leach Thoughts on the Golden Sea Masquerade Letters A Parting Edits Perimeter Oasis Thunder Storm Incandescence Blaze Waiting Noise Thoughtful Daydreams The Chase January's Song A Thanksgiving Song St. Jude Detection Beer and Pizza The Ring Autumn's Song Touches Infidelity A Memory For all my loves... Thoughts on the Golden Sea I Sun upon the water As you sleep within my arms Drifting here to nowhere On a sea that softly calms -- The demons of the night Have been dispelled into the stars And I'll surround you as the sea does Even past the crimson bars Of Death -- So sleep on, Gently on, Gentle Moonbeam. II Our love should be like two balloons, Dancing on a gilded wind, Not worrying for what comes soon Or what comes near the end -- But the sun is setting somewhere As here our day begins And we drift slowly on the water As balloons upon the wind At dawn -- So sleep on, Gently on, Gentle Moonbeam. III Were prophecy a pastime Of lost sailors on the sea, I'd tell of the lifetime That you would spend with me -- But now I hold you -- Gently hold you -- And I hope you understand That I, No more than a mortal man, Cannot see the ending thread Of time -- But if loving can be the kind Of thing I'll ever do I'll stay here now for all time Just to be with you, Stroking the brown velvet Of your hair -- So sleep on, Gently on, Gentle Moonbeam. IV You slowly now awaken, My small princess in blue jeans -- You smile to me full broadly And prove to me that moonbeams Are brighter than the light Of any sun -- I brush the strands Of mulch brown hair From across your face just now And wonder at the beauty there Behind your warm brown eyes And how Marvelous it is To live on love All by itself -- You look to me And kiss me -- You tell me That you'll miss me When I'm gone -- "Gone?" I say -- "Why should I be that?" And you just smile And marvel at The naivet‚, of sailors Lost and drifting from their ships -- Then you press your lips So warmly to my hand That I truly feel you'll miss me If gone I ever am From this place. V Love all day Is all I know And quiet peace At night is here -- I just never know What to say Beyond that I care For you More than anyone In life I've ever known -- But we'll spend all eternity Drifting on the golden sea, I loving you, You loving me -- I'll never leave you here alone -- I'll never be from this place gone -- So sleep on, Gently on, Gentle love. Masquerade I We're here, you and me, apart but together, wearing funny costumes, but always changing, always swapping costumes and masks as much for our own entertainment as each other's. We each have a thousand thousand masks and faces in two trunks each as tall as a man (mine taller than yours by a foot). First, You're a Lady And I'm a Gent -- All Dressed Up So Fine, So Proud, So Fine, So Proud -- I give you Roses -- You give me Hell and become one of the children my mother never let me play with -- all blue-jeaned and rough and tumble and I become the mean little bastard that lived down the street that my mother never knew I knew. I give you Hell -- and fire -- and poetry -- and try to match your costume. You take the blossoms of fire as you did the fire red roses -- You give me a poem and spit on me and I don't understand -- I had thought that it was a game -- that it was fun -- that you agreed -- that that was why we played -- I had thought that you knew that. I am wrong. My tears mingle with you saliva on my cheeks and it's no fun anymore -- and I crawl away inside my trunk, and wait for the ball to end. II The music's gone -- The ball has died -- And I peek out of my trunk. You're still here -- But with another -- Not even apart from him -- So tall, So muscular, And (God forgive him, Though I probably won't) Blond. I want to leave -- to crawl away -- but I care too much to do that. i walk meekly over and softly -- ever so softly -- take the seat beside. You're scribbling something -- "what?" i ask. My poem, you say, He, The Blond Giant, Said he wanted a copy -- "me too," i say softly, and you go on scribbling -- And you ask, a little nervously, without looking at me, if i still want your summer address. "of course," i say softly, and you smile and go on scribbling -- "It's not too neat," you tell him, "but it'll have to do --" And I smile because you promised me a careful copy and it is I and not the blond giant who walks you home. III You say you're sorry for the pain But not the thought and I tell you It was the thorns and not the flower That I minded. And when I kiss you good-bye, You make me promise to write -- We now kiss once more -- "Have a nice summer!" "Good night..." And you're gone. Letters Pages and pages Of letters from you -- Heartbreaks and triumphs And lives come unglued -- Rubicons in writing And Waterloos too -- Teardrops on your couch -- Wine drops on mine -- Of carrying crosses And what's meant by "divine" -- For more than two years, We've been trading ideas, Soft feelings, and kisses, And, now and then, tears -- We rock with each other Within worlds unborn And talk with each other Across miles of torn, Waning Earth -- But you'll be with me Beyond it In Heaven. A Parting water into water as the night draws to a close starlight into sunlight as rises up a rose red sun the time has come for me to go Edits Dark, the night -- And lonely -- The stars cry out For want of moon -- Soft, the breeze -- But sapping -- And I reach back to you... A night like this... Wet kisses, a surprised smile -- It didn't happen this way, My desires editing the memory. A different passion. Instead of anger about the future, We look to the pleasures of now. We make love on the grass, Amid the cold dew. Giggling afterwards Brushing the weeds From our bodies and clothing. I'm happy with the edit, My new memory of that night... Merging other memories into this one. It should have happened this way, With a "happily ever after" -- But we didn't know our lines. ----------------------------------------------- Published in Muddy River Poetry Review, Winter, 1996 Perimeter Loving, But not touching, I call to you, sweet friend -- Wanting, But not having, I seek to reach within Your walls -- But you move away. Look to me -- Are you close enough to mine To see the poetry inside -- Or just the rocks And dead leaves At the perimeter. Oasis You ask me to be a rose in the desert you don't want my free flowing jungle with all its beasts and carnivorous plants in your mind so I untangle the vines shrink the trees withdrawing to near nothingness and try to select the right flower to leave (sorry, Hon, no roses). Thunder Storm Smile for me, Small lady, And I'll hold you Warmly tight -- I'll guard you In my arms, And stay with you All the night Of this storm -- So sleep soundly now Amid me, And don't let The lightening Frighten you Anymore. Incandescence I touch you in my dreams and I know what joy can be I love you in the silence of the night I reach to you with my heart and you surround me with the warmth of your delight new fire now burns were once there was cold kindling Blaze Firelight dances in your eyes No light is here but this No sound but of our sighs Quivering in our kiss Our passion swirls beside the flame You tremble in my arms You say the cold is to blame That I shouldn't be alarmed Your softness holds me through the night And all the next day too Your eyes within the sun's new light Glow like my love for you Waiting I wait beneath a bough For a paper Penned by your hand To be brought to me By courier That I might understand What it is, Why, And how That you feel for me in a land That I may no more see Than I can The fowl of night. Noise Take with me quiet company In an age of lonely noise -- Let me know how things might be If we were girls and boys Again, Soft friend And gentle love. Thoughtful Daydreams Somewhere -- Somehows -- Sometimes -- Somethings -- Rainbows -- Teardrops -- Soft chimes -- Gold rings -- Thus someone shows you his love as he can -- When far from you, he missed you. Need I now tell you who is this young man? I'll give you a hint -- X He's just kissed you... ---------------------------- Published in Inspirations from Iliad Press The Chase Chasing shadows -- Those of rainbows -- Chasing raindrops -- Chasing dew -- Chasing colors That are stellar -- Chasing teardrops -- Chasing you -- The chase is one of merriment -- Sadness -- Darkness -- Brightness -- Yet, One which one shall ne'er forget-- The chase is one of young love. ----------------------------------- Published in Inspirations from Iliad Press January's Song A wet chill rinses through me And I wish that your warm body I could now have next to me -- But I know that this can't be -- Not just yet, anyway -- And I am cold. But I also know I'll be able to hold You in just a few more days -- We'll be together as we once were And I'll not need fur To keep me warm -- This makes me calm -- And I trudge on Through the cold. A Thanksgiving Song With a ring of flowers, You said I became Baccus, And we lay for hours As though none could part us -- So now the touch of marigolds Across my skin Brings back the thin Feel of the crimson folds Of your dress Upon my chest -- The memory still holds, Though you Are no longer Here. St. Jude You're happy for the present And the attention But not the giver -- You don't want these from me -- An old lover, sometime friend -- You wish I were someone else... Somehow else... Then you might have enjoyed the gestures And been impressed, But not in this reality, In this now, You think I've gone over the edge Forgotten the ending Now so long past. I don't tell you that I talk to you when you're not there -- Like a dead spouse -- Like I always did... I don't tell you that You meet me in dreams -- We're still together there -- I think it's just this time of life for me One of reflection and looking back And somehow we're out of synch It's not your time for this... You're not in phase for rekindling. Detection Mr. Homles couldn't figure it out Nor could Mr. Chan Of that much I'm sure about It couldn't be a man Another woman, maybe, Or, perhaps, an oracle Could tell me why you treat me Sometimes like a barnacle And sometimes like a king Sometimes loving, sometimes hateful You tell me it doesn't mean anything That you're only sometimes wonderful Sometimes thrilled to hear from me Others, "weirded out", Sometimes happy to see me Others, you turn about And leave before I've had the chance To say "Thank you for the dance." Beer and Pizza I I hold you bluely In my gilded arms And wish you purplely A fair goodnight -- I limply tell you I'm too tired tonight For anything else... And then Drift slowly Into a soft Oblivion -- II The acrylic simian Moves silently Through a polymer jungle of fluorescent colors, Pausing once In a great age To consider His position -- "Hmmmmmm..... About here, I think..." And then moves on... A larger than average golden chimera Sits beneath a palm tree on the beach -- Cleaning herself amid the waves. "What are you looking at?" She asks. And before I can answer, She consumes me with fire -- III A primal scream Nudges me with A Freudian innocence... "Must have been the pizza," I say "I know what you need --" You say knowingly with a sly grin and a giggle-- You light a candle and We lay together again -- My hair Tangles with yours -- One with Another And Another -- Each hugging each hugging each -- The oblivion of passion Replacing that of the dreams... You make me stop thinking -- We live now only for the moment -- Afterwards, As you sleep upon my chest, I try to remember What the chasing specters Were all about -- Until they are upon me again! ----------------------------------------------------------- Published in Illya's Honey, Fall, 1995 The Ring The first snow Of Springtime Falls in Boston -- You say the weather In Texas is fine -- "Did you get the ring I sent?" I ask you -- "It's beautiful! And it fits just right!" And I hope that sometime In the night Your hand will cross you face As you wear it -- And that the kiss I put upon it Before I sent it Will find its place -- Its home -- Upon your lips. ---------------------------- Published in Impressions from JMW Publishing Co. Autumn's Song The multi-hued trees All around As I held you in my arms Brought back The many colored times I'd succumbed to all your charms -- You crowned my hair With ivy leaves And I repaid you with a kiss. That evening Of monument hunting Long shall I ponder this -- That parting touch -- The last caress -- Your smile and fix‚d gaze -- Made me want to love -- Hate to leave -- And ever sing your praise... Touches A touch of gray, a touch of dust, and one of laughter make a man -- But a touch from you was needed before I'd understand what joy there was in touching... Infidelity It seems to me unfaithful When your hair changes hue Red, gold, honey, yellow, Which is the real you? I feel like I'm unfaithful -- You're a different woman every night. But you say you don't change your hair -- It just seems so in this light. But the light remains the same, It is faithful to its task -- So how is it that you've changed The highlights then I ask? No, I'm not complaining -- But I still don't understand How colors shift within your curls, But then, I'm just a man... And I'll take the new woman That you are to me tonight That is, as long as she's here, Till you shift again within the light. ---------------------------- Published in Treasured Poems of America, Summer, 1996 from Sparrowgrass Poetry Forum. A Memory Quiet yellow butterfly -- Gently smiling, slightly wispy -- Come next to me By sparkling, moonlit water -- You say that I seem distant -- How could you believe my thoughts could be Elsewhere or elsewhen than here and now? Let us look to the present And fearlessly enjoy this moment... Silent mar'gold butterfly -- Softly touching, lightly whimsical -- Stay close to me In this nesting place -- Fill me with the soft confection of your sweet lips, Warm almond eyes, caressful golden fingers -- Drive away the chill of night -- Quietly we touch And deeply we drink from each other's souls... Fare you well, loving butterfly -- Swiftly flying, blushing fully -- Now it is you who is distant -- But though you are no longer here And never here shall come again -- Remember this kindly: The warm feel of your wings Shall remain with me Until the autumn wind No longer carries leaves Of renaissance... ---------------------------- Published in Impressions from JMW Publishing Co.