Beauty Well Weighed
A crisp frost creeps over land in winter’s first
Early morning movement one December dawn
Falling on flowers, like sleeping lovers entangled
Wrapped in the ice of morning like chilled pawns
They find no warmth of revival beside the other,
Caught in the veil betwixt life and winter's charm.
Unaware, they sleep as lovers seldom do
Dreaming dreams of sun and fresh-kissed dew
Within the morning light, they shine as one
From effects of dew and winter's frost anew
Emboldened by the moon's revolving dance,
Discarded flowers lay where they were strew.
Flowers intertwined on a frosty, wind-chilled day
In a display of untold depths, they seek to invade
Youth’s fading light, forever bound in visions of
Frozen flowers lingering 'midst winter’s shade
To silently signal the dawn of day's new birth
Within the substantiality of beauty well weighed.
A Gathering
In a gathering of souls who recognized and sang to mine
I heard echoes of ages long past and words supremely divine.
Whispers of shared secrets ’til then remained undivulged
But in a glimpse of perceived awareness were firmly nudged
Toward a well-honed life able to shed its own sustaining light
Amidst wiser old souls glimmering far brighter in the night.
Picture Courtesy of Jenikmichal, Pixabay
Cynthia Calder, 11.02.24
Bit o’ Cackle
Double, Double Toil and Trouble
The spoon’s encased in gnarly knuckles
Something's cooking – you ready to eat?
Promise the gamey taste can’t be beat.
The witch cackles and it lingers all around
Shivers run up and down at the sound
Steam rises from the huge, coal black pot
Holy hell – please don't say this is your lot.
“Come hither, dearie,” a crooked finger begs.
Fear invades, there’s no sensation in your legs.
“You’ll not feel a thing,” she says and cackles.
“You’re more plump and juicy than the apples.”
Eyes wide, you shake with fear and stumble back
You don’t want to be this old hag’s midnight snack
Your mouth opens wide to produce a scream -
Then you wake – thank God it’s but a dream.
Staggering, you head to the kitchen for a wee drink
Cause the old hag managed to take you to hell's brink;
The door swings wide - you can’t mask your surprise,
There stands the wicked witch in her insatiable guise.
Painted Moonlight
Fated lovers pause
’Midst moonlight's painted glow -
Star scattered skies and
Dual moons mirrored,
Hunting twin souls afar -
Two hearts, one beat -
Over deserts and destined pathways,
Mountains, seas, and skies,
Submitting to the moon's direction
Draped in love's fateful guise.
As though entwined, two hearts
Leap to the beckoned echoes
Of a hunter's moonlight,
Quivering, glowing, gleaming
As flower petals fall,
Stretching far over skies
That seek only to divide.
Twin souls and twin hearts
Find the intersecting solace,
Crisscrossing and aligning
'Neath one fated moon,
As they answer love's
Destined, gallant call.
Cynthia Calder, 10.17.24
My ‘fear’ is my substance, and probably the best part of me. - Franz Kafka
There was one rule: don’t open the door.
It was mandated by her brother, Xander – and temptation incarnate for Dahlia.
Xander was odd, and he'd become prone to outbursts – red flags much like the red door. Today, however, he’d be gone, so Dahlia moved toward the door. The house was hers - she had every right to open it.
The doorknob twisted in her hand. A growl. What the bloody….. The door opened, and Dahlia was assailed by noxious odor as eyes focused on a crazed reflection - herself.
One thought invaded: it’s ourselves we should fear most……
Parallel Lovers
"Love is a magic ray emitted from the burning core of the soul and illuminating the surrounding earth. It enables us to perceive life as a beautiful dream between one awakening and another." Kahlil Gibran
....
Two lovers, kindred in spirit, though separated, speak to one another across the vast realms of parallel worlds.....
I can see you! Though first hidden in the depths of my mind, you now linger on the wind.
Echoes of a lover, for lack of anything more, this is the best residual image I can send.
I long to know you, hold you, breathe in your scent beneath the glorious, sun-filled sky.
Until then, I’ll send clouds of my love billowing overhead, so you'll know I tell no lie.
But shall we, two linked souls, ever truly meet, perhaps on the edge of the ocean’s shore?
If hope manifests and bestows kindness, then yes, our two worlds will open the doors.
Despite your kind words, formidable despair steps into my heart, evolving only to invade.
Don’t let fear overcome what you’re aware of, nor should you doubt the love you crave.
You speak words of encouragement, but tell me: is it what your heart truly knows?
I believe we two souls, like twin stars in two galaxies, do exist; we are not faux.
In the sun, you’ve made me glow with a smile. Shall I send my love to you on its rays?
No need, my sweet, for I'm already wrapped snugly in your love's overwhelming array.
Separate souls, two lives, two beings are we - though we're apart, our hearts beat as one.
Despite the vast distance in parallel planes, one day, together our time will be spun.
When that celebrated day arrives, I’ll clasp you tight in a moment most divine.
And then, like our love, we two, ever twain, shall coexist in a world so sublime.
On Being Virginia Woolf....
Melancholic haze of fall’s days whispers,
Beckoning like surging waves upon the wind
To create a shadowed veil from depression’s
Already foreboding sensations it sends
Fleeting aspirations, like withered brown leaves,
Drift, scattering across the gardens of my heart
United in deep-seated wistfulness of emotional platitudes
While ceasing never in its quest to thwart
The solitude of long sought after, evasive peace;
Strengthening, it wreaks havoc with all doubt and
Dryness of the soul’s river expands, imitating
The heart’s long starved, thirst driven drought.
With the fall’s ache comes a residual of murmurs,
Mirroring a lack of any impending hope in sight
As winter’s encroaching call, like destiny, creeps in,
Akin to death, reminiscent of a failing plight.
“How I feel autumn's ache.”— Virginia Woolf
Cynthia Calder, 10.12.24
The Old Hag
In a burst of mephitic vapors, she encompasses to fill the blackness of the room
She circles until she decides to finally halt, settling hard and heavy on my chest
In fear and disgust, I taste the bitter bile of my own blood as I'm put through a test
Enthralled in battle, it's freedom I seek and though awake, I see with unseeing eyes in the night
While only the breath of fear and crude laughter denote the unreality of my plight
Cynthia Calder, 10.04.24
Night Jasmine
The edge of sheer vulnerability yawns, slowly spreads
Stretching over the bed, it proliferates, seeping into each thread
Whilst lingering, always observant gold eyes peer and ignite
Over sleek, smooth blackness of fur found in the crux of night.
Slumber encumbers and dreams elicited creep to invade,
Wisps of whispers found amongst shadows as reality fades,
Melodious thoughts of beauteous design and reflection,
Symphonies of sweet respite and melancholy deflection.
Whilst perched on the edge, a fierce protector of the realm
Seeks to slay and embody all threats, steadfast at his helm;
None the wiser is she who slumbers in delightful repose,
The body and mind apertures, displayed in artistic pose.
A single bird’s melody reverberates over night's air
Enveloping the senses in a warm cocoon devoid of despair
While she sleeps in peaceful and undisturbed gentle abode,
Her companion arms himself with wisdom innately bestowed.
Slumber on to invite all the deeply imbibed and sweet visions
Your knight in shining armor will watch, ever faithful in precision
Allaying tremors of threats in the dark with his night-vision
Acquiescing the splendor in summoned dreams thus envisioned.
Cynthia Calder, 10.04.24