Trimerics

Trimeric

Trimeric \tri-(meh)-rik\ n: a four stanza poem in which the first stanza has four lines and the last three stanzas have three lines each, with the first line of each repeating the respective line of the first stanza.  The sequence of lines, then, is abcd, b – -, c – -, d – -.

The first published volume of trimerics is now available through amazon.com or directly from Leaning Tree Adventures (see Dancing in Strawberries in the link reached by clicking on Poetry under the Publications/Books tab).

HOLD TO YOUR HEART

how can you tell
at the start
what you can give away
and what you must hold to your heart*

at the start
of the new day
it is too soon to know

what you can give away
because there are no owner’s manuals
for love

and what you must hold to your heart
is often not clear
until it has slipped away

* First stanza from Kay Ryan’s The Well Or The Cup
###

  

BEHIND FACADES

the cold house sleeps
while wind chimes
whisper urgent warnings
of a certain storm

while wind chimes
shiver on their strings
night birds wake and

whisper urgent warnings
of impending death
carried on the wings

of a certain storm
that few men anticipate
and all fear
###

###

MY DANCER

you danced among wild strawberries
believing only in the rain
and the spirits who guided sunlight
to your artesian song

believing only in the rain
that rippled across the backs
of rainbows

and the spirits who guided sunlight
between
swirling clouds

to your artesian song
where cherubs were turned into angels
and
you into myth
###

 

TAKING FLIGHT

was there a promise
when they met
she might remember
he wouldn’t

when they met
a golden eagle soared
above their hearts

she might remember
that she closed her eyes
and wished

he wouldn’t
fly away
like the eagle
###

WHY

I tried to understand why
your whispers turned to silence
when I asked what makes
hearts skip a beat

your whispers turned to silence
and a smile softened your face
but you never answered

when I asked what makes
you smile like that
you smiled again and said

hearts skip a beat
to catch their breaths
between kisses
###

 

NIGHT LIFE

Blue moon descends
on a stairwell of clouds
into the dark forest,
drinks from clear artesian springs.

On a stairwell of clouds
that glow under her footfalls
and casts shadows

into the dark forest,
blue moon becomes
a creature of the night and

drinks from clear artesian springs
until dawn
frightens her away.
###

BEACH PARTY

I would like to hum along
while you sing the rising moon to sleep.
Then, I want to dance with you on the beach
above a tide of sparkling angel hair.

While you sing the rising moon to sleep
the last blue flames of the campfire
will disappear into the shadows of the dunes.

Then, I want to dance with you on the beach,
alone, where we can explore
the darkness that lingers there.

Above a tide of sparkling angel hair
we two, strangers until tonight,
will beguile the stars and wake the sun.
###

 

TAKING HER TIME

we split over feelings about making up
I liked to rush back together
but she always wanted
some time to cry

I liked to rush back together
and forget about petty arguments
while the wick still smoked

but she always wanted
to let the embers cool
and take

some time to cry
before she decided to forgive
or forget
###

 

I COULDN’T ASK FOR MORE

If one day were added to my time on earth
I would want to spend it with you.
You wouldn’t have to do anything special
just being with you would be my reincarnation.

I would want to spend it with you
in a garden or on a dance floor
or simmering in the kitchen and though

you wouldn’t have to do anything special
during those added twenty-four hours
I want you to know that on that day

just being with you would be my reincarnation
the beginning of a lifetime
in which we would dance forever.
###

 

THE CLEANSING

when I want to pray
I find a woods and enter there
without luggage and without a watch
waiting for the rain

I find a woods and enter there
knowing that every breath I take
will be like shedding skin

without luggage and without a watch
to burden me I am able
to face the sky

waiting for the rain
to wash the dust from my soul
and draw me closer to my creator
###

 

BEYOND PHYSIOLOGY

her heart has four chambers
like any other heart
but what her chambers do
makes all the difference

like any other heart
there are lubs and dubs
that need attention

but what her chambers do
besides attending to circulation
and their personal needs

makes all the difference
one is for understanding, one for forgiveness
and the other two sing and dance
###

 

LAST KISS

all she heard was the ache in his voice
when he called for her
to wrap her arms around him
and kiss his December lips

when he called for her
she returned slowly to his side
resigned once more

to wrap her arms around him
like evening fog
around a dying tree

and kiss his December lips
a kiss he hoped would
defy time
###

 AT DAWN’S FIRST GLEAMING

imagine yourself a star, tiny spider of light
dangling on the end of an invisible silk
having forgotten the way up and dropping
slowly into the night*

 dangling on the end of an invisible silk
with only the moon for company
and saber-toothed pines waiting below while you,

having forgotten the way up and dropping
through clouds bloodied
by dawn’s red eye, fade

slowly into the night
like a symphony of coyotes
in the foothills of the mountains

* first stanza from Imagine by Marcelle Kasprowicz
###

DEATH IN IRAQ

 soldiers fell
like blood-red leaves in autumn
but even the cold wind
could not frost their eyes shut

like blood-red leaves in autumn
that cling to lifeless branches
they waited for reprieve

but even the cold wind
cold as Satan and freezing the blood
in their veins

could not frost their eyes shut
could not blind them to the horror
of war
###

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