Vertically Detained (Poem)

Vertically Detained

Be upright, dear
They said quite clear
As quiver’s arrow
Straight and narrow

With submission
Find your mission
For here and now
You must avow

Stay in the lines
And watch for signs
We must assert
Do not pervert

To see things level
Is of the devil
------------------
Latitude gained
Now unrestrained
To see things wide
Equator’s guide

From east to west
These things are best
Lying down low
The lines to toe

Stepping across
Wreaking chaos
Of this I know
This way I go

To see things level
In this I revel!

© Expressions by Christine 6/30/11

The Fine Line (Poem)

The Fine Line

Someone wrote a song

For Vincent

Mixing a palette of sadness

Stirred and swirled

Blues and grays

A submerged moon

Drowning

In a waning star field

Someone scribed an epitaph

For Sylvia

Emblazoned and bereaved

Golden lotus

Planted in fierce flames

And now I am here

Years later

Worlds apart

Dark and lonely

Questioning creativity

And treading a fine line

© Expressions by Christine 6/29/11

Whispering Swords (Poem)

Whispering Swords

Vertical sounds
Whispers unsheathed
Tales do abound
In watery wreathes

Swished and twisted
Naked the blade
Hilted and fisted
Bejeweled in jade

Suavely this sword dance
In quicksteps wrought
Sleek in the stance
Woven in knots

Resigned to heal
Crossed at the throat
Guardians reel
Belief by rote

Upend your creed
Surrender thus
Forge the deed
For us! For us!

(c) Expressions by Christine 6/28/11

Cleveland Girl (Poem)

Cleveland Girl

I wanted to frame

Those stares and smiles

Adoringly beholding me

Perhaps-

Instinctually begging attention

From my camera lens

As if I were a photojournalist

Or

Fascinated by L’Oreal Ginger Twist

Meandering through my hair

As if I were a redhead

Or

Making natural kinship

With my mother-like eyes

Asking for recognition

And confidence from a woman.

So I smiled back

And captured you impulsively.

© Expressions by Christine 6/27/11

Close Your Eyes (Poem)

 Close Your Eyes

Close your eyes
Find relief
From pain
In pondering quietude.

(c) Expressions by Christine 6/26/11

Magnetism (Poem)

Magnetism

This strap

This man

This certain magnetism

All of the sudden

I feel like

An alchemist.

©Expressions by Christine 6/25/11

Response (Poem)

Response

She bristled
Reactionary

Porcupine-like
All quills poised

Like electric ballpoint pens
To write me off.

(c)Expressions by Christine 6/24/11

Couching Words (Poem)

Couching Words

Scratching out your skeletons
Upon my yellow pad
Confess them all, without a doubt
Your secrets are quite bad

Nothing to do with "them" and "they"
Your dreams a mere concoction
Nightmares tagged in silky ink
Stop bidding on that auction

Lay right back, I'm tuning you out
Dem bones are rapping louder
Heard it all time and again
Always been a real doubter

Session's over, grab your pills
Toss your tissue, dry your cheeks
This dirty couch has got to go
Next appointment in two weeks!

(c) Expressions by Christine 6/23/11

Haiku 1

 

Peeling back layers

More than skeletal remains

A soul, a mural

6/22/11

Creative Collision (Poem)

 Creative Collision

In this white-on-white spectrum
I pale to your brilliance
All-encompassing and consistent
Gathering all hues

Omniscient in a momentary mingle
To marvel at your masterworks
Crafting sentences
Into unbroken circles of words

That fractal and collide
And Spirograph out of control

To this I aspire

(c) Expressions by Christine 6/21/11

Hung Out (Poem)

Hung out

Those words you used

Were soggy, you know

Dripping with less than enthusiastic

Restraint

Washboard and lye

Not abrasive enough

To scrub and scour

Out the harshest of thoughts

Til you set him to work

Carrying your basketful of stink

To the Laundromat again

Hung out to dry

©Expressions by Christine 6-20-11

Veiled (Poem)

Veiled

Questioning these layers

I look back

And see ghosts

Compartmentalized

As I try to make myself

Invisible

Hiding here in these weeds

©Expressions by Christine 6/19/11

Numbers (Poem)

Numbers

I’m sorry numbers

About the fifth-grade anxiety

Never getting you right

Never understanding

A fraction of terror

Cringing at fractions

And decimal point equations

Math races at the chalkboard

And the pit-of-my-stomach regret

On having a good friend

Who went on to become

A mathematician and professor

At a major university.

© Expressions by Christine 6-18-11

Ambition (Poem)

 

Ambition

You asked me about ambition

And I replied “That’s a little too rapid fire

For me. I’m more of a plain Corn Flakes

Kinda gal, before all the hoopla”

Strawberries and sugar are alright,

Don’t get me wrong –

But if I am going to start somewhere

I will be comfortable here in black

And white.

Figuring out shadows and light

Being vulnerable

Building strength

And then kicking down doors.

© Expressions by Christine 6/17/11