Death of a Day.

I refuse to justify the waning of the day
No matter that the sunset is a glorious blaze
.
It is the death of daylight.
Spilling its lifeblood into the sky.

No matter that the stars are bright.
They shed precious little light.
To illuminate the black of night.

I cannot accept this death of daytime.
The moon, a melancholy globe,
Does nothing to assuage.
I’ll mourn ‘til morn.


.


ELEVTHERIA POTAMOUSIS
1933 - 2010
RIP

The Final Countdown

Tired flesh sagging on aged bones.

A frightened face confused and worn.

The patient speaks,

“I feel so weak.”

I reply,

“You have to eat!”

The medical bills have all been paid.

There is no cure, you feel betrayed.

The patient speaks,

“I feel so weak.

I reply,

“You have to eat!”

No more drugs, no more hope.

No one tells you how to cope.

The patient speaks,

“I feel so weak.”

I reply,

“You have to eat!”

You make plans for when you’re stronger.

I ask the doctor “How much longer?”

The patient speaks,

“I feel so weak.”

I reply,

“You have to eat!”

You’re still hoping for a future.

I pray you won’t have to suffer.

The patient speaks,

“I feel so weak.”

I reply,

“You have to eat!”

I wonder if when you die.

I’ll have the strength left to cry.

The patient speaks,

“I feel so weak.”

I reply,

“You have to eat!”

I apologise to my friends for my apparent lack of interest.

Life and imminent death are keeping me busy.

Short and Sweet

Unexpected

Surprised into joy,

By birdsong in the city,

I think of you,

And smile.

Prisoner of Pain

The future’s looking far too bright
Frozen in its intense light
There’s far too much to gain
You’re a prisoner of pain.

You hang on to what you know
Just maintain the status quo
And it may sound insane
But you’re a prisoner of pain

Circumstantial incarceration.
Is your excuse for avoiding action.
There are things you have to do
You know “They all depend on you”
And it’s a crying shame
But you’re a prisoner of pain

A bird in a not so gilded cage
Smiling to suppress your rage
You want to make the change
But you’re a prisoner of pain

Shackled by your fear
You’ve shed so many tears
And there’s no one left to blame
But you’re a prisoner of pain

I could offer you some good advice
I could tell you how to live your life
But I can’t escape my chains
And I’m a prisoner of pain

.

This poem was inspired by a comment

made on Flutter's blog by Krista.

"Why does pain feel safe?"

Shout Out for Jocelyn

On Thursday, April 24, 2008 Jocelyn posted
“Just Sayin”

Apparently inspired by…

This Is Just To Say.
by William Carlos Williams.

Her response was, as always, excellent entertainment and inspired the following poem which I left as a comment.
As I have received no inspiration since and also think that anyone who hasn’t visited “O Mighty Crisis” is missing out I decided to post my ditty here.

I also suggest that you all take a few days off work so that you can go and read Jocelyn’s blog from start to finish.

Now weighing…

I have gained
12 pounds
Since the day we were married.

I have no siliconed breasts
Or liposuctioned thighs
To incite your ardour

Forgive me
For becoming
The mother of your children

Instead of
One of those porn queens
You so admire.

DYING IN A LIE

.

Lengthening shadows creep across the walls.
Eyelids close as the dream world calls.

A gentle caress, a warm embrace,
A welcoming smile on her lover’s face

Affection found in the touch of twilight,
Longing for the kiss of gentle midnight.

.

.

She wears a sad smile as she cooks and cleans.
Caressed by the whisper of half forgotten dreams.

The siren call of the unloved wife,
“There must be more than this to life!”

Caring for her children as each day passes by,
Just another mother dying in a lie.

.

Waiting For The Storm.

My soul is oppressed
By the black and angry sky.
Surrounded
By the heavy velvet silence
Deceptive
Soft with foreboding.

Tension snakes up my neck,
Gripping me like a vice,
Squeezing out my sanity.

Stab!
A dagger of light gashes the defenseless air,
Screeching.
The darkness retreats,
Temporary surrender.
It swallows the blade.

Boom!
A thundering crash of sound,
Punches a hole into my world.
The beat of my heart
Leaps to join the rythmn,
The drumbeat of pain.

The storm lashes out.
The raindrops,
Dancing with my migraine.

Pillow Talk

.

Your early spasm

.
Robbed me of my orgasm

.
You premature prick

!

Poems and Replies

My friend Ann has moved her blog, “At Home With Ann” to wordpress so I popped over there to have a look and found a bunch of poems that could have been ripped from the bleeding entrails of my soul.

If you can tear yourself away from the “penis peppers” and scroll down a bit you will find:-


Who knows

Conscience

Love or Lust

Moral Dilemma

After reading them I was prompted to leave the following poem as a comment.
Thank you Ann for being not only a friend but also a kindred spirit and an inspiration.

Tangled Imobility

Is it naive then to seek out the bright spots of colour?
Among the tangled bracken of past mistakes.
If I spot a wild and beautiful flower,
Should I pluck it from the ground?
Inhale its sweet aroma?
Hold it close to my heart?

Will it too wither like other blossoms of my memory?
To become another corpse in my compost of regrets.
If I pass on and leave it unexplored,
Will it not still become an error to abhor?
My heart reaches out; my mind stays the hand,
Frozen by inaction,
I become joy's executioner.

by Cathy

LOST

Seeking answers,
Finding confusion.

.

Seeking comfort,
Embracing illusion

.

Seeking the future,
Losing the past.

.

Seeking stability,
Sinking fast.

.

Turning, ever turning,
So many questions burning,

.

Branding pain inside
Nowhere left to hide.

.

Impossible to stay,
Unthinkable to go.

.

No “right thing to do”
Family breakdown,

.

Catch 22.

So It Ends

Grief grabs me by the throat
Choking out joy
A river of sadness
Pours from my eyes
I am empty inside
As love dies.

.

.

.

.

Puppy Love

“Love me.” You beg,
With your big brown doggy eyes.
We are not so different,
You and I.

SELECTIVE DEAFNESS

I speak,
My words,
Falling like pebbles,
Into a lake of silence.

No ripple,
No response,
They drown,

In your indifference

.

Photo by Erin McKittrick

STONEY GROUND

Let me in I beg,
Open the door.
Too long I have stood
Outside in the cold.

Slowly I am freezing,
And my heart has lost all feeling’
For the man whose children I have borne,
For the man with whom I share a home.

But your blank look is all I see.
Your mind is closed and locked to me.
Trapped within your lonely walls.
Unable it seems to answer my calls.

So we wait,
We two,
Together but apart,
As love turns to hate.
And petrifies my heart.

.

STEPFATHER

Who is he?
This tall interloper,
This lanky streak of piss,
Who does he think we are?
Does he think we’re his?

He really ought to leave now.
I’m sure father’s coming back.
There isn’t room for all of us.
Surely he can see that.

What is mother doing?
With flowers in her hair.
Greeting wedding guests,
Like she doesn’t have a care.

Can’t she see it’s wrong
To bring this stranger here.
This taker of lost families,
Who keeps calling her his dear….

”If anyone here present knows of just cause
why these two may not be joined in holy matrimony,
speak now or forever hold thy peace”

BREAKING ALL THE RULES...not a 55

Forbidden Fruit

My heart is heavy in my breast.
I toss and turn, I cannot rest.
What I have I would reject.
What I want I can’t expect.

I’d gladly take you in my arms,
Though all your words are practiced charms.
You’ve travelled on this road before,
I’m nothing special, just one more.

Yet I would gladly leave my own,
To spend one night with you alone.
This for you a moment’s pleasure,
But for me a priceless treasure.

By Cathy

MEET MY FAMILY

Some of you are already aware that Michael is my brother and a handful have read some of Maria's (my mother) poetry so now I am going to introduce my sister Pauline, who is about to launch a blog of her own. I for one can't wait.



Doesn't Play Nicely With Others


You see that girl hanging round our house
With no friends to go out with at night
She lives in a world of imagine
With no other person in sight

Oh yes, she can talk about engines
and Leonardo's theories on flight
Or discuss at great length metaphysics
or even why animals may bite

But she doesn't know much about make up
or shopping for clothes come to that
In fact she looks like a bag lady
she's just short of a shawl and a hat

Don't talk to her please, she's our sister
Although that may give you a fright
She doesn't play nicely with others
So we don't let her into the light

by Pauline


Note to Pauline, Come into the light. Post something on your own blog.

Ode to Conscience

Without your weight,
My anchor to the ground.
I would fly away,
Disappear into the clouds,
Blow with the breeze,
Flee into the night,
To dance among the stars,
Twinkling, shining.



Without your stern disapproval,
Your frown of conformity.
I would sing by bubbling brooks,
Dangling my toes in the water,
Run naked through the grass,
Roll down hills laughing,
And pick flowers from the hedgerows,
To wear in my hair.

Without your ancient attitude,
Your melancholy depth,
I could be forever,
The child I never was.

Nature's Poet

Once I sat for hours,

Just to watch the flowers grow.

I was at one with nature.

But then I did not know.

Once I lost myself,

In admiring the trees.

Which whispered ancient stories,

While rustling their leaves.

Once I was at peace,

Just lying in the grass.

But growing in experience,

My innocence would pass.

I can't recall those moments,

No matter how I try.

When I felt the joy in life,

Laughing at the sky.

Coming Through

Remembered Pain

Searing through my memory,
Branding iron of used to be,
Remembered pain..

I deny it’s hold on me,
I will not live in misery
Or let it’s remnants hurt me once again.

A victim once through circumstance
I will not let past happenings hold sway
.
Recalling of past agonies
Will not shape who I choose to be

My future life,
My destiny,
Unsullied by its poison will remain.

I cast out the indignity,
Of all that has been done to me,
I choose to be
Unsullied, unashamed.