Unencumbered

Unencumbered

When you first told me that you preferred gold
unencumbered -- jewellery stores drew me in.
Imagined a trip in lieu of three months wages.
Wrapping a leaf around your finger, kissing it.

When you first told me that high heels messed
you up -- Footlocker became my store of choice.
Matching Vans. Imagined no shoe manufacturer
anywhere, knowing your perfect calves like I do.

When you first slow-danced with me, I gave up
all frantic dancing, forever. And quit shopping.
I imagined that no one had ever moved like this.
Nor breathed the very air I was breathing, then.

When you first even used the word unencumbered
you spoke of what most binds a person, to another.
I need not imagine a thing. There it is on your hand.
Diamonds do not become us -- we became them.

-- © Ciprianowords, Inc. 2013 --

Goldfish and Cat

Goldfish and Cat

A while back I needed advice and was told
Don't worry about what you cannot control.
Hmmm…
Tell that to a goldfish at the mercy of the cat.

The astronaut severed from the mother ship.
Whisper into his helmet:
You will have new experiences, new things
will come into view -- for thirty minutes or so.

What of the mountain climber, falling.
The thrill of weightlessness is short-lived.
Who envies him? Who says I wish it was me!
Control, in the end, is what keeps us alive.

And so my dear, break my heart if you must.
Even until my tears flow over this bowl I am in.
But please, I beg of you -- do not eat me?
Let me swim. And breathe water. Let me swim.

-- © Ciprianowords, Inc. 2013 --

Blood Pumping From A Man's Heart

Blood Pumping From A Man's Heart

Forward when the light went red and why was too late.
I thought the word, but could not say it in time.
But everyone stopped.
And we ran from our safe cars to a scene of tragedy.

Can a minute, a second, mean so much?
It will.
None knew what to do. Me, first in line -- knew least.
Pried open the mangled door, with another human.

She pressed three beeps into her phone. I fell down.
Placed my hands firmly on a chest I should not touch.
I did this, thinking only that blood is better in than out.
Beyond this, I did not know my name. 

-- © Ciprianowords, Inc. 2013 --

Eyelashes

Eyelashes

I am a weakened man

Looking at a faded picture
Of an age-old picnic shared.
Vines beyond your shoulder
Entangled.

Young blossoms to my lips.
Oh, how I kissed them
Underneath closed eyelashes.

-- © Ciprianowords, Inc. 2013 --

Silverside Castle

Silverside Castle

We both knew that it was only a legend. A myth. Yet we bought the map at a place called Armagh's Revenge and thought what-the-hell, there are verifiable monoliths along the way, at any rate.
We both strapped on our hiking boots. Miles through forest. And several places where falling would not be the thing to do. Hand-holding. Branch-slapping. 
Kicking rocks to see how far we could watch them tumble. And the odd waterfall.
But it was when we rounded that one corner, trees to one side and nothing on the other. If your grip on my arm would have allowed me to pinch you with the hand at the end of it, I would have done so.
But you pre-empted me. "Jesus," you said. "It's real."

-- © Ciprianowords, Inc. 2013 --

Worth A Sonnet

Worth A Sonnet

There is no east without west, and a sun setting.
The gleam on distant windows can shut our eyes.
Beautiful in a way, like remembering forgetting
revives what was brighter, once. And no lies
without truth in their wake. No give without getting. 
But a child recites the alphabet knowing it ends.
This we call knowledge when it is everything but.
A boundary on possibilities. What transcends
all speech and language is love - knowing what
it takes to receive the reciprocal of what one sends.
We failed at this, dear, and to both, our dismay.
Let me use a few letters. Imagine you hearing me say
now that evening has come, and no window is bright -
You deserve fourteen lines that I never could write.

-- © Ciprianowords, Inc. 2013 --