CERAMIC

Did we the tale seek or did it find us kind?
In the realm of yesteryears, a tale was spun,

When light and shadow were as equals, their lines drawn.

White held sway, a monarch over all,

No mountains stood, no rivers flowed, languages were none at all.

Stars, occasionally, from the heavens would fall,

As silent as the earth, their landing would enthrall.

People walked in hushed tones, a quiet march,

Some slumbered on the ground, some in dreams did launch.

Some turned night into day, their world askew,

Becoming night ferrymen, in smoke’s embrace they'd crew.

Visions aplenty, voids of nothingness, dreams adrift,

Rowing away into the night, where only shadows lift. 

In a labyrinth where souls fail to meet,

Voices emerge, like whispers from the deep.

A cavalcade of horses weaves through the space,

Bearers of messages, in shadows they trace.

Upon the door, in enigmatic script,

A prophecy is scribed, a seal on hurt.

Time's river flows without start or end,

In endless eddies, it weaves and bends.

I ponder now, in the realm of the mind,

Did we the tale seek, or did it find us kind?

A story unfolds, in verses it weaves,

Entwining our fate in its endless ebb and flow.

Spring 2024

Dusk descends at four, 

River whispers, moon hides,

Fog shrouds the earth, snow dances, lighter than breath.

Masks collected by the mountain god, dancers in a trance,

Bones lighter than stone, feathers, mere air's dance.

Lies drift, weightless, lighter than fire's flame. 

In the waste, a thousand miles of silence dive,

A white horse, undeterred, towards night's abyss drives.

I lean on you, our eyes shut in unity, 'neath twilight's embrace,

Fog shrouds the valley, 

A new pain hidden twixt our bodies, face to face.

You say love's a jest, a riddle, a check unsigned, a gun see-through clear,

A century ago we met, death and age we held at bay, year to year.

With bullets in our palms, 

We loaded each other's guns with a grin, drawing near. 

The sea's end, where steppe begins,

Waves swallow silence, paths to woods pins,

Past with present dance, 

Life cut in two,

Sun dips, clouds climb, 

Ancient ballads flow through,

Stars gleam in your palm,

Summer's end in sight,

Where sea and steppe unite.

Summer in New York 2024

Spring's embrace turned to a test by the ancient canal's curse, each step a battle from the gripping mire. In April's harsh embrace, a blade's edge pierced my arm. Yet still, I reached out to make peace with spring's fury, bearing my crisp scars like badges of a fierce truce.

That day, the sunset stripped the sky's final tender layer. Amid the ship's hum, I realized it didn't matter. Our mountainous sorrows escaped, crafting graceful forms. In the quiet, you gently kissed away my blood and tears.

Spring in New York 2024

Yesterday, amidst the ebb and flow of my memories, I found myself slipping past some grand visions, reminiscent of the divine majesty and the boundless cosmos. It's an erroneous belief that one must ponder over the vastness of the universe and the twinkling stars to attain tranquility. My heart found solace in the sight of a pristine sea, a vision that transcended mere oceanic expanse to include the majestic presence of whales. The symphony of their journey through the water, the gentle sound of their respiration, and the mesmerizing dance of the exquisite droplets as they burst into the air, all unfolded before my very eyes, painting a vivid tableau of nature's splendor.

There was a poignant moment when the experiences etched upon my body seemed to lose their luster, appearing trivial and devoid of value.

They were destined to guide me to witness this fleeting instant, a moment so precious that my entire being yearned for it with an almost fervent desire. In those instances when life bestows upon me such ephemeral gifts, your steadfast presence is my unwavering comfort. You are there, by my side, a silent sentinel to the unfolding wonders and the profound emotions they elicit.

Autumn in New York 2024

In the tundra's silent embrace, 

Love’s secrets lie,

Beneath the shallow sun, 

Bushes entwined, stories die.

Three feet down, 

The earth gives up missed moments in time,

Love's pain weaves through life, 

Alone, no one's waiting, the rhyme. 

In querying your silence, 

your pen's still embrace,

You spoke of fear's clutch, a mind's darkened space.

Hand mirrors stone, 

both by time's hand, tested,

Awaiting gales, for miracles, for love's caressed quest.

To craft love's verse, 

tenderly gather pain and dread,

If words escape not, let quiet's wisdom be said. 

Amidst the snow's embrace, the mountain lies entombed in icy silence,

Gathering whispers of leaves fallen, branches released from their tense persistence.

In the quietude of quietude, a peace profound does gently creep,

Remembering dual peaks, one forgotten, in the mind's deep vaults they sleep.

Our life, a mere breath in the vast expanse of the imagined,

Where flurries descend, and the fir trees glisten with a constant, wet sigh.

A dark assembly of steeds stands vigil, edges of perception gray,

Their approach a sound from naught, a mystery to unfold and convey.

Turbulent spirits seek the cradle of certainty, restive and ajar,

The snow's relentless cascade, a testament to what should not be mar.

By fear, danger's belief is whittled, eroded, away it does fade,

As snow deepens, the world's facade becomes but a shallow, fleeting parade.

Time dissolves in the moment, breath slow, deliberate, a truth unbound,

The heart's reach not needing silence, its depth not confined or confined sound.

In quest of life and death, the warmth of fire we seek and yearn,

All fleeting, vanished in a trice, none to reverse their path to return.

Touching reality, a shock of lightning, a connection stark and clear,

My hand outstretched, through water, mirror, failure, the void, drawing near.

In this tangible embrace, your hand within mine, I find my peace,

A connection true in the midst of the ephemeral, the fleeting, the ceaseless breeze.

Spring 2025

Two souls are intertwined that day, as our linen shirts tangled together in the breeze and swirled in the sunset.

I remained oblivious to the fact that our sojourn in New York City would be the last meeting in this year. However, fortune favored us when our hands first entwined, our lips met in a tender kiss, and we basked in the sunset's warm caress, free from any regrets...