who and why am i
the weeping poet whispers
you're mine he replies
-----
one by one words end
one by one their echoes cease
poet is alone
-----
what purpose words
but for inflicting pain
upon myself
-----
gods deserted me
left me only echoes
of empty poems
-----
promises wither
I've a garden full of them
weeds and dead roses
-----
i said i love you
words i meant with all my heart
spoken from my prison
-----
in my life I've known
broken bones and broken heart
the one heals faster
-----
she reached out for me
i had no hands to touch her
love fell between us
-----
i would promise all
I've so little left to give
all i am is yours
-----
easily given
promises are brittle things
easily broken
for many decades
i've collected promises
in memory's bin
the tiny pieces
left when each one fell apart
so sharp they drew blood
-----
came to him naked
all she owned was left behind
her mind and arms open
-----
Revealing private fashion show
But the negligee she chose,
Was it to reveal her body,
Or, by her naked choice,
To reveal her hidden intent and
The desires of her secret mind.
How the lace cupped her breast,
Or how my eyes followed the lines,
Seeking the openings within the lace,
The pleasant ridges, hills, and tips,
The stiff tatting tickled and
The sway of hip, and curve of lip,
The way it did so little to
Come between us while
Drawing us nearer to the sins,
It promised and we both desired.
Dangerous indeed she is,
This unmasked mistress of disguise,
Exposing her secrets behind an open lace
Which tells so much about her.
-----
The shadows behind me,
Haunting me for decades
Conan-Doyle, Steinbeck,
Chesterton, White,
Burroughs and Tuttle,
Carrol and Milne,
The Lone Wolf,
And Nero Wolfe,
Bulldog Drummond and Doc Strange,
Shell Scott and Travis McGee,
Tarzan and Kazan,
The cold rings about
Unknown planets, and
Unknown heroes who died alone,
Believing it was worth the price,
And those you've never heard of,
And I've forgotten who in passing,
Managed to help me become who I am.
-----
moon's silver slivers
whispered indecent proposals
to the naked trees
-----
here's the only rule
do to my heart what you will
but you must mean it
-----
your clothes discarded
you cuddle up on my lap
our skin caressing
-----
she's quite flexible
bending herself to shared whims
mutual desires
-----
touched her in those ways
she only dreamed of knowing
until she met him
-----
yes for love indeed
and mutual adventures
with a select few
-----
a gracious hostess
spreads herself on his table
entrée and dessert
Donovan Baldwin