The Long Hard Fall

With a gentle aire,

it comes,

seemingly sweet,

the breath of Fall;

deadly harsh,

a silent shove

over the precipice

of Spring.

Amidst a gale of falling leaves,

a tinge of Bitterness,

gray clouds wandering

swiftly across the Sky,

brightness dims

with each skirting swirl;

Winter is coming.

Darkness has descended,

I fall into the Void,

slowly at first,

then with the speed of Inevitability

forcing and pulling,

with nothing left

in my grasping hands,

simply

 

falling

 

slowly

 

down.

Or perhaps the Fall
is a Journey
through,
an unexpected Path
provided by
the Abyss:
downward
beyond the Darkness
to some perfect resting place
Unknown.

©ACG

23 December 2011

In December

With red and green

and sparkling white,

Christmas comes around,

through Winter's chill

and darkest night,

a melody of sound;

bells a-ringing,

choirs singing,

yonder falls a star;

merrily meet

and happily greet,

loved ones from afar.

© ACG

01 December 2011

Today

 

Today I heard

a mournful bird

sing a song

so sad and sweet

of love and loss

and loneliness;

a broken heart’s beat.

Out rang she

a melody

as Dawn so

boldly rose

with chill of air

and frosts beware;

a melancholy pose.

Today I heard

a mournful bird

as Summer’s sunlight faded

to shine no more,

with Winter’s song

she sings along;

bravest Troubadour.

© ACG

20 November 2011

November Sun

November sun brightly shines,

echoing past warmth;

one yellow rose blooms.

© ACG

15 November 2011

Sweep Past

Sweep past, Delights of Autumn,

as the Witch's Broom doth pass

over Air and Earth

and through Fire intense,

sweeping asunder

with a laugh Merry and Evil

all you ever held dear.

© ACG

29 October 2011

First Frost

October falls with sudden force,

a swiftly swirling blast of dancing leaves,

taking every memory of Summer away

the last roses desperately blooming,

thick folds of velvets come out,

the first frost burns

with clear and cool fever,

a bite of Winter coming;

unavoidable.

© ACG

01 October 2011

Autumn Comes

Autumn comes in slowly

with the breath of love,

sweetness kindles

gentle passions, lingering

like a lover's first soft kiss;

tentative.

© ACG

30 August 2011

Coming Home

Within these walls of stillness,

sliding in and out of sleep,

through darkened rooms

of ancient nightmares,

my dreams carry me;

a gentle pressure deepens,

a mauve reverie,

with care enfolding me

in a slow caress,

softly calling my name.

Coming home.

Just a heartbeat away,

like a sigh of relief,

sinking into my own,

my paradise of you.

© ACG

05 August 2011

There and Here

Sighing softly there,

a sweet kiss of salt sea spray,

just a hint in the air

of what’s to come,

when later great crashes

roll and tumble,

driven,

no longer kiss so sweetly.

Growling thunder rolls overhead

as screams of lightning

pierce the black sky here;

dawn breaks wet and tired,

storm’s aftermath a gentle wisp,

a softly falling ruse

according to the darkening sky.

© ACG

03 July 2011

The Swamp

Endless reaches

with entangled pockets

a thickened soup,

The Swamp

endures;

even the air

is overcome

by dankness,

moisture conquers

with humid insistence,

levitating heavily

dully suspended

into what once was oxygen,

like a magician’s trick

without applause;

the hell of life within

this grotesque environ,

bizarre and malformed

hideous and foul,

with strength overwhelming,

a devastating army

with their special

horrid stench

they rupture up,

roiling

roaring,

upward they stretch

densely,

adding to the airlessness,

as if to choke any life,

their murderous intent

a thickened growl,

upward they rumble,

as if to reach the hidden stars.

Barely visible,

through overburdened branches

creaking downward

with a glopping stickiness

that mocks the beauty

of Spanish Moss,

the secrets of life linger

in distant diamond stars;

out of reach,

beyond hope,

yet still just there,

the frailest edge

of a dream

or memory;

O my Soul!
sinking back,

into The Swamp

of my lungs.

© ACG

27 June 2011

Solstice Moon

Indiana moon

shines through

Summer's midnight haze,

she brightly illumines

her fallen diamonds

suspended thickly,

tears for a lost dream

or memory,

a longing breath,

a weary gasp

of desire.

© ACG

20 June 2011

One Word

Life

begins

with innocence and love,

yielding

later to a journey

fraught with joy, pain, and sorrow;

oftentimes with self-inflicted haunting

and regret.

Time

takes over;

behind

lie the ruins of yesterday,

burdens carried forward

~ the past stays with us ~

as obstacles flung ahead,

all scarring the path.

What chance have we to overcome?

We carry our pasts with heavy hearts,

we walk uncertainly forward;

as a delicate line

demarcates

old habits from new resolutions;

a fragile distinction,

an invisible thread

can hold you to it:

one word

for you,

one word

changes everything

~ “Daddy” ~

© ACG

15 June 2011

for Charlie

1st Father’s Day

June

Swirling dizziness,

heat thickening,

stickening

sickening,

diamond morning dew momentary,

vanishing into heavy humidity

looming

consuming

dooming;

roses blooming.

© ACG

04 June 2011

Embrace

With walls closing in and darkness

falling softly down upon me,

I hear

The End approaching,

I know he is near;

It becomes impossible

to breathe,

there seems nothing left

for me here,

but Dreaded Pain;

With everything that I am

or ever was or could be,

with every ounce of me,

I long for him

to hasten;

Take me into your Embrace,

let me succumb

and go under

forever into sweet Peace,

released;

Folded into the Embrace,

no longer will I struggle,

or battle for every breath,

O, how I long to lightly drift away

within the Embrace;

And yet some stubborn part

of my Gemini soul

says, “No”

~ not yet, not now, not ever ~

raggedly, I breathe in.

© ACG

02 June 2011

For Jamine

 

In our youth,

you stood before me,

stronger wiser better,

flashing eyes and

bouncing step,

the fearless tread

of a goddess;

In our youth,

you were a Tyger

fiercely burning bright,

the personification

of every heroine

in my books

fact or fiction;

You were Scarlet,

to my Melanie,

you were Jo to my Beth,

you were Elizabeth

and Joan of Arc,

Athena and Aphrodite

and I a mere mortal,

In our youth,

twins inseparable,

I tagged behind,

as you forged ahead,

always first,

always fastest,

always free;

Time takes away

so much,

age dampens

the spirit of youth,

with aches and pains

and the haunting

mistakes that linger;

Little girls

grown and aging,

yet my heart sees us

standing together

wearing our colors

of purple and red,

cloaked in memories,

Time and age

seem the enemy

yet for me,

you will always be:

fierce

first

fast

and free.

© ACG

18 March 2011

Unfurled

Velvet petals yawn,

stretching finally,

unfurled by May sunshine.

© ACG

01 May 2011

Storm

Lightning danced across the night sky

shocking the stars,

pulse-pounding thunder like a heartbeat

drummed deeply,

resounding,

pounding,

moving the Earth;

Once-in-a-lifetime such a Storm

comes rolling in,

slowly and gently building,

pressure rising,

electricity tensing,

until it crashes wildly into us,

lifting us in a whirlwind

that seems beyond our control;

Like eternal Salvation,

that elusive miracle

after trial by fire,

overwhelms with its grace,

the Storm rages along,

embracing us,

we rise

into the starlit sky,

riding the Storm forever.

© ACG

05 April 2011

The Quiet Man

Deliberately

and with care,

he stands,

watching us

or waiting,

usually with his hands

clasped behind his back,

a little smile

turning down his mouth;

As others seek the spotlight,

he stands back,

never putting himself forward,

although he deserves to shine

in the warming glow of

attention and praise,

he never seeks it,

never asks for acknowledgement

or even simple thanks;

He is a quiet man:

unlike the heroes of old,

his actions are not lauded,

his praises are not sung;

he does not see

that his day-to-day life

is an epic for the ages.

This quiet man

stands alone,

unparalleled,

incomparable;

an Atlas,

his shoulders bear the weight

of the world,

our world;

this quiet man

willingly stands

between us and despair,

he is our Great Wall,

ever protecting.

© ACG

02 April 2011

The March Sun

Just before Dawn comes a moment

as the frost yet crunches underfoot

and the breath freezes before you;

a moment disappearing

as the Sun rises in a purple and rose-colored second;

Daylight bathes you

in March's bitter swirl,

a strong wind from Winter's lungs fiercely expels

in the desperate roar of the Dying Lion;

No Winter can prevail:

beyond the brittle March Sun,

Spring is coming,

with a scent of thawed Earth

and delightful pinks and greens;

there is no resisting;

Despite the March Sun's cold stare,

in the sweet Spring air,

comes the taste of rosebuds.

© ACG

04 March 2011

Ice Storm

A midnight war rages

as it descends

without grace,

pinging with increasing abandon,

I hear it coming,

like the incessant ringing

in my ears,

an invisible barrage

against the walls and windows,

concentrated and cruel,

the ice comes

sharply slipping nearer

through the night,

sleekly coating winter’s landscape,

like a foul primeval shroud:

roads become death traps

as it lies sweetly with wicked intent,

a crushing weight snapping trees

as power lines succumb,

and every poor blade

of last summer’s grass

suffocates.

Thank God for the night,

for in the darkness,

no glorious diamond sparkle confuses

or distracts with the deadly beauty of Lucifer,

so hard to resist;

no, in the dark

the menace has no mask:

the smooth operator,

a slick knife’s edge,

exposed as malicious fury:

only in the darkness

where truth confounds lies,

where treacherous beauty is obscured

and nightmares become dreams,

can the malevolent revenge

of the Fallen One,

be withstood:

When the storm comes,

be silent,

“know that I am,”

and be free.

Turn away.

To defeat him, turn away.

© ACG

01 February 2011

Lured

From within a silent deadly tomb,

where echoes of life

ring hollow,

I hear it

calling;

so quietly

in the background,

a never-ending cry

becomes deafening,

irresistible;

as if some force

can overwhelm time,

as if his voice

overpowers everything;

I am lured.

© ACG

30 January 2011

Reflection

Snowfall rudely buries

everything

under its proverbial blanket,

it slants coldly down,

razors through icy air,

borne within an evil wind,

a steady drowning snowfall

deeply disguising my world,

transforming today,

like a Death-Mask

from another life:

There, alone, wandering lost,

seeking him

in a daze of frozen time,

stung relentlessly

as the snow harshly blows,

borne within an evil wind,

into my very soul,

snowlight blurs my vision

as tears freeze

upon my cheeks,

yet I cannot stop

weeping;

Searching, yet

never finding,

a quest unfulfilled,

a loss excruciating;

yesterday blends into today:

same snow

same wind

same tears.

© ACG

20 January 2011

Rising

Soaring first
aloft with Winter's Breath,
to then fall into Spring,

a dream of peaceful sweetness,
pulsing through Wings of Flame
that burn relentless.

© ACG

03 January 2011