Vines

memories complicated like vines
remain behind a closed door
in life they intertwined
like a love sublime
in death
they remain
suspended in time

Raindrops

Grey
Oppressive
foreboding sky
making her shy
an inner voice exclaims, "I don't want to run in this!"
the bus stops
she finds the trail

green lushness stops her in her
already sodden tracks

deeper in this green world
she begins to see raindrops bounce off leaves
and even her nose

she absorbs this wet world
embracing the sensations it offers
she stops again to examine the drops
suspended on a clover - perfect little orbs

she wonders...
if it wasn't for the weather, they might have been tears
the tears of a jilted lover pining for past and lost years

she moves on -- thankful for the raindrops

Shells

Why does his shell feel so hard
She cannot hear him deep inside
Their tears flow deep and unseen
Life just isn't the same it seems

She tries to breach his hidden shell
She wants to calm his living hell
He knows exactly how she feels
But time and space can only heal

How wasted nights fill empty space
Replacing their hidden special place
Can what was close become so distant
Now all that exists is stark resistance

Minor victories go without compliment
As if dismissed without sentiment
Pride is quickly tossed aside
When only hurt exists inside

Meanwhile she ponders in despair
Bound with a love belonging elsewhere
Are dreams just cheap tricks of hope
Minor distractions are how she copes

Her life-long love has long gone
Left her feeling that it's all a con
She got lost living a life of lies
Until it filled with empty despise

Appeasement killed her with subtle ease
As she lived life in order to please
She never heard her inward sound
A part of her was dead she found

Time never slowed or stood still
For her to see what was real
Did true love ever really exist
Was it another delusion of bliss

Autumn came when she found answers
Again her life was full of laughter
Still many questions remain unasked
And answers hide behind a mask

Those small victories she yearns to share
Quickly pass now he's not there
Pride is just a passing phase
Restored by memories of long gone days

She longs to comfort her hurting muse
But she knows that he'll pull through
She's careful of his fragility
And patiently waits with mental agility

An agility that dances around despair
Has she choreographed steps to nowhere
Or will he reappear a willing partner
And take her hand and dance beside her

by Karen Bayley-Ewell July 28, 2011

Closing Doors

her internal door slammed shut inside
after such a crushing surprise
she wanted to just run and hide
but sat staring crying inside

things weren't suppose to end this way
staring back at what the words say
"I owe you much it's fair to say.
I just can't love you, I'm afraid"

how can she go out and play
when she felt she just died today
she'll bury her hurt deep inside
they'll be moments to sit and cry

how she dances the night away
a few smiles keeps the pain at bay
she hides it well from the outside
only a few more hours to hide

she arrives home safely at long last
feelings brew behind an iron mask
as suppressed tears release inside
she feels as dark as the night outside

an iron door locks her love within 
she'll never be the same again
residing in her living hell
hopefully time will break the spell

Closed Door by Adrenoverse

Hasanlu Lovers

two lovers lay without a face
tragically long silenced
discovered in this ancient place
no voice to tell their tale
as archaeologists dig
the voice of past
declare their story
their tale revealed at last
their grave captures
a timeless love
touching forever
in a loving embrace
this shared love
shines on with grace
how sweet they look
in their resting place
their voice of love speaks
through an eternal embrace
for love knows
no time, age or place

A Tribute to Madame Bovary

you aspired to all not there
and found love you couldn't declare
lovers jilted you time and again
with no one there to dull your pain

you shielded Charles from all you knew
your true self revealed to only a few
your dreams hid under a veil of smiles
your mind meandered many fanciful miles

starved of sophistication you so admired
you sought what your heart truly desired
boredom encompassed your life external
fashions of Paris shimmered in your journal

but sadly Paris you never did see
alas your story is now history
forbidden love stole your life away
and now you'll not see another day

arsenic was the answer to your life pains
convinced you were you'd never love again
yield you couldn't to mundane contentment
your end was Charles' long death sentence

alas poor Charles he found your letters
leaving him estranged and torn in tatters
his awkwardness you grew to abhor
he hurt 'til his heart could ache no more

now Madame Bovary you'll never know
you were loved and tears for you flowed
but poor Charles just couldn't see
how both your lives were a tragedy

Madame Bovary and the bust of her creator, Gustave Flaubert

Peaceful Moment

I reached the top of the segment where the trail flattened out before me. Specs of blue and yellow danced about a sea of green greeting me as I caught my breath from my first climb.

Yet it was not this breath-taking view of above and beyond that caught my gaze... but a golden gleam of orange illuminated by the warm early spring sun that captured my glance and warmed my thoughts.

My what a splendid sight of this jewel glowing so bright! Her dance gave me a feeling of warmth inside... Shimmering and bobbing up and down with pride, as if in praise of my every stride. I pause for while to admire her show. I exclaim, "Oh California poppy! You raise my spirit so! You are the sign of spring!"  She nodded her head in agreement as the soft warm breeze brushed her petals.

 She softened and embraced me with her beauty and glow. I resumed my own dance along the trail embracing my encounter with a moment of peace.

Old Times

She never asked for a band of gold
Big house, two kids and life old
She'd rather die young and agile
Than old and cold feeling fragile

Sitting still with memories past
Just waiting for the next task
Getting out the sodding chair
Life's become such a nightmare

Able bodied in a strange land
Waking again is hard to stand
When will this nonsense end?
How much longer can she pretend?

Here we go again, another day
Bus is late again says the display
Hello Mrs Brown how are you
Hips ache as usual, shoulder too

To the doctors for a checkup
Another x-ray, what the fuck
Aching knees and back brittle
She pours a drink alas not little

She swallows a little from her glass
Memories unfold of a love long past
A tear trickles down her cheek
If he could only hear her speak

But speak she may he'll never hear
He's long gone over a year my dear
She listens for him hard at night
And tries to feel him hold her tight

But when she finally falls asleep
Into her dreams he quietly creeps
They talk and dance the night away
But in the morning he never stays

She wakes alone with a start
Damn let it be real she imparts
Who is this lady old as can be
Is she my fear deep in me

Montmartre Antique Shop Window, Paris

Fallen

They wanted to capture what was lost 

Both unaware of the hidden cost 

Mesmerized by their new connection 

But ambivalent about their direction 

She felt his leg against her thigh 

Sending her on an immediate high 

He felt her gently lean against him 

Arousing new feelings deep within 

She pressed against him on the street 

He loved the feel of such a treat 

Like wild teenagers on a dare 

They kissed in public upon a stair 

He wanted more with his tongue 

She teases him of more to come 

They're both dazed by new romance 

They venture homeward in a trance 

New thrills filled that empty space 

They had found that special place 

What was wrong felt so right 

Forbidden love they couldn't fight 

She warns him of impending danger 

But he's mesmerized by this stranger 

And eager to please his new treasure 

She grants his wish with reciprocal pleasure 

Expressing their pleasure deep within 

Gently carassing each other's skin 

Lovers blind to the sword overhead 

Precariously swinging over their bed 

The sword is suspended by a hair 

No strings attached they'd declare 

Until they felt like never before 

Sensually binding as they explore 

Forbidden secrets hang by a thread 

Like the sword above their heads 

The blade of the sword is so sharp 

Laying in wait to tear them apart 

Oblivious to the danger looming ahead 

Dancing to sweet music in their heads 

Her love for passion is her prowess 

Captivated he is by this temptress 

But Damocles sword glimmers above 

Now he knows he's in forbidden love 

Light from the sword catches his eye 

Catching him by startling surprise 

He aches for what he really wants 

But a guilty voice quietly taunts 

He relunctantly lets his muse go 

They tightly embrace as tears flow 

But Damocles sword can never sever 

Memories of passion that last forever 

A love that lives until both lovers die 

Existing in parallel in their mind's eye 

White Picket Fence

Oh how your garden looks so fab 

Looking like a home & garden ad 

How much time have you spent

Surrounded by a white picket fence

Waiting around for the 9:08 

Always wondering why it's late 

Time moves fast as you fall behind

Your watch is off by a decade you find

Oh dear what a crushing bore

You never looked behind before 

There's only the recording of your mind 

If only you could just rewind

What on earth have you done

But mother is proud of you my son 

Excuses excuses have you not heard

Your unseen play is so absurd

Happy family, wife and 2 kids 

Is that really all there is 

2 spare rooms mortgage paid

Bare as your future I'm afraid

Gaps wide open as a patio door

Garden furniture adorns the floor

Oh what a splendidly well-kept lawn 

Inside you suddenly feel forlorn

But you are the king of your castle

Trophy wife and a dog called rascal

Life is evaporating like a morning dew

And suddenly you ask where are you 

The question burns deep inside

A voice taunts your life is a lie

The unanswered question inside remains

Will you answer or just go insane 

Shadows

I hear a distant calling 

Echoing sadly from the sea 

Forboding darkness is falling 

And starts to worry me 

I see a smart dressed stranger 

Waiting under a lonely light 

An ex-lover long estranged 

Is oblivious to my sight 

I wonder if he'll see me 

Do I want him to 

Feelings stir inside me 

As I wonder what to do 

I approach his lonely shadow 

The soft glow fades to dark 

I'm feeling I should go now 

As I doubt my change of heart 

Quietly hoping that we'll meet 

At the place we were before 

But all I see are empty seats 

I'll seek his love no more 

I wake up to an open sky 

Wilted roses 'round my head 

Did my ex-lover drop by 

While I laid asleep in bed 

Crissy Fields Fog

The Play

A few more hours of this charade

As she performs her act on stage

Crowds dutifully give polite applause

The play repeats like a broken record

It never used to feel this way 

She always welcomed another day 

Emptiness awaits after each engagement 

Now she's lost to love estrangement 

She wakes up aching every morning 

Throat hardening without warning 

She breaks a smile on the outside 

A silent scream hurts deep inside 

Tears are not permitted to flow 

Forbidden love must never show 

She presents a happy smiling face 

Until she finds her secret place 

There alone she can truly be real 

And allow her feelings to reveal 

Long hidden tears offer slight relief 

From her continuous ache of grief 

Like her play she hopes its unreal 

Alas her mind is rarely still 

He is what she most desires 

His passion used to set her on fire 

She yearns for him to make her fly 

Life is passing her aimlessly by

Craving for just another mind dance 

She performs each act in a trance 

Alone with him she was truly complete 

Another's love will never replete 

So real was their love connection 

How will she move beyond his rejection 

Memories meander through endless nights

Since he abandoned their short flight

She feels their limbs entwined in her bed 

As she plays with fantasies in her head 

She replays scenes of moments gone by 

Against a backdrop of a living lie 

Will her play ever reach a conclusion 

Or are dreams a constant illusion

Pretending

Oh how your life is so drab
19 years and so full of life
I feel your love within

And that is not your love
The young man by your side
For he will never see
Your love buried deep within

Whatever you chose
Be real and true
Because right now

You are faking it my friend ....

Ode to an Orchid

In her hand her orchid settles
Exposing stamens with open petals
His erotic charm seducing her so
A tear of sentiment softly flows

She's mesmerized by his full bloom
But knowing how they'll part soon
This intimate moment will surely pass
She's sad her orchid will not last

Petals comfort with an open gaze
His beauty continuing to amaze
Impressions will always stay in mind
How beauty follows never far behind

She leaves behind her open flower
Drawn she is by this orchids power
Open petals assure with confidence
Her orchid will always be present

She seeks her orchids resting place
Returning to only an empty space
Her heart skips a momentary beat
Until she remembers last night's treat

She hears the orchid's whisper near
Telling her how he's always here
Images are all she needs in mind
And there her orchid she will find

Ode to a Rose

The English rose in her splendor
Is looking to spread her red petals
Adoring touches soft and tender
In an admirer's hand she will settle

Her thorns are mellow 'til scorned
Her petals quietly fall and wilt
Full bloom will soon be mourned
Leaving an admirer full of guilt

She yearns for an admirer's taste
Of her early morning dew
So seduce her at a gentle pace
And her petals will widen for you

Please handle her with loving care
And she'll willingly display with pleasure
Exposing her swollem bud to share
For her admirer to love forever