Just Before I Sleep

To rest my eyes
And bury my day in a pile of blankets
To turn my thoughts like god creating the Garden of Eden
As sleep whirls

Like a leaf
Turned around and around
With just a flick of the wind

There is a song in my head.

To fade into my self
A smile held back only with my teeth.

To turn into warmth
To be wrapped in warmth
To swim in the warmth

When the lights finally shut off
And the world crumbles away.
Like the moment before complete bliss overtakes my body
And I can’t help but cry out
In sheer joy.

This is death, and birth, and sleep
And I curl more into my mattress
As my body shivers and goose bumps cover my arms.

The Groom

My neck turns
and in the corner of my eye his image flickers
like a gold coin
found in a bushel of reeds.
Do I pick it up?
Place it in my pocket for some bread?
Or perhaps a better use might be
for luck.
But alas, as I reach down
my fingers scrape the surface
and the gold turns to tarnish.

I will keep it anyway
for luck
for all gold fades
and it must have been luck to see it in its glory.

Perhaps

Perhaps
the world can tilt
and I can converse in sensible tones
without the anxiety
as sweat pours down my legs
and the carpet trips my steps.
See how I impress?
The bangles clang on the slight arms
their eyes bloom as lotus
as mine wilt in the sun.
My mouth has begun to spew serpents, instead of diamonds
when the prince approaches the well.
But perhaps.
I can grow into my clam shell,
my Venus body will become inoffensive,
but their earings catch the sun
just as it hits the horizon
their bright colors burst open like flames.
Perhaps,
but not today.

The 1000 Year Old Temple

When standing among rocks older than dirt
with carvings of gods you don't know
the sun beats on your back
and you wake up
anew, young
without the curse of time
until you spy the crumbling wall
and the modern trash can
and the world is just as it was
old, used and asleep

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