Category Archives: Poems

Art, A Reprint

Posted on by learning to live like water

This is a poem I wrote last summer, for the SoCS writing prompt.  I was talking to someone today about what my art, poetry and writing meant to me, and thought I’d repost this for those who had never seen it.

Art

A picture was painted this morning
By the artist-at-large
In this world.

It is a sensory work of art,
the green of the leaves on the trees,
The blue of the sky
the scent of lavender,
the cool, almost imperceptible breeze,
rustling the leaves,
gently caressing my body.
The rich cup of coffee in front of me.
The sound of birds singing,
Neighbors dogs barking
And oddly the sound of cars on the road in the far distance.

I try to recreate the painting
With my words.
I try to make the reader feel it,
Because it seems to fabulous not to share.

I suppose that is what art is, to me.
The sharing of our emotions in such a way
As to evoke a similar response
Or a response at all,
From someone else.

I love art that makes me feel.
I love a book, or a post, or a movie, or a painting,
Or a piece of jewelry or pottery or a poem
That can make me cry, or laugh hysterically.

I want to feel.
Feeling lets me know I’m alive.
Art lets me know I’m alive,
When it makes me feel.
Inspires me to feel.

I hope that I also do that
In some small way
With my art.
With my writing,
Or my jewelry.
I hope it inspires people to feel.
Mostly to feel good.
To broaden their perspective,
To lift their gaze.

Or, just leaves someone a little happier for having run across it.
Art, is, it seems,
A wonderful way to extend love in this world.

By Deborah E. Dayen

Observation and Evolution

Posted on by learning to live like water

evolution (1)

In present moments
It all passes by
Without attachment
Like a story
A fable
With some lesson
Obscure
or
Blatant.

Sitting alone
Observing
What went before
What is right now
Wondering, idly
What will come.

Everything that happened
In our lives
Brings us to where we are.
Which will bring us
To where we will be.

Is the lesson learned?
Has the soul evolved?
Does the lesson need repeating
In order to be learned,
In order to be released
to the next level?

Lay down the defenses
Open the heart
Open the eyes
Open the ears
Let go of attachment to outcome
Breathe.
Allow life.
Allow love.

Always, love.

By Deborah E. Dayen

Image from Learning School via Google Images

Golden Idol

Posted on by learning to live like water

golden idol

Mindfuck
is so hard to deal with.
Senseless stories
Told in earnest
To no reasonable end
For no reasonable purpose
Except to mindfuck.

Hanging onto the past
When it’s dead and gone.
Over….
I’m not your wife
Anymore.

Unable to give up control
Even for your son.
It’s incomprehensible to me.

Bend down on the floor.
Cry, let the tears fill the room.
Reach for the golden cow
That led you into ruin.
Hold it close,
Imagine it is all you lost.
Blame the idol
Or me
Or God
For it all.

Soaked with your own salty tears
On the floor of your prison
Alone
No one there but you
And your cold golden idol.

Does it bring you comfort?

 

By Deborah E. Dayen

Image from Propmonicon, via Google Images.

Sculptor Christian Hartmann

Waiting

Posted on by learning to live like water

waiting 2

I am waiting
for an answer
for movement
for connection
for invitation

I am waiting
to know
what I do not know
to see
what I cannot see
to hear
what I cannot hear.

I am waiting
for a friendly knock on the door
or voice across the miles
or smile from a friend
or a sign, pointing the way

While I am waiting
hope fills the space
that waits,
floating on the ethers
untethered
but grounded.

By Deborah E. Dayen

Image from Photwises via Google Images

Rhythms

Posted on by learning to live like water

boat

The rhythm of the day
Swayed back and forth
Like a boat anchored
In a light southerly breeze.
I rose and fell gently
With the tide
And let the water
Soothe my tired soul
As it rocked me to sleep.

By Deborah E. Dayen

GIF Image from outahere.com via Google Images

A Deer in the Woods

Posted on by learning to live like water

A deer in the woods

Walking in the woods
A deer spotted me from behind a tree.
We both froze.
The deer, in fear.
I, not wanting to chase him away.

His soft eyes studied me.
Was I friend or foe?
His antlers stood tall
His nose high,
Sniffing the air for a sign
Of my intent.

I stayed rooted to my spot
Just wanting to hold onto this moment
When the deer and I crossed paths.
I silently sent him a prayer
“I am your friend, I won’t hurt you.”
He stayed, for a few more moments
Moments lost in time,
Eternity in a second.

I waited,
Until he could make up his mind
Until he was not afraid any longer.
He gingerly took a step
Eyes still on me.
I did not move.
I knew not if he would come near me
Or move away.

There was joy in the meeting.
He lost his fear, and began walking slowly
Down the path he had been on.
I watched him
Grateful for that brief interlude.
Grateful, that he chose not to fear me.

I suppose I knew
He would not come my way.
After all, he was a deer.
And had a deer’s life to live.

By Deborah E. Dayen

Picture from Google Images

Secrets in the Stars

Posted on by learning to live like water

lovers

Touch me where the secrets lie
Hold me, and search for them.
They wait in the darkness,
For your light to find them.

Set them free
With the sparkle of your eyes
With the sweetness of your breath,
With the tenderness of your touch.

Secrets, unchained
Fill the spaces between us
Where do you end?
Where do I begin?

Our bodies connect
Relentlessly.
Each secret we release
Sends us closer to the stars.

By Deborah E. Dayen

Image from Google Images

The Mermaid in the Net

Posted on by learning to live like water

mermaid in a net

It was you who drug me
Out of the doldrums of my life
Wind would not carry me
Nor the tide

Stagnant, I moved in endless circles
Washed over 1000 times
By storms of the past
Til one day
You caught me in your net
And hauled me in.

A mermaid,
Without a tale
I was a sorry mess.
I was sinking to the bottom
Twenty fathoms below

Drooling seawater
As my heart began to beat again
You touched my brow,
I found I could feel again.

All my flailing had been for naught
Until the net you cast,
Brought an end to my wandering.
I would lay in the hold of your boat forever
As you brought me back to land.

There to dry out
To feel the wind blow
To feel the sunlight on my face
Peel the seaweed from my face
And rinse the salt from my hair

I was safe there
With you.
Forevermore would be.
Because you saved me
From being lost at sea.

The Tinker

Posted on by learning to live like water

Tinker-ghost-doll1

There’s a tinker in the house
Fixing broken things.
There are a lot of them around,
Those broken things.

They lay around,
Useless.
The tinker tinks
He makes the pieces whole again.
Whole, so they have purpose
Whole, so they are restored.

The tinker never runs out
Of things to fix.
Some things break over and over
No one cares for them,
Even after they’re fixed.

Tink away, tinker.
Fix what you can
The rest we will bury
Along with the memory
of how they were used.

Hide and Seek in the Night

Posted on by learning to live like water

Hide and seek

They’re all hiding tonight
Behind the couch
under the bed
popping out momentarily
and retreating.

They all have something to say
But whisper it so I cannot hear
I strain, cupping my ears
They laugh
As they parade through my psyche.

Old lovers and new
Lay on the pillows next to me
Changing from one to the other
Trying to make me remember
Something I want to forget
Or something I never knew

I’m tired, I want my bed back
To myself, alone for the time being.
Sleep comes hard tonight.
And I am so weary
I have so much to do tomorrow.
Here I am at 2 o’clock in the morning
Writing a plea
To be left alone by all of them.
It’s my way of running from them
Scarf flying, arms and legs a blur

Go back, go back down to the recesses
You’re not wanted here
Not needed here.
I’ve worked hard to excavate you from my heart
The path is open, it has not closed.
The old ones are old men now

Go rest your worn out head in your own bed
I’m not so old, but you left this bed before
It’s not for you anymore
We fought over our sleeping arrangements
I lost and you left
Though I knew you wanted to stay.
Sometimes, I left.
Sometimes, I asked them to leave.
Ancient history
or nights yet to come.
It’s no matter now.

The voices quieted,
a new one speaks from somewhere in the ethers
And tells me it’s time to sleep.
I can hear his words clearly
Soothing, patient.

The rest go back into hiding,
Playing that game they are so good at.
I hated being “it” and trying to find them.
I’m just no good at games, I’m too easy to find.
Time for sleep to take me, finally
To that blissful state of silence.

Despite the fact that I generally sleep really well these days, I still have my nights.  I was up last night, and the only way I managed to get back to sleep was write my stream of consciousness which turned out to be this poem.  Finally, I fell asleep with the laptop in my lap, and woke up to a page and a half of commas.  But I fell asleep easily.

By Deborah E. Dayen