Saturday, August 16, 2014

"The Triumph of Silence"

at first
There Is No Sound
stretches till
its sides are wedged
against the walls,

the promise of a scream
swells,
bursting the seams
of place

raging, broadsword drawn -
fell swoops!

the triumph of silence:
the harbinger-knot
lodged in the throat,
a walk on my grave.


(2005-2014 ink doodle, Dianne Selden)

Thursday, August 14, 2014

"Tricks of Light and Shadow"


(Image by Mordecaidesign)



He wears a tall hat,
white gloves wield
a black wand.
He wears a cape,
satin lined red.

The kohl round his eyes
swirls and time stands still.
He pulls all the wondrous
usuals – white bird from
his hat, neverending scarves,
quarters from ears, box sawed in
half, … flowers, and all that …

But
what is the
magician like
when all the
tricks go dark?
When no flick’ring
shadows cast eyes afar?
When hat comes off,
and doves drop dead inside,
and scarves get runny snags,
and saws swivel too far to the right?
Without the cape and
snowy gloves, what
part of him is left?

He is no Merlin,
his illusions no magic,
he weaves shadows through
light. He is as tired
as my bones
and he craves
wonder, too.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Pain Tracks


...lost track of
hours or days
long moments when pain
is naked, a chilled bludgeoning.
Come, lie down.
Curl up.
Wait.

Lift -
it's over.

Loud echoes
leave an imprint in the air,
a multi-coloured kite.

Friday, August 1, 2014