Conjure You

Lonely, I conjure you
But conjure you is all that I can do
Spells with which I summon you
Are whispers that this empty night rebukes

Lonely, I conjure you
A figure woven of the finest air
Ghosts and stolen residue
Afoot upon the vagrant shards of moon

Lonely, I call for you
In saline brews of misbegotten eyes
Wrung from hollow avenues
Of brokenhearted alabaster truth

Lonely, I conjure you
But conjure you is all that I can do
Phantasms and dreams of you
Are dancing slowly in this burning room

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Dancing In Darkened Chambers

The mist has gathered here tonight
Behind the eyes of truth and lies
As we begin this careful dance
Around the lines we cannot cross

Dancing in these darkened chambers
To the cries of dying smiles
Fancying ourselves as artists

Dancing in these darkened chambers
Into this apocalypse
Fancying ourselves as heartless

The crowd has gathered here tonight
The mob of things we should have said
They mock these fallen silhouettes
That steal the heat beneath my bed

Dancing in these darkened chambers
Step by step in perfect time
Fancying ourselves as precious

Dancing in these darkened chambers
Underneath eternity
Fancying ourselves as deathless

Dead, Rising

The dirt is fresh beneath the fingernails
And I cannot deny
I tried to bury them in shallow graves
But they refuse to die
I must have crafted some immortal strains
And grafted in the cells
Of something stronger than the common things
We hold within ourselves

Now it appears my current company
Is not about to leave
And all the feelings that are haunting me
Will not be put to sleep
So, in the doorway of my heart, I halt
Unmoving where I stand
I hear them clawing out to find me
With the shovel in my hand

And maybe I should be ashamed to think
I tried to put them down
But I am fighting for my life tonight
Against the hollow sound
Of all the beauty I believed in once
Before I found it dead
I hear the memories of lovely things
Like zombies in my head

The empty graveyard of my passion aches
With graves I cannot fill
They rise and follow me to bed at night
Despite my pleading will
So I suppose I will not bury them
At least, no more today
For I am far too tired-handed now
To lift this weighted spade

Shadow Box

In bended shapes
A woman takes
The scraps of all she finds
With smallish hands
And sewing thread
To fasten it together

Behind the drapes
A record plays
To help her pass the time
In other plans
Her tired head
Can see a world that’s better

The souvenirs
Of early years
Adorn a faded quilt
Awaiting some
Appointed time
In patient little piles

Her bottled tears
And casual stares
The treasures she has built
With baby’s hair
And turpentine
Above the kitchen tiles

The winter fox
Beneath the porch
Is hiding from the hunters
Her picket fence
Is broken where
The tree line meets the field

Her shadow box
And story boards
Will hold her through ’till summer
In finger dance
The rocking chair
Beside her window sill

Scissors And Pictures

Someone went crazy with the scissors
They tried to cut you out
Mangled the things we made together
As if it never was
I’m finding pieces they have scattered
Across my broken thoughts
I’m hiding photographs forever
Protecting them because

I want the evidence
If someone tries to sentence me
They need to see it all
To know how bad it is
I want the evidence
To make their case convincing
I’m not ashamed at all
And I don’t need defense

Someone went crazy with the scissors
And part of me is gone
Chopped up and left with ragged edges
Confetti on the rug
Perhaps the shots were not so flattering
But I was not alone
Others were standing there beside me
Don’t tear apart my love

I want the evidence
So history can tell the tale
Don’t censor passion
It’s the brand of who I am
I want to document
I owe it to the ones behind me
No more deleting things
They need to understand

If I were timid in conviction
Perhaps I’d let it slide
If this were any other story
I might have turned the page
But this is stranger than your fiction
I shouldn’t have to hide
When all the masks are far more boring
Than what I have to say

I want the evidence
I made the choices I believed in
Sometimes it hurts to love
But that’s just how it goes
I feel the consequence
But leave my pictures undeceiving
I gave with pure intent
And I want them to know

I want the evidence
Picturesque in vivid color
I will remember it
Until they dig my grave
I want to treasure this
And glue our smiles back together
So leave the photographs
I vow to keep them safe