eastern sky

...and if i look to the eastern sky
wondering how, wondering why
i won't forget You're behind the horizon
and i'll just keep my eyes on
You alone

sixty

an hour ago we danced
to music in our heads
the space between worry
and fearlessness a rapid expanse
now we find trepidation
has begun its spinning round our heads

tell me how we can
in but sixty steps change
all the melodies we are singing
and find ourselves hopelessly lost
among a million thoughts
that begin their spinning round our heads

sand

every second like a singular grain
every moment a handful slipping through fingers
can i count every one?
or measure the expanse of this desert
these times, these sands
caught in the wind- drifting
fading swirling beyond my control
i am helpless if i try to contain this
i am lost among these dunes of time
at the mercy of molecular particles
at the grace of mere minutes
i can stand no more but at my knees
hoping i can in my wandering-
find where your oasis hides

caught

this wasn't the first time i felt you close
so close i was gasping for breath
you were my suffocation
in every way i was held in your gaze
unable to tear myself from you
you were my entrapment

fearless

standing over waters edge
losing balance, slipping
caught in gravity's embrace
ocean untamed and brilliant
breaking fall, engulfing
weightless in a sea of grace

eastern reaches

staring into the beyond
watching the sun rise again
you're in my thoughts
permeating these daylight hours
with graceful beauty
you move across the eastern reaches
whispering songs that
clouds dance to, in the sky above
i feel remnants of your perfect beauty
fall around me

sotto voce

stillness in my scream
echoing across the valleys of my mind
silence everywhere
inside a noise unstoppable lingers
streets are rainy and cold
ignoring my pained stare
tired feet catch cobblestones
stumbling, i cover my ears
quietly i roar
to the unwelcome voices i hear speak
calm is all around
inside a scorching whisper burns
clouds are gray and ominous
hiding any spark of sunlight
weary eyes searching in vain
for a sense of purpose

i beg the core of my heart to speak
to erase the dissonant note my mind is writing
if i could only hear your gentle voice
above the calamity of today

i would be at rest.



joshua conti

forensic

rain rippled across the sky today
leaves like miniature swans bobbing in puddles
the wind tearing through trees
and lightning burning holes in the air

departure

if weather permits, i'll walk outside
take a stroll under evening skies
blow a kiss to the fading sun
and let the breeze carry me home

joshua conti

into normality

waking up wishing for another hour to hide
under blankets warm
second of dread at another day
like a rush of blood through veins
mind outside of reason
until time presses need for detail
back into normality
only after much protest

in the east

in the east there lies a sun/ more brilliant than a thousand candles/ the torches of which are never extinguished/ burning sphere of gravitational light/ proverbial eye of God/ the gleam of hope before a night of darkness