Lost.

Words wander the mind’s wasteland
congregate by the wayside,
peer through windows
at each and every one of us.

Meaning ebbs from blinded eyes
deafening silence echoes off the page,
aching for the quill to scratch it’s itch
pleading for the ink to flow.

Hear the melody hurt with beauty
black and ivory entwined,
the encore of what once was
and here she lies, fading embers.

Severance upon the lips of passer-by’s,
no click, click, click of keys
tapping out the ultimate demise
as sadness haunts the betrayed.

Steeples fall without grace or virtue
cobwebs weep with the touch of rain,
the wind ceases to howl
leaving nothing but an empty landscape

Lost.

© 2009 Michaela James.

On Ice.

I watch the glass ease
so easily half empty
a picturesque delusion
of happiness, mocking
as the second hand floats
slowly by stuttering at twelve,
my shutters blurring

the consequence of who I am

the solitary figure fatigued,
every word dispensed
twenty yarns ago unheard

tears dissipate
desert my sodden sleeve

run faster than every human
being I have touched

my awkwardness laid lame
beneath the star I long for

the temptation of the gutter
embraced childlike
I dance the forbidden route,
walking the lush green mile
hand in hand with you
my eager saviour, servant
to the night we will always be.

© 2009 Michaela James.

"Exit."

The slip of your delicate frame cavorts with demons,
strokes shadows of the moon
skipping through ether,
one step, two step
shuffling clouds
like a deck of cards
collapsing through time.

I light a cigarette
inhale fumes of death
enriched with arsenic,
breathe through rustic nostrils

my voice aching with every murmur

"I will follow, soon,
once the drip, drip, drip subsides."

My eyes look deeper

and you have gone

but so have I,
down the corridor and a taxi home.

I pour a bourbon and smile,
look to the mirror
choose not to cry

but enjoy the moment
tomorrow's end
and all she will bring.

© 2008 Michaela James.

The Attic.

Rumours abound deep within
hollow cries of yesteryear,

shackle
the truth,
fear

the embrace.

The monotonous rain congealed,
each drop splays the floor
in sequence

the chimes of the clock
mocking all who sleep below.

Time ravages all who come to pass
yet welcomes with a splendid hello

for here lies hell
the prison of my mind
uncontrolled

I and I alone.

I pace once a year through empty spaces,
banging my head against their door

the momentary shadow
talks to me
as I watch from the attic window.

I am the sequence of events
murdered in dreams,
the black and white smudged

inherited from demons long settled.

The caricature of life
captured by the lonely descent
of every passer-by

their prayers unanswered
laced with venom

choked by lore and prose

their God in my hands
as I sever each throat

including my own.

©2008 Michaela James.

Porcelain.

I interpret the bargain in my hands
your porcelain face

carved within the timeline of apathy

I anticipate the shatter of delusions
specific to my crime

deny the denial of my every whim.

Dusk arrives and
I hurt more than I’ve ever done

stick the pins as we collide,
capitulate to the whore of wisdom

consider your worth.

One day you will be mine
forever entwined

dust to dust
ashes to ashes

we will rise.

© 2008 Michael J. Earnshaw.

"Shadow Play."

I stare rejection in the face
before I go to bed
each night

It smiles as if it knows
everything I'm yet to feel

burns into the carcass it betrays

a shadow play.

Single droplets dissipate

tormented

I look beyond,
try to see
understand that this is it

this is me

I can't.

I close my eyes and turn
catching for a moment

herself move

she reaches out

I walk away.

© 2008 Michaela James.

one corner

Tears as trinkets
unlike diamonds

shiver with pain

one corner of the room
displayed yet
shadowed by the hand that caressed another.

The void of sanity enveloped
with each blow
seared

torched by words of sorrow

one corner of the mind
hidden yet
reflected in the shallow cry of silence.

I saw myself

slumped
engorged

piety drowned

one corner of the box

lit for a moment
before the darkness took me.

© 2008 Michaela James.