Poetry & Prose

      

Dance of Hearts

With a wistful smile, on the melancholy harp, she began to play.

Amber days and amethyst nights wander amidst the sterling struggles of her life.

The Red Queen said “Stockpile your hearts for Valentine’s Day in case of shortage!”

But the Black Page had just given her last one away.

Soulful tears flow into reverse tributaries

As the Reaper thrusts his fork in,

The Red King hesitates over the deal of a lifetime

And loses his Queen to the highest bidder.

The Black Knight found his Empress eating cherries on a cloud

They rode through perilous regions, but their love remained steadfast and true

Rising on the swell of emotion and subsiding with the voice of reason

Together they cultivate their garden of bliss in shades of red and blue.

Aphrodite disburses her love potion into the sea, steeping

The latest release of hearts as they float on a wave of uncertainty

The locals buy them up like hotcakes on a frigid January morn

While the lovers savor in each others spice, joyful and reborn.

Reversal of fortune strikes us all in the parts we play

What resides in the palm of your hand

Could so easily be danced away

By the wolf at the door.

- by SJ Holmwood  (Feb. 10, 2012)


*  *  *

         Love Undaunted

• Life accepts no promises if none are offered.
  Trust is hard earned.
  But if you peel back the layers
  And find beauty at the core,
  The reward is breath-taking.
  
  
  -SJ Holmwood (April 9, 2012)
  
  *   *   * 

  
  

   Love's Solitude

  
  

  
  

  
  

  The purple veil of solitude sent shadows

  Cascading down my wall

  And it's got me wondering...

  What is life really for?

  We struggle to be born,

  We struggle to grow,

  We struggle to die.

  We struggle to be reborn.

  What is love really for?

  Excavate below the surface-

  Get to the passionate meat of things.

  Plant the seed,

  Coax it to grow.

  Water frequently,

  Treat tenderly,

  Keep warm,

  Be patient.

  I’m so scared I’ll fuck it up.

  
  

  -SJ Holmwood  (Feb. 23, 2012)

  
  

  *   *   *

  
  

  Remembering You

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Ghosts of you

  
  

  Inhabit everything I do

  
  

  I round the corner and see you smiling there

  
  

  Your shirt open, beauty exposed, your chest bare.

  
  

  My breath catches in my throat

  
  

  I break out in a sweat

  
  

  Like when we’d just met

  
  

  I stare, and stare,

  
  

  and reach for you there.

  
  

  Then I realize you aren’t here anymore.

  
  

  I feel the balloon deflate and

  
  

  I crash to the floor.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  -by SJ Holmwood   (April 2012)

  
  

  
  *   *   *

   
  Searching

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Distant echoes of things you said

  
  

  Drumming around inside my head

  
  

  Of when our hearts were happily one-

  
  

  Those bright days when we danced in the sun.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Then you flooded my senses all around

  
  

  Like a wayward river on bone-dry ground.

  
  

  But now that those days are long gone

  
  

  I must step away and move on.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Hating the endless lonely hours

  
  

  Coming down from my ivory towers

  
  

  I try to recognize the sign

  
  

  Found at the crossroads in my mind.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Searching for my special one.

  
  

  Stumbling and feeling numb,

  
  

  Reaching out and grasping

  
  

  For love everlasting.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Some of my friends, they don’t understand.

  
  

  They talk about me behind their hands.

  
  

  Judging me when I’m feeling blue,

  
  

  For trying to find something new.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  When all I want to do is feel,

  
  

  And know in my heart that it’s real.

  
  

  Learning to shut the past’s door,

  
  

  Just wanting to live once more.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Fear of falling too far, too fast

  
  

  from the farthest star to the last.

  
  

  But to land like a bird in hand,

  
  

  When will I ever understand?

  
  

  
  

  
  

  • -by SJ Holmwood  (May 28, 2012)
    
    
    
    *  *  *
    
    
     The Dating Scene
    
    
    Spinning on the merry- go- round of j-pegs and text
    Help! Someone catch my outstretched hand
    Stop me from going ‘round to see who’s next!
    It feels like I’m drowning in quicksand.
    
    
    One is too far away
    Another has too many hang-ups
    Yet another too many children
    Or maybe no time.
    This one’s a taker
    That one’s a heart-breaker
    One speaks to my body,
    One speaks to my heart,
    And one speaks to my mind.
    
    
    Am I slim enough?
    Fit enough?
    Rich enough?
    Soft enough?
    Classy enough?
    Trashy enough?
    
    
    Will he answer my letter?
    Will he telephone?
    Will he make it all better?
    Will he be there when I get home?
    
    
    Should I text him?
    Or will that perplex him?
    Is he seeing another?
    Should I take him to meet mother?
    
    
    If you move too fast,
    It may not last.
    Savor the days
    And learn the ways
    Of how two become one.
    
    
    -by SJ Holmwood   (June 17, 2012)
    
    
    *  *  *
     
    Ode to the Vernal Equinox
    
    
    As the darkness recedes and the light grows
    And winter's blanket no longer tickles your toes,
    
    
    Jack appears with brush in hand
    To once again paint green the land.
    
    
    Snowdrops in bloom, crocus too
    In splashes of white , and shades of blue.
    
    
    Romance the Rain Gods
    So that they drench the sod.
    
    
    Summon your muse O Spritely one,
    Call in your credits with the Sun.
    
    
    Paint a masterpiece this year-
    One of envy, far and near.
    
    
    -by SJ Holmwood (February 13, 2012)
    
    
    *  *  *
    You and Me
    
    
    We met behind the pixels and keys
    A place so cold, I thought I would freeze
    You warmed my heart with your smile and your ways
    And infused the life back into my days
    
    
    I explore your senses and mysterious places,
    Interpret the meaning in the shape of your faces,
    And follow the path beneath your skin that winds
    Down to the caverns of your heart and mind.
    
    
    I want to paint your name across the sky
    And sing your song until I die.
    I want to carve our names in a tree by the brook
    And write about you in my book.
    
    
    You are the crimson sunset at the end of my day.
    You are the joy I feel in the month of May.
                                You come to me with tenderness and care
    And I run my fingers through your hair.
    
    
    My heart flutters when you’re nearby
    Like the delicate wings of a butterfly
    How can I express what you mean to me
    Anymore than that you set me free?
    
    
    -by SJ Holmwood (3/6/12)