She sails where the bayou kisses the tide,
a phantom queen with a mournful glide.
The paddle churns, though no hands steer,
and jazz floats faint on a breeze unclear.
Her lanterns burn with a ghostly hue,
casting gold on waters black and blue.
No passengers board, no voices ring--
just whispers soft as a violin string.
The captain’s hat is dust and bone,
his eyes like coals, his soul long gone.
He tips his brim to the moonlit shore,
forever sailing, seeking more.
Beneath her decks are cards and gin,
dice that roll where life wore thin.
The laughter echoes through the years--
a masquerade of silent cheers.
They say she sank in 'twenty-four,
but rose again with something more.
A curse, a pact, or prayer gone wrong--
now midnight is her siren song.
If you hear her horn on a still, dark night,
don’t follow the sound or seek the light.
For once aboard, you’ll never disembark--
your name etched in the ledger of the dark.
Alesia Leach © 4/2025
The lazy lion lingered by the lake,
licking his luscious lips,
listening lightly as he laid
like a lump by the log,
longing to lunch on a lovely lamb--
if it would only land in his lap.
Alesia Leach © 05/22/2016
I don’t know why we ever started--
except that it was what you wanted.
But now it is time that I departed,
on a road that I have charted.
I tried to fight and make a stand,
but it’s time to let it rest.
My feelings you didn’t understand,
so moving on is best.
With the rain on the window,
the miles are passing fast.
I keep looking for a rainbow,
but the rain just seems to last.
The days are slowly passing
on my broken dreams.
Though hurt rests everlasting
on this shattered heart, it seems.
I’ll stay on the road I’ve chosen
and face all my fears.
I will not be broken--
I’ve come too far in these years.
Alesia Leach © 9/11/2015
A rose of red velvet
gleams in the moonlight,
dusted with the night’s silver dew.
It whispers of a love that is abiding--
a love filled with desire and romance.
Seek this love and give your heart,
with this lover’s rose at first chance.
Alesia Leach © 9/11/2015
Fear--entangling me,
ensnaring me,
with cold hands,
twisting my heart,
tearing at my soul.
Hiding inside,
it moves and
breathes.
Paralyzed,
I stop thinking--
it takes what it wants,
leaving me shaken.
Alesia Leach © 9/10/2015
Today I watched
as daylight faded into night.
A fierce wind rose and howled--
the trees bent under its might.
Dark clouds gathered,
smothering stars and moon.
Thunder crashed and echoed--
a sky-shaking, roaring tune.
Bolts of lightning split the dark,
illuminating sheets of rain.
I wondered when it might be done--
but the storm returned again… and again.
Alesia Leach © 8/31/2015
The corn is tall, the sky is wide,
golden fields on every side.
Apple-sweet, the morning air--
cool and crisp, beyond compare.
A hush beneath the harvest moon,
the rustling leaves a twilight tune.
The sun still lingers, soft and slow,
but shadows stretch and breezes blow.
September hums a quiet song,
of summer’s end, and dusk grown long.
With every note, the season turns--
a warmth that fades, a fire that burns.
The earth prepares its rest in hues
of orange dreams and mellow blues.
A song of change, both sweet and wise,
echoing under amber skies.
-Alesia Leach © 8/2015
Essence of the dragon’s breath
into the harbor creeps--
gray, silent, with the chill of death--
blankets the meadow while sunbeams sleep.
Wandering, lost within its drifting folds,
isolated from the world.
Cries of fears untold
echo through its depths unfurled.
Distorted visions, illusions cast,
tremor through the air--
soulless victims on retribution’s task
beckon to their hidden snare.
Close your eyes, feel cold fingers caress,
howls of anguish--too late.
Your body shudders in distress,
bemoaning your impending fate.
Alesia Leach © 8/2015
Beady black eyes gleam,
gold and orange wings take flight--
watch them chase the wind.
-Alesia Leach © 5/2015
Listen--quiet, still.
The forest holds its own breath.
Birdsong threads the air.
-Alesia Leach © 5/2015
Winter is a blanket,
tucking in the Earth.
Spring is a flower,
stretching toward the sky.
Summer is the grass,
swaying in the wind.
Fall is the breeze,
dancing through the air.
The seasons turn in circles,
forever spinning time.
-Alesia Leach © 5/2015
Brown leaf, how you float--
so graceful, so unburdened.
How I envy you.
-Alesia Leach © 5/2015
Bravery is saying what you believe--
not seeking to deceive.
Bravery is getting past your fear,
listening, afraid of what you’ll hear.
Bravery is staying true to yourself,
not living life upon the shelf.
Bravery is following in the right footsteps,
not afraid to ask for help.
Bravery is admitting when you are wrong,
not being discouraged, but staying strong.
Bravery is protecting the defenseless--
ignoring their plight seems senseless.
Bravery is standing back up when you fall,
not knowing if you will win or lose it all.
Alesia Leach © 5/2015
Silently, she stands upon the shore,
her heart broken at the very core.
Watching the storm rage over the sea,
but in her dreams, she longs to be.
Longing for her lover lost,
her weeping heart now pays the cost.
Now that sorrow her soul did touch,
his precious memories her mind does clutch.
Even his scent lingers in her mind,
and she wonders why life has been so unkind.
—Alesia Leach © 5/2015
In this garden,
the roses have all withered,
the sparrows no longer twitter,
the day is dark and bitter.
In this garden,
a rusty gate swings in the wind,
a faded pinwheel gently spins,
a sad little girl swings within.
In this garden,
the trees are brown and rotten,
the youthful dreams forgotten,
and little tears fall often.
In this garden,
the land lies in dark repose,
the stream no longer flows,
and little eyes bear pain untold.
In this garden--
once, there was beauty here,
once, laughter flowed sweet and clear,
once, there was vigilance near.
© 05/22/2015 – Alesia Leach
Written for The Poet’s Shadow – Hosted by Greg Barden
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