Best Lighter Than Air Poems
“In this life there’s been heartache and pain”
How could I begin to find love again
Desperado walking a tightrope
I looked down and Daniel gave me hope
“The first time ever I saw your face”
Cold heart melted, longed for your embrace
Your compassion and character shone
No longer could I live all alone
“You took my love and you took it down”
Felt lighter than air with feet on the ground
A love without chains, a soul unbound
But walls closed in as I watched you drown
"In a New York minute everything can change"
Sometimes life takes twists that seem strange
A human chain was formed to find my man
Reaching up was Daniel's lifeless hand
Efforts to save, resuscitate
Proved futile to fight the hands of fate
Casket sent home, called his folks to explain
“Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane”
*Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is”
*Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”
*Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”
*Don Henley's "In a New York Minute"
*Elton John’s “Daniel”
By Carolyn Devonshire for Tracie's "Sing a Song for Me" contest.
Dedicated to my fiancé Daniel Sammons who drowned while we were swimming in a
lake near Tallahassee, FL.
A mystery, you, a child of our times,
you write of love and loss with equal flair,
flitting through rhythms and flirting with rhymes,
even your free verse is lighter than air.
Tiptoeing lightly while sharing your muse,
scattering adverbs to brighten my day,
likely as not you will bring me good news,
sprinkling nouns in your own special way.
The moon will arise, the sun fall asleep,
the world will keep spinning, as is her due,
and you shall lie content in slumber deep,
your burdens put away, your worries few.
Awake refreshed with a song in your heart,
ready and able to practice your art.
*******
Dedicated to a onetime Souper, Annie Brittle
I see her, ecstatic under thundering skies, red flashed lightning
Long hair static, arms spread wide,
savoured downpour, dance.... exuberant
As if day becomes night, a crimson moon, tinted stars, painted clouds
Peering down, eclipsing fears and weaving enchantment
Her pirouettes stir dry leaves in whirlwind patterns
And I stand in awe, my clumsy limbs reach out to her
My coy moves, a pitiful attempt to match her audacity
Her inner focus, isolated from everything but herself.
I wonder, could this be a dream, a vision created by a lonely mind
An apparition in melodic shapes, beauty conjured by wishful feelings…
Then she stops, looks in my direction, and my breath escapes
Her eyes enchanting pools of fire, and deep inside I stir:
"Dance with me". Is that my voice, cracking like breaking branches?
One lithe motion and she is behind me, over my shoulder I can see her curls
No, it is her voice, an angelic sound wafts about me, I am motionless, mesmerized
“Dance with me” she says again, touching my arm as I feel myself floating
Lighter than air, as if I have wings, I feel nothing and I feel everything…
Nothing, nothing beats her warmth, no rain, no thundering booming growl
from the clouds, no, nothing beats the warmth of her heart beating against
mine, or the saltiness of her skin, or the gentle teasing in her voice
I still find it hard to convince myself that this is happening…to me
But dream or not I will dance, for that is my life…to dance
And I will smile for the first time in a long time…in harmony with hers
"I knew you before you knew me" she says: "I saw you before you saw yourself"
And deep inside I melt, those walls she expertly tears down brick by brick:
A mason cementing with bare hands, and I am suddenly naked.
And I am free, no longer held captive by my own desolate thoughts,
free to explore, free to experience and free to follow her lead,
as we now dance, unreserved, un-tethered…into every tomorrow, together.
***
September 30, 2017
Copyright © Chris Green and Darren White
In the stillness of the night
Not a whisper anywhere
There came down a feather
So much lighter than air
In the stardust of darkness
The light from the moon
My hand reaches out
It’s never too soon
The contact is made there
A feather and skin
The weight is so nothing
It’s almost like sin
What meaning a feather
In the dark of the night
It floated towards me
No bird in my sight
My hand just relaxes
I gaze there within
A tiny white feather
Made soft and so thin
I close up my palm now
And feel the life there
The feather from darkness
A place with no care
And all right around me
The peace of the night
The magic of being
In this time of life
Take what I have here
Ill share it with you
The magic of friendship
The feather of truth.
If your mountains should crumble
To the world's finest sand
If your oceans should run dry
And become arid land
If the weight of the world
Becomes too much to bear
May that weight become lighter
Much lighter than air
If your path should need straightened
Should you stumble and fall
I'll help lift you up
Help you walk and not crawl
If you feel all alone
In the busiest place
And the darkness of nightfall
Should cover your face
For deep in the distance
A light you shall see
You won't be alone
For that light will be me
Forever and ever
I'd do it again
I can't thank you enough
For being my friend
...for Annie Brittle
A mystery, you, a child of our times,
you write of love and loss with equal flair,
flitting through rhythms and flirting with rhymes,
even your blank verse is lighter than air.
Tiptoeing lightly while sharing your muse,
scattering adverbs to brighten the day,
likely as not you will bring us good news,
sprinkling nouns in your own special way.
The moon will arise, the sun fall asleep,
the world will keep spinning, as is her due,
and you shall lie content in slumber deep,
your burdens put away, your worries few.
Awake refreshed with a smile on you face,
as we delight in your lasting good grace.
Balloons
Round and full,
Always seeking the sky,
Lighter than air.
Reminders
To celebrate
Birthdays and birth.
Hold tight the cord -
No escape with the wind –
Joy on a string
Bright colors dance -
Welcome to happy times -
Rainbows of laughter
Always young
Holding a balloon
Smiling hearts laughing
2-16-23
Contest: Balloons
Sponsor: Anthony Biaanco
He is my gentle seduction
that makes me lighter than air
he holds onto me firmly
so I won't up and disappear
Not that I don't love him
but in fact, I love him so dear
but remember, I told you,
he makes me lighter than air
He has to be my angel
God sent me, I, unaware
for years I stopped dreaming
I guess out of lonely fear
But today, I woke from dreaming,with him kissing my ear
how perfect our love is, in our older years
enjoying those simpler things like cooking
fishing or just holding the other near
He is my handsome husband
the father of my children, our truest bliss
soon the grandfather to the symbol
of all these growing in loving years
On either side
Of a crowded family dinner table
There are signs of ambition and resentment
Success and failure
Marked by those who pass
The plate
And those who only take.
A lighter than air blimp
Floated
Lazy circles
High above a City
Of breadlines desperation
As New York struggled
Through the Great Depression.
Hank was tough
Self reliant and hungry
Eager to impress
He washed
And waxed
His uncle’s car
Calloused hands
Carefully caressing
The sleek curves
Of a 1938 V16 Caddy.
Catching his reflection
In the chrome grill work
He ignored
The rough lines
In his face
Focusing instead
On the money
And power behind
The car.
Wet sponge
Going up and down
The rich’s man car
Sweat pouring down his neck
Pails of water
Clanging an alarm
Under an August sun
Having never owned a car
Hank
Was dismayed
When the wax
Clouded
Up
In the summer heat.
Well dressed
Republican
Hands on hips
Uncle was upset
At what he saw
Incompetence
Was wasted time.
The sudsy water
Drained away
Any hopes of
Hank getting a job
In his uncle’s firm.
The Depression was a disaster
For some it came sooner
For Uncle it came later
Packing a surprise punch
That was catastrophic
Uncle lost everything.
The house
The fancy parties
And the ‘38 Caddy with dual spare tires mounted on each front
Gone for pennies on the dollar.
Ever resourceful
Hank got a job as a clerk
In the US Patent Office
One day
He realized
Beef and potatoes
On a modest clerk’s salary
Tasted better than Uncle’s lavish dinners
The seeds of disappointment
From that summer’s day
Occasionally came back
To remind him what was meant to be
Thinking of his red faced Uncle
In a starched shirt
On that hot August afternoon
Hank broke into a wide grin
And ordered another plate of beef stew.
I imagine Nature as a token of love;
A warm blanket wrapped 'round me, a gift from above.
I am lifted with the sunrise in dawn's mauve light,
And soar with the eagle in his morning flight.
I imagine bright flowers that I've never seen
Spread out over mountains in a mélange of green.
The voice of thunder clapping in a cloudy sky,
Quenches thirsty flowers with rainclouds passing by.
I flow along with tradewinds out to salty seas,
Creating currents, as I pass beyond the trees.
My body has no bounds and I'm lighter than air,
Ensconced in such beauty, I can fly anywhere.
I am nearing the forest of tall redwood trees,
And swaying at their tops overlooking canopies.
Bird songs are my music as I sing along in tune,
'Till daytime vanishes and I'm charmed by the moon.
Stars surround this lady who sheds her silver light,
Lending stealthy vision to creatures of the night.
I like to imagine if gifted with the choice,
I CAN compose a poem to share my poetic voice.
1-30-2016
In quiet anticipation, Daphne carefully sewed
tiny outfits of love for her soon to be child
with her soft braided hair and loose, faded clothes
Daphne sung lullabies, then stared off for awhile.
When her due date came, we wished Daphne well
for our small sewing circle was caring and kind
Daphne looked embarrassed, but was happy to tell
that she'd show us her baby at just the right time.
A few months later, sweet Daphne appeared
gently cradling her sleeping, angelic little girl
with a hushed adoration, we all drew near her
and beheld the most beautiful baby in the world.
When the ladies dispersed, I asked Daphne if I
could hold her new baby, I'd hold her with care
with a brief hesitation, she said, "Just a short while.”
her perfect, silicone baby was lighter than air.
If the truth be told
do Fibonacci patterns puzzle
like the sunflower seeds stumble
or tiny fronds of ferns spiral
into the golden ratio of the galaxy
sparking forth a cardiac rhythm
peaking with a ventricular stimulation
a tricuspid valve squeezing swiftly
pumping life into collapsing lungs
flickering light into a newborn baby's eye
rainbow feathers twinkling through a shadowy sunrise
floating lustrous and lighter than air
a robin's egg bluer than a Caribbean horizon
waves humming the shore into a sandy trance
as baby turtles swim towards a turquoise sea
or sitting atop a sturdy branch
overlooking a radiant redwood tree
yellow flowers demi-pointe their petals below her trunk
as tangling branches reach for a starlit sky
crickets sing a sonata to ambassadors of another age
how an opus of prismatic motion
tumbles below a swirling cloudy sky
while miniscule concertos humming
but a riddle rotating in an ebony abyss.
...... Here I fly ....
Do you know why
Have no reason to stay
Going home today
Lighter than air
Not a care
Cause I dare
Yesterday lies behind
Tomorrow is out of mind
What lies ahead
The love I will be fed
Flying foward
Ever towards
Past the horizon I go
It's all I know
Past the clouds in the sky
So high
.. I fly ...
A never ending flight
Beyond sight
Like a bird flying free
How that would be
Break earth's binding tie
So high
I dare to fly
... Set free ...
What wonders I see
Flying beyond tomorrow
Towards the land of no sorrow
Towards my new home waiting
Cause I didn't spend my time hating
My soul is now free to fly
Never to die
... No reason to cry ...
My wings are just carring me home
Done is my time to roam
Past what lies behind
Cause I know what I'll find
Peace of mind
So I fly
.... Ever so high ....
It is said that she only paints with primary colors.
Red for the thin crimson blood that pours carelessly out of her wounded thoughts. Thoughts
she never cares to express.
Blue for the gracious sky. Open and excepting, unlike the people that surround her,
smother her rather. She day dreams of becoming lighter than air; simply vanishing away, as
if she was vapor.
Yellow for Polaris, the northern star. It always seems to lead her safely back inside her
mind, when she subconsciously drifts away in a thought bubble.
They say she forgets about her secondary hues, because the memories are just dead weight.
Green because it surrounds her, closes in around her. It is a deception. The pigment fails
to remind her to look up; up for the true escape.
Orange because it devours her contented thoughts, and replaces them with burnt images.
Images of the rebellious flames that stole his soul.
Purple because she can't fight the temptation as she stares deep into the constant
reminder. Her violet veins crave her razor blade.
When she paints, she paints in primaries, because secondary sources always lead her astray.
They clipped my wings, yet I still fly
Thrown off a cliff to chase a lie
Now I fall through the clouds
A broken bird left to die
A single wish to give me strength
My salvation is bittersweet
Its form I ponder at great length
Wandering the silent street
Though I may be broken
I have yet to be beat
I swear on my grave
I will not face defeat
My hope is unshaken
The foundation is deep
Its time to awaken
I'll return from my sleep
They plucked my wings, yet I still fly
Jumped off this cliff to chase a lie
So I fall through the clouds
A broken bird left to die
We're locked in my head
As we go insane
Our eyes filled with madness
To poison my brain
We claw at my mind
Sculpted with care
The home of our soul
My hope and despair
It cracks in our hand
And pours from my palm
Then turns to sand
Along with our calm
They crushed my wings, yet I still fly
Leaped off this cliff to chase a lie
Again I fall through the clouds
A broken bird left to die
The times come to save me
So I'll break my chains
With my sanity fading
I'll give them my pains
My fire consumes me
As I burn to ash
My hatred subsumes me
Along with my past
I forgot the reason that I cling to life
Drowning in pain, torment, and strife
I never forget the pain of the knife
It cut through my bones like the blade of a scythe
They stole my wings, yet I still fly
Ran off my cliff to chase a lie
As I fall through the clouds
A broken bird left to die
Faithfully, I chase our dream
A fraying rope on its final string
Lighter than air, more solid than lead
This foolish hope, it sings to me
Refusing the truth
I clutch at the seams
Denied my youth
I hold in my screams
I fish for the moon
Though it might be in vain
I pray for this boon
While it drives me insane
They reaped my wings, yet I still fly
Kicked of this cliff, I have faith in a lie
I fall through the clouds, towards the moon in the sky
A broken bird, I will not die
Now I cease to exist
As I fade from the sky
The final cost, to bring truth to my lie
This broken bird will never die