Best Placesvoice Poems
We went headlong into Joshua Tree,
the four of us.
Flower maps, Del Taco stops, cigarette butts, and Steel Kettle
armed us through the hot desert air.
This was a time when my voice was lost,
that passionate pointing of your being.
I worked my way through the weekend like the cursor unguided,
drifting across the computer screen.
And this was okay. We find things in the desert.
Traces of the forgotten, colors blooming from
endless rock and sand. Friendship and intimacy
playing like the praying of folded hands, fingers
of the landscape entwining with the fingers of man.
It all seemed so untouched, we felt,
as our own lives spilled out of us drip by drip
across the fire, seeking new bonds
and dropping old baggage, sparkling and crackling
Into dark cool night.
The all-revealing sun in our mornings set sweltering
the space between our hairs, above our eyes,
within our speech, making slick and dizzy
our touching as we hiked, hopped,
climbed, and perched unforgiving surfaces.
Back now, after the drive, the plane, the park-and-ride, and now the office...
my voice still fills a few feet from my body,
though now I know it's still with me,
naked, exposed and wanting as it was
laid out over the natural scars of the wild desert.
I heard it's call, I heard my name,
and knew all that I was, and am, and will ever be.
She is a personality too few people know.
I see her each night behind her white grand piano.
Her sweet singing voice fills the air.
People drink in the lounge, but do not seem to care.
This woman looks as attractive as the way she sings.
She dresses in a silk gown with sparkling earrings.
Playing with great dexterity and singing like a lark,
she renders her beautiful version of “Piano in the Dark”.
Despite the wonderful voice and talent she owns,
this entertainer ranks among the multitude of unknowns.
Are you ok?! Matt, asked as his eyes searched the dark. Fear gnawed at his spirit. “Yeah, I’m ok…wait!, I can’t feel my legs!”. His girlfriend cried. “I can’t feel my legs, Hon! It’s like they’re not there!” He leaned over, holding on to her, feeling for her legs. Then he breathe a sigh of relief, that they were fine. “Just lean on me, Baby”. “Where’s everybody?” she asked. One minute there were others walking, driving in cars, street and car lights lit the streeet, now they stood in pitch black darkness, confused and afraid of the unknown.
“I think we should sit right here, out of the path until we figure out what’s
happening”, he suggested. “Yeah, I guess". But what's with my legs?” “I
remember there was a bench a few feet back just alongside of the sidewalk, near
an oak tree”. He took out his cell phone, it would reflect some light and nothing
happened, it was dead. His nerves were rattled by the situation. “Look, we’re going
to have to feel our way towards that bench, Honey. Can you feel the street
beneath you now?” He asked. “No, I can’t”. She replied, her voice shaky. “Ok, here
we go.” Matt picked her up in his strong arms and with ginger steps, began to walk
in the opposite direction, using his left foot to feel alongside the concrete for the
wooden bench. With electricity this would take a few seconds, however, this
seemed like it would take forever. Finally his Nike touched the edge of the bench
and he turned to place her down gently.
Grateful that was over, his mind began to focus once more. Standing up, his eyes
searching the darkness seemingly endless, he realized that it would be
impossible to walk back home, as maneuvering the streets was something he could
do by himself, but not if he carried her in his arms. Silence ruled the darkness
with each passing moment. It felt like they were in a vacuum. None of the usual
cricket sounds you hear on warm summer night could be heard. He could tell she
was scared by her voice tone. Her whispers were hardly audible; just enough for
him to hear as he stood close to her. He sat down finally to rest. He'd lost track of
time and hours seemed to pass in dead silence, without one flicker of light.
~*~
For Matt's "Finish The Dream" Contest
Cont'd on Pg II