Quicksilver tendrils
inlaid rivulets flow through
the inky blackness
I was drenched in black water,
Yet, it looked as though I were dried out.
I stood before a lighthouse,
Yet, remained unseen.
Gazing into the sea’s blackness,
The highest tides forever circled me.
My eyes could find no anchor,
As my dark hands sailed towards the farthest shore.
My home, too, was cloaked in shadow;
Something unseen, yet present, walked with me there.
The map and the wanderer within me never agreed.
Colours were but drifting sailors in my life’s vast sea.
Different souls sail different paths,
Tides come and go.
Memoirs float like driftwood.
Something vast yet fragile appears near the stones.
My grave is smaller than the stones,
Its epitaph; empty and black.
I performed on countless beaches,
Yet, nothing remains visible on this blackest shore.
mid darkness blackest
view embossed in brilliant depth
hued covenant light
~
caged environment
ruptures midnights fall surreal
dark bright light conceals
3/28/2025
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2025©
The Blackness And The Hard Labor Of The Housemaid
Store up the spasms of the low rims of busy suns
trudging work tills the upheaval of ragged soil
and what of shadow hours, sweat and hard toil
does indifferent soil its gasping unholy vomit spill
she folds the clothes and then she falls asleep.
Trudge the hours and crack the unwilling stones
as her shadow walks into bars of uneven ethereal mists
the dark red rouge smears in round about shy patterns
she wonders, where does brown dung of yesterday hide
She slaves as a worker, her tired muscles cramp
her mind drifts and then it accuses her of nothingness
today is for work, tomorrow the mice may play
her work is as ancient days a drifting into noon
she is bent as a scornful indifferent boothill
as she finally stops, yes stops, to dare to go to sleep.
Robert J. Lindley, Verse
June 2nd 1972
Note: My new girlfriend's mother is a housemaid. Works 6 days week about 12 hour a day/
In the dark of night, I see it rise
A shadowy figure, a deep disguise
A force that's strong, and bold, and true
It's blackness, spreading out anew
It blankets the earth in a shroud of dark
Enveloping all in its powerful mark
The stars themselves seem to dim and fade
As blackness takes over, in a grand parade
It's not a thing to fear, this darkness here
For in it lies the essence of all that's clear
The deep, rich blackness that fills the night
Is the very thing that gives us sight
For in the blackness, we see the stars
Twinkling bright, and near, and far
We see the moon, with its silvery glow
Reflecting the light that it does bestow
So let us not fear the blackness that reigns
For in it lies beauty, and wonder, and gains
Let us embrace the night, and all it brings
And marvel at the glory that blackness sings.
In the depths of night, when all is still,
The world is draped in a cloak of blackness.
No light pierces through the darkness,
No sound disturbs the peace.
Blackness is the canvas on which
The stars paint their glittering masterpiece,
A vast expanse of twinkling light
Against the endless void.
Blackness is the silence that descends
When day gives way to night,
The stillness that envelops us
As we rest and dream and find respite.
But blackness is also the shadow
That looms over us in fear,
The darkness that hides the unknown
And fills our hearts with dread.
Blackness is a paradox, a mystery,
A force both beautiful and terrifying,
And yet it is an essential part of life,
The yin to light's yang, the balance that sustains us.
So let us embrace the blackness,
For in it lies both beauty and truth,
And let us find comfort in the darkness,
For it is the canvas on which our dreams are painted.
bellowing stag
deepest blackness
a fox barks
MEDITATION HOUR
Love notes written on vellum
Music scores with smiles between lines
Written in symbols, circles or waves
When lids closed for an hour
I’m inside a strand of hair
A protein or atomic space
Neutrality speaks like
A pink lotus
teaches as my Muse
Its a cardamom pip
I disappear into its blackness
then the car door
Banged !!
At the hour
©ghairodanielspoetry2018
landscape the blackness
that covers skies polka dots
white burst of stars glistens
~
these are those brights sparks
sparkling planets so far out
these are the lights space
3/7/22
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2022
At midnight black light rules
Seems as though daylight woes
Eliminator sprites
lighted
Seems as though daylight woes
Blackness stilled
lighted
Motions stalled can't see to walk
Blackness stilled
Eliminator sprites
Motion stalled
Can't see to walk
At midnight black light rules
1/11/22
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2022
Diamonds crowd above
Blackness governs the realm
How alone we are
My dark skin, my thick lips, what are they so afraid of?
My broad nose and nappy hair, things they teach to be ashamed of.
My strength as a man, so they hunt to cage and deny freedom.
My hands creations, hidden, to create a history of no inventions.
My knowledge, they give false information, to void wisdom.
My leadership, weakened by the division of my women, my children.
My image, tarnished by orchestrated media depictions.
My culture, my origin, stolen from my future through past invasions.
My life, always a threat, orders to eliminate without reasons.
My people, who else could endure so many evils?
My God, my greatness, my blackness, is why their so fearful.
Black darkness crest
Mountain's breasts
Covenant dressed
Parallel valley crawls
The blackened fleeting moth
Falls lights turned off
It's evening dusk
His darkness demons confess
Midnight dreads
No shining of light
No longer bright
Change of format
Pit in my heart Dark Knight
Warrior dark
Midnight black darkness
Mountain blackened crests
Warrior alliance best
12/12/20
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2020
These vultures were closing in on me,
A thousand unutterable fears bore unamendable holes in my mind,
Absorbed in a stream of thoughts and reminiscences,
All was a vague jumble of chaotic impressions.
Awaiting my summons to the eternal silence,
Buried hopes couldn't rise from their sepulchers,
Fathomless depths of suffering increased
Like a feverish and godforsaken tide of life.
Gathering all my scattered impulses into a passionate act of courage,
Threw a ton's weight of resolve upon my muscles,
And braced myself to the exquisite burden of life,
I failed to drink from the jug of the universe.
My heart flutter with a vague terror,
And my soul is beaten to the ground by the catastrophe,
My sensibilities are now offended,
Because this is my night of fathomless blackness.
It's texture most beautiful.
In huge folds and swirls,
Deep shadows enveloped me;
To dress me up in black.
Smooth, billowy,
How it thrills me!
The night is back.
Moving through the trees,
Swirling ebony waters,
As dreams come true.
I must go out at night.
I cannot miss the sight,
Of those satiny, satin nights!
Related Poems