Bryan Taplits

Dear heart:
My heart remains full, but my arms now are empty,
Envisioning you is wed to the past.
My soul a lone sentry,
...

A cloud came out, the sun went in
More drizzle was my life
I prayed then hoped-but just got rope-
My heart: All slice and diced!
...

What a store and a delight-
A stratagem which I believe,
A fevered fount
(Where votes all count) -
...

I paid her once a compliment
Flattered, she fluttered her eyes,
Yes, I was preparing for another affair-
So I got ready for my new enterprise.
...

Savory are her lips
Dawn-rose are her sweet cheeks,
Her eyes: Gimlets and green are they
I close my eyes to peek.
...

I coveted you from afar my dear
I wished that you were 'we',
I longed for your dear presence
At my side I wished you'd be.
...

A country road of little note
A tale that's told of woe
A sortie occurred once there
A battle between two foes.
...

No raging or roiling wraith was she
No castle in my head,
Erect and puissant her towering being-
But the bonding effect has fled.
...

When one is at odds and maybe more-
Perplexed and asking why
Comes the answer being searched for-
From the Conductor in the sky.
...

Repeatedly, I claw for you
Impatiently, I sigh
But unfortunately, my dearest heart,
You don't know that I'm alive.
...

A wish is all I had that day
A fragrant hope, no more,
And then it was you who kissed me-
I bounced right off the floor.
...

I see through the lens of yesterday
And here is what is shown:
Whatever was; whatever 'maybe' was;
And whatever I have known.
...

Go back to you? I ponder and wonder
For you, I think, a trifle unjust,
But back to you I'm guessing I'll return
Because...I guess-and I'm guessing- I must!
...

All hope that the era of COVID
Has lived its reign and passed
We don't need one more overbearing sword-
To remind us of our past.
...

My skin now may be wrinkled and withered
My belly may reflect a beer or two
No more am I as light on my feet- and to hear sounds they must repeat
But whether you know it or not-whether I'm remembered or forgot-
...

Wakening from slumbers-
the morning air once a shrive-
Winter's sun has staggered,
This day's warmth a new surprise.
...

It's this which has me thrilled
When rested and at home
When my work is done-
At sauntering winking sun
...

Hunting through old books of lore
I found this scroll I bound-
Years ago I wrote it
When I was brash and sound.
...

The heart can imprison one too
And your penance? Your new point of view
Where the lone inmate in prison is not her-but is'his'n
And the prisoner-you discover- is you.
...

Memory is a funny thing. It's a blessing and a curse.
You can never know-when it dumps its largesse
If afterwards you feel better- or feel worse.
Its lode is in a prospector's pick that mines your second sight-
...