Paul Josef

...

Beat out a beat on my heart,
A rat-a-tat-tat to start.
With steady strum and steady hand,
Roll out a rhythm, rolling band.
...

Tending to your soil,
My hands are loyal.
I tend to your bark,
Which is gnarled and arced.
...

I'm diving upwards into a sea.
A turquoise, I see.
A float cast out by Ray, sinking in the still sea.
Wave and froth are still, I see.
...

Wood-clad guard
with weapon gnarled and
bark shield,
carved,
...

Their transparent stomachs
filled with storm
and setting sunlight
hang over twilight -
...

...

Your dust settles onto my memory.
The irritating grains draw a tear from my eye.
When I try to shake away recollection, my heart cries:
...

...

Food, there's none.
Drink, they're gone.
My stomach is bare
Like the dining ware,
...

I open my eyes to close the mind,
To shut out the pain that pines.

To long for something is to remain short-
...

Celebrating petals
outstretch in
triumphant bloom
over wilting
...

Adrift, we wallowed.
An ageless whale noticed,
We're swallowed.
In its mouth we cease to quake,
...

From a look my chest collapsed.
(took a breath...gasped...)
...

Countless stars occupy an infinite space.
One of them creates a habitable place.
Where the six billion live, two become soul-mates.
...

Can I float on your face?
It's so pretty and serene.
Your rippling smile reaches the rim of any scene.
...

Our figurative hearts
Can lead us into folley
And enduring pain.
However,
...

My favorite place
is here
within an embrace.
Eternity can wait
...

...

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