Suzette Richards

you cannot calculate my legacy in monetary value
or in market shares
neither in some property
nor anything tangible
...

The prismatic colours in the oil spills on the garage floor jazzed up the drab surroundings. The home mechanic muttered an expletive under his breath as something nicked his finger, and quickly sucked at the red beading. The gleaming bonnet closed with a satisfying click; the finale after two years of work on the car that he had bought at auction the day their daughter left for unknown climes. He and his wife hoped that she could make it down for her eighteenth birthday party that they had put together.

A crystal laugh delights, engenders some highlights
in eyes that oft endear, outshine a chandelier.
...

Ocean glass glints; smooth polished gems
of discarded debris that hems
in flotsam of dreams sharp as flints.
Smooth polished gems, ocean glass glints.
...

the memory hurts
but does me no harm
if I can get through the day
without thinking of you and
...

The trails of fog like cold entrails
that wind and slither through the copse
which shiver at the touch and sops.
A chance at vision clearly fails.
...

Where tides once gossiped for many an hour
about what lovers share; like grapes gone sour,
the strong opinions o' friends will minds devour.
...

To witness the secret conniving,
to hear of grand plans
made on behalf of others
‘For the good of all' -
...

denuded of foliage
left with the bare essence of my existence
a gnarled unassuming frame
from which new life will burst forth in spring
...

Memento on the moon, our demise that's too soon—
since ancient moral laws, our reasoning had flaws.
The Ten Commandments bold, the wisdom of old told,
its light spread in a rush, but now collective hush.
...

whispers of home rule
in the chambers of one's heart
tales of comfort meander through pulsing veins
putting roots down in the solid foundations
...

love denied and measured by necessity
not forthcoming but fiercely competed for
the silver spoon of birthright not evident
the shadow of it a taunting reminder
...

Admired by many from afar,
especially in jam-packed bar;
must include a fair derriere.
How he stirred his tea's his affair.
...

reminiscent of the translucent wings of green lacewings—
mistaken for a pest, but beneficial—
to strike out and explore a thorny world
resisting the siren call of spring's scent
...

sea-urchins in rock pools -
the flesh, a delicacy -
sparkle -
protected from the ocean
...

a secret dream of peace
youth making dreamers of all -
amidst enemy fire
passions rode high -
...

the wind has died down—
the ground s t r e w n
with nature's debris—
autumn's palette
...

the air that we breathe -
an intricate part of survival -
reluctantly exhaled
lost in the cauldron of communal breath
...

as waterfalls tear* down my sheer cliffs -
sculpted by time's relentless tide
defying the laws of nature
my age undefined; hidden
...

watching a naked flame
with its flickering orange hues
warms the cockles of the heart
reminiscing of scenarios
...

a mirror lies cRaCkEd in the sand—
folding sky into w a t e r
water into s k y
the offing n e b u l o u s as HOPE
...