we are enlightened

we are enlightened

these quiet avenues

slightly dull

peace and quiet of suburbia

children playing in the grounds

a little less enticing

inverted nostalgia

a tangible confusion in the air

when we return

city’s street lights

burn a little more brightly

roars of the highway

blended noises of the night

ring pleasantly in my ears

the touch of your skin

warms me more quickly

our quiet times

renewed with grins

our soft kisses

everlasting once more

our little luxuries

our own

old candles blown out

and new ones lit

stand idly by

sifting through the ordinary

draw yourself mediocre

be entertained with the average

while i ink worlds, illustrate histories

gaze in awe as i write the spotlights of eternity

your life a glimpse of the cosmos i create.

watch while i pick daisies from my palms

batting rain clouds from my eyes

strands of my hair an entangled rain forest

my breath, a jet stream that governs the earth.

stronger strings

things are changing

looking up

the frost of winter is dissolving

flickers of sunshine piercing ivory banks of snow

the evenings less numb

a little less quiet

winds barely whispering

enigmatic golden voices in the air

serenades for the seasons

playing brilliantly on the horizon

i can hear the music now

choruses i’d written years ago

being sung to me by hundreds of cherubs

their saintly voices echoing inside my brain

straightening the mirrors in my apartment

leveling the floors

mending the strings that hold me together

i find it daunting
always searching while i walk
while my brothers and sisters
bump into my shoulders and apologize

makes me want to scream
‘please, don’t be sorry.
just tell me your name’

but they keep walking
a purpose waiting patiently
at the end of their steps

though nobody knows it
our soul mates are just out of reach
blowing me kisses from bus windows

using my lighter in the rain
groaning impatiently for their coffee
smiling meekly in the halls

the girl of my dreams
is waiting in lines
getting on the bus
sitting beside me
her features aren’t yet determined
but it doesn’t matter

she’s already gone

it can be maddening
forging a connection
so that it can disintegrate
in your fingers
burst into flame at your touch

there’s a little boy with spectacles

dressed in the suit he wore to his first communion

prowling downtown, studying hungry businessman

he begged his mother for a big boy haircut

said he needed to shorten the grey curls

blend in the receding hair line

he grew weary of the sandbox and the playground

swore he was ready for the scorching Sahara sand

he took swimming lessons at the local pool

preparing to face the Oceans of the world

though one morning his alarm didn’t go off

a stellar limbo between the seasons of his routine

his first time looking at the picture without the frame

a morning without his glasses

now, that’s colossally beautiful he’d whisper in astonishment

laying back down this one morning; just to watch the time

December

we were walking somewhere unfamiliar

from a place we couldn’t remember

i remember the way the snow was falling that night

tap dancing eloquently at my feet

an impossible tranquility on the busy city street

a brief moment between the dull roars of the city

i remember peering curiously

at the city lights painting our faces blue

complimenting the frosted windows

the snowed in cars

this was the first time i noticed

the beauty in our cracked lips

how we cherish smiles in a blizzard

and though the cold had frozen our limbs,

we laughed anyway

tears of joy freezing on our faces

a reminder and score keeper of the night.

so we stumbled towards the bus station

winter steering us home with iron hands.

...

it seems in truth i’ve found hope

a reason to the rhymes

dollars in those nickels and dimes

wings in the birdcages

warmth in the heat hazes

cause to smile was initially a sin

a celestial dance in the wind

talk this out while i’m singing

wake up though i'm still dreaming