The Broken Ride - Revisited

Revised on 8 February 2006.

On a broken ride across the sky,
Along the edge of time we fall.
Gently, forever; like the snow, softly
threatening. Slightly white.
And each flake a lie; everlasting,
The never-ending pain; the blood
shed: Drop by drop.
Off the tongue, it is the rain,
Ever beating, beating down,
A menacing advance. Layer;
Upon layer, fold upon fold.
Consuming itself. A tale yet untold.
The shapeless mould: is darkness.
And inside.
Unlock the door; break the heart.
Cracked, questions filter out. Through
formless holes: Too big yet too small ¬–
Never satisfying.
From under, over and below. Observe.
Empty is full; filled within.
Half full becomes half empty, when you
pour. With open eyes. Watch.
In the mirror,
Jaded.
Look, on the walls, pictures.
Rusting yellow. Red-brown and gold.
Tarnished beauty?
See: Beyond the window, perfect
view. Scenery.
Unrecognizable. Unsure?
Nose pressed against the glass.
Missing, longing, waiting…hoping.
On a broken ride; far, so far,
Away from home. Alone.
Thinking, trying to understand.
(c) Sylphide

These Words

Began on 30 November 2005.

These words are mistakes –
Leaves that never should have fallen:
They litter the ground; Crimson,
The colour of rage.

These words echo spite and malice.
Unintentional – they cause the most pain:
The words no one choose to say.
Sprawling, a stain across the page

These words fall like rain:
Effortlessly, it seems – off the tongue.
Falling,
Again and again
(c) Sylphide

Silent Bird

Began on 17 November 2005.

My silent bird – you do not sing:
These ears are empty, like this heart.
You leave me dry of blood and tears,
As your gaze evokes my sorrow

Your silence echoes here,
An unheard music
Louder than any voice;
I feel you speak to me.

Fly away, little bird.
Why do you linger here?
A cage is not a home –
Is there naught else you hold dear?

Fly away, little bird,
Why do you linger still?
What is it that binds you
To these bars of unyielding steel?

My voiceless bird – do you cry?
Your eyes seem so empty.
Could your heart be breaking, just like mine?
When I look, all I see is myself.

Is this just my own whimsical reverie?
(c) Sylphide

In Memory Of Flowers

Began on 10 November 2005.

This winter
Your garden is covered in snow
I leave my footprints down your driveway
Your rose bushes are cold

I was apart:
My feet and heart were caught up
Someplace else; But I would have come
If I could have seen you cry
Far away, I couldn’t hear you sigh

Where do dead flowers go?
Where do dead flowers grow?
Tell me –
Do they bloom in heaven
With you?

The quiet,
Echoes through the empty hours
The hallways are full of meaningless sound
And vases of faded flowers

Now that I’m here:
There’s nothing left to remind me
All silent; except the wind in the door
I savour the scent of the past
I linger, now that I’m here at last

Where do dead flowers go?
Where do dead flowers grow?
In heaven?
Do they bloom in heaven
With you?

I’d like to think that they were happy –
Just like you
(c) Sylphide

Tear Stained Hands

Began on 15 August 2005.

I will wipe your eyes
With these tear stained hands
That you may weep no more
The emptiness in them hurts me
In your eyes I am lacking
Your sorrow is shallow
You see not beyond the skin
Hollow within
These tears are forced
And you indulge me now
Taking and giving at will
I will wipe your eyes
Oh, foolish child
And all else time will mend
(c) Sylphide

Nothing Between

Began on 6 May 2005.

There’s nothing between us
Just a pane of frosted glass
In my eyes you are blurred
Distorted, so unlike me
And so I shun you
Because I am afraid
If I reach out to touch you
Can’t feel you as you are
Just a pane of frosted glass
I tell myself
There’s nothing between us

I open my eyes, like you tell me to
But there is nothing new
Your voice is a whisper
I can barely hear you over the glass
And so I shun you
Because I am afraid
If I should err in my thought
Would I trust myself again?
Just a pane of frosted glass
I tell myself
There’s nothing between us
(c) Sylphide

A Tale Of Two Men

Begun on Friday, 26 August, 2005.

They walked together,
Strangers on one journey
Silent, they paced as one –
Two waves in a sea
In the same breath, both wondered
At words they could not speak
Company they dared not seek
And sighed; we are weak,
Oh, we are weak.

They used to cry.
Yet all tears are saline, the same
taste of different reasons.
In all magnitudes of pain,
Misery is a selfish mistress –
So we weep for us,
Memories stored in jars,
And for what has past,
When it has past.

They dreamt their dreams:
From Santa Claus to money and fame.
Those were but foolish toys.
And in the end, they’re all the same,
It’s still a game.
But only then do we regret,
Only then do we regret.

They lie together now,
Beneath the grieving sky –
Friends now, who were not in life.
‘Tis for this loss we sigh:
For what we could have been
Worlds we might have seen
Oh, and all the dreams
All the lost dreams

It seems we are unwise
Not to live well while we can
Nor to cherish –

Ah, but we are human.
(c) Sylphide

Walk With Me

Began on Monday, 15 August, 2005.

Walk with me, my love
By the mellow sea
Where the breeze blows soft and sweet
And we roam young and free

Intertwining fingers
Touch is vital in this interlude
Away from the cacophony of white noise
Here, only silence shall intrude

Here, the shifting sand caresses
And the echoes of memory cry
May we walk here undisturbed?
At our feet the waves sigh

Oh, we are young now,
And still we are wild
Untamed and unfettered by life
Oh, we are naïve,
With thoughts of a child
Untainted yet by alien strife

Walk with me, my love
In this blessed time
Age has not yet clouded our eyes
So let distant bells chime
(c)Sylphide

Forever And A Night

Began on Tuesday, 9th August, 2005.

What is day?
When the sorrows sleep,
The shadows weep
And hide away.
A passing shade
All too soon
With the rise of the moon
It fades.

I will not swear by such fickle soul.
As the stars catch alight
To love you forever and a night
I promise.
While the shadows are young,
And the darkness growing

Daylight is a harsh judge
Painting me in unflattering hue
Whispering words untrue
Oh! Sweet darkness is more forgiving!
(c)Sylphide

Satisfy My Heart

Began on Sunday, 26 June 2005.

I take you with me whence I go
Your memory is warm and soothing
Envelop me, with your love
As you satisfy my heart

My soul comes to life with song
Veins filled with love’s own blood
My joy is awakened to dance
As you satisfy my heart

I take you with me whence I go
You are my heart’s delight

Adoring eyes, they watch me
For them I cannot fall
They hold me up in quiet arms
Sustain me once more

I take you with me whence I go
From you I cannot bear to part
You are my hope, I hold you dear
As you satisfy my heart
(c) Sylphide

Longing

Began on Wednesday, 13 April, 2005.

I wait at the door
Your ocean eyes deign to part
As though, if you let me in
You might just fall apart

Eternally, your smile is a craving
In your grasp, I am a toy
Feast: would I, if I could; childlike
I am greedy for your joy

That I could reach within you
Unclench your silent heart
That your pain would pass away
Oh, I will catch you when you fall
Apart.
(c) Sylphide

The Lord Beheld Me

Began on Monday, 30 May, 2005.

The Lord beheld me
As I sat upon my patio – it would seem,
And blessed me thus, while I did slumber,
With the semblance of a dream
In my mind’s eye – I glimpsed a vision,
A field of wheat in gold; a sky of blue.
Miles on miles, sheaths were glistening
As the sun played peek-a-boo
Two figures rose before me –
Speaking softly, voices low.
But every word I heard so clearly,
As though I were standing close:
“Regard my children, assembled here –
They be my treasure, each one dear.”
Curiosity gripped me; bid me stay –
Ere long, did the other say:
“Aye, my Father, I do heed thee,
Leave thine cares now to me.”
And wonder did I,
As the Father replied:
“Watch them well; thou shalt protect them,
By thy presence ever near.
With love and faith, must thee nurture,
And too guard them from their fear.
Aid them, should they fall before thee
Guide them gently whence they stray.
Feed them sunshine, gift them rain –
Gladly tend them as they grow by day.”
So I saw, and thus I heard,
And I believed, the Lord’s true word.
(c) Sylphide

(Written for the Walford Anglican School For Girls in Adelaide, Australia)

Cling

Began on Wednesday, 11 May, 2005.

I cling on to the only thing that will not
soil me, or push me away
Protect me from all who would use me
For their own sinful gains
It draws me in
Your strength, your silence
You can hold the weight of us both
Will you be confident for me?
I hold on to you with a faith unshaken
I hold on to you for me.
(c) Sylphide

As Humans Do

Began on Tuesday, 5 April, 2005.

Uncertainly
We test the ground beneath our feet
So unsure are we
Wary – we fear our feet might collapse
Beneath us
The ground unsteady
There is no faith; no faith in ourselves
Hesitation
Waiting till the scales fall from our eyes
Squinting to see beyond disguise
What do we see?
Out of blindfolded eyes
We see ourselves
As humans do
(c) Sylphide

Cloudy Skies

Began on Wednesday, 16 Feburary, 2005.

He was counting clouds in the sky
Oh, he didn’t know but why
Eyes shift, searching for a silver lining
The light danced off the windowpane

Twenty odd years beyond his reach
The azure moon hides its face
Nose pressed against the pane: like a child
Fingers trace edges of a cloud

He watches the darkening window
As the stars creep out the door
Between polished wood and carpeted floor
The glitter’s lost again

He still doesn’t know why
Oh, but now he’s learnt to cry
Eyes shift, searching for a silver lining
The muted glow is silent in the rain
(c) Sylphide

The Barrier Between Worlds

Began on Monday, 1 August, 2005.

You stand so still
A silhouette
The dusk washes over you
Like blood, a crimson wave
Shadows make the path seem longer
And the silence – an eternal distance
I may not traverse down this road
Through the undefined wall
So I remain thus
Contemplating, from afar
The barrier between worlds
And where it starts
(c) Sylphide

Take me to the Interlude

Began on Thursday, 28 July, 2005.

Take me to where the dawn waits
To where the Night River weeps
Where my mother will not look
And through the cracks where light peeks
We will slip out

I understand the restrained fire
Blindfolded, I am left with only touch
For all I ask, this yearning to live
Is it too much?
And I stumble, left here in the dark

Destiny holds my life in thrall
Take me to the interlude
To the moment when the curtain falls
And there where silence meets sound
I cannot hear my mother’s calls
(c)Sylphide

Blue Eyes

Began on Sunday, 22 May, 2005.

I saw your silence in the moonlight
There was nothing left to say
And in the darkness of the night
Your brilliance took me away
I fell into your blue eyes
The truth in them beckoned me
Drew me into the depths, as I sighed
And fell apart beneath the frozen sea
(c) Sylphide

The Stranger

Began on Friday, 27 May, 2005.

Dawn caresses the tip of my eye,
Unsure, barely tangible:
Peeking at me through cracks
I’d forgotten to close.

A different light lies on the horizon,
Languid;
Soft like a new memory –
This morning does not call my name.

Reality ticks – at 7 am –
Hesitant, in my confusion
I pull back the blinds:
Outside, a stranger waits to meet me

Saffron and scarlet, crimson and cerise
Blooms suffuse the floor:
A creeping blush;
Shy silence–
This morning does not know my name.
(c) Sylphide

The Scarlet Door

Began on Wednesday, 9 Feburary, 2005.

She fell down
By the scarlet door
There was no ending
Beyond the floor

She saw her face, in a puddle of tears
Ah! Hence lies a broken mirror
But the reflecting glass never lies
Forasmuch as the truth never fears

She fell through the open window
Down by the scarlet door
There was no ending to her story
Beyond the marble floor

She tread softly, her footsteps sweet
Through a sea of malleable dreams
Whence she came, I could not know
But the waves did part beneath her feet

The scarlet door lay open
All but forgotten in the mist
(c) Sylphide

Into the Night

Began on Wednesday, 3 May, 2005.

Past the sickle moon
Into the starless night
Beyond the call of hope
I left afore my sight
In the slippery darkness
I lost upon my hold
A fall from sanity
A fall from flight
Into the soft folds
Of the silent night

Under the broken stars
Beneath the sighing night
Beyond the grasp of reason
I lost the will to fight
In the plunging darkness
I could not find the light
A sorrowed loss
A tear thus lost
Into the gaping orifice
Of the hungry night

Shadows be forgiving
Understand my plight
Swallow all my sins
And give me up to the light

Past the sickle moon
Under the broken stars
A fall from sanity
A fall from flight
A sorrowed loss
A tear thus lost
Into the starless night
(c)Sylphide

Segregation

Began Thursday, 5 May, 2005.

There’s nothing between us
Just a pane of frosted glass
In my eyes you are blurred
Distorted, so unlike me
And so I shun you
Because I am afraid
If I reach out to touch you
Can’t feel you as you are
Just a pane of frosted glass
I tell myself
There’s nothing between us

I open my eyes, like you tell me to
But there is nothing new
Your voice is a whisper
I can barely hear you over the glass
And so I shun you
Because I am afraid
If I should err in my thought
Would I trust myself again?
Just a pane of frosted glass
I tell myself
There’s nothing between us
(c) Sylphide

Naked

Began on Thursday, 19 May, 2005.

I walk bare beneath your gaze
Judge me now
Clothed thus as the day I was made and set to walk on earth
Unknowing
But scorn me not
For I am no fool, just a child

Touch me
Skin on skin, so tangible
I can almost feel your thought, and I probe deeper
Seeking
My questions are misunderstood
As the empty mind hungers for truth

As I shed this masquerade
I give up the vacant truth
Glimpse myself behind blue eyes
And I wonder
(c)Sylphide