I Appear the Stranger

By Cordell Rich

would this man find a flower
and put it in a cage
and at some desperate hour
visit it with rage

or with colored words of anger
paint you black and blue
using words as if new spurs
are as gentle as the dew.

if I came upon his raging
with you cowering in fright
could you see it as a staging
to leave with me that night

or would I appear the strange
if I held to you my hand
would I appear the danger
my gesture a demand

a flower can grow so wilted
it has just the strength to stand
and a cooling sip of water
can drive it to the sand

My Muse

By Cordell Rich

my hands are sometime a lonely place
desperate to find your hands hiding within them
am I always to be a slave to memories of you
longing for that moment of your hands in mine
of your hands being our hands.
I would scarce know how to breath
and close my eyes for fear that
the next breath would might come
when you would be my last mistake
I would raise my voice and
sing in whispered praises
my muse, Magami
transposing your name anew
a prayer upon my lips
Magami
again and again Magami
until I had sung every syllable
fresh kisses on your skin thru
the whispered words, magami
as I taste the salty moonlight there
your slave or your king
abandoning all memories past
for memories yet to come
those moment with you in my arms

Magami Japanese for Muse or My Muse

I Can See You Leaving

By Cordell Rich

even from where I am, I can see you leaving.
how am I to say goodbye to you
with any words that are not covered in lies
I would pay loves price again and again
to watch the bend and pull of your lips
as you speak my name
or to feel your hands, in my hands
as gentle as new born snow falling in my hair

SHE

she
appears
a ghost from my recent past
perhaps sad
dark and moody
but with gentle eyes
looking
not at me, but past
as if something holds her attention
and I am saddened
because in a moment she will be gone
and I will be left
a lonely man.

These My Tears

By Cordell Rich

these my tears are born of a rage boiling within her
melting the shards of broken memories
to produce these tears which even now
bind me against my will to her
they burn and sting my eyes and turn my heart cold
how does this woman cry when all inside of her
is frozen by a great frost temporing her heart

My Every Breath

I remember your shoulders
and your skin in the light

your flames coursing through my veins
quenched only by your presence

scars burned deep into my future
to mourn some later date

every memory a tear upon my flesh
a tapestry of regret now scarred and healed

my every breath an invocation
to a God long wearied by my pleas

desperate I cry out
the moons silence, my rebuke

my thoughts tremble at the question
if I but had the courage

would you be with me now