People Like Rain

people are like rain.

they come and go at the most unexpected times.

torrential downpours are like strangers.

they can never leave you alone.

when a raindrop first touches your skin

you know something is wrong.

i guess people are like the rain;

you never know what they really are.

it never lasts long.

over a period of silence and bliss

and suddenly it hits.

you don't know what hit you.

its the rain.

and now its raining people over me.

tragedies washing over me

as i discover what people and rain

truly are beneath the surface.

Growing Up

you weave yourself to fit into her stories

night turns into day

coffee flips backwards up

winding and winding staircases

you can fit houses and buildings

into her suitcase

and possess the north wind

all in your pocket

skydive without a parachute

make music without a guitar

and all the geese flying in slow motion

hot air balloons stopping in mid air

its as real as can be

drawings and words and paperwork

playing tag on a winter's night

but now all thats left

is the spilt coffee

uncleaned steps

my age catching up

i always knew your stories

were too good to be true

Growing Old

i am a stargazer.

i map out the stars

put it into patterns, formations

stories, guides

bright beams and points of the sky

so that i'll never lose myself.

my eyes reflect the stars.

there's a brightness; twinkle

everyone seems to see.

as i stargaze i wonder

if people could see the map of the stars

reflected in my eyes.

but now i am an astronomer.

calculative, always at the telescope

ready, an eye for change.

the universe is ever-changing.

i feel lost, insignificant.

no one ever says anything about my eyes.

i tried looking for those stars i saw

through those eyes

in that lonely deserted field

with only candy corn and a blanket for company.

those days seem lost in the universe

as if change had come so rapidly.

i tried looking for that field again.

but i was too busy, caught up with work

to notice a new school

had taken its position

blocking my stars in an unfriendly way.

i slung my handbag around my shoulder,

and remembered the crackled comfort of my schoolbag.

Best Friends

we owned the world quietly

rooftops at night

sea by morning

floating in each other's company

and there were people, of course

telling us we resembled

two mated penguins; a pair of mandarin ducks

but we refused to believe

until the day you left

so cold and dry was my mind

cracked along the surface;

damaged in the depths

when would you come back?

so people come and go

not quite you

still in the shallow pits of my aching heart

i longed for you to be found

how great was the day

i ran into your arms again

cool water and rooftop nights remembered

i was floating, floating, floating

i was seeing you with brand new eyes

Round The Bend

they swallow lies like gospel truth

fall headlong alongside each other

while roots cling on to the sides of bark

made of rotting flesh and gold

and when the earth began to realise

containment of what was not its own

spitting out fragments of sand and gold dust

lain deep in hiding for centuries

i hid my face deep in your coat

while you sobbed along the darkness

somewhere between the lines

i saw specks of gold dust

clinging desperately

to the fibres of your coat

Fire, Fire.

i like the ground

it keeps me on my feet

slows me down, picks me up

i can go anywhere

the rain blows on me

through my backdoor

as i hurry up the lane

distinguished, burned out

unrecognisable

my lungs can't take water

the feel of unfamiliarity

smoke clogging, air humming

it did look like rain

but it stopped there

for a brief second

and the sidewalks picked me up

down, down, down i go

fire, fire.

Fragmentation

i would have wanted

melodies in the park

eternity by the benches

with you standing by

while wind tugs and blows

at strands of my hair

as i become undone

with you standing by

because of you, my dear

and now walks by the lake

and breaths near the gates

all but release just a shiver

just with you standing by

and i stop for the world

Unexpected Places

i find

the smallest things out of nowhere

forming the biggest unfoldings

blooming everywhere down under

river-sharp senses

as i pass by telephone lines

i find

somethings i had been looking for

palm trees

winter footprints

frozen corners

a slight breeze

and the sun in the winter sky

shone down mercilessly

as the bare trees froze

all around me

Dismental

i find a coldness in the edges

a sunset in my mind

popping champagne, brandy

im quite at my leisure

slowly swallowing up my intelligence

out in the cold, hypothermia

i know im not functioning right

but what does catch me

overthrowing my empty memories

and keeping the part of me

i know best not to