Shackled Melody

The following poem was my Christmas gift to my dad this year. I had it put on a guitar strap for him (and it was beautiful!) Enjoy! :)

Shackled Melody 

Your Muse is quiet, no longer

singing that enchanted melody that

was once so familiar to my ears.

Your Muse was silenced by

ones who had no right to take your song

and now the night is quiet.

Play the harmony that sleeps

within your soul. Play the song

that is ever-ready to boil over

into your throat, through your fingers

upon the rosewood neck and maple body,

bursting into the warm night air to break the silence.

David played his harp to drive away

the demons that harried the mind of the king,

his descant soothed a tormented soul.

Calliope sang of Grecian victories and battles

lest the past be forgotten. Her aria

brought courage to the weak-hearted throngs.

Your heart is breaking, the pent up

polyphonies threaten to crush its vital beat.

And though your faith is nearly gone,

and you feel as though it won't be long

until your fragile heart breaks,

Dearest, know that you belong to the One

who's ever-strong; who'll keep you always.

So, sing, O Muse of the mighty deeds of One

who led his children from the brink of Hades.

Hence, let the steel choir sing a song of faithfulness

and love to you.  Let the music flow through your soul

and uplift your heart. Play your melody, so

His faithfulness will never be forgotten.

Lady Luna

I wrote this piece years ago for a short novel that I was writing for a contest. This novel is the springboard for a larger scale epic that I have been attempting to write, although it is slow going. The shorter novel was filled with lyrical poetry, however, and I will attempt to merge the two works at some point in time.

When the night creeps upon us;

When the moon rises high,

And the stars hang in the sky,

We shall not fear the black of eve,

For the moon shall be our guide.

She guides us through the blackest night,

And she makes our spirits light.

Though utter darkness steals the day,

Her silver beams will light our way.

Gentle maiden, virgin chaste

No evil shall one find in you

Noble, holy, full of grace

In meekness are you garbed

Goddess pure in frosty night

Will you grace us with the sight

Of your lovely, mirthful face,

And your tender, warm embrace?

Belonging to Jesus

I wrote this poem several years ago, while experimenting with stylings used by Italian poet Christina Rossetti. I have yet to stray from severely personal poetry, but I suppose this is my niche. I love the usage of old and middle English verbiage and tend to incorporate much of this into my own poetry.

My Love (so bittersweet),

My heart I would give

To thee, ever freely—

Except it belongs to another.

My Dear (so faraway),

My passion would be thine,

Yet it is claimed by someone else

Who holds it ever tightly in their grip.

My heart (torn in two),

You would with joy be leaping

Were your song not laboured

By what you cannot have.

My God (make me chaste),

I would soon be straying

Did you not pull me aside

And shower me with grace.

My Lord (Keeper of all),

This heart, this passion

Belong to Thee

Hold them, oh, so close.

Sonnet I: A Journey's End

This next one is a sonnet I wrote a few years ago, and it is the first in a series of English sonnets I was experimenting with (English sonnet refers to the structure and type of the poem). My sister, Sarai, composed a musical accompaniment and melody for this piece, but unfortunately I don't have any recording of it. I love the sonnet structure, similar to the sonnet structure of John Donne and William Shakespeare (though they did some Italian sonnets). It's one of my favorites :-)

I took a walk upon the sun

and found my feet grew warm.

Then no longer could I run—

my feet had lost their form.

I tried to walk across a lake

and found myself submerged;

o’er my helpless head the wake

of water then converged.

Through the cities wide, I sought

to find a love that’s true.

Many battles mem’ry fought,

yet never forgot you.

You, for whom my heart did roam;

You, at last, have brought me home.

Asphyxiation

I tend to avoid you

all the while following carefully in your wake.

To be near you is intoxicating,

to get too close will surely end in my demise.

I pretend to not notice you yet I

am cautiously observant of the way you light up a room.

When my eyes meet yours,

the intensity of your gaze threatens to shatter my persona.

I try to ignore you, hoping

that you'll seek me out and begin a conversation.

I'm afraid, however that your voice

has a tendency to make my head dizzy and faint.

You don't even see me, do you?

I'm nothing to you-- I never will be, will I?

Yet you're everything to me, and my heart is

in the throes of palpitations when your presence is my vicinity.

You've caused my disease yet

you're also the antidote to mend my aching heart.

But perhaps I'm meant to be tormented, perhaps

your love was never meant for me.

These unspoken words will surely choke me: hold

my throat, unrelenting, until my colour turns to blue.

I don't know whether I should fight against or give in,

either way, the choice depletes my vitality.

My lungs are tight within their calcified prison,

no oxygen can be detected rushing in.

I hold my breath whenever I see you,

and I forget to exhale.

I...You

Do you wait for me?

                                          I wonder do you care?

At every drop of rain,

or every fallen star,

my heart is rent in two

Because I have not you.

I wanted to be your friend--

For you to be my brother.

Yet now whenever I close my eyes

I can see no other.

I wait for you--

    I wonder why I bother

to sigh with every passing breeze,

to cry at every moonless night,

Because my heart yearns for you

As morning's tears are shed in dew.

Your smile makes my spirits rise,

Your whisper begins a symphony in my brain.

Are you the one? I've no idea--

but these feelings threaten to make me insane.

I'm waiting for you

                                                                             I wonder: are you waiting for me?

Or are these notions the mere vagaries

of a dreaming mind; pure imagination.

Is this just the hope of a heartsick heart

avoiding at all cost the prospect of being torn apart?

Peradventure you are waiting for me.

Perchance I am the object of your affections.

Perhaps you will love me forever,

                                                                         And I you.

Not much into blogging...

I've never really been into blogging, but I thought I'd create this to share some of my poetry that I write. So check it out and enjoy! :)

The Apple Tree (original poem)

Wait for me

by the apple tree,

though my face you cannot see,

I beg you, wait for me.

Wait for me

in the fallen leaves,

once lovely blossoms of a tree—

pluck them not, wait for me.

For me wait,

by the broken gate.

Don’t dare to mend its wretched state.

Be still, and for me wait.

Still wait for me

by the old apple tree;

youth gone and in its sweet prime be.

Oh, please, still wait for me.

Still wait for me

when spring near be,

and blossoms bloom on apple tree.

There, still wait for me.

Still for me wait

whilst ice gathers on the broken gate,

and chill winds seem to not abate.

Stay, and for me wait.

Wait for me still

when winter’s chill

is warmed, and birds sing clear and shrill

my love, wait for me still.

Wait for me

though your eyes sleepy be;

while summer sun grows warmish hazy,

Prithee, still wait for me.

And when you hear the broken gate

open, and ears do hear my quickened gait,

Perceive me running, as you wait,

Joyous joy is my state.

You’ll pluck the fruit from apple tree

and share ripened sweetness with me.

Carved in that tree our names shall be

forever, for you waited for me.

I forgot how good it feels to just write... a new poem...

 It's been so long since I have actually written that I forget how cathartic it is to write. I have been working on a poem to accompany a gift and I finally finished it... Behold... :P

THE JOURNEY HOME

Travel the northern road;

the faded road: isolated and quiet,

narrow and straight; precarious.

The faded road: stretched out to sky,

beyond the rolling hills and ragged cliffs.

            Isolated-- but never forsaken.

            Silence-- but His voice is always speaking.

            Arduous-- but guided with grace.

Travel the road into the horizon--

azure sky meets emerald earth,

North Wind no longer bellows.

Travel past the ominous clouds, beyond

the sun, until at last

in eternity.