February, often drear
A cold and grey
Time of year
Where the sky is lacking
In colour
– But never mind,
The fourteenth
Is for lovers
To paint the roses red
And the violets blue
February has not been so drear;
Since I met you…
Falling Too Soon
Red lights like warning signs
Give way
To the unholy passage
Of my mind
Remembering how
I tried to make you mine
As the blood orange moon
Climbed in time with your swoon
And you sank into slumber
Into the depths of my heart
That plunder
Now I cry: awaken, awaken
Lusty eyelids
And drown asunder!
The frost begins to creep
In at the blinds
As you fell, soft and pliable
Into my hands
A shooting star
Falling to the bed of the Earth
Come, come into my arms
Out of harm’s way
Awaken, awaken
And you shall see day.
Night Life
Did you ever see
The stars shine so bright
Blinding out
The great mystery
Of even the darkest night?
Its perpetual darkness
Within which we discover
The truths of ourselves;
The truths of each other
When we with hollow
And impenetrable faces
Forget the depth
Hidden behind those gazes
That Look through
Into the mirrors of minds
Reflecting back and forth;
Lost memories in time
Endless and eternal
Just as the stars of the sky;
Scars of fire that light up and
Pierce the night
We were once you and I
As distant and as bright,
Staring simultaneously
Towards a future and a past;
Light years suspending
A life that was meant to last…
Sunday Sleeves
Does my jumper
Say that I’ve given up on life?
Do you still dream
Of being somebody else’s wife?
As I try to figure out
What to wear to Church on Sundays
Lest of all, my heart on my sleeve;
Oh those fabricated sentimental tendencies!
That whistle and wane
In the distance
Like chapel bells
Calling, calling…
Calling out your name,
Come out from your hide!
The cave door rolls open;
I am resurrected. I am alive.
Silence, still.
It took a vow of silence
To mend our crooked ways
And still I insist:
I am the tree
That cannot be swayed.
As you stood;
Your camera lens
In childlike poise
Refusing to believe
I am not one of your toys.
Yet still you peer in
Using your circular frame
Whilst I gaze back vacantly
Wondering why
You haven’t
Forgotten my name
As you did
With such charming alacrity
To The Things We Left Behind
The things no matter
How hard I try to forget
Always stay imprinted on my mind
…Certainly unwanted this time
Like an uninvited guest
Whilst I wait to find out
If this silence will stand the test.
The Meaning of Light
I stand
Looking from the outside in
“Do not be a part of the world”
They said it’s full of sin
Little do they know
I am
The planet orbiting their star
And every degree travelled
Brings me to where you are
But the problem is not me,
The problem is you.
Through each motion
There casts a clearer point of view:
To see quite perfectly
Where lies dust
From where lies dirt;
That from whence came meaning
Is not of death
But of birth
So that in all things
I will not give up the fight,
Until you can convince me
That what I’m orbiting is light
Savage Beauty
Why so savage
A beauty as this
Cast within concrete
Frames?
Harsh grey walls
Object and conceal
The soft poetic soul
The dimmer light reveals
As she slips
Into silence once again;
A scream that is louder
Than the tones
Of angry men
Who by their power
Ordained clothe her
In dark matter too heavy
For Innocence to feign
So that she tries
To hide under its weight
Until no one can see
The savage beauty
That is only beautiful
To you and me
Inside The Mirror
Nothing can hold me back
From this life
Even when times are tough
I’ll carry on despite
With no respite
Thinking of you in mind
And wondering
Is it worth my time
When you said:
“Don’t stop believing… ever”
As you made the cord
Between us sever
And end a life long history
Of memories together
But this is now or never
It’s all or nothing
And yet I see nothing at all;
Standing inside the mirror
Reveals the writing on the wall
And shoulders that are heavy
From heaving this burden;
My back will only break
Once they close the curtain…
Refract Your Heart
Buried treasure
Metres deep
Your heart is an ocean
Of secrets you keep
Away from me
Like a hand of cards;
The hand you deal
Cuts like glass
And I am the shard
Scattered and broken
In your mind
But to uncover the rainbow
You must refract the light
So hold me up to your rays
And I will make your path alter;
As long as the rupture’s welcomed
The rapture won’t falter…
Betrayal
Betrayal
An imminent cloud of smoke
Rising from a fire on a hill:
Distant enough to arouse suspicion
Close enough to make ill-will its mission
And yet we are foolish
Enough to listen
As the embers crackle and die
Not perceiving
That very same fire
Still burning in our eyes
As we turn to others
To give them the murderous kiss
We have received
The black shadow of Death
Marks a stain as it leaves
Not once. Not twice,
Nor even thrice.
Betrayal is imminent,
An ordinary part of life
Where men turn their crosses
Upside down;
No longer a symbol of love
But a symbol of hate
“INRI, what became of your
Righteous crown?”
“Hidden, hidden away
Behind sorry veils
By those that believed
Their transgressions
Had brought them beyond the pale”
Cried He.
But even now
The bitter taste of betrayal
Like a soured wine
Fulfilled a prophecy
That would stand the test of time.
Catherine Lucy Rowland 