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Context

morning meadow shimmering
the dew of dreams

Her dress hemmed his eyes in mystery
Moments phoenix within lifetimes

pages burnt:
ashes travel;

man may never understand the eternal in mortality

travel ashes:
burnt pages

Lifetimes within phoenix:moments

mystery in eyes
his hemmed dress:
her…

morning meadow shimmering
the dew…

dreams

Yes, I feel…

a tree
baring roots

softly within violence echoes a silence of myth in denial.

man and woman: the same
with core need exposed

softly within violence
echoes
a silence of myth
in denial.

a soldier in a foxhole

softly within violence
echoes a silence
of myth in denial.

I feel… I feel…

the written word
of borrowed time
in howl for clarity-expression

I feel… I feel…

I could embrace you
in this moment as now:

kiss tender soft…

I feel… I feel…

though my life may bury dead
as you read this

I feel… I feel…

softly within violence echoes a silence of myth in denial.

Handkerchief Dance Stepping Haiku

He dances her soft in handkerchief entwine of cloth.

myth wisp in cloud draft
details merge winds in voices
visions in pretend

He dances her soft in handkerchief entwine of cloth.

scribble clouds narrate
butterfly patch symphony
eyes in dream-surprise

He dances her soft in handkerchief entwine of cloth.

pink lemonade fields
porch swing of the sun plowing
days in memories

He dances her soft in handkerchief entwine of cloth.

Charcoal in Woman

Charcoal captures smudge-clarity; her sketch articulates parables of needs.

A Kiss

The photosynthesis of lips
liquored in conjugal aroma–
shot evaporation
through time and space.

Moments…

The unicorns
of childhood morale

captured

the woman
unearthly.

She wrapped
herself

in a silk knitting
that he understood.

Putsch in breath left
her thoughts spent;

Languet of words tied
her mind

to swallow.

Cathedral-entrance of her understanding
laid buried
in the rubble of his confession.

Ashes of her grandmother
homaged

in a grocery paper bag;

She never went
in her father’s closet

for his ghosts
lingered real.

Cranes of goodbyes
fold

within wrinkles of her face;

Roads
outstretch

in hover.

… Zippy Grace Zeal Gets Cast as a Teacup

Whirling, the enchanted mystery of discovery-wonder…

Zippy Grace Zeal
wings feet of just a girl

who knows a mermaid-twirl
of the ocean blue butterfly-sight.

A giggle tickles Zippy’s world
into a musical-might

that makes the clouds
whisper picture book in delight

Zippy-Grace Zeal heard music
that the other kid-butterflies did not.

The director told her that the kid-butterflies could not be funny.

And she thought it was strange that the man could not hear or see all the great jokes the fluttering wings told.

Her father informed her
that some adults forget their giggle-potential.

And Zippy, felt sad, for the man
who said he was a director.

Zippy-Grace got cast as a teacup

which she did not quite understand

because she auditioned as a butterfly…

So to console,

an upset-Zippy

her mom made the costume slightly big enough that Zippy-Grace could pretend she was a teacup
with wings;

And somehow with willingness
Zippy-Grace Zeal unknowingly
saved the fairy tale

she jazzed the seep of joy
that twirled the community production
into a laughter
even her parents could not have planned.

Zippy Grace Zeal brought an unforeseen hope of the unpredictable nature of a self

who made a teacup shine
like a butterfly

Foxhole-sonnet of White-flag-letters

by Courtney B. Ray

The towel of desire hangs to soak
As white within the eyes blink-drip of weep
Wrung out to beat as furry footsteps cloak
Apparition-history pause in seep

Brave stands to fight-protect what sky to bear
A blind ambition where no heart can lie
As goal of shell to bullet lost of fair
In squalor march of stars that care-deny

Oh sacred crawl of sonnets constellate
As weary weave of words in loss-alas
Iambic concentrate to penetrate
The sand of hearts to pin; grenade of mass

Sift grave letters to mourn of countrymen
As piece-blast-flag of what in love to pen

Lifetime’s Reflection-ripple-intersect: A Palindrome Sestina

by Courtney B. Ray

grapple-womb of senses parchment to fire diary enduring
canyon embryo river echoes earth whirling in whispers
spring buds longing: potential of kaleidoscope within ignite
summer beckoning of blazing horizons
days harvest embrace of seasons
hours trance-stroll of promenade swooning twilight

falls rush shivers of interweave basking twilight
carnal of lovers enduring
tuck handkerchief memories in seasons
swing porch of hand holding whispers
old fashion horizons
passions pace to ignite

spaces between glistening, eyes ignite
mischief wrinkling twilight
sashaying footsteps in horizons
breath as kiss of home enduring
breeze of air: winter whispers,
family in hourglass seasons

aroma sweeping of hues relishing seasons
branching tears seeping to ignite
appreciation in whispers
stairs twilight
nonlinear internal enduring
capturing the witness beauty blinking horizons

devotion-banquet: cornucopia in pair horizons
fragrant nourishing seasons
reflecting moments enduring
prepare rituals, dynasties ignite
bramble path of twilight
chime meadow in whispers

wild horses rustle in melancholy whispers
warm gallop as water-candle: streak in horizons
ember ash trace of twilight
table of dinners set seasons
cherish of album: flowers feast ignite
care laces outreach-bouquet: catch enduring

twilight moon whispers
enduring blush horizons
seasons root-ignite

ignite-root seasons
horizons blush enduring
whispers moon twilight

enduring catch: bouquet-outreach laces care
ignite feast flowers: album of cherish
seasons set dinners of table
twilight of trace ash ember
horizons in streak: candle-water as gallop warm
whispers melancholy in rustle horses wild

whispers in meadow chime
twilight of path bramble
ignite dynasties, rituals prepare
enduring moments reflecting
seasons nourishing fragrant
horizons pair in cornucopia: banquet-devotion

horizons blinking beauty witness the capturing
enduring internal nonlinear
twilight stairs
whispers in appreciation
ignite to seeping tears branching
seasons relishing hues of sweeping aroma

seasons hourglass in family,
whispers winter: air of breeze
enduring home of kiss as breath
horizons in footsteps sashaying
twilight wrinkling mischief
ignite eyes, glistening between spaces

ignite to pace passions
horizons fashion old
whispers holding hands of porch swing
seasons in memories handkerchief tuck
enduring lovers of carnal
twilight basking interweave of shivers rush falls

twilight swooning promenade of stroll trance hours
seasons of embrace harvest days
horizons blazing of beckoning summer
ignite within kaleidoscope of potential: longing buds spring
whispers in whirling earth echoes river embryo canyon
enduring diary fire to parchment senses of womb-grapple