SOLACE
a bit of respite
there at the edge of town
where battles were fought
and all those dreams
in receptacles lie
where you stood up
and sat down
and roared into the night
against the dying of the light
in your bloodshot eyes
where you burned and yearned
and swilled and swaggered
where your rigor was not mortis
but vigor and often coitus
still alight with all you've yet to do
it burns like a shadow-play bulb
casting magnesium ribbon flashes
eternally blinding all who look
directly to the source
ignoring the wondrous figures
dancing darkly upon the sheet
*
I'm still there with you
at the drop of a hat
or a phoneme bent into memory
where you can hear a pin drop
subtle movement
a slip of tongue
triggering action
in the dying body of life
I'm still there with you
riding hard and true
into the night
mind and body
one and the same
suffering mass
of gray matter and bone
alive in the blistering moment
the universe done and undone
a flash of flesh
on the asphalt street
trained hands and feet
moving slower, but more deliberate now
legs taut and taught
all the tricks of tradecraft
used and abused
all in and all out again
waiting, waiting, waiting
for the right moment
for the order to come down
spring loaded decades
become a lifetime
*
you were never supposed to
wait for permission
or ask for forgiveness
no matter what they said
the time for that
was over long ago
protocols mattered
when there was a mission
but when they've traded it all
for conniving comforts
and silly things
leaving nothing of merit
for the past or future...
you know all bets are off.
you had to know...
you had to know
that a universe
had to be destroyed
for you to be truly born
arrested development
of creator and destroyer
arrested development
of will to power
arrested development
of solace given and solace taken
a dirty handshake
nullifying the resurrection
of some great dead love
blocking the sun's light
in the pure unfettered smile
of the discarded
how close I am to thee...
wrinkled and gnarled
in the darkness
eyes barely seeing
but supplicating in gratitude still
for a chocolate and some water
oh, Lord thank you... thank you, Lord...
how fortunate am I...
an uplifted head from squalor
raised now high
praised now low
in endless gratitude
lips moving a seeping mouth
a tiny mouth with tiny teeth
with so much love
how close am I to thee...
***
Somewhere on skid row,
a homeless man deftly pockets
a dollar bill from the pavement
as he pretends to tie his tattered shoes.
He smiles as he imagines
giving his daughter
a new pair of socks
for her eighth birthday.
--akm
© Ara Mgrdichian
there at the edge of town
where battles were fought
and all those dreams
in receptacles lie
where you stood up
and sat down
and roared into the night
against the dying of the light
in your bloodshot eyes
where you burned and yearned
and swilled and swaggered
where your rigor was not mortis
but vigor and often coitus
still alight with all you've yet to do
it burns like a shadow-play bulb
casting magnesium ribbon flashes
eternally blinding all who look
directly to the source
ignoring the wondrous figures
dancing darkly upon the sheet
*
I'm still there with you
at the drop of a hat
or a phoneme bent into memory
where you can hear a pin drop
subtle movement
a slip of tongue
triggering action
in the dying body of life
I'm still there with you
riding hard and true
into the night
mind and body
one and the same
suffering mass
of gray matter and bone
alive in the blistering moment
the universe done and undone
a flash of flesh
on the asphalt street
trained hands and feet
moving slower, but more deliberate now
legs taut and taught
all the tricks of tradecraft
used and abused
all in and all out again
waiting, waiting, waiting
for the right moment
for the order to come down
spring loaded decades
become a lifetime
*
you were never supposed to
wait for permission
or ask for forgiveness
no matter what they said
the time for that
was over long ago
protocols mattered
when there was a mission
but when they've traded it all
for conniving comforts
and silly things
leaving nothing of merit
for the past or future...
you know all bets are off.
you had to know...
you had to know
that a universe
had to be destroyed
for you to be truly born
arrested development
of creator and destroyer
arrested development
of will to power
arrested development
of solace given and solace taken
a dirty handshake
nullifying the resurrection
of some great dead love
blocking the sun's light
in the pure unfettered smile
of the discarded
how close I am to thee...
wrinkled and gnarled
in the darkness
eyes barely seeing
but supplicating in gratitude still
for a chocolate and some water
oh, Lord thank you... thank you, Lord...
how fortunate am I...
an uplifted head from squalor
raised now high
praised now low
in endless gratitude
lips moving a seeping mouth
a tiny mouth with tiny teeth
with so much love
how close am I to thee...
***
Somewhere on skid row,
a homeless man deftly pockets
a dollar bill from the pavement
as he pretends to tie his tattered shoes.
He smiles as he imagines
giving his daughter
a new pair of socks
for her eighth birthday.
--akm
© Ara Mgrdichian
