Two Poems

The Night Descends

We only slightly realized
The contrast of the evening, early and late
Expectations slowly giving way to numbness again
Or maybe the resonance of the room
Had just become too thick around us

But your cheeks had lost their color
And I was almost afraid to wonder why
If the moment had come as I believed it would
I couldn't say that I was surprised

For the visions of love have always been tinted
With some rosy sheen that we all gazed into
And smiled in our carefree youth
Before the cracks appeared in that surface
One...and then many more
Distorting the reflection for all of us

I'm not sure how we felt yesterday
No time to ponder, these moods we swallow
And this ransom may not be such a bad thing
In the face of the sacrifice she's asking
The lost intentions...swept like dust
From the floor on which we walk...and sometimes lie.

---

Cathedral Ceilings

In this time of consumption
its been too long...
since this has been spread before me
amid the unmistakable scent of the old coffee house
very little in here is cold
hearts and passions and steaming cups
are not restrained now
nor do they falter, just burn...
like those days so long ago
I don't know what made us think
that we wouldn't have to compromise

there is no summer
just beyond these thick doors
standing uneven, worn oak
only winter, with its brushing wind
and flying snow
whispering, calling me out
I wouldn't have it any other way

time to let it all break free again
here where there is a flow
another hot cup for me tonight
scribble away all I can...
eventually I'll take my leave into the dark
walking, curling into the cloak
and feel welcomed, silent and brooding as it is.