With bated breath

I am waiting for the snow,
surveying every forecast
for subtle snowflakes
amidst the freezing rain
and zero temperatures

I have fished out
my woollen gloves,
stowed away much like
the memories they hold,
your hands-warming mine

I carefully unfold each piece
of winter wear,
each layer I pull on,
Is one you lovingly removed

I am ready for the snow,
and I know,
I will recognise your footprints
at my door

In the brisk night air,
I watched the moths shimmer
beneath the street lights,
I saw my breath hang in the air
as I whispered your name

And I thought I saw a
fleck of snow, but no......

2013 © LH

Lying silent in the night,
I lift the veil that shrouds my eyes,
and gaze upon the soulful sky.

2013 © LH

Pieces

You were my master, teacher
and keeper of secrets
I will always be broken
I don't want to be fixed
I chose you
I liked how we fit
I gave you pieces
of me no one else knew
I couldn't give you it all
I didn't want to...
There were things that I've kept
to myself, held close,
I don't want to forget
It's too hard to let go
so I won't
I will always hold on
to .....hope.

2013 © LH

How to persevere...

Hold your head high,
support with something white,
feathery, your head will feel lighter,
woolly, almost floaty.

Resist cradling your knees,
as an infant,
keep your chin up,
try a crutch-

Jack or Gin,
may help keep a stiff upper lip,
for a while,
you always wake though

and the air's been sucked out
of your eyes, your head is filled
with rocks, it's hard to hold your head high,
keep your chin up,
when you keep falling over.

2012 © LH

The Hypnotist

Rocked shut,
my harboured dead-eye,
yawns and stretches,
then resists,
I sorely slaved
to pare and carve
the wretched ache,
to make it fit.

You stitch my eyelids
shut, with numbers
and guide me back
into the womb
black lipped, you
prise me like an oyster
and eagerly excavate
my tomb.

2012 © LH

In the eye of the storm

Toes curled under,
those inconsiderate claws,
on tenderhooks,
careful not to fall

O how the ripples seduce me,
royally beckoning,
I dip my toes and so
I succum to the enemy 

Defeat is swift,
It moves through my veins,
rapid rivers, snaking
Into a polluted estuary

I used to have a fear of drowning
when it happens
you inhale lungfuls of tears,
cried by scores of injured egos,

You gasp for air
and lie down in the silt.
I watched you float towards the surface
as I sunk

My words simmered
then they were cast away
now my song is a weak whisper
In a passing cloud,

It is a jet stream meandering east
far far above our heads.
Memories come in the wake,
lapping at my unconscious mind,
Repeatedly.

As I slipped into the water
my eyes were leaking,
and a bell was unrung...

It's only when I reached the bottom
that I could clearly see ;
you are only a dead fish floating
on the top,

A dull flat note,
a black oil slick.
The seagulls will pick through
your anemic bones.

2012 © LH

On Prescription Only

For two days my stomach
Tumbled, over and over again,
So I stayed indoors, and watched
"The Walking Dead"
Reanimated, halfway between
Life and death,
My temples throbbed, and,
When the sleeplessness abated,
Fidgeting and nausea
Wormed its' way in.

You said I had cartoonish eyes,
Did you mean I looked
Two dimensional, like
A piece of art?
The Mona Lisa perhaps?
Without a doubt, there was a smile,
If you looked long enough,
At the right angle,
In the correct light,
Rising from the dead.

2012 © LH

The moon in my teacup.

Gazing up at me,
The moon, in my teacup,
Drowning in front of my eyes,
One tip and it becomes a crescent,
Then, a whole moon again,
Trembling as my lips hover above,
The great creator!
Left, trapped in a weathered hide,
Clinging to the sides,
Stale, pale, milky moon,
Now long forgotten
In my teacup.



2012 © LH

Walking Away

My feet roam the ribbon road,
As laden as my heart, of lead
Horses on the carousel, go around
And around inside my head
Mulish crows with malevolent eyes
Indifferent to my agitation,
Extend their wings, they kaw
And show me no consideration.

2012 © LH

Lamenting your departure,
The cherry blossom
Distracts me briefly.

2012 © LH