Things only we know

Talking
was something we did for hours
late into the night, often by the fire
with our lips pressed hard against glowing skin
swapping tongues and stories from the waist
eyes locked together as we slid into place

I recall
your smiling mouth as I gasped
I listened as you whispered words meant only for my ears
and I learned something new about you
words were something you knew how to use
perfectly

you avoided
those three words
but you had my show of hands all along
If I don't call out to you I'm afraid I'll lose my voice
and yours will fade away
I refuse to believe you have nothing left to say

LH 2015

He loves me?

There was only ever one
snapping it's elegant neck with ease
I rolled it back and forth
between my thumb and forefinger
it's white layered skirt
tinged with pink
fascinated me
dancing and twirling around
and around its bright yellow yolk
I picked the feathered fingers off
one by one
he loves me
he loves me not
leaving it all to chance.

LH 2015

The wound will scar
her distress is deep
she keeps picking at the scab
it will never heal
It reminds her she's alive
and she wants to see it bleed

Only the contours will mend
become smooth to touch
they tell her grieving takes time
but it's all too much
time is only an illusion
almost fooling her at times
she keeps picking at the scab
telling everyone she's fine.

LH 2015

Scars are there to remind us
not to fall again
but often we do
each time a little harder than before.

LH 2015

I spoke your name aloud
For the first time
It clung to the air
Like a frightened child
Then vanished from my arid eyes

My grief silently weeping
The loss a stagnate scream
I wish I could take it back
And the breath I took to say it
Inhale it back into my lungs

It lay so long burning like coal
A glowing ember in the dark core
Of a beasts belly
Then it slowly slid into my throat
A blistering cinder
An agonizing ache

When my lips parted
Only ashes remained
And the taste of loneliness

LH.

What wood I be...

I am wooden
hollowed out
decaying
dull
brown
full of knots
a shelf
carrying a heavy load
a fence
to keep people out
feeling every swing
of the blade-
an axe cutting deep
into the heart of me

some days however
I am a desk to write
a love poem on
a door to lean against
a kissing gate
or rocking chair
a boat to sail away on
lit by the winter moon
a tree with lovers
names etched forever.

2013 © LH

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