Mortal Combat

Moon and stars transcending
Dawn breaks upon blue sky
Offering an illusion
Smiles waiting, laughter aloft
Dark clouds lurk, smirking
Raindrops drench parched earth
Complicating each footfall
Delicate step after another
Entrenches one further, deeper
Until trapped, cornered
Changing landscapes mislead
Distorting paths of escape
Desperation drips like sweat
Thoughts converge, entwine, tangle
Suffocating hope’s spark
When darkness again arrives
No light dwells within
Past demons make ready
Old weapons proven viable
New tortures armed, tested
Armor damaged, the heart lies vulnerable
Bloody battles ensue, everlasting
Shields rise up, are knocked aside
Salvation heard, slow, steady
A heartbeat yet remains

by L.L. Shannon ©2008

A Copper Kettle

A copper kettle sits upon the stove
Dented, scorched and scratched
Kept clean and free of tarnish
Seeming out of place, unimportant

It holds the echoes of yesterday
Hushed conversations of lovers
Whispers of worry and fear
Sweet laughter of children

The scorched base reminders
Of lives lived and loves lost
Every scratch a heartbeat
Each dent a teardrop

The copper kettle sits upon the stove
Holding forgotten dreams and
Conversations lost to time
Safely keeping the heartbeats of yesterday

by L.L. Shannon ©2008

Go

Go
The word a whisper, carried on the wind
Breaking my heart, scarring my soul
One word spoken within myself
Laying bare the truth I’d denied
Having done all I could
Given everything I had
Love’s last breath escapes
As the wind whispers again
Go

by L.L. Shannon ©2008

A Nonexistent Heart

Fine mists cover everything now
All I touch, all I see
Even my emotions seem dreamlike
Hovering on the brink of reality
Until I see you
Walking with quick steps
head down against the wind
In the doorway of our café
you stop, look ‘round
When your eyes light up
that smile breaks upon your face
I think you’ve seen me
as impossible as it could be
For a second, the fog lifts
Clarity returns to my world
With it I see the truth
The one I had denied
As she stops before you
you caress her cheek
touch your lips to hers
That emotion I’d felt missing
the one I’d yearned to see
reflected in your azure eyes
now shines brighter than the sun
Yet not for me, no never for me
No tears will fall nor heart break
for I am but a spirit now
Who gave up the next plane
choosing to remain with you
and now faces eternal oblivion
with the pain of a nonexistent heart

by L.L. Shannon ©2008

When She Cries

I can hear her crying in her room upstairs.
I want to go to her
Comfort her
Tell her that everything will be all right.
But there are no words for me to say
None I would believe myself.
How can I tell her it will get better
When every day
Life seems to bring some new crisis?
Some new unsolvable problem to the door.
I want to tell her
That this is not the end of the world,
This is a small thing,
But I know
In her child's view of the world
That is not true.
This is the biggest thing,
The only thing to her.
I want to tell her
I know how to fix it
How to make it go away,
Make it better.
I know she believes
I should be able to do this.
But there is nothing.
No great epiphany is forthcoming.
I can hear her crying in her room upstairs.
I am crying with her, for her.
My heart bleeds.
In the end, I go to her
I offer the only comfort I am able.
I lie down beside her,
Hold her close as she cries.
I say nothing,
There are no words
To convey what I feel.
I offer what I have,
My love,
My nearness
Most of all,
My strength.
And I pray
That it is enough.

by L.L. Shannon ©2008