Dreams, Deliriums, and Other Mind Talk

Oxygen

2012-01-28T15:43:00.006-06:00

Detail from Venus with a Mirror, Titian You gather your thoughts likeone gathers so many vagabond grains of sand, And this I recognize ever so patiently—as our ‘growing into’ one another sparks, our furtively flickering synthesisday after day year after yearthis measured merging of one with one And flares—sudden, speechless—like my recognition of my need for breath, Onlywhen I am gasping on its

On Writing . . . and the Gift of Silence

2012-01-21T14:26:00.004-06:00

Detail from Woman Reading, Augustin Bernard d'Agesci The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink, and clamoring to become visible. ~ Vladimir Nabokov * * * * * * * * * I love to write. No big surprise, right? I have a writing blog (actually, two), and though I am not a frequent blogger, I am very much a frequent writer. I write

Gestalt: Intimations of Self-Integration

2012-01-10T14:48:00.006-06:00

Young Woman, Pablo Picasso i. at firstthere is silenceand how it creeps inand settles into the corners evenmost neglected, most marginalized ii. and alsothere is solitudeand how it lingerson windowpanes by dayon shadowed walls by dark iii. and toothere is awakeningand how it scintillatesin the intense midnight skyserenading the tangoing stars iv. and thenthere is wholenessand how it

Happy 2012!!!

2011-12-31T07:48:00.004-06:00

Photo, Tom Miles As a new beginning teases from just beyond the horizon, what better way is there to celebrate both its advent and arrival than to simply say: May your 2012 be filled with joy and fulfillment. Happy New Year! :-) xoxoxoNevine

the elements of fetal

2011-12-12T16:33:00.004-06:00

Birth and Rebirth, Jen Otey i understand, now,something i have never understood before.and i just want to close my eyes and breathe again.i just want to close my eyes.i just want to close my eyes.i just need . . .i just need . . .out of my heart, i boot one loaded breath.something inside me is changing.something inside me is coming alive.inside my knee, there is a mouth.inside my stomach, there

Bittersweetly . . .

2011-11-20T11:49:00.016-06:00

Ironically, this somewhat schizophrenic post comes in the wake of a new bout of unrest in Egypt. I say new, though there has been sporadic unrest at home over the past ten months or so. I will not launch into a tirade about the bearded, beady-eyed, monkey-breathed mental and social misfits who are trying to tell my people that our secular way of life has been wrong for the past 5,000 years of

Three for Self

2011-11-13T07:39:00.002-06:00

Comets & Meteor Showers, Unknown Photographer At dusk,a prayer… let me go on foreverlike earth and sky,a calm and endless breathof dust and air. let me glowlike an untouchable element,brave, and strong,and filled with force. At night,a vision… in sleep, i turn,and my eyes opento find the stars awakened,glowing, brilliant and silent, stalking my eternity,leaving me mottled with silver

The Palms, My Palms

2011-10-30T08:02:00.002-05:00

Photo, unknown artist On a cool October morning, I lie,Woodplank back upon the floor, And here... My face hidesBeneath my folded arms,Awkward branches staving offThe epiphany of light. Too much light, I tell myself,As if there were such a thing. It has taken me this longTo get from there to here, This Being a measure of My Time,A certain pretense of something my ownInside the anonymity of this

Superlative

2011-10-10T07:21:00.005-05:00

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer You happened upon meAs I went on my way,With what stealth!With what intensity! And it was not your beautyThat took meOh, no! It was the quiverThe rustleThe swell… No. It was the Suddenness of YouThat made meTurn Once And look twiceJust… you know…Just… to be certain… of you.

What We Are

2011-10-03T07:39:00.006-05:00

Photo, Jolene Monheim We are destined to be together, he tells her,And she replies, Always… all ways. But what do you say to the belovedWho dares you… for Love… to drown in the sea? Drown with me, he says,And, Yes, she says, these are waves for you and me. To sink, and as I fall, to choke, not on water,But on the stillness of surrender and abandonment. To lose my Self to Yours, he says.I drown,

Waiting for Summer's Flight

2011-09-21T07:21:00.002-05:00

Summer's End by Marion Rose I have sat here beforeand watched the summer daysfalter before my eyesand have seen their short-spanned livessuck the last sweet breathfrom between the lips of the skyas globes of sunlightpeach-orange and golden-yellowcrept upon rolling wavesone by one And one by oneI took my breathsswept life off her feetand into my quickening lungsand listened as my pulse

Deliverance

2011-09-11T19:21:00.005-05:00

Photo, Sergeij Bizjaev one dayone momentso abruptlyso suddenly(as suddenly as a wandering strangerhappens at your lit windowon the bleakest winter night)there comes the needto release the usualthe predictablethe normaland embrace the unusualthe riskythe atypical because if you stop and give iteven a passing thought the best way to breakthat chastity beltyou call TRADITION(because you are

Distillation

2011-08-29T10:36:00.007-05:00

Self-portrait, Nevine Sultan You dodge me, My Ghost. You shy awaywhen my light flaresinside the silent spacesyou inhabit. And, for this,I have no words. though i would like to saysit with me, hear mei would like to sayi cannot stop myselffrom picking rosesand clipping their thorns But, to whomdoes it matter? Blood is drawn, spills, and tomes

Sky, Sea, Sand... and Me

2011-08-19T07:35:00.003-05:00

The following are entries from my journal while on vacation. * * * * * * * * * August 2, 2011 Here. I am Here. And I feel as though time has stopped still and I am trapped inside it. The sun slows down when it passes over me. The moon pauses and observes me. My heart skips no beats and misses no flashing moments of revelation. Everything is seen… perceived. Every instant is experienced in its

Year Two

2011-07-29T06:27:00.006-05:00

The time between Year One and Year Two seems to have passed so quickly. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been as present on Dreams, these past few months? For that matter, I really haven’t been present in Blogland, period. How life changes! And how our priorities change with it! Since my Year One post, I’ve left teaching and gone back to finish the last leg of my journey with my own education. To

an angel returns

2011-07-17T15:25:00.001-05:00

Veiled Glory by Dan Addington This is a follow-up to my most recently posted prose poem, waiting for angels. * * * * * * * * * another night passes. another day breaks. seeking angels, we walk. she walks with us. she has always been one of us. but she has always been a rebel. at dusk, she leaves us, seeking her own angel. she walks alone. she rests beneath a tree. she

waiting for angels

2011-07-07T07:44:00.002-05:00

Art by Steven DaLuz we walk in night. wrapped in darkness. we seek a place to sit. to stay. to wait. we rest. hurling words at one another as if they were rocks. flinging them high. waiting to hear them hit. and bounce. and still. in stillness. the sound of water. brackish. gushing beneath the roots of trees. we hear it so clearly. the sound. we hear them. we see them.

Sottovoce

2011-06-25T15:25:00.006-05:00

Detail from Docile Bodies by Patricia Arnillas if… when you gosomething remains of youbesides the glimmering absenceof your voicecarried like starduston the airof a warm and calmingsummer night if… i mean to saysomething remains of youbesides the skeletal shudderof my half-opened windowsagitated like a ghostin the gustof a cold and bitingwinter storm if... somethingand only if i’ll know

Back Story for "Strings"

2011-06-17T17:18:00.004-05:00

Puppet Master by Chiara Fersini Remember my short story, “Strings,” published in the Spring Edition of Rose and Thorn Journal? If you read the story and you’re interested in reading the back story for how “Strings” all came together, please visit Back Story: Strings by Nevine Sultan at the Roses and Thorns blog. “Back Story” is a weekly posting where the writers published in Rose and Thorn

What They Said

2011-06-04T11:48:00.006-05:00

October by Johanna They spoke to me.And I?I thought, How strange their voices,echoing amongst the trunks of trees,golden,reverberating…sad. I walked where I imagined them to be.I walkedwhile watching my shadowon the ground—how it choked and stutteredand coughed…and went. I reached a place.I found them there,hiding between leavesof red and gold.I held their deadnessin my handand listened…to what

On Mortality, the End of the World, and Those Joyful Moments in Life

2011-05-20T19:30:00.005-05:00

Couch on the Porch by Frederick Childe Hassam Sometimes, I have to ask myself, Why do things happen the way they do? And because there’s usually not a clear-cut answer to the question, I just let it go and move along. But this morning… this morning was something else. My husband and I woke up early. Not unusual. As soon as we got up, he flipped on the TV. Unusual. We don’t normally watch TV in

in the half-light of twilight

2011-05-11T12:50:00.000-05:00

Photograph by ienemien it comes to me in a flash it comesthen creeps away a moment that flickersoncethen spreads steady slantedbent at an awkward set ofangles and in its bent-nesscoollow-lying shadowsrest the grasspurplesin the half-light of twilight in a half-hourit will be blue it comes to methenthat light is fleetingflickeringvanishing there is a

Radiance

2011-04-26T10:14:00.002-05:00

Golden Summer Day by Floriana Barbu This is vulnerability…the heart, piercedby every appearance of beauty. Beauty in woman.Beauty in man.Beauty in child. Beauty in flower.Beauty in tree.Beauty in sky. We consent to ache,forever, if we must. We consent to ache,with integrated soul. We descend with open,willing gait To an underworldof lightand voice. And here is

"Strings" is Published!

2011-04-15T07:44:00.001-05:00

The instant before realization happens is the most uncertain of moments. Thus begins my short story, “Strings,” published in the Spring 2011 edition of Rose and Thorn Journal. Oh, joy! “Strings” was a labor of love in more ways than I can begin to name. I opened up my imagination and allowed it to fly free. And for a few weeks, I was on a wicked, wild, and heady ride. And

Halo

2011-04-04T07:57:00.003-05:00

Photograph by Jared May One day…when he no longer recognizes her seemingly unassuming flesh,he will rememberits rawness, abundant, pungent,filled with provocation. Traces of its ghost…will lick on his lips and lashes, surrounding him,separating her from his lifeyet making her its focus. In another time…he will dream her sleepingbeside a luminous sky,her marvelously ripe bodycontending with

Smallness

2011-03-20T15:25:00.007-05:00

“What is the feeling when you're driving away from people, and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? – it's the too huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.” ~ Jack Kerouac, On the Road * * * * * Enchanted places… Do we find them? Or do they find us? Does serendipity act while we are most oblivious?

الاشتياق في مدينة الموتى

2011-03-15T15:07:00.004-05:00

Photo by David Sacks my beautiful cityhow one we wereyou and i at nightas i drank your starsyou spoke not with shamenot with shadowbut with pride in your house i slept for days hiding in your calm closed windowssilent avenuessoldered walls in your hearti slept for nightsdying in your strife open doorscrippled alleysgaping holes in your housei hide in your hearti die in your earthi sleep

Acquiescence

2011-03-11T21:59:00.002-06:00

Summer Porch at Mr. and Mrs. C.E.S. Wood'sby Frederick Childe Hassam This morning a breeze arrived at my doorstepand called me outside where I dug outa buried bookforgotten from hot summer days when buzzing iridescent fliesroosted at my black screens and my afternoons were white and silent and if I heard sirens from the distant cityI curled into myself from the sound and if there was chatter from

Published Again!

2011-03-01T06:31:00.025-06:00

The Notes from Underground Anthology, published by The Literary Lab, is out! And two of my works are in it: Short Story: “The Smell of Closed Windows” Poem: “Your Eyes Will Open” This anthology includes the work of 25 talented writers selected through the “Notes from Underground Contest,” held last fall by The Literary Lab, whose editors are way too cool for words.

Tabula Rasa

2011-02-23T08:25:00.004-06:00

In the Wake of the Underground Sun, A. Andrew Gonzales Dare to tear that edge of airwhere swallows fly and clouds with voices Sing songs that lift oblivion highand drop remembrance behind grieving eyes. The key is to sit for a whileand smile without duty or obligation At an auburning evening skyand perhaps to contemplate one’s fate, And perhaps to keep one’s spirit opento the invisible stars

Truth...or Fiction

2011-02-14T09:01:00.007-06:00

The Lovers by Marty Wolff Night slips into my roomand I call it fiction that no one might think it true. Yet… On a long summer evening, a different trail will come to me…the scent of a man with no body. I will cling to the ghost of his perfume. I will cling… But, no. Don’t tell me this isn’t truth… How you crackle like firein the deadest stillness of darkness. How you glide like nightfall over my

FREEDOM!!!

2011-02-11T10:13:00.003-06:00

Photo Courtesy Reuters MY COUNTRY IS FREE!!!

Remnants and Fragments

2011-02-08T07:21:00.005-06:00

Art by Ewelina Ladzinska Something will remainwhen you tear her portrait from the wall.Something… intangible… unintelligible. What if you glide your fingers over the airthat hovers beneath its ghost?Will small bits of her facepowder your fingertips?Will you tongue the periphery of her absenceand moisten it until it glistens with presence again?Will you be lured by shadows offeatures lingering

my eternal mother...

2011-01-28T11:44:00.001-06:00

what is happening in my country?and what will happen to it?this is the unknown that i fearbeyond all other unknowns my eternal motheri feari tremblei weep for you my eternal motheri love you my eternal mothermay you always be free

On an Enchanted Morning

2011-01-25T07:57:00.002-06:00

Window's Light by Jane Weis You kissed meand sent my body shimmering like the light of the moon drowning in night windlike a tree, like a star  trembling in turbulent sky. I kissed you and sent your body murmuring your lips showing one color your gaze revealing anotherlike an angel, like a sorcererreveling in twisted illusion. And the moon set inside your tender

The Shallows

2011-01-16T06:58:00.003-06:00

Accretion by Matthew Xavier Endless,the laxness of limbs,dewy shoulder and wispy waist. Sinister,fingers tucked in a fist,palms tightly cupping a chin. Endless,the separation of auras,haloed smile and sparkling eye. Sinister,eyes flashing with secrets,kisses quick-frozen on lips. Endless,the neat rows in which they sit. Sinister,the open windows with curtains aflutter. Endless,the crooked pathson

What if...?

2011-01-10T08:11:00.004-06:00

Sunrise by Georgia O'Keefe I’m going back to school. Fact. Not a What if… situation. I’m going back to school today. Last Friday was my last day of delivering education and today will be my first day of receiving it once again. When was the last time I was a student? It seems like ages ago. And it’s taken me forever to make the decision to go back. But I’ve made it! You see, there was that

Visions of Artemis

2011-01-04T17:36:00.003-06:00

Arihadnod by Susan Seddon Boulet You bloom luminous lightNude and seductiveOver the marbled surface Of a darkening sky. And I? I grasp my shadowOn a sloping rooftop,An opaque lightbeam Spiraling exquisite grace. O sweet serendipity,So close to my soulAnd closer yet whenFarthest from my mind! I beholdSuddenly,Breathless,You! Glimmering, you danceArcing in the heavens And trees arch backs andBend

New Year Wishes

2010-12-30T21:50:00.005-06:00

Photo by Ori Gersht To all my blogging friends: May your days be filled with lifelust,And your nights be filled with stardust,And may your smiles always shineSoulfelt and heartfelt and true! Happy New Year to all of you! xoxoxoNevine

one moment... and another

2010-12-20T10:18:00.004-06:00

Photo by Alex Saunderson in a metaphysical momentin a breath of vibrant solitudein the half-light of a dying dreamwhere i slept with open eyesyou touched my face, so tenderly and the dream slipped from inside meand i walked into the arms of memory with the uncertainty of a somnambulisti took the tarnished silver box you offeredfilled with old black and whitesmoments imprisoned and yellowed by

Let Me Lay with You

2010-12-13T13:10:00.006-06:00

Kiss by Ivan Koulakov Let me lay with you side by sideWithin the trembling fingers of dreamsOur mouths filled with ferns and flowersOur eyes wide with stars and sky, Reclining beneath a generous treeWhose leaves storm-shiver in our hairOur heads rolling upon no axesOur legs climbing circular stairs, While the earth vibrates its discordant wavesInto the haunted hollows of

Yahoo!!!

2010-12-07T20:37:00.010-06:00

Movement by Melanie Weidner I'm elated! My words... my supplication... stolen from my site... have been removed... from the plagiarist's site... by Google! I complained... they responded. Need I say more? Thanks, Google! And thanks a million times to all of you who were supportive... and unafraid to voice your support! The truth never lies... and never dies! :-) xoxoxoNevine

While I Was Away... A Plagiarist Came to Play!

2010-11-27T06:45:00.004-06:00

It's unfortunate that I had to interrupt my blogging break for this. But, yes. My words were violated… raped… stolen from my blog… and posted on someone else’s blog as though they were their words. Plagiarism is a plague… a disease… and it is more prevalent than you can imagine. I recall… now… just a few weeks ago… when Rick Moore from The Writer and the White Cat was blogging about the

pause...

2010-11-14T07:44:00.010-06:00

Cosmic Sky by Monica Shelton ... and... take a deep breath... ... sometimes… this is something i have to remind myself to do… because i don’t know how… to just pause… without contemplating it.... running and running… and never stopping… i run out of breath… run out of steam… run out of everything... and there must be time… to recharge… … it’s that time for me… again… when i must pause… and

Bounteous Alchemies

2010-11-10T19:20:00.006-06:00

Soulmates by Lynette Marie Sometimes,we see ourselves in a twinkling pastwhere we were magicians(or were we alchemists?),with tricks transformingthe ordinary to fancyand dust to gold. And I made a stiff cane into billowing silk,and you made crimson flowers appear like flames rising out of clear water held upon a table by perfect but invisible hands. And I made the peeling wallsof an ancient

of secrets... and scars

2010-11-04T15:48:00.004-05:00

Woman's Back by Maya Kulenovic my love… my lovei’ve something to confesssomething to showturn on the lightthough you can feel it with your fingersturn on the light… and lookhere is my backlovely… soft… silkylike polished marblewarm… smooth… flowinglike liquid goldyet… come closer, my loveand you will seea cut that i can no longer reachsculpted… thin… sharpcan you see it, my love?the blood inside

I'm Published!

2010-10-30T18:42:00.003-05:00

Yes! Freefalling, Creator of Illusion, and Love, Suddenly are all published in the Autumn 2010 issue of The Copperfield Review, which is now online. I’ve been a regular reader of this literary journal for a few years, and now I’m in it… and over the moon with elation! I hope you will forgive the cliché; my muse is too busy celebrating, and I’m on an adrenaline high! Please click on the links to

If Ever...

2010-10-26T09:19:00.001-05:00

La Naïade by Nathalie Vogel If ever... on a given daywonder should grip youand you should find yourself musing about the sky, And how it evolves from bone to fire to indigo, And how emotions hum in prism hues, And how hearts beat redbut sometimes blue, And how leaves turn goldwhen the air is cold, And how paper goes beigewith graceless age, And how the sun blackensbehind the

Women Behind Windows

2010-10-18T19:26:00.009-05:00

Woman in a Window by unknown artist In this quiet town,On this early morning,When leaves are painted On the horizon,And eyes are yet Blind with sleep, and dry,And a cat is stalking a sparrow,Meowing obscenely,Clambering onto shiny carsAnd slippery rooftops, And into gated gardens And cloistered mansions,And sunlight is filteringThrough the shroud of dawn, A woman in a white dress Leans upon a

doppelgänger

2010-10-10T08:28:00.003-05:00

Doppelgänger by Agnieszka Szwengier who are you you drift away from melike a leaf drifts from its treeyou drift you drift you driftand if you were a traveleryou would be marco polo adventurous and animatespirit of flightbut i lied to myself andtold myself i had gifted youhad delivered you from hell and we were poetsand we were princessesand you were

Chrysalis: The Second Transformation

2010-10-02T22:56:00.004-05:00

Voyageur IV by Michel Henricot This is Part 2 of a vignette I wrote a few weeks ago. If you would like to read Part 1 you can read it here. * * * * * * * * * He has never told her, Every time I meet you, I arrive expecting to find not you, but another woman asking me: Who are you? He has never asked her, Do you feel the weight of prison bars on open, exposed flesh? He has never told her, I feel

immortalized... on thin air

2010-09-25T15:20:00.002-05:00

Lovers by E. Thor Carlson in the beginning…there is a rolling fog or perhaps it is a hovering mist and he will fade vanish and be goneand then…there are the shadows of night and he will be darkly dressedevading recognitionand as her eyes are distracted by shooting starshe will merge with restless shadows and he will fade vanish and be goneand she will know the vacuum of emptiness each moment more

The Last Days of Summer

2010-09-20T11:52:00.002-05:00

Autumn by Carol Baumrucker For a few more days, the bumble of bees willflavor the air and strike our eyes with a certainvoluptuous éclat. How brief are these last daysof summer! Our summer lasted but hours, one hundred glorious bloomings ousted by one hundred ignoble demises. We recited poetry from palates dense withwarm luxury and the blood of Aestes bledover the edges of our skin. We carved a

Three Miracles at Twilight

2010-09-10T16:10:00.001-05:00

Dawn Chorus by Elizabeth Carolan Watching one thousand swallowsAnd oneGlideIn an ellipsis of vibrating heaven, Pausing by a shimmering treeAnd anotherAlchemizingBirds into trembling leaves, Hearing the galactic humAnd drumDroneThe transparent cosmic spirit, I became still. silent. sacred.

that intimacy

2010-09-05T08:31:00.002-05:00

Hole No. 2 by Emily Eveleth how does the question go when you ask it of yourself? what if i am not who i think i am? what if, without my knowing it, i am another? somebody dark? and bad? followed by the crushing understanding that, because you were creepy enough to even think these thoughts, you are already dark. and bad. i didn’t want to ask. i didn’t

Dry, but...

2010-08-29T10:45:00.002-05:00

Sweet Memory by Osnat Tzadok You graced my life for one yearbut dazzled my imagination for Everand do you know whybecause you asked me if I liked flowers(though you already knew the answer)and then looked at me as if to read my eyesbut your eyes were not there to readonly to make promises they could not keeppromises that would dry out and be defeated. But does it matter? And you bought me a

The Heat from Sunlit Windows

2010-08-23T16:35:00.004-05:00

Women in the Sun by Padamvir Singh We walked and tripped over the shadows of trees and sunlight beams crossed our path as you and Imeandered our way to the convention room. You are the one who says you feelyou have always been searching even if only inside yourself and you could notfor the life of youpoint out a certain stance orexpress a certain feelingyou felt you had. Is this why we’re here,

08082010

2010-08-17T07:32:00.005-05:00

It is our fifth night in Providenciales (actually, a new day is upon us), and the moon is hanging in the sky as if by an invisible string, but I can’t see the stars… maybe for the brightness of the moon. Still, there is enough glimmer in the sky to drape a rippling mirror over the water. And I am awake… eyes wide open… unable to sleep. Too many images inside my head. Too many beautiful people…

Chrysalis

2010-08-12T11:48:00.004-05:00

Voyageur I by Michel Henricot He does not say to her, The air is charged with alarms, with metallic clangs rising. I know. And I know of the fragments of sky exploding in silence. He does not say to her, This quiet house is locked tight, but fragile at night. I know. And I know of the heart of the storm, soft-crusted in flight. He does not say to her, My love is sacred and intimate, offered to

Revisiting Eden

2010-08-02T07:32:00.003-05:00

Beach Sunrise by Gail Johnson In summerIn shades of blueIn myriad visionsIn a quiet moment at your sideI drift…… and only you can bring me back. To sleep…… and awaken with youIn the liquid glow of rising day,To imagine…… and realize togetherThe incandescent light of morn,To understand……finallyThe flesh of youWhile the heavens unfold,To recognize…… only this momentIts core transmuting us to

Year One

2010-07-29T07:21:00.004-05:00

It has been one year, to the day, since I launched Dreams, Deliriums, and Other Mind Talk. But… here… I am bending the truth. The truth is that I created this blog sometime in early June of 2009, and then, on the same day, I deleted it. After the fact, I didn’t think about it much. I hadn’t thought about it much when I had created the blog, after all. I had just gone to the “Create Blog” link,

i accept the silence

2010-07-22T10:49:00.005-05:00

"Abstraction White Rose" by Georgia O'Keefe silentmy dead grandmotherforever silentand coldand alonebut there are secrets to be sharedand confidences to be breechedand promises to be brokenyou come to meyou read me your lettersher lettersletters returnedunopenedunansweredand you tell meyour mother has a black heartandglassyour eyesglass filmed over by gentle breaths in unforgiving coldand

nocturne

2010-07-18T07:05:00.002-05:00

"Sleeping Couple" by Ivan Koulakov it is that time of night when i withdraw quietly inside myself and i go in silence and rest my head upon my pillow and he comes in silence and rests his head upon his pillow that lies at my pillow’s side and he breathes in shallow draws and troubles my soul’s harmony and he turns slightly to one side and disturbs my body’s repose and i turn slightly to one side

Lady Grey with a Lemon Twist

2010-07-11T07:02:00.002-05:00

Good vs. Evil by BlueBlack Hello, my dear. Air kisses. Pregnant smiles. Please, come in. Make yourself comfortable. My house is open. My heart is open. My walls are down. Shall I take your mask? Come. Come to my kitchen table. It’s all set and ready for us. I’ve decorated it with flowers. Calla lilies. Your favorite. I bought them because I knew you were coming. Shall we sit on opposite ends so

Episodic Flickers in Black and White

2010-07-04T19:05:00.004-05:00

Kiss by unknown photographer This is how it begins… We are a silent filmshot in black and whitescratchy and grainyspeeding to a soundtrackof our shortened breaths Our eyes are electricwith drifting gazesthat blink and unblink tohair lips shoulders skin And when they are closedwe feel we are drowsingheads drifting downto meet shoulderson a trip that is

Missing

2010-06-28T07:12:00.005-05:00

Hands by unknown artist I was eight. And he was dead. He might as well have been, anyway. He didn’t seem like the rest of us living humans. Blue lips, heavy and uneven. Yellow eyes, with the skin around them in folds and creases. White hair – not “old” white; just “tired” white. White and long and shaggy – like the rest of him. Everything about him elicited thoughts of decay and erosion. He

Lucid Delirium

2010-06-21T19:12:00.002-05:00

"Blue Flower" by Georgia O'Keefe A languid whisper roused me from my phantasyto my cup of teainto your enveloping delirium In an iridescent emotionobsessed with reverence I smelled the hues of scent that trailed behind you I sensed your presence in my darkness (my lightness)inside the vapid (illuminated)chambers of my heart Intruder – you dared! Like the advent of an ancientprophetess you glided

stillness...

2010-05-29T10:10:00.006-05:00

a simple title. don’t you think? but this is what i need. i need simple. i need to look at the sky. and the earth below me. and to smell the lovely air. i need to take long walks. and listen to beethoven. and vivaldi. and chopin. i need to look at my face. and remind myself of me. i need to tell myself:i am alive. i am alive.i am alive. i need to tell myself: i am nevine. my mind is working

Card VIII

2010-05-25T05:23:00.005-05:00

Card VIII from the Rorschach Inkblot Test You’ll have to sit down. This may take a while. He lowers his gaze. Shuffles some papers. You know that every few months I have to re-administer your tests. He pauses. Then. We’ll start with vocabulary. I’ll say the word. You’ll say what you think it means. Here we go:MELANCHOLIA and she says a sad indisposition?Indisposition? he says. You

intuition: the second mating

2010-05-20T06:03:00.011-05:00

"The Dreamer Awakens" by unknown artist you will think night and my sky will blackenyou will think day and my sun will riseyou will think air and my sky will unfoldyou will think spirit and my soul will glowyou will feel anguish and my heart will darkenyou will voice agony

intuition

2010-05-15T15:42:00.005-05:00

"Red Couple" by unknown artist in your absencein my imaginationi dream of youi beckon you you come to me you enter meyou invade meyou pervade me and as i lie in the stillnessi feel you inside meand hear your whispers oflove in my heart

faithless

2010-05-10T06:24:00.005-05:00

first she hears the clack  of his shoeson the porch his legs wild in their haste  to fling themselves around her then the rusty doorknob screeches and twists and he rushes inside sobreathless with wanting with waiting he hasnothing in his pockets dry hunger in his stomach undressed he leans over her touching arms and waist and back he kisses her in the wrong places he’d seen her at a general

Tokens of Awakening

2010-05-04T06:08:00.003-05:00

I Am Earth by unknown artist On this spring evening I am in my garden,Remembering spring in that other garden that used to be mine.Did I think it would last forever,All the time that was, once upon a time?I know it no longer exists for me.I know Someone has replaced me.But do I stop existing… simply so?That soil bears tokens of my onetime presence,Fallen hairs and nail clippings and

immaculate obsession

2010-04-23T06:39:00.001-05:00

you feel secure in this distancewhere we waltz without touching thoughyou are always here always lingeringon the fringes of my imagination paintedlike a fresco upon the shifting sandlike a mirage upon the desert floorin this imaginary place whereour arms curl in a touchless embraceand our hands caress transparent aurasyou are here and you are notand if one moment i see you the moment after i am

zar

2010-04-17T13:13:00.003-05:00

they said she was possessed by demons. they said she challenged the spirits. they sat in the parlor and clucked and gossiped about someone’s sister and someone’s daughter. they said she was a distant relative. they said we used to play together as children. that we measured the breadth of the sky with our hands. and played dress-up in our mothers’ wardrobes. but that didn’t matter anymore.

paper tigers

2010-04-13T08:58:00.005-05:00

"Étude pour Les Fleurs du Mal"by Leonor Fini it’s always the same storythey love me so long as i liespill aromatic words from forked tonguethey love me so long as i say things that make them feel it’s all about me me me me it’s all about methey love me so long as they can hear it and smilebut when i start to speak the truth they stop smiling

beauty's antithesis

2010-04-08T17:34:00.001-05:00

something happens in a momentbefore you have a chance to thinkbefore you have a chance to figure it outa suspension of timea presentiment of the inevitableit beats you to the finish line… you’re sitting in your caryou’ve just taken a sip of your espressoand you tilt your headcock your arm just a bitto set down the cup in its holderthe light is still redand you’re waiting

hovering in uncertain geometries

2010-04-03T07:35:00.004-05:00

"Falling Star" by Witold Pruszkowski square room empty space wooden air harsh geometrysoftenedby fluid exhaustion i cannot rest tonightyour absence glows in the darkand there is no sky for mebut the stars fall inside meand the key in my eyesis a pandora thatunlocks the hallucinationsone full revolutionto release one full cloudof images and words that racechasing coattailstempting me to catch

Panem et Circenses

2010-03-28T07:21:00.004-05:00

Love is bullshit. Emotion is bullshit. I am a rock. A jerk. I'm an uncaring asshole and proud of it. ~ Chuck Palahniuk Thank you, but I don’t need anyone to stay the night, you try to say. They’ve come to visit. To pay our respects, they tell you. It’s the least we can do, they tell one another. And you hear their crude and distasteful whispers. And you see the

transfiguration

2010-03-23T06:22:00.005-05:00

"The Eclipse"by Paul Albert Besnard under a quiet nightinside a silent cityon a deserted streetamongst sauntering shadowsof trees with crooked trunksand houses with locked doorsbut open windowsto let in the starswe sit and watch the skyand right before our eyesthe moon becomes a womanshe bares a breastover the edge of a rooftopand belowthe earth is indigoa lake of shimmering ghostswith a single

The Truth

2010-03-21T06:49:00.002-05:00

If you haven’t read The Instructions please go back and read them first. And then come back and read The Truth. This is what happened. I was walking down the hall.I was walking and I heard the kids chant.I heard their innocent voices rise.I heard their beautiful voices cry.I heard them sing, Don’t write outside the box.And I heard her ugly voice.Her voice that stopped them dead.Her voice that

The Instructions

2010-03-18T06:31:00.001-05:00

This is the big day, they said. This is it.This is the day where you get to show what you know.This is the day where you get to prove yourself.You’ve been practicing so long.And now it’s time to show your skills.And you’ve got them. You’ve got the skills.We’ve drilled you well and we know you have the skills.Now it’s time to show what you know.In a minute we’ll be passing out the papers.But

Rite of Spring

2010-03-14T11:42:00.007-05:00

I will light the room with carmine candlesAnd I will sprinkle the floor with kali blossomsAnd I will clothe myself in the coloring of loveAnd I will dip my fingers One by one In wildflower honeyAnd I will slip apart your lips With honeyed fingertipsAnd I will trace the shell curve of your ear With the canal curve of my tongueAnd I will tread the tender path Of

night and shadow

2010-03-10T16:01:00.009-06:00

Fiberglass and resin sculpture "He is the Night" by Gwen Creighton Lux there is a placewherenight does not fallbut breaksslowlylike daybut splintersslowly inside me because i am riverfaceless but flowingbecause i am skyinvisible but living because i am motein the eyes ofsecret starsbecause i am screamin the throats offrozen lies becauseandbecauseandbecause i am i am legendin the hearts ofbroken

Deviant

2010-03-05T06:04:00.007-06:00

"Angels and Devils" by M.C. Escher I just want to get close to you. I just want to know you. I just want to be your friend. I just want to comfort you. I just want to come inside. I just want to see you. I just want to know who you really are. I just want to be inside your world. I just want to sit in your chair and read your book. I just want to drink your tea from your cup. I just want to drive

Incantation

2010-02-28T06:51:00.001-06:00

It burns me, the memory of that day – Like a forgotten image Jerked from behind my eyes. From the window, we watched the night die.The stars were iridescent raindrops on black glass.And you looked at me with the mouth of solitude.And I licked our sour blood from your lips – Lips devoured before they were kissed, Lips devoured with devotion.And you

stigma

2010-02-22T06:33:00.006-06:00

"Dreams of Flying" by George Grie after they have gonei am alone with the wordsthe words they saidthe words i heardthe words i imaginedthe words i saidthe words they heardor perhaps did not hearbecause they were not listeningthough they pretended to listenand in sinks this feelingi know it so welllike the brown spoton the inside of my left stepa beauty spot they call ita mark i saythis feeling

metz, interrupted

2010-02-17T06:36:00.002-06:00

"La Surprise" by Leonor Fini trying to meet you is at times like being late for a train to shall we say metzi have lost my ticket and lost some minutestrying to find it and i have lost my wayand on this rainy evening the air is thick with the vapors that come with rain and now i hopscotch over pools of muddy waterto reach the proper platform # 3 as you’d saidand i run my heels clacking on

body and blood

2010-02-12T16:41:00.001-06:00

"Lovers' Embrace" by Gary Benfield in the deepest hour of nighti float in that pleasure ofbeing aroused in the midst of sleepand the sounds of silencedeliver themselves to meas if to a secret lovertoo muchnever enoughand i deliver myself to youi am a tuft of fire that burns steadilyand my skin is dark with wantingand my lips are raw with impatiencethis is my anticipation you heardrumming a rhythm

Newton's Third Law

2010-02-07T06:58:00.010-06:00

“Étude pour Poe” by Leonor Fini Grab your book and sit down, kid. You’re not going anywhere any time soon. They’ve got you practically locked up with Grandma at home. And you didn’t understand what was happening at first, but the truth is slowly showing its hideous face. Grandma’s dying. And they’re not doing anything to stop it. Not only that – they’re “helping her” to die faster. They’ve got

atmosphere of altered dream

2010-02-01T07:23:00.008-06:00

"La Dormeuse" by Tamara de Lempicka and this is how it always is we have always met in the darkwe have always hidden in the shadows you have always cried with open eyesyou have always pleaded for secrecy i have always searched for the lighti have always danced to the sun and

metastasize

2010-01-26T15:27:00.018-06:00

"The Fabulous Racetrack of Death" by Roberto Matta it happened again today i remembered you though you rarely cross my mind i don’t know why you did today cross my mind that is i think it was the boy that was walking down the hall with his hairless head bald but not

white night, scarlet sails

2010-01-21T07:12:00.006-06:00

one moment we are sitting head by head eye by eyetalking about this and thatwaiting for the twilit sky (that we know will not darken) to darkenand the next moment you are under i see you slowly get heavyi see you gently slip awayand i will follow soonas i usually do follow youbroken bones frozen fleshanesthetized mind injected with an obscure drug to inspire a selective amnesia we lay we sleep

my chains

2010-01-17T07:38:00.005-06:00

"Raphaelesque Head Exploding" by Salvador Dalí i see myself enchained at times imprisoned torn immobile alone tossed and pressed by the wind a weathervane twisting and turning and going nowhere a rooster that is trying to fly a flurry of inept and gnarled wings flapping and slapping and going nowhere and i anger and rebel with the usual

Dénouement

2010-01-13T16:14:00.006-06:00

Detail from“Girl Reading a Letter in an Interior” by Peter Vilhelm Ilsted And then he came back. Like a quiet lightstorm. She saw him. From the distance. Coming up the driveway. She watched. From a window. His arrival. As if from some invisible realm. His return. She opened the door. Stood there. Clenched fists. Curled toes. Frozen tears. She heard everything. The crunch of tires on the gravel.

supplication

2010-01-10T13:56:00.007-06:00

i beseech you in the darkest hour in the deadest silence if the snow should whisper to you if you should hear my soundless cry if i should not return feel my absence think of me

Don't Think About a Pink Elephant

2010-01-06T07:23:00.006-06:00

Art by Salvador Dali You're restless. Uptight. Bored out of your wits and out of your senses. So, why do you keep pretending? Why do you keep trying to show interest when you're not interested? The only thing you want from Vera is her body. You know it. She knows it. And she's already giving you what you want. Why the games? She's asleep on the sofa in her small apartment. And you want her to

at dusk, communion with cairo

2010-01-03T11:55:00.005-06:00

at dusk the kites rise billowing in the air coloring the sky circling over the city of the dead like the skirts of a whirling dervish circle over a stationary floor red yellow green blue your air smells of smog of fried eggplant of white tuberose strung on silk thread and worn around my neck your datepalms are pregnant with secrets (my secrets and yours) and life-bearing fruit they tower over

Happy New Year, Everyone!!!

2009-12-31T19:08:00.009-06:00

I've been away for a few days, something I decided to do on a whim on Christmas Eve. My husband surprised me with "I'm going to be off until January 5," and I was like, "Wow! So am I!" So I decided to just take time off from everything. And, we had a blast! But I've missed my blog, and all of your blogs as well. And, well, the new year is almost here, and I wanted to stop in and wish you all

seductress

2009-12-21T07:29:00.004-06:00

my love my love be silent now and listen perhaps maybe if you close your eyes and open your heart you will hear me better close your eyes and be silent and listen it is just you and me now you and me and nobody to see or hear us i have imagined this moment so many times dreamed it this moment of you and me and nobody else but wait you move too quickly do not rush i want to savor