Fallen
O’ beautiful death release me,
From winters so long and so cold.
My skeleton lies naked and fragile.
O’ beautiful decay reinvent me,
So I may live again, bright and bold.
My flesh is a feast soft and vulnerable.
O’ beautiful spirit’s new adventure,
In flowing growth born from the old.
My body arises in blossoming spring time.
© David R. Durham
Thunder
Riot and footfall dance to that beat,
Earth’s stage set where hearts can meet.
Ancestral lands invoke your dream-time chant,
Rise and fall ’till your breath is scant.
In your belly and your thighs rips a youthful tide,
Rhythms pick up and your stride’s so wide.
Words too frail fade away forgotten and spent,
Guttural voices rise, soul-body sent.
Day becomes night all heaven’s stars are out,
As above so below, shared with mighty shout.
© David R. Durham
Sun Beams
On crest of waves we are dancing,
Now flickering a’tween tree’s leaves,
Joy in the rousing springtime, smiles,
In the heart warming summertimes.
© David R. Durham
And The Tears, They Flow.
Beauty’s kiss, her joy-filled embrace,
Moonlight silvered raven hair,
Beauty’s reckless, carefree poise,
She yields under heaven’s spell;
And the tears, they flow.
Cold truth scavenges childhood memories,
Scorching time’s forward march,
Cold truth scrambles delicate feelings,
She humbles dog-eared certainty;
And the tears, they flow.
Grace revealed in her razor sharp brightness,
Her unblinking gaze pierces soul’s delight,
Grace inviting, teasing and alluring,
She whispers sweet promises of eternal rest;
And the tears, they flow.
© David R. Durham
Reminders
Sea rolling, sweeping, flowing, bubbling onto a pebbled beach;
You remind me of my forgotten journeys.
Penetrating light moving down a corridor of brick archways;
You remind me of a forgotten life-style.
Black and white images of faces in a winter’s landscape;
You remind me of long lost loves.
The felt sense of my spinal column in alignment;
You remind me of a forgotten harmony.
My boundaries melt away and all thoughts stops;
You remind me of my forgotten home.
My awakened heart flows and flows;
You remind me that an awakened heart never closes.
© David R. Durham
Holy Words
When sublime words fell from the sky, free to
Those who would listen, a few looked at
Each other in wonder, some felt a tingling
Fear trickle down their stooped spines, many more,
Intoxicated by their new human
Sensations, never heard anything at all.
Pitter patter as rain, holy words fall from
The sky, crafted in each listener’s mind,
Woven into new tales of joyful dance,
So close to us, near as our beating heart,
In soulful invocations; in prayers;
And most of all in our loves and laughter.
Faith binds us in a linen cloth, white, plain,
Contoured round our flowing body, shaping
Our spaceless reflective mind. Faltering
Words are slowly whispered in hoarse breath,
Lured, we wriggle free of holy embrace,
Tempted again into sinful secrets;
A conjurer’s trick of deceit and lies.
© David R. Durham
Gift Wrapped
What is this fate which breaks the will of men?
That insidious grim stealer of magic and dreams,
Unyielding face with gritty voice, black cloak.
What caricatures of men live a lie?
That all can survive, and some may live large,
In deep worn trances, rich in rhythmic chants.
What concerns for other’s lives touch men’s souls?
That divine breath which transcends mortality,
From long forgotten ancient memories.
What is this life that ripples in men’s hearts?
That bridges knowing, love and restless grief,
Gift wrapped in a weave of human thread.
© David R. Durham
Endless Play
Caught in the moment,
Caught on the camera.
We love when we dance,
We smile when we play,
At times we’re feeling down,
Then we’re feeling up again,
So life goes around in an endless play.
Ambushed in the shopping mall,
Ambushed at a party.
We smile when we dance,
We love when we play,
At times we’re feeling up again,
Then we’re feeling down,
So life goes around in an endless play.
Work in the day time,
Pleasure in the night time.
We love when we dance,
We smile when we play,
At times we’re feeling down,
Then we’re feeling up again,
So life goes around in an endless play.
All along our road are the misread sign posts,
All along our path are the potholes so grey.
We smile when we dance,
We love when we play,
At times we’re feeling up again,
Then we’re feeling down,
So life goes around in an endless play.
© David R. Durham
Old Horses
The stable door ajar, straw bedded down,
The old horse left a brief note saying;
“Gone t’d pub old chap, back before you know”.
Tess, our dependable collie sheep dog,
Now lounging in her sun warmed corner,
She dreamed eons and eons, were rolling by.
Big hooves clatter across the outside yard,
Cats scatter, handy hidden holes, safe,
And dark, away from hard trampling beasts and men.
Time drawn in on the fertile breath of life,
Days softly drip with sensual promises,
Grace brings good fortune to fair tilled land.
© David R. Durham
Markets
Down in the market where life runs free,
Where daily stories are shared,
And there is lots of stuff to see.
Exotic looking fruits to smell and to try,
Stacked high on rough work-man’s tables,
Laid out under a clear blue mountain sky.
Men with packed trolleys weave and bob,
Their job not done ‘tll all are sold,
Locals mingle with tourists, quite a mob.
Dogs bark, kids lark and jokes are told,
All humanity is here in shared pursuits,
Drink your beer while its still cold.
© David R. Durham