"The Last Winter Rose"

From a chapter of "The Diary of the Falling Dominoes"

Full Cold Moon

December 28th, 2012

~ Please Share The Experience ~

The Last Winter Rose...

Coyote howled to another dawn

The cold Winter Moon is a bitter sweet mistress

Luna’s final full phase of another passing year

Hope can grow faint so subtly,

That it is barely noticeable,

Until its former presence fades away…

Falling from love’s spinning wheel

Feels as if gravity has drawn out the Ocean’s final tide

Visions of grandeur adorn new beginnings

Their smoke and mirrors embellish illusions,

While leaving a pathway of footprints,

Leading to the conclusion of dead end dreams

The victim of my own imagination watches

As the imagined remaining natural elements become obscure

The more things change the more they remain the same

It is daunting how the mind's sleight of hand

Plays tricks on the lonely heart of it’s flesh

Loss of balance leads to mere mortal ambiguity

Being pricked by the barbed stem

Of a beautiful thorny rose,

Is like a dart to the heart

You feel the sting at the moment of penetration,

However the drip of blood cannot be heard

Over an emotional sigh too deep for words.

Life slowly trickles out drowning the spirit of the soul…

Silently, without notice from the outside world

A broken heart bleeding out one drip at a time is painless,

Except to look in the mirror and watch it happen,

Knowing all the while the end is near,

Watching as sheer agony unfolds...

The only way to stop the bleeding,

As a broken heart suffers

Through the ache of unrequited love,

Is to stay away from thorny roses

Under the lonesome glowing light

Of the fully illuminated Cold Moon's shine…

Harlon Rivers…December 27^th, 2012

Whispering Angel

Whispering Angel...

Don't ever underestimate

the passionate likeness in the mirror

… your reflection always

looks you straight in the eyes

Believe what you’re seeing 

Believing is why there is an unrecognizable  

moonstruck look in your eyes ~

You always knew it wouldn’t be easy

Only in someone else’s world  

does there exist a place

where only their dream’s light shines

A long awaited  moment like this

seems like eternity passing 
ever so slowly before my eyes

Forever out of breath from yearning

while chasing an impossible dream ~

Inhaling… In a poignant instant ~

A deeply drawn gasp of final hope…

Purging the ache of emotional cleansing…

Exhaling… The faith of merciful surrender ~

Simply jumping off to fly away

Surrender is easy with a ray of hope 
for a guiding light...

If you fall…

I’ll be there to catch you in my heart

Free falling…

Where there’s nothing that can stop the plunge

Falling as the spirit of love sets me free

The warmth of love’s light

is shining into wide open eyes…

“Love don’t leave me waiting"

"Show yourself to me” ~
I’ve journeyed an entire lifetime to get here

I’ll stay here forever ~ waiting patiently ~
To be loved ~ while you make my life shine ~

Alive within your heart

is my final destiny…

Harlon Rivers...December, 2012

"Bury Me Alive"

2012 has been one of those years that I will always remember...a year that I felt I was being "buried alive"...right now it's still one step forward and two steps back without momentum in any direction
...from the "Diary of the Falling Dominoes "

"Bury Me Alive"

I taste the earth in my mouth

as you bury me alive

Emotions buried alive never die

A new dawn was stealing

over the mountain tops

of the distant horizon

But now ethereal shadows fall

as if a Broken Moon

blocked the Sun’s newly rising shine

Once, a ray of hope shown

through the parting clouds

giving birth to a new day

Born of mother earth

she fills the corner of my eyes with dust

while muddy tears chill the diminishing light

Out of the corner of her eyes

she watches the remaining struggle

for the signs of the last remaining sighs

Fearing an earth filled mouth breathes like a tree

rooted deeply in the bed rock of the terrestrial planet 

Silently exhaling essence into other realms

Foot prints on a heart ~

A promise of understanding ...abandoned

Dirt blankets any traces of love left uncovered

I feel the earth in my mouth

as you bury me alive

suffocating slowly…

Breathless…

as darkness temporarily eclipses ... 
~ life ~

Harlon Rivers...December 21th, 2012

Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis

enthralled... by the silken warmth

of spontaneous fascination 

Poignant possibilities inspire a metamorphosis,

awakening on the moments threshold~

profound transformation

evolving from an embryo

of new beginnings

transcending hopeful awakenings ~

a step away

from ardent  affection

thriving within the moment’s harmony

believing dreams can come true~

  

enveloped by a womb of sanctuary

alive with compassionate understanding

the hush of surrendering to inner stillness

Placidly graces a tranquil calm of acceptance~  

the seed sprouts~

where it’s been naturally sewn

nurtured... in the essence of shared kindness,

to reap the harvest of the complete metamorphosis~

the true nature of loving hearts and souls

evolving~ into the oneness

of the indivisible spirit

of fact of light…

Harlon Rivers 12/20/2012

Snow Covered Ashes

…from a chapter of Whispering Moon Beams

a poem by Harlon Rivers

Snow Covered Ashes

the first dusting of snow

blankets the fall leaves

carpeting the Oak

and Maple grove floor.

a distinct vanguard

paints the imminent winter solstice.

daylight wanes…

now measured by moments

and melted candle wax

tick tock ~ tick tock
is heard in the silence ~

passing time cannot be stopped

only the diminishing firewood pile

reminds that the passing season

of darkness is measured

by the ashes left behind

of what once was recognizable…

the warmth of the crackling fire,

the flickering glow hypnotizes

into a vulnerable trance.

fighting back the feeling
of a heart growing
cold and dormant

as the changing season

after such sublime awakenings ~

…eerie disappointment

…an unnatural sadness accompanies

the icy darkness
of loves fading light.

as seasons change to winter.

a life without love

is a life without hope

vanishing ever so slowly

like the snow covered

fallen and decomposing leaves

veiled by the imminent winter solstice…

Harlon Rivers…December 16th, 2012

Dog-eared Poetry

A narrative prose poem about life’s written portfolio...

He took the leather bound lose leaf book of poetry

down from the large quarter sawn antique book shelf.

The collection’s ordinary space was left vacant  

beside the thick unpublished manuscript,

the autobiography of a traumatic life lived.

~Tipped Over Toy Box and Broken Dreams~

He often thought of burning it with the evening’s fire

when awkwardly troubled in moments of lonely despair.

Wiping away the dust, the well-read memories

are marked by dog eared pages that trigger an ache.

He became overwhelmed by emotions~

Fading into a daydream, while the well seasoned hands

felt the familiar comfort where the well-thumbed pages

were often opened to places known by heart.

It was as if it were the only mirror pond

where he recognized the reflection.

Somewhere hidden amongst the countless hours of longing,

was the intimate sincerity confessed

in the miles of written silent reverie left behind ... hidden.

Many poems had been shared over time,

trying to reveal the infinite love he felt.

Only those few that passed close enough

to sense something hauntingly different,

reached out compassionately from at arms length.

Doing so seemed to leave him pondering an eerie empty feeling

Like a black sheep left behind, without a fold

He had tried relentlessly to be understood

but never really felt, with any known certainty,

he was able to solve his own undisclosed mystery.

Some thoughts were penned in hopeless hours of darkness.

Those could never be shared and yet in this moment,

they seemed like only word stained,

tattered and frayed, watermark sheets.

Poignant sentiment filled pages with flowing blue ink cursive

Quilled thoughts scribed across pages that represented

the indescribable written emotion of a lifetime.

Waking from a dream,

he placed the leather bound lose leaf book of poetry

back onto the large quarter sawn antique book shelf.

The leather bound cover refilling its vacant space

adjacent to the unpublished manuscript.

He looked down speaking softly but distinctively out loud …

The calico cat was stretching from her abruptly ended nap,

rubbing and purring for attention against his bare feet;

 “You know this book of poems is about a life well lived?”

 he rhetorically questioned his cat. 

As if answering his own question he said quietly,

"The essence of one man’s heart and soul"…

Harlon Rivers…December 13th, 2012

Authors Notes;   There are days in life when we have to do things we do not want to do because we need to... This was written on such a day while pondering the circle of life …It is a first draft because there was no time to edit and it was time to go for medical testing…it is as raw of honest emotion as there is from this so called writer. I have published and unpublished much over the last 9 months and there is as much cathartic writing from this time period published here in these 4 poetry blogs as there is that was published and now is not currently published…Life is perception and the tides ebb and flow creating constant change.  I just write about it because it helps me cope with emotional transition.   Just maybe someone who needs this kind of understanding and support may find some comfort because they may relate to the many trials and tribulations we face in life.

Cleansing Rain

... waiting for the pending winds of change to blow the perfect storm's clouds past ... A long awaited metamorphosis ...

Look up and breathe as the crying sky explodes

Inhale natures’ showering an unblemished symphony

The oppressive black cloud hanging overhead lingers

Emotions ebb and flow with the moment’s 
immanent spirit of light

A freeing sensation excites anticipation

of the sky’s pending fated purposeful release ...

Heavens… flood down in a drenching act of baptism

by a merciful drowning in the river of celestial tears

Torrential rains wash over me like a cleansing rain

Cleanse the dust and ashes of the abandoned traces

What once was a blossoming presence,

Evolved into a foggy cold winter season ...

Now all that remains is but a shadow of what once was,

Life was nearly eroded away by the years of fallen tears

Rinse away unrequited love’s stagnant inversion

Washing away the invisible chains that bind

To the loathsome heavy ball

Of an unforgiving past ...

Know the cleansing rain is the spirit of love

Washing over an exhausted heart of soul 

Left exposed and naked to the world

Look out with thoughtful eyes into the universe

Never stop believing the dream is eternal...

Imagine the storm clouds parting in the dark sky ~

As an uplifting awakening light 
comes shining through

Renewing the promise 
that surrendering to love

shall be destiny’s purpose ...

Harlon Rivers...December 10th, 2012

It's Only Water....Gary Ogan band

Continuum’s Circle

…a prose poem about the unbroken circle of life…by Harlon Rivers

Continuum’s Circle

Full circle is a perception

Of a journey’s measured time

All my life’s a circle

As life goes round and round

Circular symmetry drawn in pencil

Can be erased at anytime.

An ultimate breath will be exhaled

When the compass scribes

The final circumference drawn.

Is the meridian sunset fading

Into the final realm beyond?

Or is it the rising sun of the great

Celestial circle’s dawn?

A stone is cast upon

The still water surface

Stirring the mirror pond of time

Rippled rings expand symmetrically,

Currents stream in harmony,

Where river’s bedrock shines.

Eddies are driven on forever

By gravity’s infinite pull and spin

As the symmetry of ripples fade

An eternally expanding vortex begins

You can’t get back the pebble

After it’s already been thrown

A seed of heart of the soul

Was sewn into the center ring of love

The circle expands as seasons change

Throughout the infinite journey of life

The unbroken never ending circle of love

Overlaps the seamless continuum of time…

December 5th, 2012…Harlon Rivers

He Needed to Know...

He Needed to Know...

Waking up... from a startling dream, the sweat soaked sheets 

were cold as the frosty autumn of his life. 

Staring at the ceiling, with eyes wide open, varying subtle tones of light

filtered through the tree branches by way of the open window.

Each moment’s hue flickered as the clouds opened and closed the night sky

allowing the moonlight to come shining through...

He felt an undeniable obsession with the bittersweet reverie

of such a poignant awakening.

Constantly sifting through the dust and ashes in his mind

searching for the clues and missing pieces.

He needed to know there was a reason

to believe his life was not lived in vain...

Those countless years of feeling he never belonged, 

haunted the empty space beside him on this darkest of lonesome nights.

Oh… he was certain, in the very deepest depths of the heart of his soul 

...he had loved infinitely,

throughout the many changing seasons of his life.

He needed to know that the unrequited love he had felt was not 

just a reflection of the love shared from his hopelessly lonely heart...

Walking a lifetime of miles on his own 

did not come without paying the price of freedom.

Solitude is a bitter pill to swallow at the end of the day.

Now he felt the long and twisting pathway

had lead into an absolute corner, 

as a sobering loneliness evolved into an ultimate revelation...

With his back against the wall of the past behind him,

His life flashed before him.  Tears of trepidation overwhelmed

as the threads of a life’s tapestry unraveled before his mind’s eye.

The only dream he ever feared … was to walk alone

at that predestined moment ... dropping to his knees...

Never needing to know how to say goodbye…

December 4, 2012…© Harlon Rivers 

The One in the Mirror

...an autobiographical poem from "Diary of the Falling Dominoes" ... by Harlon Rivers

There is someone in the mirror

I can’t recognize

Although it seems like

there are eerie familiarities

I used to know by 

heart... 

There have been so many changes;

You win some and you lose

Recognition feels like trying to identify 
an unknown face, 
from behind an impossible mask ...

All the ships that sailed away

all the here and nows ... that came and went

Those hollow eyes look scarred and tagged

by the salty tears of what they've past

Crow’s-feet are growing more vivid 
with each aching heart's opine...

Lines extend back from the corners 

Rooted deeply in an unrecognizable evolving 

mind ... 

Fingers fumble about these dark circled reflections

Nervously… smudging a fingerprint's smear of haziness

As if the face were a paint by number self portrait

The color number for the shade required is called 
pain ...

In this long glance ~ 

… Déjà vu …

“Your faded memory 
is beginning to come back to me”...

“Yes you’re the one that’s uncomfortable in here”

“The one who can’t stand crawling

inside of my own skin”…

2012 Harlon Rivers