The Last Winter Rose...

A poem by Harlon Rivers

...from the December 2012 chapters 

The Diary of the Falling Dominoes

Coyote howled to another frostbitten dawn
The cold Winter Moon is a bitter sweet mistress
Luna’s final full phase marking another passing year
Hope can grow faint so subtly,
like winter's waning daylight , barely noticeable ,
until its former presence fades away without a trace …

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 a conclusion of stymied 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 chicanery of the mind
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 audible emotional sigh ,
benumb the abandon of the silence .

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 for 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
while moonstruck under the lonesome silver light
of the fully illuminated Cold Winter Moon …

Harlon Rivers…December 27th, 2012