Squeezing Blood Out of a Stone

He knew he could never suffer 

from the madness they perceive 

It’s easy to look the other way 

when you’re blinded by what you see , . .

a poem from "The Diary of the Falling Dominoes" anthology by Harlon Rivers

Squeezing Blood Out of a Stone

What is the song the moon sings ?
In the silence of the starry blue night ?
Is it the sound of a heart breaking ?
Or the mournful bemoans
a shadow on bended knees ,
lost in a moment of stress and strife

No one ever thought they would hear
a shadow's screaming echoes
at the sallowed moonlit night !
No one gave it a second thought . . .
Never bothered to ponder
the unknown reasons for the thoughts .

He knew he could never suffer
from the madness they perceive
It’s easy to look the other way
when you’re blinded by what you see
Crawling on faith with eyes barely open ,
through a world of make believe .

Habor no disrespect for honest disbelief ,
when the flame burns brilliantly high
Awakening revelations rise like heat lightning
An impossible unseen illusion
for those who are blocked
by their own light

Just a mysterious inconvenience
waiting for the whole thing to blow apart
A subtle unnoticed interruption
like a shooting star in the foggy twilight
Emerging from the vanishing shadows
absorbed by the fading darkness taking flight

Some days we innocently stumble
Sometimes we trip and fall
      Smash into something good . . .
Hang on until its time to let go
Trying to wipe away the final teardrops
       is like squeezing blood out of a stone . . .

©harlon rivers

Just a single grain of the universe ...

secret sacred waters on high ...photo by harlon rivers

                           Just a single grain of the universe ...

I am the song from purling river bottom undulate currents 

sung with the feral voice a river overflowing  tears

awakened  to feel the ache a loneliness wash o’er 

deep big eddy’s swirling macrocosmic churn

  singingly soothing arrhythmic bouldered waters’ roll

silently smoothing prehistoric igneous stone

temporal memories' artifacts fade away simpatico

like sedimentary fingerprints insipidly erode 

ever-changing undercurrents ebb and flow

river-song coursing sweetly rogue to and fro

rolling down the cascading wild riverbed winding-road

unchained a higher rocky  mountain’s forked throne

the river's hallowed confluence --- spellbound oceans' beck and call

drawn by enamelled yellow moon’s gathering push and pull

metamorphosis incarnates the highest mountain’s stone’s throw

unto a single grain of distant shorelines’ heart and soul ...

© harlon rivers ... 6.16.2014

Traces of You ... a father's tribute ...republished

Traces of You ... a father's tribute

There are traces of you in the rainbow
Wisps of your vast colour palette, paint the mystical sky
The Song Sparrows’ song
reminds me of your melodic whistle in the summer breeze
The resolute silence your grounded soulful solitude implied.

There are traces of you in the rivers, where water falls from high
Where the ocean’s waves reach some distant shoreline
I hear the sound of your voice roar in the passing thunderstorm
Your love light shines like a moonlit troubadour.

There are traces of you in the garden
Many beautiful roses exposed your fragile side
Among the abundant blossoms, it’s effortless to imagine you here
Your peaceful spirit adorns this lovely space where love resides.

There are traces of you in the moonlit night
Glimpses of your shining heart are found in the infinite stars
Your aura is like the harvest moon’s angelic halo
A beacon of compassion for the indifference in other world’s apart.

There are traces of you in the early morning’s dew drops
In the amazing grace of the setting sun
Your thoughtful pondering evolved from life’s vast journey
An air of ardent calmness, quieting the fear and emotional fray inside.

There are traces of you in an old song
You fought for the light of truth with love,
With the fidelity of an iron fistful of mercy, in a velvet glove
The kind of muse that left me proud to be your son.

There are traces of your heart and soul
as your treasured memories grow afar
There are traces of your loving spirit in this smile
An ancient spiritual essence lives in every breath I take
Your devotion always walked with me the extra mile.

The merciful surrender of an unfinished journey,
Left traces of your verve in the depths of my soul
Those traces of love’s grasp make this life worth living
Infinitely, eternally, spiritually whole.

There are traces of you in this mirror
I see your vivid reflection in these eyes
Your every breath will always be cherished
Your life’s traces remain forevermore enfolded
within these teardrops in my eyes...

© 2012 ... Harlon Rivers

Authors notes:

Friday, June 13th, 2014 ...reposted- remembering Father's Day
Memories of My Father's Traces ... a tribute to my father

His influence inspires me to constantly strive
to be me a better human ...

"The mighty water falls...
landscapes this rivers great divide
Cascading walls of water soar and plunge...
From a silhouettes high and wide"
Centuries fleeting rivers flow
carved and shaped an ominous path
Fertile valleys hewn deep and wide
by raging waters wrath
This place was graced
through those centuries sage
My heart's ashes will rest strewn
where river waters yearn to pass"
...from "The River's Muse"

"Crossing Over"... The Final Voyage over the Columbia River Bar ... points beyond the Pacific Ocean" memories our final fishing trip---

linked below

http://harlonrivers.blogspot.com/2013/09/crossing-over-final-voyage-over.html

Honeysuckle Wild Rose Dawnbreak

Honeysuckle blossoms unfurl 
beneath a passion pink

wild rosy hued

daybreak  sky

Red Rooster crows

perched atop fencepost ,

echoing across

the harkening stillness floor ,..

“ there’s  something in the wisp ”

an avowedly heralded awakening ,

("cock-a-doodle-doo")

unto the evanescent stars’

looming sunlight  surrenders

the brilliant warmth approaching

first June lazy days ,

peeks up , up over

beyond near mountain high's

strewn shadow

underneath  

tendrils yawn

and

         stretch out - - - - -

let loose from eventide’s

waning shadowed grasp ,

leaning into

arising solar glister

dew drops wending downward

gathered crystalline teardrops

spilled upon

spangled earthen sod

suckles quench

buttercup petal’s rousing

golden yellow hue

morning sunbeams stimulating ;

spring fragrance glorifies

each and every

enthralling moment’s

heart awakened gifts

rapt ,..

reality is a dream

honeysuckle kisses

unwrapped blossoms

perfumed flowers bouquet

so stirringly pungent ,

breathtakingly poignant

yet ,..

so sweet the musing synergy

intimate memories ,

of impassioned pink

wild rose daybreaks

and ,..

salty apple blossom jasmine scent

honeysuckle wild rose coalesce

spicy alluring waft drifting

a spell casting elixir …

harlon rivers ... June 2014

just a tear or stardust in my eyes ?

Heart whispers throb

amidst a chasm too vast to fill

even in the muted pause ,

a stillness of ardent reflection ,

there seems a question 

breathed searchingly ,

demurely exhaled 

echoes into a contemplative 

hollow silence

Had renewed hope 

only been a tantalizing thrill ;

a cosmic glint 

enlightening the chill

shadowed void ?

Unrelenting 

entrancing traces , 

had fleetingly flashed past ...

Could it have been

a shooting star, 

an angel of mercy , 

a bluebird ,
or perhaps ,

a fragile butterfly ~ 

alas ,.. 

brushed by with 

sublime rapturous aura ; 

yet without fleshly touch ,

clearly,
an accidental 

enchanting flutterbye 

just a dream ,.. 

just a dream ,.. 

just a dream ,..

just a why ,..

life subsided , 

diminished , 

recurred vanilla

these days 

a circadian rhythm ,

seasons minutiae

the rise and fall
of the subtle tides

just a tear
   or stardust ,..
in my eyes ?



1st cup Tuesday... rivers

Note:    circadian rhythm; biological temporal rhythms, such as daily, tidal, weekly, seasonal, and annual rhythms, is called chronobiology. Although circadian rhythms are endogenous ("built-in", self-sustained), they are adjusted to the local environment by external cues , commonly the most important of which is daylight.
wiki...

"Mystic Desert Rivers" ...reprise

Crawling across the arid cactus wilderness
Chasing nothing but blue skied impossible dreams  
He followed the utopia of a wild exotic river wide
Meandering effortlessly through his mind made mirage  
Rippling downstream along sweltering cactus shoreline
Beneath the scorching azure desert sky
Flowing at the speed of loneliness 
Fleeting towards the refreshing Ocean’s tide

He searched charily through a labyrinth of chimera
While standing deliriously on the brink a sublime      
Spiny leaves awakened all sense of uncertainty
Mystic static air excites his sun wilted eyes
Enticing infinite reborn senses thrive alive
Rousing imagination’s magical archive reveries
Enkindling a cornucopia of inflamed reprise

A daydream of an erotic fragrant, vibrant flower
Pricking his heart with her natural delicate demure,
Drawing blood with her coquettish cactus quills
Tantalizing a figment a poignant hallucination's thrill
Inching slowly, slithering silently,
Sensibilities frayed, heart on his sleeve
Too thirsty to drink, once bitten, twice shy

Lingering at the crossroads of an exotic oasis
The illusion a nomatic basin river courses on
Zigzags, winds turning far, deep and wide
Swerves amongst mysterious tantalizing desert flora
Hidden bashfully behind a sun faded shadow's disguise,
Her taproot in a desert spring’s bedrock
Her beauty reflected in the shine twinkling in his eyes

A prairie wolf paces on the distant horizon
Vultures are gliding in the arid desert skies
Silhouettes gracefully soaring in hazy solar disguise
Coyote, was just listening to the ethers' muted sighs
The blustering wind howled the gathering dust
Blowing the drifting barren sand astir
Over the lonesome travelers’ trail of wanton lust
Caught-up in her sticky tangled web trying to free her

"Taunt and tease Prickly Pear blossom
Share the simple life of the prairie breeze
I’m crawling through pebbles and cobbles
Over bedrock through sand dune fields to the sea
Drawn to your fertile spring water oasis surprise
The thirst quenching splendors of your dalliance astir,
The impassioned esprit your abundant soul set me free"...

May 21, 2014 ...rivers reprise ©

 

Garden of the Heart and Soul

Garden of the Heart and Soul 

. . . by Harlon Rivers

There is a place where love grows

In the garden of my soul

There is a place where light shines

In the oasis of a beautiful mind

The mind tends innately

To the spirit of the soul

In combination, all together in symmetry

They all have made a humble life whole

There is this place where love flows like a river

In the wellspring within my heart

Where raindrops quench a hallowed thirst

Bequeathed by loves gentle tears befall heaven's rain

They stream , cascade a nourishing mist

Refreshing the garden and all it’s vibrant botanical soul

The rhythm the heartbeat of the universe

Manifest the pulse, the pace, the harmony,

This peaceful verve inside an earthly vessel’s whole

There is a soulspring uprising

The garden of a human heart

Surrounded by season’s a plethora of amazing grace

Daphne’s fragrance in late winter,

Crimson roses bloom enrich spring provenance

Gardena’s pungent alluring aroma sings

White orchids throughout all heart’s ripen sighs

Lilly of the Valley’s sweeten bouquet stirs the night

Awakening the slumbering stillness unto delight

There is a thorn tree in the garden ,

Thistles from fear and doubt’s shadowed reign

The seeds were sown in lovelorn dimness ,

Scattered recklessly, carelessly strewn astray

Penetrating barbs pang a misbegotten memories’ ache

Pricked punctures assuaged hidden deep within the soul

Wilted dried flowers lament the way

Moonbeams once glistened heirloom petals

Nature’s healing balm flourishing life when decomposed

There is a time when autumn compass culminates

When the leaves shall waft and web

There comes a moment with waning breath

Within the garden of the soul

The setting sun will diminish entwine the dusk

When a beautiful mind will no longer shine

As natural as the circle of life sustaining growth

The time for going home

Who will tend this universe garden ?

From beginning without end ?

When darkness befalls into dormant repose

Will  gardener’s inherent rays of hope radiate new life ?

Into the winter tide’s starlit heaven’s skies ?

Who will harvest eternal love sown ?

Love cultivated in this Eden paradise

Was ne’r mine to hold

The soul of this grateful seasoned gardener

Soars eternally higher , fly free beyond the bounds ,

Uplifted by the wings of love ...

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

... an additional new poem written and published May 18th, 2014

" To the bird on a wire with song " 
♫♪♪♫♪
by harlon rivers

http://melancholyrivers.blogspot.com/2014/05/to-bird-on-wire-with-song.html

...defusing the sounds of silence

...defusing the sounds of silence

Birds fly low just atop

impearled dew drops

Mother earth's

uprising misty breath

Daybreak diffusing

dappled moonbeams

hazy shadows

Scattering yesternight’s dream

fusion mingled light

The dawn moving mountains ;

the dawn removing the night

Morning’s whispered birdsong

lilts lightly, skipping sprightly,

amongst its melodic chirruping throng

Violet-green Swallows

fly low just atop

mother's uprising misty breath

...defusing the sounds of silence

© harlon rivers ...May 11 , 2014

A Mazy Heart Laid Bare

 A Mazy Heart Laid Bare

♥

Heaven's rain cleanse away the guise
these disquieting storm clouds ,
my being feels like realms beyond the sun
Sail away these dark shadows cast abound me
ne’r allow the light this inner soul fade dim

An eternal circle turns , courses unbroken ,
await another ardent heart come by here
No hesitation beyond a moment’s simple awakening
resplendent key unlock what truly lies within

There is more than laid bare a mazy heart’s visage
the essence a humble amorous enigma within
Beyond these avowed words , between the lines
the bitter sweet truth unveiled ,..
beheld a demure poet’s solace muddled sighs

In the silence thrums a poignant , throbbing resonance
a lonely heart beats with a thundering torn
Eyes wide open one day blinded eyes might see
only the lonely know ,.. love unconditionally bestowed

These days the lair enfolds quiet solitude
breeds a patient , yet loathed , discontent
Understanding an unassuming comfort earned
accepting each gift our imperfections make one whole

The ache of what’s past is no longer blinding
what once befogged this here and now can be
Circle closer from a distance those waning glances
where you've walked alone makes you who you see

Embrace the long imperfect journey's byway
hold on the foundation we stand firm upon
The search for renewal unfolds purposeful one love
the roots that bind the bedrock of the soul

Parting clouds endow a radiant light that shines on ;
arouse the shining nimbus another lonely soul unmasked
Sensibilities refreshed by verve’s uprising
one love is the key unlock the chains that bind

A long road to get here, to awaken in the dream ,
reveal the wholehearted goodness love can sing
Come by here the moment of love awaiting
surrender this meeting of hearts and minds

Hear the voice within the silent reverie
singing supplications a lost soul
Sung for everything the heart yearns ,
     given to love in the silence for loves sake ,..
for everything the heart needs

♥ ♥

© Harlon Rivers ...May 8th, 2014

Cosmic Clouds of Dandelion Wishes

What would become of dreams if we keep them hidden ?

I . . .

The puff of breeze gathered a hazy gossamer cloud
fuzzy blowballs rising afloat like rainbow balloons fly higher
a million ripe dandelion florets mushroom skyward
unleashed kites sail behind clouds breath - -
sweetly poignant lilac fragrance whelms the Spring air
as white organic feathery filament flit , wishes strewn awhirl ,
frolicking with the cadence of uplifting windsong ;
her yearning heart’s fine pappus traces lifted alive ,
a dreamfullness blown aloft by wish infested lips

II . . .

Wishfulness whimsically sown about in the wind
for to reap the will of heart’s desires
white doves fly on hallowed wings of hope's genesis
transcendent sensibilities escape uncommonly
unto the wistful wafting cosmos
scattered felicity flows blissfully

in the blustery wanderlust airstream
chimera entwined in the prevailing updraught 

of sublime possibilities
where eddies swirl in ether places ,
swellen with wished upon stardust ,
buoyant with glittering dreaminess ;
overspill a moonstruck stardust
that testifies when she’s near

III . . .

In the whoosh her simple life - breath exhaled ,
imagination joyfully comes to life
lamentable dreams could have been ; could be
lost yens can come to pass lightly
it’s never as good as it is , and it’s never as bad as it is
love must come naturally , unfurl without bounds ;
however fleeting , the moment of love never disappoints
if the pathway climbed never reached an epic apex
mountains stand tall , majestic ,
await each new aspiring dawn
it’s never too soon to surrender souls to touch ;
it’s never too late to forage another passageway ,
manifest into an untrodden higher ground . . .

IV . . .

Gently awakened from a dream by a warm spring chill
while lying back in the tall grass where wild Iris bob and sway
            . . . . . . yawning , . . . . .
looking upward towards the sun soaked sky ,
as something in the gentle whispering breeze
tickles enrapt earlobes , . .
a puff of breeze drifts past lazily
arousing hazy clouds of dandelion float seeds
animating , mesmerizing up , . . up , . . sail away wishes
spiring , sleepy, dream fraught eyes
ascending towards the endless heavens ' azure

 . . . . . . . remembering how you love to believe dreams do come true
             smiling with wish infested lips as wishes float away
             foreshadowing anticipation soars to life ~




©Harlon Rivers . . . May 1 , 2014

"Love grows by giving .
The love we give away is the only love we keep .
The only way to retain love is to give it away ."

Elbert Hubbard

A Soul of Unfaceted Gemstones

Geode photo by Harlon Rivers

A Soul of Unfaceted Gemstones  

Thunderegg’s unbroken orb lies in hidden wait ,

beyond the mineral curtain’s veil

Undetected glittering beauty beheld

beneath nature’s cleaver guise

The rough textured sphere of the geode

coarse crust cloaks a nebulous mystery

The unidentified iridescent splendor within

bejewels like the magic of

muted heart’s unspoken murmurs

Languid unheeded shine ,

lusterless as an unturned river stone

A forlorn unfaceted diamond in the rough ,

insphered quartz crystalline repose

Agate bloodstone transforms by hands touch

awakening life-breath of Spring sunlight

shown into unsullied darkness

Lightning buried igneous gemstone purple vein ,

Soul lattice longs to metamorphose aglow

spirit of love percolating of destiny’s purpose

touch of thy erupting light upon opening palms …

©  Harlon Rivers ... April 24th, 2014

image by Tommy Ingberg

~   ~   ~   ~   ~ 

.... also , another newly published poem by Harlon Rivers

"Lightning can strike twice" 

from The Diary of the Falling Dominoes chapters

http://melancholyrivers.blogspot.com/2014/04/lightning-can-strike-twice.html

Sunlight in the Soul's Wine

Sunlight in the Soul's Wine

Flutter away without restraint

Beloved unchained heart

O love hold me sway

Trussed subtly by hope’s rein !

Enchantment breach inapt gravity

Ascend beyond soothing cosmic warmth ,

Where ether sunbeam’s brighten

Enlightened eyes wide open ,

Cleansed by teardrops flow ,

Aspiring to gather dreams that steal away

Prevailing undercurrents uplift

The wished for moments

Streaming aloft life's passing tides’ ebb and flow

Recurrent tears have washed the colour of life pale

Breathe within this ashen silence , a new air ,..

How the enchanting work of love enhances nature’s 

Bringing nascent souls tendrils touch

As wild vines do twine and bud about Spring rouse

There’s a muted voice within that must be sung

Let sunlight shine in the soul’s wine

Taste of it’s own fermenting fruit of the vine …

Harlon Rivers ...April 2014

#love #hope #soul shine #heart