Winter Nights by The Fire, Karis Vail [year 7 reading list .txt] 📗

DECEMBER'S END

With candles lit
Upon eight nights,
See snow angels
In snowball fights.

Naked trees,
Tall ashen trunks,
Cold breath blowing
Winters months.

Fire sparks
On tendered logs,
White snow blankets,
New Year’s Nog.

Trees aglow
Twinkle bright lights,
Families gather,
Futures bright.

Mama’s caps,
Woolen mittens,
Frost and snowmen,
One year written.

GROWTH

Something exciting is happening.
Meaningful.
Profound.
Could it be?
Might it be?
Please G-d let it be,
That the healing is truly sound.

The tears I have shed,
The pain I have bled,
The emotions I have fed,
Have given way
To new LIFE.
To peace.
To comfort.
And quiet in my very tired head.

MOMENT BY MOMENT

In that moment,
your hands tremble. Deep longing.
They move ~ searching to replace the loneliness.
Your passion filled kiss, such fervor,
must link a past of denial and heartache.

In this moment,
you seek, you fill the void ever present.
I feel the emptiness of your heart,
it connects, touching my own.
You stretch to pull me close ~ I succumb willingly,
a hostage hungry to fill my own voids
and hopeful to do the same for you.

In any moment,
we share yearning for reward and
ache for contentment and peace.
As we rebound from pain and anger
to seek out solace in one another,
our hope in a clear reality.

Softly, the new dance. Pray we find the meaning,
of the life we seek. Bitter real. Bitter sweet.
AWAKENING

REAWAKENING

I continue to be captivated by the way
you caress my face and
with the intensity that your eyes hold mine.

The brilliant blue sea of your gaze
has me tumbling in waves
and immersed in emotions that
transcend the years we have not yet encountered,
but hauntingly experienced.

The brush of your nose against mine,
the warmth of your skin as it glides over and across me,
your smell, your voice, your hands…
all that you give of yourself
moves and sustains me ~
whether I am right beside you
or at a distance with only thoughts of you.


My lover, my dear sweet kind and gentle friend ~
you elicit a passion deep within my soul and
selflessly embrace what I, in turn, have to give to you.

You have created a safe haven for me
in which I can fully express who I have kept at bay.

You have unlocked the protective vault
where my heart has resided ~
where the whole essence of my being has remained and
where the truths that I so desire to live have been hidden.

You have gifted me with a reawakening ~ and for this,
I love the man that you are to me.


SLOW DANCE

Too fast ~ too much ~ too soon.

The natural evolution of this relationship has been
put on fast forward and somewhere in the
whirlwind pace we overlooked the beauty of slow dancing.

While the intensity is as appreciated as it is real,
neither of us appear truly prepared for the impact
of the emotions that have been stirred with such immediacy.

Do we know or feel too much to take a step back and
now honor the process of time we disregarded
in favor of being in the moment and all it offered?

Or will that prove as difficult as the recognition of
what has come to pass between us already?

Will meeting in between spontaneity and deliberation
kill the spirit that resides within each of us?


Or are we willing to take the risk and discover
what the future ~ our future ~ may hold
in the midst of the compromise?

Of this I am sure ~ you, and all you have given, thus far
is more than enough for me
to continue to uncover that which may
hold the promise of fulfillment in my life.

And you? Are you willing to be my partner in this slow dance?


TIME PASSES

Time passes ~ moving as slowly and painfully
as the dragging of the knife pressed against my skin.
To hasten ~ to move it quickly, sharply,
and without consideration
could render me lifeless, with no breath left.

The ticking of each moment echoes in my head ~
the noise and pace, both unbearable.
It is as if each breath I draw may be my last ~
until slowly, finally,
I take another.

Another moment slips by.
With the knife I am left ~
lingering, hesitatingly on the precipice of decision.
Shall I wait? Breath?
Or hurriedly, cut through time?


DRIFTING

OLD MAN WINTER

Autumn has left us, her colorful grace swept aside
leaving behind only the scent of sweet burning brush.
Winter is now upon us taking no prisoners and
pounding it home that he has the upper hand.

This master of darkness and chill ~ so powerful
that he can cast a wearisome spell on some.
Victims of his noose-like grip, they barely cease to exist
until the seductive goddess of Spring can bring them back to life.

Others find pleasure in toying with the elements
that fall upon them, mocking the unpredictability of the Old Man.
Knowing his disposition may change at any moment,
they remain vigilantly alert ~ on guard ~ prepared.

They shall not be taken hostage, not this year.


INNER PEACE

Inner peace . . .
Quiet and yet powerful
Roaring with beauty and strength.

Breathing life's energy
From the core and manifesting throughout
as calm joy and knowing centeredness.

Inner peace . . .
That which contains, not consumes,
daily thoughts and meditations.
A soulful reunion of all that is heart
and all that is head.

A clarity that oneness is
indeed the embodiment of
all things from then until now.


Inner peace . . .
The salvation from life’s damning.
A changing of black into an
infinite spectrum of light and color.
Surrounding, cloaking a heart healing
and a life renewing.
Settling pandemonium
and aligning with G-d.

Inner peace . . .
A sanctuary that breeds contentment
and champions for change.
One soul, one heart . . . naked, open,
vulnerable but safe.
Released and free
Absorbing the lessons
to grow and be strong.

Inner peace . . .
Seek it ~ breath it ~ live it.


THE OTHER LOVER

Is your gaze engaged holding your lover?
Or your lids a screen ~ glimpsing another?

Is there intense passion like the other?
Or voided space filled as you recover?

And your lover’s intent? Yours together?
Heartstrings matched? Or convincing each other?

Is your slumber sound lying beside her?
Knowing she chose you over another?

Have you visions of them? Thoughts that hover?
Hidden agendas to be discovered?

Will this be the one? Lifting cloud cover?
Lasting love found unlike all the others?

Consider your heart ~ what will it weather?
What was the need that brought you together?

Is your gaze engaged holding your lover?
Or your lids a screen ~ us

under covers?


FORTRESS

HEALED WOUNDS

HOMECOMING GOODBYE

Sorrow today. Love not spared.
Hope. You and I might’ve shared.
UP. Dreams soared high.
Home. Plans to only try.
Future. Filled with you.
Tears. Remind me too.

EMOTE

Rip.
Tear.
Stomp.
Shred.
Do what you need to get it out of your head.
Cry.
Laugh.
Wail.
Guffaw.
Let the emotions flow ~ keep them pure and raw.
Memories.
The worst.
Memories.
The best.
Hold on to what works but leave the rest.
Pray.
Chant.
Meditate.
Relax.
Keep it Simple and just Keep Coming Back.


MY LOVELY HEART

LOVE THYSELF

Of all loves lost and the loves gained ~
is there real growth without the pain?

To love and lose and love again ~
a poignant place that I have been.

Missteps made, shadows of my doubt ~
is wisdom gained from them throughout?

Yes, lessons learned have made me whole ~
to fill my heart, enrich my soul.

I choose not misery to wear ~
coats of armor, burdens to bear.

Loving myself is no small feat ~
though paramount to be complete.

Years to learn, more to comprehend ~
love thyself to love once again.


SKIPPING STONES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karis