Empty Skies

Roiling puffs, in streaks, spread
boiling over in bleak blue above,
drown the skies in their dreary gray,
strangling hue from abandoned roadsides.

Cold, thick air wavers, flows
twisting and howling, then fading;
a lightless river beneath a muffled sun
washing our will away with its weight upon us.

The drip-drop chases footsteps away
silencing the bustle, leaving pavement cleared
where brilliant, bountiful hordes would stand before.
Where they fear to tread today.

In empty world, quiet, quivering
with ranks of men in shelter, sorrowed
mourning an unlit morning, I marvel
at a murky, mellow, sunless sky
trudging through drizzle with a forgotten smile.

Redundancy is Poetic (?)

This. Is. A Villanelle!!

Among shadows past, hung low
As seen in tomes of knowledge grim
To unseen worlds within, I go.

And step, beyond the veil's moonglow
To stand, past stone, on night sky's rim
Among shadows past, hung low

I strain, against the ice void's flow
Escape from frozen sea, world's trim
To unseen worlds within, I go.

And dream to crash to stone below
Find warmth and friendship at the brim.
Among shadows past, hung low.

Cast to barren world alone, I slow
Wandering with distant thoughts slim
To unseen worlds within, I go.

Again, on plain of driven snow
Pining for a new life to skim
Among shadows past, hung low
To unseen worlds within, I go.

[sigh....it sucks...I shouldn't have chosen such awkward phrases to be repeated, due to a Villanelle's organizational pattern, in every other stanza. Just not suited for this kind of form...]

Acceptance

In mortal frame, passions withdrawn, I stand
Ever silent, cold and weeping
As man of mud and dust, black soul, dark land
Claim inner flame, mind still sleeping

Triumphant over human flesh, exalted
I sit dreaming, preaching, shouting
Of life beyond where sense is halted
Knowing, seeing, face death without routing.

Yet think of what it means to be
Men composed of flesh, bone and blood merely
Whose thoughts still ring, whose eyes still see
Who can dream, and feel, and think despite me.

Transcendant, foolish, too eager to fade away
I lie, wishing for a life that I once could not stay.

Faith

Greet the morning, old friend
Your faint slumber doesn't fool me
You are no more worn withered than I
Open your eyes, abandon pity

Speak with your optimism, forgotten
Tell me again of dreamt eternity
Stand, and let the ceiling quiver
Walk, and talk of never stopping.

Time has changed you and I, it seems
Arrogance and bravado, faded, gone
I wish I could long for youth anew
Though I doubt you see the sacrifice.

We share the shame illness, you always said
Reclaim your youth with weary bones
Seize life with conviction, as you commanded me
Or lie in the bed that you made yourself.

Perhaps you are worse than you imagined
For all your joy, wracked with hate
For all your pride, stained with guilt
Yet, I'll let you sleep now, self-forgiven.

Farewell

Dirt-choked runnels scramble down dark asphalt
Supported by the torrent spraying from gray skies
Assailing mortal frames with silvered spears
Weighing down shirts and souls
With the burden of the clouds.

Against shadow-soaked streams I tread
Between somber, looming buildings, empty windows staring
Creaking with glee at my frantic cries into cacophany
Running past, still forever near them
Welcoming me a thousand times, with a new facade.

As sun dies beyond the canopy of clouds
And a rosy flicker paints the flooded streets
I see her, with umbrella's shielding, standing
Eyes colder than the storm, untouched by heaven's tears
I watch her fade into the distance
As I collapse with a smile.

The Curse of Revelation

Powdery feathers flutter on abandoned shelves
Fanning forth the dust of ages, clarity renewed
Yawning tomes stripped of concealing layers, revealed
With text revived from the ravages of time.

Beneath weathered flame, in darker times
How the faded words, obscured in accumulation
Seemed to string falsehoods, to arise jumbled
Speaking messages so far from the truth within the pages.

Yet, with flame born anew, in full light
I see plainly these old words, stains on a white rag
New messages, callous to my forsaken youth
Indifferent to my childhood spent listening to mistakes.

New bumps, new curves, discard simplicity
The once dead words, revived, leave my memories in their stead
Awaken and rejoice, as truth prevails
Even if it leaves us sullen afterwards.