spring 2000

A Poetry Suite ~Dusk's Dawn | home

spring 2000

Featured poets: Chad R. Dobson , Eugene Salganik , G.L.Verge , G.L.Verge (2), Jimmie R. Pennington, Lorraine VanDyke, M. Laudenslager , Marlene Malon , Michael Levy , Myst Man, Paul Sexton , Timothy Chandler

The School of Life by Lorraine VanDyke

Sometimes I've felt that life was cruel:

On fate I laid the blame.

But then one day God showed to me

A rainbow through the rain.

And looking back I realize

I had no right to storm.

For now I know that God has placed

On every rose a thorn.

I've learned to live through heartache;

My soul has grown through pain;

For life besides the sunshine,

Must also have some rain.

Some precious dreams have shattered.

Lie hopeless at my feet;

But I have learned to conquer

Because I've known defeat.

No gold would ever glisten,

Nor highly valued be,

If it were not for the burning

That brings forth purity.

So all the things I thought were bad

I see were best for me:

I was not born to live a day

But for eternity!

So finally I understand;

I see the faith I lack.

For on my Tapestry of Life

God is working from the back.

©Lorraine VanDyke

PEN IN HAND by Jimmie R. Pennington

I would like to take pen in hand

And write the perfect verse

To touch the heart of every man

Oh- if only I could converse

The thoughts of freedom sought

Within the children's eyes

Throughout the world far and nigh

To warn that hatred wrought

Within a single thought

Lingers still in twilight years

If only I could write away their tears

Give to them the words of peace

While still in tender youth

If only I could put to words

The need of wishes not yet heard

Of hope and simple truth

To write the perfect verse

Of freedom throughout the universe

Of peace within the soul of man

With nothing more than pen in hand

(For The Children)

DEEP ELLUM SUNRISE by Paul Sexton

We were swept up,

like tales of timeless romance.

From crowded festival sidewalk scene

into back alley parking lot dreams.

Where we found our cars

OUT OF ONE THOUSAND CARS

parked side by side.

Where we found

that the simple touch of skin on skin

could create synaptic explosion.

Where we found

that when certain people

look long into each others eyes

not a million spoken words

not a million written sentences

can say as much.

Even as a Buddhist

the notion of past lives

was never completely real to me

until now that is

because I must have known you

somewhere, sometime before.

That strange blue light

that made red roses seem purple

radiating through wide open window

in cozy little candle lit restaurant

captured your silky smooth skin

and sexy soft moist eyes

frozen in time

like stop motion flashbulb imagery,

forever remembered

like the great beauties of antiquity.

Like Gwenivere, Cleopatra or Helen of Troy

here you were in the flesh

all they were and more.

You have the primal energy

of a sensual exciting young girl

and the substance, grace, and soul

of an independent, somewhat balanced, woman

You are my fantasies realized.

I am excited by the sound of your voice,

the touch of your skin, the smell of your hair,

the look in your eyes, the feel of your lips

the expressions on your face

the words that you speak

the feelings you feel

the thoughts that you think

the pure energy that flows from you

and pours in to me!

I am completely and overwhelmingly

excited by you.

You are day by day by night by night

by moment by moment, new life.

When I'm with you, there is no future.

When I'm with you there is no past.

Only the here

only the now

only the us,

and it FEELS like enough.

And still

the image of that first night

that first magic night

is haunting.

Standing by parked car at 6:00 am

chilly wind blowing

through silent abandoned streets

and our EMBRACE

seemed timeless.

I reached out and touched your face

so very gently

and tilted you toward the light

of a mystic DEEP ELLUM sunrise

and in that pale blue light I saw

one thousand

unwritten poems

lingering

in your eyes.

Paul E Sexton 3

written by Chad R. Dobson Serene is the boone of love Making it on the beach Flutes In her midst A tender sequence of notes Serene Shies away and buries her breast in the sand © written by Chad R. Dobson

DARKNESS AND LIGHT by G.L.Verge

Darkness

Creeps in, blots out the sun.

A foul, cold, pounding rain

Descends with fury,

Upon upturned leaves

Thirsty for its pummeling.

Clouds; Ominous, rumbling

Ablaze with fires of light,

Imprison grasslands

Forests and hearts.

The sun,

Denied visitation

Patiently waits.

These vaporous beasts

Will spit their last breath.

Storms like darkness are transient;

They grumble and try but never stay.

The omnipotent sun returns the day.

Darkness is strong, its claws cut deep.

However,

Like a rained-out cloud on a

Cleansing breeze,

It must give way to the sun's warm

Light.

Winter's Dance by Myst Man

As all is subdued in a snow born last night,

such silence, such calm, as my heart slows

in cadence to it all,

Winter's breath has wrapped itself tightly

to the tree I planted in Fall's haste of

leaf turning against the last of summer's gasp,

With sparrows' footprints sewn in a narrow line

on the snow of our tomorrow,

The wind you found cold and I call my friend,

sings through the old pine branches as fingers

on a harp,

All in vain as its music desires a Winter dance

on the sheet of white floor it made for me

for you, beckoning that hands entwine with

a full moon to witness and shine upon,

And as the nearby river crashes over rock and

pebbled floor, a symphony evolves to pace

our feet to,

Fog of breath exhaled into arms and cling of

chest to chest, all things grow warmer . . .

In a Winter's Dance.

Irish Blessings By: Marlene Malon

The land of emerald calls to us on high. Shining through lovely Irish eyes. With a bit of luck inside a pot of gold. Little angels peek from under a green clover. And bless our dreams one thousand fold.

FAITH by Timothy Chandler

Freak TV and porn with colours that'll kill,

Have you had your share today? Do you feel you got your fill?

Or is there something more that screams from deep inside.

Something old as age a resemblance of pride,

Can you hear the distant voice? Crying like the child,

The whisper of a memory, like warriors of the wild.

A time when we would talk with minds attuned akin,

Good and bad life and death without the crutch of sin,

Now we teach our children how to count to ten,

To memorize and calculate with no time for now and then,

Our thoughts become our tools with which to find success,

And with each dollar earned our peace is less and less,

We turn to faith for love when love creates the faith,

We kill each other's children and blame it on their race,

We seek our god's forgiveness atonement swift and just,

And with each dollar earned we buy a bit more lust,

We hold aloft our reasoning be it Satan god or science,

And justify our actions with the perception of compliance,

And if each day you battle with the necessities of life,

Don't give up the faith and don't believe the hype,

We have to see this world is ours no more yours than mine,

And stop counting endless days with misconceptions of time,

Whatever your god, race, or creed we all know right from wrong,

Find your pride and live for good and know that you belong.

The Soul's Muse By: Marlene Malon

I call upon my inspirational muse. And listen to my hearts song play. The music that my soul cannot refuse. 'Tis not a choice on any given day. I listen with resonance of innocent ears. Giving credence to the soul's will first. Then graciously release all collective fears. In creation derived from my artist's thirst.

SEEDS OF GOODNESS by Michael Levy

Gentle beings riding on the wings of time,

harmonious cords forever upwards they do climb,

Encountering bliss with every note they entwine,

the seeds of goodness grown on Holy vine.

Celestial crops on Planet Eden's soil,

souls sprouting human form, from spirits magic foil,

clouds of volcanic ash creation on the boil,

days of splendor within a wizards joyful toil.

Lightening of might injecting intelligence of light,

rainbows of joy infusing colors beyond sight,

prisms in raindrops, gems of mystical wealth,

birds of paradise in fields of infinite health,

Simplicity of life in meadows of pure potential,

exotic senses explode in the juices of the sensual

gardens of delight, happiness grown in God's strength,

bouquet of beauty embedded in one's own true self.

website: Michael Levy: Author Poet Philosopher

Perfection by M. Laudenslager He who walks with grace, Possesses an angelic face. The mere sight of him Touches me in some dark place. Such danger to ponder, My mind's in endless wonder, Could this be love? The slightest scent of him sends me reeling, What is this strange feeling that he deals me. Few can equal his height, Beside me he stands, In comparison I seem so meek. Oh, how he makes my knees weak With a passionate kiss or loving glance. My heart never stood a chance. Hair as black as the darkest night, Eyes like the richest chocolate, Is he Mister Right? How I admire his broad shoulders, Strong yet gentle arms, Which keep me safe from harm, And on the coldest of nights They keep me ever so warm. Never have I met a man with such heavenly charm. To walk with him among the lush green forest, Such a thought makes me blush. I feel so strange, What is this feeling I cannot comprehend? We sit together on the mountaintop Watching the setting sun over the distant horizon, Many wondrous hues Reds and blues, But above and beside me All I can behold is absolute beauty. Our lips tenderly meet, The taste so lusciously sweet. A kiss of his soft lips Conveys and intimate passion. No other could ever compare. He possesses such looks That contain an immense loving adoration, Which penetrates the depths of my soul. A quiet voice that speaks with candor And still retains a gentle manner. His caress is masculine, Yet remains incredibly tender, Creating in me some secret splendor. Heaven made us to fit together Like pieces of a puzzle glued forever. © M. Laudenslager - Spring 1999		PASTURES By G.L.Verge I awoke on a pasture of velvet Cool, moist and green. I had slept on a bed of petals, Brightly perfumed but unseen. Now given voice with colors that sing By Sol's morning glory and the life he brings. Unwrap this day. Let it start. Play it out slowly ‘till I depart. Grant me time to enjoy the day, let it stay morning, keep noon at bay. Euphoria unbounded at noon not been, I lingered and listened to the day quite keen. Neither joyful sight nor mournful plea will cease Sol's journey to the sea. He passed over, as did noon, when rainbows of dusk, beckoned the moon. The dew soaked day, it did allow the fiery master, his head to bow. My palette of wonder; this tranquil lush lea will paint night-found fantasies of things to be. Inhaling nature's caress, I did laze, awaiting a dream-filled, moonlit haze. Where the moon comes hence, near a mist covered lake and a white picket fence, lies a young dreamer, whom sleep had taken, his night near over must soon awaken. He has slept on a field of dreams, colored by joys of memories been. A smooth skinned beauty, her virginal kisses, her muse-like impetus is what he misses. Whether things to be or memories been, we dream on life's pasture cool moist and green. © G.L.Verge

For only a moment by Eugene Salganik

In the deepest fog I saw thee

Your eyes shone like emeralds in the dark sea

For a brief moment time stopped

A goddess, the glorious Venus, the goddess of love

A creation like no other of god's children

You are as cold as a sentinel on a mid-winter's night

You are the princess of light even though you are shrouded in the darkness

For only a moment let me taste your salty lips

For only a moment let me feel your soft touch

For only an instant let me see you

You shine with a sierra essence, the highest order of the angel

No plebeian is the great queen and no coward is the man that stands before

her

You are what keeps me real

You are me vision, my dream

For only a moment let me steal a kiss

For only a moment let me touch your skin

For only an instant let me exist with you

Upon the sacred top of Olympus

You are my life, my dream, and my vision

I have always known thee

I have always loved thee

And now and forever let me say the truth

Lay the lies beneath a satin clothe

Lay the injustice and imagination beneath the earth

Forget the past and though shalt not block the passage which shant exist

You are the goddess atop a heavenly abyss

A scepter of truth and chronic divider

You are what separates the dreams and reality

Let me inside the walls of heaven

Just for a brief instance to see you again

A love, which was always there

Shall be sorted amongst my tawdry mind

Let me lay the shambles of my broken heart to sleep beneath the heaven's

ground

And let me lay there by your side in a place where time stands still

Let me wash my face with holy water

And for moment let me forget

For an instant with you I would give a lifetime

For a moment let me taste your salty lips

For a moment let me feel your silken skin

For a moment let me be

With you

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