Book Read Free

Petals of the Moon

Page 3

by C Churchill


  All in a day’s work

  Walking in pictures

  Away from the truth

   

  filters

   

  I was chained to the day

  Suffocating

  In a collar thicker than the skin it rested upon

  Twisted nonbelievers

  Told me I could never win

  I could never free

  Never begin

  Branded in this life

  In his death

  In a senseless act of violence

  Left widow

  And nonsense

  Try as I did

  I no longer fit in

  Widowed in name, in place, in friend

  I left the day

  Left it for them

  And took my place in the night

  Where collars were for lips

  And chains were nonexistent

   

  night calling

   

   

  Run with me

  Naked

  Under June skies

  As they release

  Rain a flood

  Run with me

  Naked

  Feel the clouds

  Free themselves

  We will lay the same

  On fields of pleasure

  Their release wetting ours

  Lay with me

  Flesh upon flesh

  Trickle down into shadows

  Filling our darkness

  Awakening a pulse

  That had forgotten its pace

  Lay with me

  As the sky washes us free

  From parched hearts

  From parched voids

  From a thirst

  Stay with me

  Naked

  Free

  In all things that are real

  Let the June sky

  Release a flood

  In lieu of flowers

   

  in lieu of flowers

   

   

   

  Let’s kiss our way

  Beyond the stars

  And spend time

  Exploring the universe

  The clocks will shift

  As they always do

  For those who

  Drink of the moon

  And swallow

  Forever

   

  kiss me

  One day I felt the earth tremble

  One day it did quake

  It tore love from my arms

  In a true force way

  There is no revenge

  There is no plotting

  For how we can battle the universe deciding

  So, we plant our feet and extend our reach

  Hoping the universe hears our plea

   

  screaming

  I walk along the road

  Wave to the passerby

  Smiling

  With unsteady eyes

  A common occurrence

  Yes, I know

  But awkward now in my timbers

  Those smiles for no one

  How obligatory

  I have become

  Blaming it on awkward

  A staple left hanging

  From another time

  Just far enough away

  To not cause damage

  The faded paint peels

  On this empty house

  And the only ones who see

  Smile

  And wave

  Fallen photographs collect dust

  On a floor

  Letting them know

  We don’t live here anymore

  For in everyday life

  There are many small deaths

  Brought on by the obligations

  Of awkwardness

   

  small deaths

   

  My darkness is growing lighter

  With every bridge I burn

   

  open skies

   

   

   

   

   

   

  The night has my throat

  A death tight grip

  Begging submission

  In every slip

  My torture

  My tears

  My tender misgivings

  I am learning to trust the hands of darkness

  And trying to breathe

  While suffocating

  Who will win?

   

  trust

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Full

   

   

  I remember

  The night I met the moon

  There were a million stars

  And silky layers of fireflies

  The grass was cool under my feet

  I remember

  The night the moon met me

  I was crumpled in tears

  There were no fireflies

  Nor silky layers

  There was grass under my feet

  And not much else

  Through blinding waves of tears and darkness

  The moon said stay

  And I remain

   

  no matter what

   

   

  Let me wander

  Let me free

  Let me out from the things we see

  Into the night please let me go

  Untie my hands from what I know

  Where I am

  Where I am supposed to be

  It is all too much

  For one soul to bear

  When the world looks sideways

  And forgets you are right there

   

  unseen

   

   

   

   

   

  I don’t know time

  Like I once did

  It’s been winter for more than a song

  The nights long

  The birds sleeping

  Blankets of white

  Echo spaces

  But I cannot say if it is midnight yet

  Or even Tuesday night

  I don’t know time

  Like I once did

  Thoughts are frozen

  Stilled

  On the banks of forever

  Losing change

  Like holed pockets

  From hands just trying to find warmth

  I don’t know time

  Like I once did

  Scrolling

  Instead of strolling

  The moon phases

  Phase

  The arms of every clock

  Blur in a daze

  I don’t know time

  Like I once did

  But I know my arms miss the minutes

  And I know my hands miss the warmth

  And I know

  I miss you

   

  always

   

   

   

  Ravens stretched

  Across my breath

  Feathers longing to get in

  They want this flight

  More than I

  But I am finally

  Ready to give in

   

  it’s time

   

   

   

   

   

  The sun warmed my heart

  But the moon warmed my soul

   

  moonchild

   r />
   

   

  If I sit

  For hours

  Take me

  Take me to the night

  Show me

  The birds that sing

  Under shadows

  Show me the moon glow

  Across webs we don’t see during the day

  Show me

  A magic I cannot see

  During the bustle of normalcy

  For the day holds tight

  And I cannot see past circumstance

  Where wee hours have held little charm

  I am now ready

  To experience

  Darkness

   

  fully

   

   

  When stars align

  And beauty has no price

  I wish my hand in yours

  We have fought clouds of fury

  Under the weight of backbones

  Bending

  Twisting

  To comply

  Lashed by the sun

  In all the wrong ways

  Driven into the night

  This passion plays

  Not for the weak

  Not for the weary

  But reserved for those

  Who seek true beauty

   

  true beauty

   

   

  His hands

  Had no quiver

  Steady as the horizon

  Over curves of heartache

  They traveled

  But my body could not compete

  Earth quakes

  Earth shakes

  Memories of unsteady hands and wavering glances

  Plagued me

  I had wanton eyes before

  As well as wanton hands

  But I have never had these hands

  These eyes

  Steady

  Assured

  Knowing a place

  Knowing a future

  The universe had spoken

  Placed a pulse in my path

  One to hold my nights

  One to hold my gaze

  But I could not look

  I could not see

  I was ritual

  He was free

  And I spoke in terms

  While he spoke in energy

  Two fish out of water

  Searching for common air

  I wonder if we can

  Ever learn to breathe

   

  learning

   

   

   

   

   

   

  We are all monsters

  We are all saints

  Maybe that is everyone’s fate.

   

  nonexclusive

   

   

   

   

   

  I have been calloused

  Beyond a labor life

  Hardened beyond acceptable

  My walls a labyrinth

  No seeker has yet found

  I wait in the center of this maze

  On a throne with no name

  Ruling the sky of little place

  The smaller it gets

  The less I know

  I still rule

  That is the only way to go

  I support these walls

  This kingdom

  Of no one

   

  stubborn

   

   

  The trees have been bent

  In a heart shaped vise

  Someone has stolen their sun

  For the love of the moon

  For the love of the night

  Who is to say they will not grow?

  For now, they form a beautiful

  Whole

   

  whole

   

   

   

   

  When sleep doesn’t come

  I hear your name

  I have pushed you back to the recess

  You don’t arrive on time

  You never did

  Only when I am bleeding want

  From my eyes

  From my soul

  Only then you arrive

   

  a text or two later

   

   

   

  I thought I lost my purpose

  I thought I lost my way

  I gave a dollar change

  For a penny play

  Breaking up windows

  Slamming doors

  I forgot my purpose

  Wasn’t their way

  I gave rage and heartache

  A brand-new face

  When I lost every bit

  Of assumed grace

  On that dark day

  When the clouds came home

  They expected a widow forlorn

  When they assumed my fire would die

  I slammed the door but did not cry

  For this fire within won’t let me lie

  Won’t let me sit

  Won’t let me stay

  It won’t let me be less than I was

  Before that day

  The day you left

  Dropping breath away

  In that moment

  I found my way

  There is no map for the unseen

  Just our fire within

  And our will to breathe

  I still have mine

  It is not gone

  It never left

  Well at least for long

  This heart still beats

  And it still loves

  With all the passion

  Right where it belongs

  Strong

  On fire

  And very much alive

   

   

  hearts of fire

   

   

  Gangrene

  Of the heart

  Where honey once flowed

  Is a sickness we all know

  Where it no longer pumps the way, it did

  When I love you

  Was fluid and filled to the brim

  Overflowing chaos

  Sticky and sweet

  Where the sky was only ours to meet

  A love where two is the only view

  That love

  The one you know is true

  When that love is gone

  We shrivel

  In sickness. In darkness

  As if we have lost a limb

  As if we didn’t know

  Love is a war

  And there are always casualties

   

  gangrene of the heart

   

   

   

   

  I have slept with the moon all my life

  What makes you think you can take its place

  Yes, I adore you

  This is true

  But will you be like the moon

  Will you stay?

   

  night after night

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  I couldn’t stop you

  Just as I couldn’t stop the sun

  Nor the moon

  But I always wished

  You would have stopped me

   

  from running

   

   

  I remember when I feared the night

  Feared the sea

  The open

  Abyss

  Where thoughts get lost

  And then some found

  Looking further than a shore

  Further than a ni
ghtlight

  That I had in my youth

  The one that kept the monsters away

  Looking into something I have never had to focus on

  It crippled me

  Shot arrows through my faith

  As I bled out on every shore

  The moon shone a light

  More beautiful than any sunrise

  More beautiful than the known

  I suppose that is when I found

  The night was my home

   

  home

  I held it

  In my pocket

  Like a wish

  I tried not to crush it

  And keep it safe

  I really did

  I placed it gently

  As if it were my only gift

  I tried not to disturb it

  No compromise

  No jostling

  Just letting it be

  But when the rains came

  And night had its way

  My hands were not enough

  To keep it from stray

  For I have never held gold

  Nor diamonds of treasure

  Only things that dulled in time

  I could not stop the storm

  The wind

  Nor the rain

  And my pockets seemed flooded

  Yet again

  I still lay in puddles of regret

  Where my hands should have been

  What treasures I could have held

  If only these hands were capable

   

  capable

  When my world falls apart

  I bare my shoulders

  And walk straight into darkness

  For my soul knows its place

  And in the sun, I only burn

  Chaos is for the plenty

  And I am well preserved

   

  immortal

   

   

   

   

   

  Happiness was stolen

  Like a babe in the night

  Leaving a hollow

  And I still look to the moon

  For why

   

  questions

   

   

   

   

  Lay me down in fields of plenty

  Watch me writhe

  For I have no expectations when it comes to thighs

  And what’s laid between them

  And what produces lies

  For I have seen the magic

  On a stage show

  Not meant for me

  Might as well put mirrors in all the rooms

  So, they can see the girth

  Of rise

  Laid heavy to bed

  While my heart cringes in corners of

  A fairytale life

  Where intimate means

  Love

  And naked means birth

 

‹ Prev