five ocean songs...

(i)

I will take this
fullest of moon
from night sky,
feel its tingle & burn
on my fingertips
and on my palm.

I offer it to you,
my love,
my precious mermaid;

it shimmers & glows
like a giant pearl

reflected in your tide-like eyes.

(ii)

My tiny boat is adrift
upon your familiar sea /

All I ask
is that you anchor me.

With fading eye
& a cornea I borrow /

Thank you for providing
a star to follow...

(iii)

Without you near,
I'm in the dark belly of a whale /

but I still offer this ocean's song
and a seahorse tail.

Your smile / pure light,
it'll help guide me through these rocks /

Til I am safe (once more)
in your arms and your docks.

(iv)

What was that
(just now?)

Was it the sound
of a distant mermaid
 
 that sighed?

Or just a gentle lapping
on my hull

 by a moon-swept tide??

(v)

Beautiful Cancerian Crab:

As you close your eyes
(to sleep) tonight,

take me tenderly
in your claw.

Teach this
(sometimes) timid Scorpion

to ride those waves
& to trust again.

And to fear
this water

no more.

 And to fear
 this water no more...

(c) Brent M Harpur, 2012.

"Stranded starfish have no place to hide / still waiting for the swollen Easter tide." (Peter Gabriel, 'Here Comes the Flood'.)

(For E & the wonderful, magical full moon that have both weaved their spells & inspired/enchanted me this weekend...)

and only you...

You,
my dear!

And
only you...

Can come to visit

and make me feel
like it is me

(too)

that has gone on holiday!!

And my little bedsitter
(now that you have gone again)

feels so

BIG

& quiet.

I close my eyes,
and I can still see you:

in my kitchen cutting up pineapple,

in my bathroom putting on your makeup,

in my living room pulling on your boots.


The birds outside my window
are missing your laughter.

My stereo misses your i-pod
and Tim Finn.

I am enjoying
(so, so much)
the book that you left me,

and I am not wanting it to end.

Not just because
it is such a good book,

but after I finish it

I will be forced to admit
how much I am missing you...

And only reading the book
as a distraction.

On my table
are the lilies I bought for you,

they are open, awake, so alive.

In a few more days,
they will be dead.

But I will still
struggle
to throw them out,

because they remind me of this last week
and you.

I close my eyes,
and I can still see you:

eating chocolate ice cream,

pulling up my shirt & leaning into me,
giggling,

smiling that smile
that fills me with delight!!

Where
 did you come from?

By my side
(I cannot hide it, girl):

I am the luckiest man alive.

I AM
 THE LUCKIEST MAN ALIVE!!

When you hold my hand,
it fits right!

When you put your arm around me,
it feels right!!

You left lunchtime yesterday.

I gave you a silver ring at the airport,
engraved with three words

that only you and I get.

And I didn't remember until after I climbed
into the bus back to the city
that it was
four months to the day

since you first kissed me.

And as I gather up my things
to leave the house

(and face another day without you):

I pick up my bag
and delight in finding
one of your hair ties

by my front door.

I smile (hard & wide),
snatch it up carefully
and put it in my pocket...

like some rare jewel,
 a lucky talisman...

Something to put my fingers on
from time to time,
away from the world's view,

a tiny piece of you.
Tangible,
real,
proof.

A reminder that it
wasn't merely a sweet dream

but
that

you were here.

Here in my arms.

Here in my tiny bedsitter.

Here in my world.

And here in my life

for four days
 & three precious nights...


You,
my dear!

Only you...

Can come to visit

and make me feel
like it is me

(too)

that has gone on holiday!!


(c) Brent M Harpur, 2012.

"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine." (Song of Solomon 1: 2)

first kiss...

                                                                Photo (c) Elyn Storath, 2012. *

One first kiss was all it took /

My sky caught fire, my earth it shook /

A new chapter in my favourite book /

Deep inside me now, a babbling brook /

Your tui song & lover's look /

Caught my heart, like fish on hook /

And one first kiss was all it took.

One first kiss was all it took.


(c) Brent M Harpur, 2012.

"Young love is a flame; very pretty,often very hot & fierce,
but still only light and flickering. The love of the older and disciplined
heart is as coals, deep-burning, unquenchable." (Henry Ward Beecher)


* To see more of Elyn's wonderful photography & art...

http://thedreamersgardenphotography.blogspot.com.au/

http://www.thedreamersgarden.com

and the sticky sweetness of Spring...

I know that you
now
associate me

with the smell of vanilla.

And I have come
to realise

the smell
of fresh strawberries

makes me think of you...

I cut one in half,
it looks like a little heart;

its juice stains my fingertips.

Putting my finger in my mouth,
I taste its sticky sweetness

and again,
(for the second time in as many minutes)
I think of you;

and how
you've stained me too.

Nearly a week before...

In darkened train carriage
hurtling southward,

I eat
sticky, sweet fruit salad

made with tender care & love.

My senses
(all but sight
in this ragged night)

are in rapture.

Unable to sleep,
well fed,

memories
fill my mind's eye
instead.

Sushi & Tobhey Riddle in
Spring-drenched park.

Your eyes flashing
with delight
at suggestions of more

chocolate ice cream.

Discovering Aotearoa's 'Literary Greats'
in secondhand bookstores.

Long overdue
touch & kisses,

and more than the Surgeon General's
recommended daily dose

of hugs.

Fish fried in breadcrumbs.

Art openings,
fine dining and movies
with dear friends.

And another
very

full moon.

Apart once more,
what can I offer

in this absence?

I hope that these
sticky, sweet words
(for now)

are enough.

They too

are like
fruit salad,

made with tender care & love.

May they sate your hunger,
& fill you with joy...

Until next
we (together)

feast on:

Art,
magic,
each other

and the...

Sticky sweetness of Spring.



(c) Brent M Harpur, 2012.

"Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos." (Don Kardong)

"I doubt whether the world holds for anyone a more soul-stirring surprise than the first adventure with ice cream." (Heywood Broun)

"Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first." (Ernestine Ulmer)



- For E.

stardust or sand...

Oh,

can you tell me tonight
how far

is the distance
between

two stars?

Approximately

fifty eight minutes by plane,
twelve hours by train,
& the tiniest of moments

between heartbeats.

Here on terra firma
two stars can look so close,

like
goosebumps on skin
or freckles on face,
mixed tears.

But there
lies (inbetween)
a vast, inky blanket of blackness,

dark matter.

There's
but a short celestrial breath
between

a star's birth from mere dust

through to
its spectacular, fiery

supernova demise.

Indeed,

even the light of our closest star
takes eight minutes
to reach & warm & nurture us.

Looking skyward at night,
the starlight looks so close,
so attainable.

But, indeed
their light has taken so long
to reach us

that they've long since
moved on

when we look up in awe
at their twinkling beauty.

Take comfort
fellow star-gazers,
and (just a little)

heed...

The stars have made
time travellers of us all.

The
stars
have
made
time travellers
of
us
all.

Tonight, of all nights,
once in a blue moon,

your tears, your lips,
mingle with mine.

You've waited so long for this,
and I have waited so long

to meet you.

Starlight burns,
not always sweetly.

But my love is true,

look deeply into my darkstar eye
you know it to be so.

And I have let go of so much
since we last met.

I no longer know

if it is stardust
or sand
on my pillow.


***


My heart is not
the only reason I am here,

my dear.

And for the first time
in a lifetime
(for this star at least)

my head's chosen you too.

Many have tried
to steal this heart,

but you (gentle star):

You.

You
are the first
I give it freely to.

And you
(yes, you!)

are the first in forty three years

who deserved it.

This moment is all we have.

And moments
taken day by day
(if you want it bad enough)

can make up an eternity.

Keep believing in me,
killing me with that smile,
holding me as I fall asleep...

and I promise to keep
finding ways

to surprise you.


***


Can you tell me tonight
how far...

is

the

distance

between

two

stars...?

 
(c) Brent M Harpur, 2012.

“When it is darkest, men see the stars.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)