joshua mertz's Shared Poems

There was a time when the light
Of the late afternoon
On the golden rolling hills
Was music
Now is is just light
On dead plants
Made dim with the
Low angle of the sun

There was a time when the air
Was alive with magic
With smells and sound
And a living caress
And the golden light
Of late afternoon
Now it is just air
The magic evaporated
By the grinding friction
Of what was once
Our love

There was a time when the water
Was your touch
And the spinning dance
Of being in this world
With you
Was the very heart
Of magic
Now it is lawyers and anger
And bitter backward glances
Rising in an epiphany
Of pain
In the dim light
Of the darkening sky

I wish I could wish it back
But the world is no longer new
The air, the light, the water
Now just elementals
Lacking the fourth facet
Of fire
For the fire is long gone
Leaving behind the fifth elemental
Named void

When down in the depths of a doldrum
Most guys would have them a cold one
That won't work, I fear
For I do not like beer
Instead I will smoke me a rolled one

We circle each other like jungle cats
Captured by the scent
Of wild blood singing
A song we cannot name
Because we know the song
Too deeply
Unspeaking on the prowl
No words, no thought
Gravity pulls us slowly closer
Circling, hungry for the taste
Of wild feasting
Frightened by the powerful
Revealing force
Of desire
And the nakedness it demands

Curtains move in the morning
Sun and moving air from
The fan that has kept me
Windswept all night
Random curtains
Linear fan
Wind of uncertain mind
Moving together
Wordless speech
Uncertain whether or not
To be random

Funny thing about humor
It makes us feel less grumpy
I sure hope it works on this tumor
And makes it feel less lumpy

Humor is a funny thing
Sometimes evoking laughter
We celebrate its subtle sting
And think about it after

Funny thing, this humor stuff
It hides inside perception
Its sometimes subtle, sometimes gruff
And practiced at deception

Absurd absurd thing humor funny
Fraught with wacky rhymes
It isn't always bright and sunny
A yo-yo out of time

Funny thing about humor
It doesn't always last
You want to rhyme the word with "tumor"
But then the moment's passed