~stratosphere dreams~

i've got all of them here.
i'm ready to launch.
into the stratosphere
they will climb, until they can climb no more.
balloons in the dozens;
strings hold keep them in grip
and i hope they won't slip.
i'm not ready to do it,
but i've promised myself.
i'll let them go as soon as possible.
it's just i'm waiting for the right minute.
i hear the wind upcoming.
closed my eyes and whispered, 'Lord please'.
in a split second, they were all gone.
like a crowd after a gunshot,
they scattered into the blue
and soon resembled ants.
i peeled open my eyelids and saw them
running away without looking back.
no hesitation did they express.
no second thoughts did they think.
i wasn't sure if they would float,
for they were not just helium.
inside were notes to someone;
to anyone who has bravery;
the bravery that i don't possess.
three weeks passed without a peep.
another week and nothing new.
my phone sat silent.
my mailbox remained empty.
how could no one have received one?
after the first month,
i was convinced;
no one listens.
ten years passed and i had already forgotten.
this wasn't something that happens often.
one day the door bell rang;
the alarm of a presence sang.
i opened the door and there she happened to be.
a woman with my letter and a smile made of teeth.
it finally happened that day.
it finally went my way.
ten long years until this moment.
this day, i was actually wanted.

midnight ride

it's chilly tonight,
but it's what i need.
it'll be alright
as soon as i pick up speed.

the hills laughed
and the curves taunted.
the signs sped past
and the missing stars haunted.

my spoke wheels turned
through the moonlight fog.
i could smell the midnight fern
as echoed, the howling dog.

my legs were screaming
and my feet were freezing.
my spirit was leaning
but the ride would not defeat me.

a flickering lamp post;
the houses clotting.
every shadow as a ghost;
my very demise, plotting.

it's quiet tonight;
different from today.
people about, without fright;
still, they will nothing to say.

their voiceless in daytime;
their business their own.
no faces at nighttime;
inside their houses alone.

around the corner i steer
and cast a skeptical leer.
don't run in fear,
my poor little deer.

it was indeed
a doe and its fawn,
munch on feed
of my faceless neighbors lawn.

a gust of wind
and a crunch of leaves.
the houses at me grin;
icicles from the eaves.

i ride the final stretch,
the hardest of it all.
a second wind i catch
on the lakes restraining wall.

the night is music,
but it requires you to use it.
don't forget; don't you lose it.
you cannot reject; you cannot refuse it.

take a ride;
just you and the sky.
a walk or a stride,
just you and the sky.

listen to the night
with little fright.
who needs light
to hear whats right?

the moon will protect you
and this i promise.
but when it's absent,
you have my fondness.

carried and pulled

just under the shade was the prize.
the reward.
it's never as easy as they say it is.
ten more feet.
i took one.
a rattle in the branches above.
i ignored.
i stole another step.
eight more.
i could see the chest.
it sat at the trunk.
another crash above felled some cones and leaves.
still i pursued.
this was the third step i had taken.
a child's laugh.
i drew my weapon, and stared up.
i saw nothing.
the wind blew through the leaves.
it was a chilling breeze.
"don't go that way," it whispered as it jumped back and forth.
i could not find it.
i took a fourth step towards my desire and my journey's end.
a silence above.
"who are you and what do you want?" it asked me.
i won't say.
"who are you and what do you want, human?" it repeated.
i can't.
i spun around and managed to snag two steps before it fell in front of me;
the creature.
it's hideousness is beyond words.
i swung my sword.
he grabbed it. "who are you?"
i kick at him.
he falls over laughing and i end him with a swing.
i inhaled deeply.
the treasure was right there before me.
a ninth step.
"look at what you have become," the bleeding creature managed.
i turned at him.
"you've given up all you have believed in for this that means nothing," he gargled.
blood everywhere.
"you're not who you were. i've won." those were his final words.
the last he every spoke.
he fell over and died that instant with a smile on his face.
"you're wrong."
i took that final tenth step and picked up the chest.
it's heavy.
i need not look to see it's contents.
i already know.
ten more feet towards the river i stride.
the water rushing.
"that which destroys lives, may you rest at the never ceasing river."
the water calls for it.
it flies into the air and splashes aloud as the current catches it.
forever carried and pulled.
the river steals that which man should never have.

a sailor's lament

it flows. it colors. it darkens. it makes it heavy.
it is clear. it is red. it is blue. it is green.
it is sweet. it is bitter.
it rises. it crashes.
it is full. it is empty.
it quenches. it drowns.
it houses life. it kidnaps death.
it is a conduit. it is the ending point.
it is open. it is never-ending.
it is bottomless...or so it would seem.
it holds me afloat. it pulls me down.
it sends me ashore. it churns me about.
it holds treasure for those who seek it. it yields no rewards for the foolhardy.
it whispers. it roars.
it embraces. it envelopes.
it spins. it spits. it foams. it froths.
it is brilliantly vibrant. it is deeply darkened.
it restricts your lungs. it floods their arrogance.
it will never forgive you. it is relentless.
it is untamed. it is constantly changing.
it is a habitat. it is a defiance to mankind.
it needs no music. it requires no attention.
it stares at the sky. it warms under the sun.
it is conquered by vessels. it is humbled by their portability.
it is cunning. it is intuitive to what goes on above and below.
it plays tricks. it cast spells.
it commands its monsters. it takes pleasure.
it swells. it breathes.
it watches. it pounces.
it takes time. it takes patience.
it remains. it evaporates into the coming rain.
it will never die. it will never stop.
it will continue its rampage. it will continue to gather its needs.
it can be vanquished by no man. it has no master.
it rebels. it mutinies.
it smiles at their flailing. it chuckles at their drowning.
it is evil. it is calm.
it takes sailors. it took my father.
it will never take me.