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Lyrical Ramblings

  a little book of poetry

  by

  Stacy Stutz

  Copyright Stacy Stutz

  Table of Contents

  Foreword

  Dedication

  Momentary Zen

  Angry Young Woman

  Flights of Fancy

  Throes of Love and Hate

  Reflection Pool

  Author’s Note

  Foreword

  Poetry is for the young, the foolish – the idealistic among each generation. Some follow rigorous rules – tucking inspiration into set lines, rhymes and rhythm while others prefer the free flow of words that tumble out with tenuous threads capturing them together in a semi-cohesive bundle – or not. The desired results are the same; poets want to engage you, the reader, with powerful thoughts and imagery that invoke, evoke and provoke.

  Poetry is for the old, the wise – the realist of past generations.

  Anger-ridden angst filled children that know nothing of the truths in this world write poetry. It is written by free spirits who long to share a glimpse of the beauty they see every day. It is penned, pecked and jotted down on bits paper by those whose emotionally outbursts cannot be contained, or shared. Poetry is the voice of the one who will not speak.

  For me, poetry is the music in my heart and mind.

  Dedication

  Daddy:

  A man great and strong.

  He gave me strength, he’s now gone.

  Memory kept alive deep in my writer’s soul

  and it’s in his name that I strive.

  He gave me more than morals,

  more than any could know.

  He gave me my dreams.

  His love for me had,

  no boundaries,

  no limits,

  no end.

  Belief was all it took,

  a gift he gave to free

  I miss the man who taught

  words are powerful tools.

  He believed I had the talent,

  to wield them with ease.

  My heart aches with sorrow,

  knowing he will never see,

  the fruits of his devotion to me.

  I will cross the barrier of white capped waves,

  far from the safe haven of the bay behind me.

  Taking to the ocean as we did that day,

  we said forever good-bye.

  Momentary Zen

  Naturally…

  Autumn

  Noisy chattering

  black speckled breasted birds fly

  southward bound to roost.

  Flocks landing upon

  fire red fruit laden trees

  stripping them leaf bare.

  Sweet tones on thin air

  songbirds season finale

  the mating dance done.

  Feathers fall lightly

  worn ragged and torn from use

  of the seasons passed.

  Ring added this year

  dead dry leaves litter the ground

  graceful lines, nude boughs.

  Autumnal fire dancing

  on darkening skies

  the gloaming begins.

  Night falling early

  slipping into tomorrow

  the chill of dawn breaks.

  Cool air breathes upon

  silver gilded leaf litter

  mourning icy lace.

  Cinders

  Cinders on the hearth

  blackened soul left to ashes

  life begetting death.

  Fire

  Bolting from heaven

  silver white heat destinies

  strike with hot fury.

  Fire consuming

  new life and green tender limbs

  debris cleared away.

  Heat boiling the sap

  running through the golden heart

  of the proud oak tree.

  Dry tinder explodes

  red hot sparks of destruction

  foster the fire.

  Seedpods bursting forth

  germination from the flames

  settle in white ash.

  Purifying heat

  baptizing absolution

  cleansing by fire.

  Life forged by the flames

  tender new shoots emerging

  to smoke tainted air.

  Glass Beaches

  Verdant greens abound

  cut‑glass crystal clear water

  lapping up white sands.

  Reflections of paradise lived

  in fractured waves of reality.

  Morning Haibun

  Morning is a special time, when the sun crests the horizon bringing light and warmth to

  mother earth. Never is this more apparent than in the spring. Trees budding and

  exploding in glorious color the dreariness of winter becoming an echo of memory. It is a

  good time to quietly reflect on the past and dream of the future.

  Light slipping over

  cresting of the pinnacle

  baptism of earth.

  Perished memories

  fertile soils of tomorrow

  spawn the dreams to come.

  Life’s Coil

  Lovers touch lingers

  as the sun reaches zenith

  cresting pinnacle.

  Fruits of the labor

  forged with eternal spirit

  born unto the world.

  Enlightenment gained

  attained in life’s endless coil

  fulfillment complete.

  Life’s Renewal

  Hope eternal springs

  as tender new shoots begin

  reaching for the sun.

  Unfurling to light

  gathering inner energy

  husks fall to the ground.

  Blossoms delightful

  petals sweetly scent the air

  as the south wind blows.

  Bee’s buzz lazily

  from bloom to satiny bloom

  pollen clinging tight.

  Season’s of Life

  Leaves fully open

  tiny buds of fruit appear

  life’s continuance.

  Sighs upon a winters winds gale,

  laughter, lonely in a cool forest glade.

  Soft summer winds billow the sail,

  while we sip Margareta’s in the shade.

  Linger a moment, cherish the earth renewed,

  sweet blossom, burgeoning upon the knoll.

  Mountains patch worked, admiring the view,

  cloaked, Mother - nature sharing her soul.

  Summer Flowers

  Burgeoning tight bud

  hold fast against humid heat

  slide slowly open.

  Slipping petals push

  outwards fanning petticoats

  behold natures gift.

  Heavy heads swaying

  lazily in light warm winds

  soporific scent.

  The Glade

  Awash in green light,

  sun-dapples delight

  upon dancing—

  among sparkling

  dew droplets.

  Deepening shadows

  gather pools of light.

  Moss bound banks

  binding soil,

  the lazy stream

  bites - nips away

  Mother Earth.

  Yellow flowers

  thin stalks,

  perfume misty air.

  Tall pines tang scent

  veils thinly

  the dank must

  of decay,

  humus.

  Angry Young Woman

  an angst filled child

>   Anger

  Words spoken in haste-

  zesty bitter lemon rinds

  leave you spitting

  dust settling ‘round ankles

  shins black ‘n blue;

  kid shoes hit their mark.

  Desert Sands

  Winter, spring - fall, summer.

  The winter of my heart falls in spring.

  The heat of a summer’s day burns furious,

  an inferno beneath azure winter skies

  in the desert.

  Rats dig holes in the shifting sands,

  a timeless land standing still no more.

  Winds blow

  sugar-fine demons of dust swirling,

  eroding walls built to enclose emotion.

  Hate, love – jealousy, fear.

  Love begetting hate, when jealousy

  allows fear to propagate in minds

  of foolish people,

  who believe they, alone, are right.

  Worms eat flesh; deepen the holes

  while bodies rot beneath the sands

  of land that moves, undulating, changing

  never standing still,

  and yet, left unchanged in the hearts of men, women,

  children.

  There are those who believe, who know

  the sands will erode walls of hate.

  A single, sharp-edged, grain etching deeply

  burrowing into the buttress until,

  at last, it crumbles back into the tides

  of undulating earth..

  West to East

  Sun up and the day begins,

  crisp yellow light blooming over

  the horizon yellows, tangerines

  pinks cut fresh from the garden, dying faster

  in cut crystal

  filled with stagnant water spilling

  on wood, racing towards the edge

  of eternity

  to drip slowly down on vinyl floors,

  more comfortable to the foot than tile.

  Droplets of water wash away yesterday's

  grimy footprints to be sopped up

  by a musty old sponge that sits beside

  a clean sink of dirty dishes that will serve

  a luncheon to ladies wearing pearls

  choking swan necks

  clad in yesterdays fashions imported

  from China, India, Pakistan and they wonder

  with fluttering hands

  why the economy is heading south to Mexico

  slipping behind the wheel of Hyundai’s fortune

  returning to empty nests to roost

  as the sun dips low to the west returning

  home in the East.

  Shroud

  Threads ragged edge used cloth of life

  frayed, soft fringe and tired colors

  ravaged by light, touch and tears

  swaddling new life, shroud of shadows

  that dance across many souls.

  Bull’s Twilight

  Blazing cardinal banner snaps to attention,

  huffs of steamed breath expel from flaring nostrils.

  Eyes, shot with blood, narrow as the magenta sky burns

  away the day’s last vestiges – hope.

  Needle sharp stiletto blade, finding its mark, sinks

  deep to the hilt. Billowing rage rents the air,

  as a thin scarlet trickle,

  droplet of life,

  falls unheeded

  to earth.

  Prideful beast, head thrust to the heavens.

  Vermilion shafts of light fading fast, dusk’s

  slender fingers slide in, reclaiming shadows.

  And he tucks his head to his chest in a final

  defiant charge, gorging the air with fury

  against that crimson pennant of pain.

  Shuddering, the ground quakes in his wake

  as dust demons ride his flanks

  spurning his fury.

  Liquid golden dagger of light consecrates the

  night, desecrates the day. Mother Earth

  gracelessly receiving the behemoth weight

  to her breast, sanguine stain blooming

  a winter’s rose, viscously forced

  by man’s own hand.

  Punishment

  Now I lay you down to sleep

  Slicing through the soft sinew

  and tissue, you stole the breath

  of life, a father to a son, gone.

  I pray the Lord, your soul to keep

  Today you reap the rewards,

  the fruition of promises made,

  apples, bitter from tainted soil.

  If you die before you wake

  Almond scents the air around you,

  inhaled deeply, accept the acrid

  aftertaste following you to afterlife.

  I pray the Lord, your soul to take

  Delivering you to the bowls of hell,

  brimstone and sulfur cloak you in

  acid blankets of torment.

  In the Name of the Father,

  The man you took from

  the Son,

  will never play ball with.

  the Holy Ghost:

  Have pity on your soul,

  I will not.

  Amen

  Loathing

  you are

  nothing

  in

  My eyes.

  you mean

  less to

  Me

  than the

  filth on a

  camel's

  ass.

  Be gone

  from My

  sight you

  loathsome

  toad.

  your intellect

  less

  than a

  fleck of

  spittle.

  your

  arrogance

  is beyond

  all measure.

  The

  very sight

  of you

  is more

  than

  I will bear.

  I loathe you

  Cardinal Song

  Silenced- our cardinal song, essence shattered

  into discordant broken melodies.

  Folderol of the heartache- so battered.

  The livid bruises of disharmony.

  Souls sliced asunder, love sours to hate

  and fervent steel bequeaths entwining scars

  now tangled threads, we seek to extricate

  from silken bonds as they begin to mar.

  Ensnared cruelly, blindly love falls apart.

  Raining tears- abandon your emotion-

  descending fears locked fast in the lost heart.

  Sufferance, life devoid of devotion.

  Indifferent to passions sweet symphony,

  yet, in your eyes I seek epiphany.

  Fear

  I lived in Fear, Insecurity

  leading to Jealousy, Hate

  living Deaf Dumb and Blind

  Eyes wide open

  staring

  at the world

  blind

  to all shut tight

  lids heavy with

  sleep of a dreamer

  A face

  Soulless reflecting eyes

  window to the soul

  Blinded by emotion

  shine with harsh light

  Deaf to my pleas

  You hear, but don’t listen

  You speak but say nothing

  words echo’s of nothing

  empty promises

  singing discordant

  harmony

  never the song.

  Flights of Fancy

  bits of fluff and nonsense

  Four Seasons

  Hot hazy, lazy days of summer,

  red riot of overblown roses,

  their petticoats litter

  the ground below –

  scented carpeting crushed


  between a child’s kool-aide

  stained hands.

  Groovy grape lips,

  greedily sucking the juices,

  trails from quickly melting

  refreshments clutched tightly

  to keep safe from the puppy

  whipping tail.

  Faded blooms

  dead-headed to

  propagate more

  more,

  more,

  ‘til the leaves turn

  dark green and lose

  their luster under the

  punishing

  shimmering

  heat of the solstice.

  Painted matron

  garish orange yellow

  and gold,

  robes set ablaze

  the new light

  angled to show

  her at her best.

  Behind gouged out gourds

  flickering candles burn

  the soft inner flesh

  and goblins,

  ghoulies,

  witches

  trip lightly up

  the steps sing songing

  mantra from candied lips.

  Her pretty plumage falls

  unheeded

  in piles of decay – rotting

  beneath the emerging skeleton.

  Bare bones striking

  against the purest shade of blue,

  crisp cold air allowing the truth

  of the heaven’s reflections seen.

  White cold blanket

  tucks her in for the winter’s night.

  Cross hatched across virgin snow,

  sparrows lay lacy trails

  obliterated,

  whuomp,

  by a falling angel.

  Leftover leaves hang

  stubbornly, refusing to fall

  to the frost hardened ground,

  rattling dry old rustling - in the winds.

  Bobbling yellow heads

  threatened decapitation

  on stems so fine, so weak,

  heralding the coming of renewal time.

  As sweet rains cleanse the earth,

  clearing cobwebs from the heavens,

  blown on the March currents.

  Lightly bundled tots

  clutch tight with pudgy hands

  spools of fine twine and above

  towheads, dancing on the streams

  of the lions roar - kaleidoscopic kites aflutter.