©2000 Charles L. East: The Writing Forum (co-editor)

Bio: I am a retired Airline Captain who can look over the rivers, the hills and the far horizon with a profound sense of my own littleness in the vast scheme of things, and yet have faith, hope and courage.

A man who loves flowers and can hunt birds without a gun, and feels the thrill of an old forgotten joy when I hear the laugh of a little child. When star-crowned trees and the glint of sunlight on flowing waters subdue me...Then I know I have kept faith with myself, with my fellowman, with my God...in my hand a sword for evil, in my heart a bit of a song...Grateful to live but not afraid to die, such a man...am I.

A Woman

All her dreams safely locked away
now resurfacing as the elusive magic
reaches and stirs deep within
feelings so long ago laid to rest
vague memories of love’s sunlight
reappearing and diminishing all fear
gaining power with each new day
gently stoking the still warm embers
beneath the cold and locked heart
of a woman long disillusioned
by love’s careless abandon
~
Ripples of pleasure’s promise
forsaken when faced with reality
revived by a soft whisper of possibility
finding and rekindling hope
despair and disappointment laid aside
she breaks the seal that protects
her determination now powerless
when challenged by love’s truth
abandoning all fear
she once again trusts
and opens the door to tomorrow
now eagerly vulnerable
she waits . . .

©2000 Marcia Miller-Twiford

~~~

The Calming

I awaken in the night

sweating blood-stained dreams

Hades in technicolor

a sacrifice to the Raven’s call

past pain resurfacing

degradation alive again

childhood memories stabbing

you wake and reassure

I trust again

calming in your touch

healing is granted

my heart slows then

speeds up again

finding my center

you calm my fears

and you heal my soul

far above the calls below

we soar towards the light

dissolving in our purity

we sleep peacefully

through another dark night

©2000 Marcia Miller-Twiford

~~~

Our Piece Of Time

~Dedicated to My Captain~

~

The search now over, serenity granted

hands forever clasped, we stand atop the hill

watching the sun disappear below the sea

the sky adorned in red and gold

the red of our love, the gold of our years

a breeze joins us and heaves a sigh

you kiss my hair that caresses your cheek

and I know that tomorrow is coming soon

~

There are few sunrises that we shall see

this love will illuminate our remaining days

our time is brief, but beauty is always so

we stop to watch the tide at play

then stroll down the path and meet the sea

there is no finer time or place than now

what we have and what we are

is the lyric the writer is looking for

~

This is for us alone, to cherish and protect

this moment in time that few have known

you came to me in your quiet twilight

when one of us must leave it will be softly

the one remaining sustained forever

by what we share and have become

all we will have for this journey is the twilight

the setting sun and then the moon

to light our limited time here and allow

the splendor of us to enjoy the sea

~

We know that when our final sunset comes

our souls now united will embrace our first Spring

in our preordained, endless eternity

for now we hold close each love-filled moment

a lifelong search has at last ended

given the insight we now know the secret

a gift bestowed upon us by God

we can now embrace the joy and contemplate

the splendor of our treasured destiny

©2000 Marcia Miller-Twiford

Poems By Annie Lehberg

Held By The Same Star

I have always been one
to hope for another soul
to be gazing at the same stars
which hold me in a trance

Could it be there is another
lost in the beauty of the nighttime sky
wondering…

Is she gazing at the moon,
wishing on the same stars I do?

Spellbound by the moon’s glow, a
a sense of oneness washes over me.
As a particularly bright light seems
to come closer, I feel in my heart,
out there somewhere, you and I
are held by the same star…

~~~

My Soul Companion

My Soul Companion…

Standing before you, I
see the potential for
you to capture my heart.

With an ever-so-slight
motion, a swift wave of
your wand above my head.
Magic glitters the air
Like dust in the sunlight
through a window.

You have cast your spell.

Fascination takes hold of me,
and lifts me beyond the
height of any dream.

My spirit becomes lost in
the clouding of your mind.
Clouding conceived in doubt.

Do you want me?
Yes – no - yes

As I float through the maze
that is the faltering of your heart,
my body twists and turns,
hoping to seduce your very core.

Searching incessantly for
the soul companion to my own,
I know it is then all doubt
will diffuse. As the faltering
heart and clouded mind conform
to the lost love of the soul.

©2000 Annie Lehberg

Dark spiders crawl on glowing webs
Through quill-spun strands of fate,
While poets draw their ink dipped swords
And battle at the gate
that leads to all that never was
and all that's meant to be.
A time warped hole that lies between
a choice and destiny.

I searched for meaning never found
And swam through past regrets
Against a tide of empty hearts
That lust and youth begets.
Alone and lost amongst the waves
I glimpsed a distant shore
Where angels danced and played their harps
With keys to heaven's door.

I felt the grip of time's embrace
And reached the sunlit sands,
Then wept in pain when every grain
Slipped quickly through my hands.
I watched them fall with solemn grace
while shedding gritty tears,
and saw them drift in silent piles,
the dust of passing years.

I prayed for peace and love divine
Along a winding path,
Absolved by Mother Nature's heart
But murdered by her wrath,
then born again I touched a star
a beacon in the night,
a lantern held by God's own hand
but never saw the Light.

I soared through distant realms of dreams
Encountered in the past,
While questions fell like feathered lace
Unanswered or unasked.
Below me lay the dark abyss
Above me hung the cord,
A golden rope to lift me up
And spread my final words.

I found a place of solitude,
To build my world anew,
A place to rest and heal the pain
Of dreams that don't come true.
A soul's retreat within my mind
That somehow came to be
A beacon of another kind
That led you here to me.

"For Sharon"

©2000

© 2000 W. James Beard, Jr.

~~~

Blue Velvet Above

Blue velvet
above satin sheets
our bodies between
where flesh doth meet,
Two hearts in love
that madly beat,
passionately drumming
through waves of heat.
Two souls entwined,
mellow and slick,
your love and mine
so heavy and thick;
I kiss the thoughts
going round my head
as I look at you beside me
in bed…
such thoughts I have,
such longing for you;
sleep my love,
we're one
not two.

© 2000 W. James Beard, Jr.

~~~

My Lady

I loveth thine hair,
and thine skin so fair.
I loveth thine eyes,
which tell no lies.
I loveth thine nose,
with its shining tip,
and most of all,
I loveth thine lips,
for love is spoken there.
I loveth the wind,
which rustles thine hair,
and kisses thine lips.
I loveth the sun,
which peeks from clouds,
giving thee warmth,
and lighting thine day.
I loveth the trees,
that line the walk,
and whisper,
you've passed their way.
I loveth thine person,
from head to foot,
I loveth thine ways,
thine gaze,
and all at which thee look.
That I might touch that
which thee have,
that I might hold that,
which thee love,
that thy might see me,
in thine sleep,
that thy might love me,
just a week.
Oh lovely one,
of infinite grace,
canst I gaze upon thy face,
without the fear of sharp respite,
as I confess my love,
each day,
and night.

© 2000 W. James Beard, Jr.

~~~

Heads Was My Heart

As I flipped the coin
and watched it fly
sparkling,
glinting,
catching the light
as over and over
it turned,
I thought of my ante
in this game of chance,
where heads was love
and I'd stay with you;
tails was tears,
'cause our love fell thru,
and I wished it'd never come down.

But down it came,
with terrible speed,
to crash on the floor,
bounce up and down,
twirl and turn,
roll in a wobbly
curving way,
then finally settle down.

I looked at it through
tightly squinted eyes,
afraid it would say
to say my goodbyes,
but finally I looked
my god, it was heads…
yes it was heads,
because I love you,
heads was my heart,
and on the other side too.

© 2000 W. James Beard, Jr.

~~~

Washing Her Face

She never liked me to watch her
clean her face.
She said
it was like having someone watch
as your soul was stripped
to its bare essentials.
First she'd brush her hair,
then pull it back,
holding it from her face with a plastic band.
Then,
when she wore them,
the eyelashes came off,
the mascara,
and the makeup,
in its various layers.
The lipstick
she saved for last,
as if it was the final desecration.
She'd wash her face then,
with the special soap she bought,
slowly,
gently,
as if savoring the pleasure.
She never liked me to watch her
clean her face,
but I secretly spy,
every chance I get,
through the partially open door.
I watch,
as chameleon like
she wipes away the day
and becomes the woman
that I love.

© 2000 W. James Beard, Jr.

~~~