DON’T COME TO TAME THE CAT

 

Red sun burns below a blue moon
and the tiger rips through trees
to escape the cat. Sometimes
small things need to be as sharp
as an icicle even when the sun
comes to burn red beneath blue
moons while she sings of those
crazy cries of Havana’s love.
She sang of Paris once while
somewhere else and California
while in Greece. She was blue too,
like that moon, while in green
and again with those icicles
and no baby for birthday clothes-
letting go’s a bitch, like moving on,
even if you’re just a fearless pussy
cat and the tiger is too scared
to fuck with you. Earlier, luxuriant
leant in, hissing all over her
manicured lawns of blue pools
and strangling centrepieces.
Always the blue below that burning
sun and those picture-perfect settings
as if to foretell of all that will follow.
Red sun burns below a blue moon
and pussy purrs alone while the tiger
takes cover beneath the shade of
the green cactus tree with phallic
spikes that look like limp icicles.

   

All words and drawings by Damien B Donnelly. Some thoughts inspired by the music and lyrics of Joni Mitchell

WHAT YOU WISH FOR

 

Remember
When all we wanted was a little distance?

Remember
Starting out with a cushion on the sofa,
A pillow in between the folds twisting against us,
One word less
And then another.
Every move a single mile.

Remember
How all we wanted…

I wonder-
While watching shadows growing stiller
Beyond the window of this other room,
Here, at the end of all these miles,
At home with our wants,
Without a word-

If we’d held a little tighter
Would we have survived the distance now?

 

All words and photographs by Damien B. Donnelly

WHITE STARLIGHT

 

White starlight,
light and lucent,
springs from
the ailing earth,
in quite corners
of tended borders
so fine and fair,
fragility unfolding
precious petals,
perhaps to soften
the edges
of darker days
that have set
shadows upon
so many sunsets.

White starlight
cradles beauty,
a bold beacon
blooming amid
these burdens
that bind us
to broken branches,
she’s taking chances
ripe and rare
like subtle silk,
like flowing milk,
so bright and brave
to dare to bloom
amidst these months
of doom and gloom.

White starlight
in broad daylight,
a wonder witnessed
among this world
of weeds
and tangled vines
that strangle
the timid
and the truth.

White starlight.
Fear not fragility
for she was
born to fight.

   

This poem is a re post.

All words and photographs by Damien B. Donnelly

SCARLET RISING

 

Eat the storms, Mother said,
boil these beds of bitter blackness
until the dream rips through the rain
and translucent turns to trust,
even a diamond must ache
in the darkness until compression
can no longer compound its shine.
Eat the storms, Mother said,
slip the shivering skin out
under shimmering sky until touch
recalls the sweet music of scarlet rising
caught below the lick of leaf lost
to the shadow of the shade,
even the petal must rise above the thorn
before its fragility can dance in the light.

Eat the storms, Mother said,
but I didn’t hear it, at first.

It takes time to swallow the truth
and teach the tongue
to taste the refreshment of the rain.

All words and photographs by Damien B. Donnelly

Poem for Day 5 of National Poetry Writing Month

IN THE BOX; BOUND

 

Imagine beauty
bundled in a box,
locked from light
and bound to blindness,
imagine your eyes
banished to its bounty
while it smothers in silence,
deep in the darkness.
Imagine freedom
in that very box,
bound, blind
and banished.
Imagine strength
deprived of that force,
see it tampered, tainted
and tarnished.
The refugee
on the road
holds hope
in a box bound,
breathless for the day
it can be opened.

All words and photographs by Damien B. Donnelly

Inspiration came from the poetry prompt ‘Box’ from @Microprompt on Twitter.

Audio version available on Soundcloud:

GRAND CANYON

 

Hold hope
hold tight

hold on
to what you can

remember

not to get lost
not to let go

not to sink
into the great divide
between you and I

the canyon
that cradled us
without the grandeur

All Words and Photographs by Damien B. Donnelly

WHITE STARLIGHT

 

White starlight
light and lucent
springs from
ailing earth
in quite corners
of tended borders
so fine and fair,
fragility unfolding
precious petals
perhaps to soften
the edges
of darker days
that have set
shadows upon
so many sunsets

White starlight
cradles beauty,
a bold beacon
blooming amid
these burdens
that bind us
To broken branches,
she’s taking chances
ripe and rare
like subtle silk,
like flowing milk,
so bright and brave
to dare to bloom
amidst these months
of doom and gloom

White starlight
in broad daylight,
a wonder witnessed
among this world
of weeds
and tangled vines
that strangle
the timid
and the truth.

White starlight.
fear not fragility
for she is
born to fight.

All Words and Photographs by Damien B. Donnelly.

 

RISEN

risen

I cross bridges blindfolded

not afraid of the heights
I could fall from

but aware of the ocean
of emptiness
I have risen from.

All Words and Photographs by Damien B. Donnelly

Photograph taken in Södermalm, Stockholm, Sweden 

THE REALITY OF DREAMS

 

I can move mountains
At night,
In the darkness,
Within the costume of sleep

I can part the seas,
Call the currents,
Will the waves
Beneath the waves of a duvet

I can save the world,
Untie the menace
From the mission
With the hero of my dreams

I can find my voice
Bold and brave,
Protect and save
When I am sound asleep

In the light
I take steps,
Singularly significant,
To wake the dream to the day

 

All words and photos by Damien B. Donnelly

THE LIGHT WE ARE

 

There is a light,
Amid the shadows,
Within our slumber,

There is a light,
That never flickers,
That cannot stumble.

There is a light,
In the very breath
That feeds us,

There is a light,
In every loving eye
That sees us.

There is a light,
In every dream
We dare to hope for,

There is a light,
In every joy
We try to reach for.

In the grace
Of every waking day,

In the rise
Of every starry sky,

In the person
That we can still become.

There is a light,
And it shines
Beyond reproach,

There is a light
And it burns
Beyond decay.

There is a light,
I can see it
Right before me,

There is a light
And within it
Lies my story

Still waiting to be told…