4 Flickering Time & Beneath the Wings

image by Bonnie

Flickering Time

he knelt over her,
his hand still braced beneath her head.
she smiled up into his wrinkly old eyes.
as the gentle notes of a violin floated in the air
she saw him transform.
the wrinkles vanished
the grey turned dark again
and his smile spoke of kisses yet to come

she escaped into his soulful eyes
time sweeping away the pain
coursing through her well worn limbs
there she saw herself
in the light of his love
young and vibrant
beautiful and sensual
shy and intense

his loving whispers mingled
with the sound of the strings
a song of promise seeped into her
as her eyes closed
flashes of memories
flickered like an old film
of a day long ago when promises
bound their hands together
melding their hearts into one

she listened as time sang their tale
and clung to the feel of his hand
brushing her cheek lovingly
as their first kiss
dissolved
into their last

---

cropped just her hat...
Can you see the man kneeling?

it's strange the 'artspiration' strikes. upon viewing the images presented by Brian Miller at One Stop Poetry's Friday Poetically, i saw something that didn't seem so out of place (not when you consider the image), but it wasn't there. i'm not sure how i had missed the face of the beautiful young woman wearing the hat just left of center, but i did. all i saw was her hat...but it wasn't a hat. it was a man kneeling bent over something. when i finally saw the woman i was taken by surprise. it was already bad enough that i couldn't figure out if the woman i see on the far right with her head turn off to the side gazing at the clock is real or a figment of my imagination.

Can you see the woman?

if you think i'm crazy...you're probably right.  this wasn't the only image presented where i saw something that wasn't there.  and this time i know for certain i was seeing things.  i found the original (unmodified) image and it held nothing of what my eyes tricked me into seeing.

---

image by Bonnie

Beneath the Wings

can you see the child
hiding beneath the wings
of the angel
caught in an embrace
with the woman
melting into death's sweet kiss?
who is the this child
hiding beneath the wings
of an angel?
is she the essence of the woman
escaping once again into the world
or an innocent soul along for the ride?

---

i'm not sure what the deal is with the "death's sweet kiss."  especially when the previous writing involved a last kiss.  as for what exactly the oddity above is...i cannot say.  my intent was not to write a poem (i use that term lightly for what is scrawled above)...just to inquire if you see the child that is not really there.  (click on the image and zoom in...see if you can see the child hidden beneath the wings...it is an illusion created by the processing done to the original photo...if you can't see her...no worries...as i mentioned today i seem to be seeing things...)

0 she can't win!

i had an epiphany while driving home last night...go figure, it seems most of my epiphanies come while driving. anyway, i realized our princess cannot win.  


while i was never 100% sure how the battle would turn out, there were only two scenarios i saw.  (1) she wins, then reveals herself and her plight and potentially looses her knight.  (2) he wins and there is no need to reveal herself because he is who she would have chosen so what difference does it really make.  okay, so i think i was leaning towards (1) from the get go because obviously there is the potential for more 'woe' embedded within this outcome.  it never really dawned on me that there was yet another option...and probably the most logical.  how i missed this possibility, i cannot say.  but when her secret was accidentally reveal at the end of the bout, it seemed off somehow.  i liked the idea of the premature reveal, but something didn't work.  the answer was, "she cannot win!"


so i did a little tweaking.  it didn't really take much to alter the appropriate part.  i left the original post up, just because...below you will find the reworked act VIII.   

---

Check out the first seven parts of the ballad in Act I - VII.

Act VIII – The Bout

It happened quite some time ago
when dragons roamed the land
where men were measured by the sword
and swiftness of their hand

the time has fin’ly come to pass
for our two loves to meet
no longer in their secret place
upon their garden seat

instead they strut the battlegrounds
two men for all to see
and bow to king and princess dear
but wait, how can that be

the princess in two spots at once
not possible you say
(hmmm) but ‘tis our lady’s maid who stands
as princess on display

‘tis with a cry the king declares
“the victor here within
will wed my daughter as proclaimed.
now let the bout begin!”

(ahhh) but to describe the artistry
with which our two loves sparred
their courtly dance with clashing swords
no one could disregard

oh what a match these two do make
both on and off the field
they fight with every breath they have
and still they do not yield

yet like all things that come to pass
this bout must find an end
for with a trick he stole from her
our young knight does descend


and with this final move he makes
her helmet goes astray
revealing who she really is
to everyone’s dismay

And thus moves on our tale of love
in shadows filled with woe
our knight now knows of love’s deceit
his princess is his foe

---

0 Tale of Love and Woe: The Bout

Check out the first seven parts of the ballad in Act I - VII.

Act VIII – The Bout

It happened quite some time ago
when dragons roamed the land
where men were measured by the sword
and swiftness of their hand

the time has fin’ly come to pass
for our two loves to meet
no longer in their secret place
upon their garden seat

instead they strut the battlegrounds
two men for all to see
and bow to king and princess dear
but wait, how can that be

the princess in two spots at once
not possible you say
(hmmm) but ‘tis our lady’s maid who stands
as princess on display

‘tis with a cry the king declares
“the victor here within
will wed my daughter as proclaimed.
now let the bout begin!”

(ahhh) but to describe the artistry
with which our two loves sparred
their courtly dance with clashing swords
no one could disregard

oh what a match these two do make
both on and off the field
they fight with every breath they have
and still they do not yield

yet like all things that come to pass
this bout must find an end
for with a trick she stole from him
our princess does descend

and with this final move she makes
her helmet goes astray
revealing who she really is
to everyone’s dismay

And thus moves on our tale of love
in shadows filled with woe
our knight now knows of love’s deceit
his princess is his foe

---

i really thought this would be the second to last act. but i feel our audience (and knight) deserve an explanation. so with great unrest i will add one more act before unveiling the end of this tale.

6 Echos of Silence

one day
             my silence
                             will echo

it will start as a whisper
of something forgotten
as you walk into a room
and look about
for what?
you can't remember
it will nag at you
until you shake off the whisper
figuring
it will eventually come back to you

it will grow to a soft hum
of a once heard song
that lingers at the edge
of your mind
you can feel the notes clash
refusing to take form
it will tickle your senses
until you push away the hum
back
into the recesses of your mind

one day

             my silence 

                             will echo

it will build within you to a shout

that whisper

that hum

will finally take shape

into words long ago read

and you'll be drawn

to rediscover them

as you begin to search for me

the nagging whisper will return

as you find my lost words

the tickling hum will resurface

it is then

that my silence will be so profound

it will echo deep within your mind

one day

             my silence 

                             will echo

of this i have no doubt

for there is no room 

for doubt

it is not something i can afford

my words have power

meaning

passion

these are things i cannot afford to loose

they are at my very core

without them i am nothing

and so i cling to the idea 

one day

             my silence 

                             will echo

---

a One Stop Poetry--One Shot Wednesday offering.