Dealers Choice?

 

people often say

I’ve been dealt a bad hand

the cards are crap

to many jokers and the deuces suck



the cards we are dealt

is the hand we hold

until the dealer next shuffles

but the game never ends



the trick is, turn the cards

to your advantage

seven aces in spades

transforming death to life



good players of the game

overcome the adversity of a bad hand

despite what they hold

they know they can win



when your world depends

on what’s in your hand

go all in, don’t back down

never let a bad hand

hold you back or pull you down

© 2018 michael d emmerich

Friendship

for time, for a season

for a lifetime

walking through the fire

embers and ashes cling to you

memories burnt into one’s story



broken promises, battered trust

like a well-travelled suitcase

full of memories and baggage

ready to be unpacked, repacked

for the next journey



neither time, distance or age

undeterred, always

comrades in each other’s arms

like long lost lovers

always returning

…..

for that last embrace

© 2018 michael d emmerich

Lovers

 

lover cover me

during tough and rough times

better days await

I’m sure



lovers in their summer dresses

wind pressed fabric caressing the curves

sunlit backdrops to,

images of flesh through

silk and lace



some girl to thrill me

again, and again

and yes,

drive me crazy

with who knows what



when I look in your eyes

I’ll be dreaming

with eyes wide open

as the sun goes down

 © 2018 michael d emmerich

The Gypsy

a weary traveller, searching

along the unfurling winding road

for the next place of refuge

the cold, worn, faded sheets

reflecting stages of life



heart and mind on the move

carrying minimal baggage

unpacking as we move along

no hat, no house

the empty spaces I've roamed

searching for a home



a stone with no moss

only seeking

……

shelter from a storm

© 2018 michael d emmerich

Don’t Stop

 keep moving

every minute of every day

pushing onward

refrain from looking back

evading that twisted claw of grief

as it tries to shred the memories

of yesterday

© 2018 michael d emmerich

Home

opening the door

stepping over the threshold

asking not much

neither a kiss or an embrace

just to lie down for awhile

not to be alone

just to be at home

© 2018 michael d emmerich

Recovery

that oft travelled path

hard to traverse and understand

healing scar tissue keeps tripping one up

on those ever-larger keloids

memories of the past

calm, heal, infuriate



foot sore, weary, burnt and blistered

searching for recovery, healing

crossing over to the other side

searching for another

I see peace

in my eyes

or another’s

© 2018 michael d emmerich

Nevermore

lift me up

nevermore

head on my pillow

nevermore

empty sky

for evermore

© 2018 michael d emmerich

Absence Divides

clouds roll over the horizon

blanketing my mind

this dark gray heavy mass unfurled

creating an epitaph of confusion



despite all the love and protection

that enveloped us

absence drove a wedge

splitting your heart in twain



that twisted spear of absence

oh how I wish I could turn back

and lose myself in you

again ….



found my world in you

lost myself with you

now I am lost, alone

having lost my world

© 2018 michael d emmerich

Bleeding Words

writing is when you get stabbed

and you choose to bleed words out onto the page 

.....

instead of spilling your blood on the ground

bleed through your words

.....

stain the pages with your passion and pain

© 2018 michael d emmerich