Lost Shadows of Reticence

at the centre of his imagination
all is blurred or veiled
this continual tussle between
reveal or shadow

inevitably creating a journey of suspense
allowing for at times,
no resolution or closure
retreating into these lost shadows

this private reticence
of an untold, nay oft told story
out of sight, off camera
might become an annoyance

but is it not the journey
rather than that, never reached destination
that casts the longer shadow
and matters more?

© 2021 michael d emmerich

© 2021 mikesnexus.com

What is Home?

home is where we start

but not where were it ends

the pathway from birth to death

is littered with choices



collected, used, stored, discarded

some stones sparkle and tempt

others lie cracked, damaged, exposed

by life's harsh realities



yet there is value in these damaged stones

and then, one day, I will die somewhere

against my will or another’s

but not today
© 2020 michael d emmerich
© 2020 mikesnexus.com

Life Matters

“Our interest in death and illness is nothing but a way of expressing an interest in life” Thomas Mann – my poem below is written from a medical perspective – every life matters and has value

air goes in and out

blood goes round and round

that says the medic

keeps you alive



in sickness and death

illness and injury

not all goes as it should

this is well noted



blood and guts

sickness and death

that last …..

potential breath

affirms our quest



intimacy with death

fuels our passion

in life in its abundance

ours

and yours …

the next patient?
© 2017 / 2019 michael d emmerich

life matters

Chasing Rainbows

the moon behind my back

with shadows stretching out before,

distorting, lengthening, changing

the way that lies ahead



standing in the gray

hoping to arrive

as I keep chasing rainbows

to dry my tears
© 2019 michael d emmerich
© 2019 mikesnexus

A Life Discarded

rolling highways of aging steel

spikes of steel arching upwards

stretching from here to wherever

even possibly infinity



remnants of a life discarded

frantically clinging to rusted spikes

as the blustery wind plucks and rips

desperately trying to set them free



these cast aside fragments

finally break free to fly

but only to be caught

by yet another highway of steel



which proceeds to agonisingly

shred, rip, tear

more of its life away

right down to the marrow
© 2019 michael d emmerich
© 2019 mikesnexus

Not Yet

it's not dark yet
it's not tomorrow yet
the sun has not set yet
no need to fret yet
nothing to regret yet
you have not broken yet
so no need to fret
.....
yet ....

© 2018 michael d emmerich

© 2018 mikesnexus.com

 

Shattered and Drawn

love gone to waste

lost never to be replaced

myriad shattered reflections

broken and lost connections



ice bullets, cutting straight and true

turning all my tears to blue

strewn with guilt

enfolding me with its emotional quilt



that jig-saw visage

reflecting through the passage

of a shattered past

stares back as one outcast



futility of anguished tears

failing to wash away the fears

leaving in its wake

one battered, bruised

shattered and drawn

© 2018 michael d emmerich

© 2018 mikesnexus.com

 

Voices

Sitting alone on a remote site, in my small tent for the night, cold outside. No contact all alone, after a while it gets a tad claustrophobic, no matter how wide the horizon.

 

voices, I hear voices

who is that

that still small voice

sounds so familiar

oh, it’s just me



starting to sound distant

I’ll just keep calling

hoping against hope

that the door opens

to where?



at last it opens

but wait, there is no one there

that still small voice

chasing me away

saying begone



no solace

walls close in

horizon stretches beyond

longing for contact

 that human touch

at last

….

oh, it’s just me


© 2018 Michael D Emmerich

Black Mist

rollin’ and a tumblin’ it draws nigh

no warning bell tolls

this boiling tempestuous darkness

a mist of uncertainty

splashed with crimson



wrapping you in its threadbare

torn black shroud

black as the coal driven snow

no protection afforded

from the shards of blackness

…..

releasing, enveloping

or entombing?

© 2018 michael d emmerich

A Shooting Star

 

Dedicated to my gorgeous, patient, long suffering, beautiful .. wife

stars-and-comets

saw your shooting star tonight

shattering the black of the night

flying across an amber palette

burning bright for all to see


that’s your mystique

slicing that veil of darkness

let your light shine through

my darlin’



you shine best

on the darkest of nights

burning brightly

chasing my dark away



that’s what you do best

dragging me to the light

my darlin’

© 2016 michael d emmerich