Mary

It ran so subtle down her left brow
That thin line
White like a salted field
And in its wake, nary a hair grows
Off-kilter, it severs a smooth slope
Of burnt sienna
Pale sliver of a waxing moon
Tangled in shadows
Those dark lashes
Raising from an emerald pond
And glistening so slightly
Dilating
Reflecting the sky
The scarred earth shifts
As she raises the auburn ridge
And her wry smile brings the light

-Galwyn

Both Hands

She opens the door
Quietly in the night
Using both hands
To supress the sound
And as she closes it
Again, with both hands
The room stays silent
Save for the rumbling of my heart
Refusing to break

As she lies down beside me
Reeking of another man
I promise myself
To leave her
Closing the door with one hand
And saving my other
For another
-Galwyn

Core

You were always sweeter
Further from the core
Tearing through that bright flesh
And caressing the wound
With soft kisses
Crisp snaps of sweet flavour
Intoxicating and refreshing
This icy cider
Each moment shrinking you
And carving you like a statue

But rather than the perfection of art
All that is left is the central husk
Tasteless and stiff
With no scraps of sweetness left
And as your pale insides
Wrinkle and brown in the sun
I search each surface
For something to restore the flavor
But your sharp barbs slash my throat
And leave me gasping
Never again
In the breathless way
As days gone by

I feel them in my insides
Carving so roughly
Like mechanical knives
And I wonder
If perhaps you felt the same
Along the way
Maybe we aren’t much different
For as I look to the mirror
I see myself torn clean
With my withered core turning to rot
Your teeth marks ripped the valleys
Salted with tears
And never again to bear fruit
-Galwyn

The Jester and the Fool

Bells chime from her hat
As she juggles the apples high
But in an instant
They come clattering down
My pointed shoes
Vibrant and coiled like snakes
Stumble and fumble,
Slip and trip,
On the split halves
As I fall
Arms flailing
Body sprawling
She breaks my fall
She, the clumsy jester
I, the blinded fool

We flick each other’s noses
And electrify with a touch
But underneath her stage makeup
Is a face too genuine for me
Too beautiful
Cheeky smiles radiate
Across my pallid face
How did someone so great
Settle for me
They call me the jester
And she, the fool

We dance clumsily
And stammer together
Snorting and chortling
On each other’s breath
Bright shimmering clothes
Toothy grins
Jingling bells
Ugly laughter
Such a spectacle we must be
To the audience,
We are fool and jester
But to each other,
We are king and queen
-Galwyn

The Corgi

It begins with white pillars
Towering over a sky blue pool
With crisp, but temperate waters
I’m at the home of a ex lover
Though its design is not as remembered
From the water an orange form rises
Up like the sunset,
Bringing memories of firey hair
And soft kisses
But instead of bygone lovers arms
I find myself staring at two pointed ears

A small dog with stubby legs-
A corgi, I’ve been told,
Whimpers and flounders from the pool
My sleepy haze is broken
And I rush to save it from the water
Its ears flick off droplets
As I lift its abdomen
But rather than lifting it to the shore
I carry it along beside be
With my clothes soaking
Somehow I hardly notice

As it shuffles happily
And makes a vibrating wake
I find myself smirking
At such a simple moment
Without any weight or roughness
Much like the floating shape to my side

The corgi sticks its face below the surface
And blows tiny bubbles
Which sputter and pop
Until they moisten his eyes
And cause him to shake indignantly
I almost drop him
But he places his paw on my forearm
Not desperately
But with inquiry
The claw marks don’t sting
Beneath the waves

This pool was too deep for him
But not for me
And I could never leave him to it
Not on his own
Yet I couldn’t bring him to the dull shore
And leave him in the sun
While I knew this was a dream
And he’d be gone when I’d awake
I couldn’t abandon this one
This hopeless figment of my mind

So I taught him to swim
And even after
We couldn’t leave each others’ side
As we walked along the shore
My mind wasn’t on the pillars
Nor on the unfamiliarity
Nor on ex-lovers
But rather,
On the safety and happiness
Of the stubby dog shuffling beside

As the dream faded
Into my eyelids against the sheets
The corgi grasped my hand
And when I looked down
Right before the dream faded
I saw the smiling face of a child
As I woke up
-Galwyn

Other Than Yours

Other than yours
Every side of the bed is wrong
I wait outside every evening
In the flickering neon light
Of a shop which never closes
Legs crossed at the ankles
Sitting low to the ground
With a drink in my hand
Making every attempt to look enigmatic
Yet I’m longing for no contact
And wishing for nobody’s attention
Other than yours
-Galwyn

Sheets

Light and soft
Cool and smooth
The sheets sliding over you
Folds gripped between your toes
And gliding over your midriff
Like being wrapped in the dawn breeze
Around your face
Not restrictive or oppressive
But calming
Like the subtle caress of a lover
Fingers gracing your cheek
With wafting scent of fresh rain
Here in a field
The sheets hang between two trees
And envelop you
As you are lowered into them
A cocoon for the weary wanderer
The world at last becoming small
As the silken robes you wear
Comfort what is left of you
As you are taken, at last
To the world of sleep we all desire
-Galwyn

Pothole

Sunken street
A dark pothole
Out to test my suspension
And demand my attention
Deep like a dog’s ditch
Something lost
Waiting to be found
Just twisting my ankle
Searching for you
-Galwyn

Pull Yourself Tougher

The air is thick with particles
They collide and connect
Like frizzled synapses
Joined by critical mistakes
And constructive heartbreaks
Each moment pulls you together
Until you’re complete
A kaleidoscopic pebble
And as you float through the cosmos
So subtly vast
That you might smother a black hole
You feel the forces upon you
And in a moment
In a word
You are turned to particles once again
The cycle continues here
But decide for next time
If you will be harder to pull together
Or harder to pull apart
-Galwyn

Flagstone

It started with a dream
And then it was over
The flagstone uproots
And from the clinging paws of nature
Dirt and dust sprinkle
With a deafening crack
The floor above our heads shatters
What was once dirt and dust
Is now a stony hail

You wake up
The feel of sheets too cold
Too firm
Like a smooth altar below
Or perhaps above
For beneath you is a pattering sound
Of earth into earth
These sorrel raindrops
In clouds of dust

In an instant
The sound of thunder
An explosion
As your back is tattered by fragmentation
Ears unable to hear
And breath unable to keep
You watch the auburn droplets fall

The forecast called for hail
But we feel the warm summer rain
Through the dark clouds
The bodies cannot be seen
The bodies parched and dry
Pinned to altars
These creatures with craglike scales
-Galwyn