Three seconds expand,
Future hangs in the balance:
I emerge, hurried.
She walks casually,
In the center of the hall.
She sees me, smiles;
A delighted smile,
A smile like the ones before.
Heart anticipates:
Oh could it be now
The long silence is ended?
But no words emerge.
I move right, hurried.
She pockets her smile, scowls,
Averting her eyes.
Winds of countenance
Blew the future with full force;
Future remains past.
© 2014 H.K. Longmore
Posted in poetry
Tagged frustrations, haiku, misunderstanding, poem, relationships, timing
My Atrium is no ordinary shop:
No wares are peddled,
We don’t do consignment,
There’s no cash behind the counter.
Here behind the fence
Of my serous pericardium,
You’ll find, if you request,
Emotions—free of charge.
But if you want an emotion
From my Atrium,
You’ll have to step up;
Step up to the counter and ask.
But if you want jealousy,
We’re fresh out.
Well, that’s not right:
We no longer stock it.
Jealousy is messy,
It gets in the cracks,
Turns the grout green,
Stains white things black.
Jealousy does not produce
Manliness nor masculinity;
Those are both best
Grown internally.
So when we find
A trace of jealousy
On the floor
Or oozing down the stairs
We fetch the mop
From the cupboard
In the corner
Of my Atrium.
So, what will you have?
What will it be?
You’ll have to step up to the counter
And make it known.
If you’d rather get your fill
From some other,
That’s your choice.
There are other customers at my till.
But the portrait I painted
While you stood outside
Window shopping
Is etched into the wall.
And there it will remain—
Whether you give your wants a name,
Or never come to my counter again—
In the middle of my Atrium.
Now, where’s that mop?
©2014 H.K. Longmore
Posted in poetry
Tagged choice, communication, consequence, coping, desire, forgiveness, frustrations, jealousy, love, poem, relationships, resilience, sleepless
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Posted in poetry
Tagged bliss and glad life, communication, consequence, forgiveness, frustrations, introspection, poem, relationships, resilience, timing, weakness
I’m told in certain circumstances in tournament soccer play, it can be advantageous to lose a game so that you play a weaker opponent next, and a stronger opponent plays a stronger opponent, possibly losing, thus allowing you to play the weaker team and win. I suppose it is possible that under certain circumstances, a tie would be advantageous, and possibly a 0 – 0 tie. That supposition is a required backdrop for this poem.
The hour appears to draw near
When the game clock sings
And the crowd will cheer;
And I will leave the field a victor,
Despite the score being zeros.
Not by my being a hero, no.
By: my fear of the unknown,
the strength side of my weakness,
my ultimatum uncommunicated, unfulfilled.
All shots on the goal missed;
Some deflected, others poorly timed,
And some badly aimed.
And though time remains,
I’m like a quarterback
Kneeling after the snap;
I must keep the ball
Centered mid-field
And watch the clock expire,
For fear a warning dream
Becomes my future,
And I don’t wake with a scream.
I must watch the clock run out,
From self-respect on a two-way street,
Where what’s good for the goose—
You may think I’ll be tired,
Running around in circles
Trying to keep the ball away;
But the only circles I’ll be running
Will be the ones in my mind.
There’s but two on the field:
The goalie and me.
Guarding the goal, the goalie won’t yield;
Never engaging me to take the ball.
I cannot enter the goal box,
So I set the ball at mid-field,
And slowly back away;
Still, the goalie won’t engage.
© 2014 H.K. Longmore
Posted in poetry
Tagged bliss and glad life, communication, consequence, forgiveness, frustrations, introspection, poem, relationships, resilience, timing, weakness
He almost got out of bed early today.
Almost, but not quite.
He nearly hit a car as he squeezed past on the right.
Nearly, but all fears he did allay.
She almost ate lunch with them.
Almost, but not quite.
She nearly left in fight or flight.
Nearly, but she did not ruffle her hem.
He almost told her of his ultimatum.
Almost, but not quite.
She nearly kept her words from finding her kyte.
Nearly, but she swallowed ’em.
She nearly fulfilled the ultimatum.
Almost, but not quite.
He nearly broke it, had she been in sight.
Nearly, but he swallowed his “Hi”, literatim.
© 2014 H.K. Longmore
Posted in poetry
Tagged communication, consequence, frustrations, poem, punctuality, relationships
When two people converse
But always on the second’s turf,
How does the first know
Whether the second cares?
They conduct an experiment—
Be their own turf king,
Stop conversing until where
Changes, not when.
But what if all conversations
Between the first and the rest
Are because he initiates?
How can he know the problem wasn’t just him?
And so was born
An innocent experiment:
He shall begin no conversations
No not one.
The antisocial element
Is quite perverse,
But perhaps this verse
Will wipe away the tears
Should it prove that the problem is him.
© 2014 H.K. Longmore
Posted in poetry
Tagged communication, consequence, coping, counting the cost, frustrations, karma, law of restoration, poem, self reflection
For me, the problem with starting a poem on WordPress is that if I don’t get time to complete it then, in the heat of the emotion, while the words are rattling around in my head, bouncing off my skull … Continue reading
I am weak; it takes but touch to draw me along.
But the siren song is not so strong
That I cannot resist its charm.
I can withstand, do your best, you’ll do me no harm.
But take me by the hand,
Put your finger to your lips
To silence questions in the sand
As I ask where we’re headed on this trip;
My weak knees will obey,
And my heart will not delay.
But this weakness, it is no concern,
On it’s head you’ll see it turn.
Most of the double-x chromosomes
Want one with a y, enticed by sweet honeycomb,
To be the instigator,
Or it’s “see you later”.
© 2014 H.K. Longmore
Posted in poetry
Tagged frustrations, introspection, poem, relationships, self reflection, weakness
Je veux—je veux faire,
Je veux mais c’est défendu.
Je veux mais je ne comprend pas le langue,
Et je ne sais pas le culture.
C’est mon veste droite.
Les puissances de l’enfer
M’ont donné les opportunités
Mais Dieu m’a refusé la savoir-faire.
© 2014 H.K. Longmore
Posted in poetry
Tagged communication, composed in Compiègne, consequence, French, frustrations, self reflection, weakness
If you determine in your heart
To carry out an anonymous act
Designed to bring happiness
Or a smile to the recipient,
You must be prepared for the part:
Fully accept the burden of facts
Known to you and God—and security cameras—the madness
Of the temptation to tell, to take credit, your new companions persistent.
If you would walk the unidentified way,
You must quench the thirst for recognition,
Bury deep the desire to reap rewards; in sadness,
Leave not fully formed the hunger incipient.
When others comment, your tongue you’ll stay.
For leaving no clues you’d better have a knack;
Wipe that smile off your face at their gladness.
And it’s best to not write about what you’ve brought to fruition.
© 2014 H.K. Longmore
Posted in poetry
Tagged anonymous, burden, consequence, frustrations, introspection, love, poem, timing
“Don’t let others tell you
What you can and can’t do,”
Advice often given
And more often taken.
But I have a challenge,
I’ll throw the gauntlet down.
Take your pick, be my guest.
See if any of these
You can wrest from truth’s hands.
You can’t let go of what you never held.
You can’t finish what never started.
How can it be over if it never began?
You can’t lose what was never yours,
Nor what you never found.
You can’t have a conversation
With someone who refuses to speak to you in return.
You can’t respond to an ultimatum
That was never delivered, never known.
So call off the ultimatum,
Bind up the broken-hearted,
Keep looking for the things you want to find,
And start something before you end it.
Hold dear those things you don’t want to let go.
Copyright © 2014 H.K. Longmore
Posted in poetry
Tagged communication, frustrations, love, poem, relationships, self reflection
In the land of green and red x’s
No dance is ever in step;
Every good deed can be overturned
By the next misstep.
In the land of red and green x’s
Disappointment is par.
Human frailty guarantees
The tally can’t reach the bar.
In the land of red and green x’s
The chroma of the red implies
The focus it will have:
The red gains control of the eyes.
In the land of green and red x’s.
Take a little trip,
It’s not too far—
But you can’t get there by car—
To the land of seventy times seven.
In the land of seventy times seven,
Even when a relationship must be severed
That does not diminish the love that grew.
Though the love may change form:
Eros may become Philos;
Either may become Agape,
But surely love
Will yet endure
In the land of seventy times seven.
© 2014 H.K. Longmore
Posted in poetry
Tagged atonement, communication, coping, forgiveness, frustrations, love, misunderstanding, poem, relationships, resilience, sin
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