lei fraser

light falls through the window
like water from a broken glass
shadows slip across my body
as i sit in this evening sun
dark shards cut through
with slivers of golden light
while silence sits next to me
flashing a sly and knowing smile
waiting for me to move away
to fall into the shadows
or dance in the light
to leave the room
and not find the door to return
but wherever i go i am here
the door, window, sun
may slowly melt into the landscape
even silence may slink away to play
with his noisier cousin chaos
sitting here now, i can smell
the roses through the window
feel the cool breeze on my skin
and even though i know the mirror
shows a face drawn out in pain
the stars will still shine tonight

~

waves on the bay
myriad rise and fall
with wind and sunlight
each wave a deep sigh
from below
to dance, to sing, to be
one breath connects all
while this me floats among them
dense as the shale below
yet the wave’s gentle gesture
becomes its own
the wind and sun
bend to kiss the upturned face
just as sweetly as the wave itself
no shape remains
no arm, no leg
no eye, no breast
no me
only waves on the bay

~

this gentle rain of emotion
falls sweetly over me
holding out my hand to you
alone again, i’ll never be

this love carries me on
melts the hardest days away
when the tears won’t stop flowing
this love knows just what to say

eyes like the morning sunrise
shining still with dew
i never knew i could be whole
until the day i met you

this love carries me on
melts the hardest days away
when the tears won’t stop flowing
this love knows there are no words to say

when the evening is upon me
and twilight’s kiss i feel
my life is a gift in your arms
and this love is the seal

this love carries me on
melts the hardest days away
when the tears won’t stop flowing
and we don’t know where we are going
this love knows the way

~

I

life spills around me
water from an over-turned cup
carelessly, recklessly tossed to the ground
i am running, i am running
forget what is lacking
what is gone
the sun never shines twice on the same day
drink this light down
catch up with me life
while i dance in this orange glow
trailing this dark mantle behind me
laughter falls like rain
wisps of yesterday
moments hanging in the air
i won’t suffer to reach for them…

II

The day now dressed in ebony
river winds to rush over
pale, grey weathered stones
soothing, cool caress
in silence, i sit now
beneath mango boughs alone
to listen to the spring moon rising
its silver melody drips down over me
the gentlest waterfall leaping
to the still deep pool below

III

I breathe
sitting in this space
between now and the next moment
between the pebble’s drop
and the ocean’s embrace
love spills over mindstones eroding them
to no thing
and i see with light again
there is no running
no catching up
the laughter remains the same
my soul jumps into your arms
as the moon rises

light like a sigh
spreads gently across
the mountain range
a breath that floats
and brushes against you
barely there
like standing in a gale
wind blows, clouds dance
then in stillness
waves rest
blossoms unfold
in the morning

~

let us go together
along the light of day
our souls will sing
with each step we take

it may rain along the way, I know
the clouds may hide the sun
each drop of rain a jewel
to feed the seed of change

we are the shifting breezes
that flow through the trees
the rose that blooms, unfolding
its petals to reach the sun
the stream tumbling and falling
over rock ledge to the quiet pool below
the shore shaped by the ocean wave

let go along the light of today
the journey is the destination
our souls are singing
with each step we take

storms will blow through us
we may feel weary and worn
battered and torn
but just as the wind blows
through a screen door
so too shall the sun shine

hope will propel us through
even as a tiny grain of sand
it grows from deep inside of us
from nothing to a pearl

we are the sturdy oak
whose branches reach skyward
and roots that embrace soil and stone
the mountain that will not be moved
the azure sky that will not falter
the sun that will not fade away

let go along the light of day
life is waiting
breathe deeply
with every step we take

~

take this breath
from my lips, wind
as you dance
in this morning’s
first light
each turning leaf
of your complete caress,
rose up to greet you
and saw it was not alone
with this life of mine
draw it up in your airy arms
as the sun wanes
and the shadows grow long
in the last whisper of light
let this stillness
resonate
in my soul

~

silent evening
as wind embraces
majestic pine
stones cease
their restless
current journey
wrapped in this
quiet blanket
moon reaches to
pull back the
cloudy curtain
in this subtle light
where the shadows
are almost imperceptible
souls sing
and laughter
bubbles up
from the depths
light falls around
like tiny gems
rolling across the palm
spiralling around
to drop like rain
when each one does
from its grassy resting place
everything, the universe
and beyond
is reflected there

~

afternoon sunlight
streaming in the window
i am sitting beside you
trying to say goodbye
but i don’t want to leave you
just want to stay
hold you close to me
to keep you safe
no matter where you are
i have a place to wander from
it may not be your hand i can hold
for all time, for always
but i know when the sun rises
you will be here beside me
holding me close
keeping me safe from harm

~

not only in the quiet
of the evening do my
thoughts turn to you
i rest with the setting sun
soothed by a cooling breeze
still the days are grey
when you are gone
and i am left with only
the cats for company
( the black one thinks to
own the chair by the window
now and the other has decided
what space is left is hers alone)
not only in the stillness after the day
is folded and put away, watching
the reddening sun but when dawn
breaks the black cast of night
and i wake with the same joy the
sky has in seeing the sun again
because in that moment it is you who
i see or at midday, when
the sun is strongest, and
i find your pictures marking my place
in a book i just took from the shelf
not only in the evening, when
darkness stills me
do my thoughts turn to you and i smile.
i smile and think of you.

~

words fall like scattered papers
as soft light dressed as afternoon
slips in through the window
illuminated
the room
my desk
my mind
revealed
i can see the torrent of books,
papers, scraps of thought teetering
on the shelves i look and see
stones i had forgotten, old photos in piles
faces from the past that stare balefully at me
landscapes waiting for acrylic birth
when did this happen?
when did i stop to do what comforts me
pulls me in from the whirling,
wraps me in the sweet unknowing and
presses a pen, a brush to my palm
whispering to me
express
instead
frantically overcome
and choking i have sat by this window
forgetting everything
until, like walking into a low tree branch
and crashing to the ground
i wake up
and watch the sun

~

waterlily white
against my palm
what dream do you hold for me
little one?
while the willow sleeps
with the resting wind
you sit with me
and hold me still
how this flower unfolds is mine
alone
every pure and velvet petal
is mine
the edge of the bloom
rests against me
while it all falls apart
where it all falls apart
i am
don’t let go of me
please
let go let go
it screams against me
let it all fall apart
let the petals float
in the water below my fingertips
in the air above my head
in the deepest part of my heart
it all falls apart
it all means something
every petal
every cell
every thought
every dream
every memory
gentle one
you are not who shattered the glass
you are who floated the flower to begin

~