lei fraser

my heart is frankly scarlet
in the wake of the phoenix
ripe, raw, full to overflowing
up and outward moving
against this darkened sky
like each star
each moment
each breath
glowing brightly
all around me
all of this
lilting laughter
extending
beyond
within
at once
centred
open wings
this is
my life’s
beginning
this is
me

~

gentle lake
your face has changed
angry waves slap the shore
stones shine in wet dresses
thundering music of your soul
touches mine
no theory or formula
can be laid across you
to define you
even the fish swimming within
have no knowledge of you
but once outside
the agony is played on
the broken heart, broken breath
lamenting what once was

~

as morning sun yawns
spreading its first light
shimmering dew drops
send the spider into flight

along delicate homeward paths
a crystal web
where few dare to roam

prisms formed by midnight’s tears
drying on the silver threads
where the silent spider
– treads

~

quietlaughter
leaves rain on cloudless skies
winds play a symphony
through the trees
while i sit under a maple
with leaves of fire
i close my eyes
and hear squirrels
dashing madly through the brush
storing away what they will soon forget…
shadows dance as last sun spills around me
and the day falls away
i look up and smile at the winking sun
and raise my hand, palm exposed
to feel the kiss of each leaf
in the breeze, each shaft of light
you ask “do the clouds change the sun?”
and i whisper to you
in this sacred place
“no”.

~

pale light, like the blush of a rose
slips quietly across the morning sky
to thread itself through the branches of the oak
it shapes the shadows, sprawling them
out over the dew laden grass
an unassuming dance
that reaches to catch my arm
drawing me in step with ancient harmony

as we go along the light of day
longer shadows play,
and languid leaves rise and fall
with the warm breeze
soon they will tumble and turn
to rest again

day ambles away over the horizon
evening stretches now
and i sit in the glow
of sunset’s silent embrace

~

listen dear one… until the waves
are quiet against the stoney shore
when words are wrapped tightly among them
silent sentinels, guarding waiting…
moments pass, like wind through the trees
each not drawn against
the bowing branches
earlier, i watched a bird explode into the air
while another swam silently below
the serene face of the lake
and gold flashed in the shallows
as the sun set
as the first stars leap and play
against the blackening sky
know that all this i see
with you sitting here beside me

~

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

~