Landscapes of the Mind - Poems

Aubade

Sunrise like a slit neck,

        or the gleam of a distant house fire

colors this common scene -

a mechanical cock's

        bantam caterwaul stirs us awake.

The red alarm clock's glow

summons dread deep

       from the murky waters of our split

conscience, brackish sleep.

Another day ahead,

       and there is much work to be done,

more bread to be won. We

soar, only to crash.

       Necessity un-sticks our bodies like fly

paper, pulls us out of bed.

I shake the cobwebs

        from my mind, eyes opened on dark

room, a black apple rind,

but you are not there.

        Stupefied, I blink twice to confirm,

yet still find you nowhere -

Your side of bed is cold.

        Stinging tears pour forth from my

busted pipes,  I realize you

were but a mere dream -

         There never was a 'you', nor 'we';

now there is only me and me.