Splash and Giggles

I have been careful always To avoid drinking your wine Embracing my sobriety Fearing where the drink Might take me with you As I sometimes fear walking So drunk with your memories That I toddle and tip Against my neighbors Who stare at me with wonder But I am thirsty now With a tongue longing to drink Thoughts of you Are noisy thoughts With the splash and giggles Of filling wine-cups

Are Birds Afraid To Fall

Are birds afraid to fall, As they hop from limb to limb? When the water’s rise to tall Are the fish afraid to swim? Do the trees refuse to bend Or the beast, refuse to eat In the rush of winters wind Or when summers grass is sweet? Do the minutes refuse to blend With the rush of passing time? Does the edge of heaven end Or do stars no longer shine? You can’t expect a man to walk, Towards the devil with burning chains. Or ask that he should never talk To the woman who salves his pains. Yet you expect that this man, Will turn and walk away, When everything that I am, Tells me that I should stay?

Another Bug

I fight
I struggle
I crawl
In the end
I am merely

Another bug

Echoing

your voice sounds
in all of my joy
echoing in my past
and in the dreams of my future
reflecting and repeating
though out my life and
in all of my happiness

A Heart Too Young

there is a hollow place in me
that rests waiting for your memories
that longs to hear your whispers
echoing softly towards our future

I see your love for me flourishing
but too afraid to reach out
your timid heart, too young to know
that love when held too tightly

can Slip through your fingers.

A Winter Sparrow

This cold hungry day
A winter sparrow
Sups at your window

Eating some few crumbs
of summers wheat.
Your crust of bread

A simple act of love
Your kind heart
Sustains him

And so it is with me

Dear Princess Letters

Dear Princess,
I want to speak to you in quite tones, and to tell you I love you, because it defines me. I know who and what and where you are. On those points I am quite clear. But I know that you care for me and love me as well. I would say if that has changed then tell me goodbye. But you would say goodbye to make a point and I want none of that. I wasted the last year afraid of you, running away like a school boy, when I wanted nothing more than to be with you. Don’t push me away and define lines that I already understand. I will never hurt you and you know that, so don’t waste your time defending where there is nothing but my kindest desires towards you. I want nothing except your happiness somehow shared with me and my happiness with you. Love Cordell

What Time We Spent

My what a time we spent.
Your bed so soft.
Clinging to each other,
Moving this way and that.
Burning together into ash.
Unbridled in our passions.
Your mouth on mine.
If only we had died this once
Both of us happy.

In the mirror in front of me
my hands on you
your hand reach back
as we stand dripping
sippery and delicious
our tongues and we
begin again
the long slow dance
we have perfected
like pilgrims returning
home again
to the promised land

For Jane

Outside our bedroom window
in the dark of a spring
rainy midnight
a lone bord warbled
its varied love song
as if it knew what
we were doing
with our windows open.
It trilled on for an hour
in the middle of that night
singing descant
to my heart's melody.

I know you don't come her.
So I can say what I want to say.
I want to say I hate you
But I'll do that another day.

Im sorry for all Ive said to you
More sorry every day.
But how do I take back in words,
What I ask for when I pray.

I want to say my last farwell
Close the chapers of this book.
But then I know just what I'd do.
Leave it there, hoping you'll look.

I see you happy when your with me
And sad when you with him.
You work so hard to make it work.
And your life is still so grim.

I know how much he hurts you.
I see it on your face.
I see worse than the bruses.
As your smile starts to erase.

Even when I should hate him
The way he treats you so base.
I look and with with envy.
I'd gladly take his place.

Then darkness deep with me,
Forces me to leave.
Before I give you what you need.
A body for you to grieve.

His Heart Churns, Her Heart Bleeds

Its Seems hes bound for a different fate
What began in love will end hate
Not for her and not for him
but for the fact that it began

He held her hand
she ran away
when all he asked
was that shed stay

Somber now he hears the dark
on moonlit nights where he has parked
he listens for the memories there
and wonders if she ever cared


she needed time
and a bit of space
and all he ever gave
was chase

even now she needs the same
and wishes somehow he had came
a little later to her life
when not so full of pressing strife

he needed love
she needed light
she needed air
he needed might

time has passed and both moved on
he hates the fact that she is gone
she thinks of him along at night
now that the time is finally right

now he burns
and now she needs
his heart churns
and her heart bleeds

My Suicide

by Cordell

the thunderheads rolled
painting the sky an iron gray
sheets of rain sweep the valley floor
hissing in my ears
as my feet entered the water
of that great and rushing river
where I would drown and
my sins would lie on the bottom
and God would forgive

From Russian writer, Alexander Pushkin

I Lifted this beautiful poem from a friends blog. http://willowtreepoetry.blogspot.com/
It is called "I loved you" By Russian Writer Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) But interestingly I have found two poems credited to Alexander from the same date. Clearly the poem must have been origionally written in Russian, so I dont know if there are two different poems or two different versions, or two different interpatations. I think both are lovely. Here is the first.

I loved You
I loved you; and perhaps I love you still,
The flame, perhaps, is not extinguished; yet
It burns so quietly within my soul,
No longer should you feel distressed by it.
Silently and hopelessly I loved you,
At times too jealous and at times too shy.
God grant you find another who will love you
As tenderly and truthfully as I.

Here is the Second

I loved You
I loved you; even now I may confess,
Some embers of my love their fire retain;
But do not let it cause you more distress,
I do not want to sadden you again.
Hopeless and tongue-tied, yet I loved you dearly,
With pangs the jealous and the timid know;
So tenderly I loved you, so sincerely,
I pray God grant another love you so.


You can see more from my friends blog at:
http://willowtreepoetry.blogspot.com/

A Frogs Love - Haiku

The frogs summer song
Croaking noise to you and I
His lovers lament.

The Shattering

The Shattering

By Cordell Rich

I feel her next to me
breathing
Her scent swells within
my lungs
the rhythms of her sleep
shelter me
this one moment defined as
content
yet I am captivated by
fear
lost in a future unknown
to me
too ready to again embrace
the past
reading myself for the
shattering

This Frozen Fire

This Frozen Fire

I stand with my chest naked,
the cold spring air at my back

My lungs chilled with the thought,
somehow I have lost you

seperated now by more
than mortal time and space

legs waivering i look into a desperate sky
knowing you sleep without me

trembling I whisper the words
that I pray will somehow connect us

my heart, this humble vessel,
swims in desperate strokes

to close this awful gulf
now so unforgiven

that I might not burn forever
in this frozen fire

An Angels Fire

By Cordell Rich

this night will hold regret
black and buring with desire
tangled in linens and sweat
set by an angels fire.

Let me Atone

By Cordell Rich

what do I want from you
somehow I though you knew
before you said were through
that I want all of you

I want your heart and mind
that little cute behind
your hazel eyes so kind
whatever else I find

I love yous on the phone
the quite nights at home
soft moments spent alone
please let me atone

I Appear the Stranger

By Cordell Rich

would this man find a flower
and put it in a cage
and at some desperate hour
visit it with rage

or with colored words of anger
paint you black and blue
using words as if new spurs
are as gentle as the dew.

if I came upon his raging
with you cowering in fright
could you see it as a staging
to leave with me that night

or would I appear the strange
if I held to you my hand
would I appear the danger
my gesture a demand

a flower can grow so wilted
it has just the strength to stand
and a cooling sip of water
can drive it to the sand

My Muse

By Cordell Rich

my hands are sometime a lonely place
desperate to find your hands hiding within them
am I always to be a slave to memories of you
longing for that moment of your hands in mine
of your hands being our hands.
I would scarce know how to breath
and close my eyes for fear that
the next breath would might come
when you would be my last mistake
I would raise my voice and
sing in whispered praises
my muse, Magami
transposing your name anew
a prayer upon my lips
Magami
again and again Magami
until I had sung every syllable
fresh kisses on your skin thru
the whispered words, magami
as I taste the salty moonlight there
your slave or your king
abandoning all memories past
for memories yet to come
those moment with you in my arms

Magami Japanese for Muse or My Muse

I Can See You Leaving

By Cordell Rich

even from where I am, I can see you leaving.
how am I to say goodbye to you
with any words that are not covered in lies
I would pay loves price again and again
to watch the bend and pull of your lips
as you speak my name
or to feel your hands, in my hands
as gentle as new born snow falling in my hair

SHE

she
appears
a ghost from my recent past
perhaps sad
dark and moody
but with gentle eyes
looking
not at me, but past
as if something holds her attention
and I am saddened
because in a moment she will be gone
and I will be left
a lonely man.

These My Tears

By Cordell Rich

these my tears are born of a rage boiling within her
melting the shards of broken memories
to produce these tears which even now
bind me against my will to her
they burn and sting my eyes and turn my heart cold
how does this woman cry when all inside of her
is frozen by a great frost temporing her heart

My Every Breath

I remember your shoulders
and your skin in the light

your flames coursing through my veins
quenched only by your presence

scars burned deep into my future
to mourn some later date

every memory a tear upon my flesh
a tapestry of regret now scarred and healed

my every breath an invocation
to a God long wearied by my pleas

desperate I cry out
the moons silence, my rebuke

my thoughts tremble at the question
if I but had the courage

would you be with me now

Inhaling Her

By Cordell Rich

I thought of you this weekend
my mind turns to you
as naturally as a smooth stone
must fall to the earth
because of that
I spend half of my life here
and half of my life in a dream
for so long I’ve not tasted
what I had eaten
or seen where I had been
because my life drifts along
and my thoughts
are consumed with you
then this week
I found a beautiful ripe pear
and I stood at the sink
thinking I was prepared to eat
and as I held it to my mouth
I could smell its fragrance
I grew excited knowing
what I was about to experience
as I bit into the flesh
there was just a moment of resistance
from its smooth skin
before it gave way to my teeth
the next moment
I could feel the juices
running into the whiskers on my chin
and down my neck
then for a brief time
it seemed
that I had tried to take
too much of the fruit at once
my senses were overwhelmed
and as I pulled
the mouthful of fruit
away from its body
the juices covered my chin and neck again
and continued down to my chest
but in the end it was very satisfying
at the moment I enjoyed
that first tender bite
I thought of how satisfied I was
for that brief instant
and I thought of you

Duplicitous She

She
Stoic

Stands
Wanting to run

Calls
to me

my name,
to love

Wanting
ture love

holding
her dreams in check

herself
punished

denying
for me

herself!



She
stands,
calls my name.
Wanting.
Holding
Herself.
Denying
herself!

Stoic
wanting
to run
to me
to love
ture love
her dreams in check
punished
for me.

Lonely Hands

my hands are sometime a lonely place
desperate to find your hands hiding within them
am I always to be a slave to memories of you
longing for that moment of your hands in mine
of your hands being our hands.
I would scarce know how to breath
and close my eyes for fear of that
the next breath would not come
when you would be my last mistake
I raise my voice and sing in whispered praises
transposing your name anew
A prayer upon my lips
again and again
until I had sung every syllable
fresh kisses on your skin thru your name
as I taste the salty moonlight there
I would be your slave or your king
abandoning all memories past
for memories yet to come
for those moment with you in my arms

Let Me Atone

what do I want from you
somehow I though you knew
before you said were through
that I want all of you

I want your heart and mind
that little cute behind
your hazel eyes so kind
whatever else I find

I love yous on the phone
the quite nights at home
soft moments spent alone
please let me atone

Embrace the Fall

If I could fly, I would look for you
And we would wait for the night
Then together we would soar
Coaxing each other higher
With no direction but up
Finally exhausting ourselves
In the black spaces nearest heaven
With only stars above and stars below
Spent from this struggle
I would pull you close
Wrapped in each other’s arms
We would embrace the fall



If you would come with me.

A Winter Prayer

tomorrow let me raise my chin
and feel the winters chill on my face
let me feel the cut of the bitter wind
as it moves from me to its winters race

let me feel the cold burning into my lungs
my ribs stretching as I deeply breath
while no heat escapes the winter suns
and bitter colds encroach within sleeve

let me love the smell of winters breath
her white blanket here a token
the fallen leaves of summers death
covered now their firm grasp broken

the silent plunge from clouds on high
of brilliant white cathedral’s
there crystal forms together lay
a hundred million steeples

Misunderstanding Cats

Some would say
its fun to play
when the cats away
but I would stay
for a chance to play
or to roll in the hay
almost any day
with the cat.

Only You

I said I love you
My lips so close to your ears
That I could taste
your desire
Pumping through my veins
I felt a smile pulling
At the corners of your mouth
As my world tilted
And I whisper
Only you

Am I Even A Man?

I saw you sitting with the other girls
but I didn't have the courage to say
hello
one word
five letters and my courage failed me

I could have said Hi
two Letters
maybe my courage could have shouldered that

I sometimes wonder if I am even a man
I see myself standing up to the crass man
shouting profanities at no one in particular
And I stand up for the crowd

facing the man
In my minds eye I act with square shoulders and directness
unflinching resolve
the kind that abandoned me as my shoulder fall

and I divert my eyes when I see you
sitting with three girls in skirts

So I wonder, am I a coward
would I sit like the rest of the sheep
bleating but never facing the wolf
or is there a courage separate
from the affairs of the heart

Gouge Out My Eyes

bright eyes
bare his memory
fed life’s fuel
making lust a famine
glutton that I am
love is empty
hollow praise
lying in my naked arms
wrapped in my words
naked words
make bare his heart
so far fallen
every moment closer to flight
this life, broken shards of remorse
words unsaid
deeds undone
love unloved
you said Id fine forever
I scream bullshit
without you
I am alone
dead but for this breath
must I leave those eyes
how long am I to wait
you my light barer
alone I choose the dark
gouge out my eyes
for I am not to see

Is That All It Was

Someone called your name as we walked along
An old friend as far as I could tell
That’s when I realized
That I
Was with you
The two of us together
I was in love and you were just with someone, me
As we walked along you spoke about the future
The one without me in it
That’s not how you put it
That’s just how it is
But then you’ve never spoke about a future with me in it
But I’d never considered any other since we became
What?
Friends?
Not lovers.
But Friends?
Is that all it was?
Not to me
For you it was never anything more
Was it ever anything more to you?
Just polite conversation as we passed the time together
You were bound to me by polite politics, social norms
The polite trappings of people thrown together
But I was bound to you by something else

Please Read this on the Plane, I love you!

I am sometime lost when I'm with you
I love you but I betray myself
and I guard my actions
when you were tired
all I wanted to do
was hold you in my arms
and feel you sleeping
so that you could have that rest
but if I held you in my arms
I would want to feel the flesh
from the small of your back
sweating against the flat of my hands
there is no prize to great or small
that I won’t steal from you
I will always be your thief
when you’re in Rome look up
and feel the warmth of the sun on your face
and when you do
know that I am her
in the dark without you
and that thousands of silvery stars
will hold no magic for me
as long as you are gone
ten days is too long
without looking in your eyes
I will be looking forward to seeing you
I dare you to call again once you return
and when you return
I dare you to tell me again
that you love me

Life Without You is A Moonless Night

I want to search and unravel ever layer
to find the lines of our bodies melting together
can you love me in that way
every membrane on fire with love, lust and fear
exploding from the sheer force of emotion

do you know that I read your words
every word you have ever send me
over and over again in a constant loop
so they become a part of me
every, I love you, again and again and again…

I know that your love me, that we are friends
Is this the type of trip two friends can take together
If one of the friends is me and the other is you
have you ever wondered why I’m so carried away
or have I carried you with me

I sometime wonder this because
sometimes you’re not with me
and I want you here as my light
if you’re not with me then its night
where are you, why are you

I blame you for the darkened sky’s
I blame you for the way the sun hides
when I’m with you I dream of flying
in my dreams my hearts not dying
without you life is a moonless night.

Hugged Not - Haiku

Hugged not him nor I
yes I understand the stone
Helpless and alone

A Girl Named Kelli

I danced with a girl named Kelli
She only had one good eye
she was quick on her feet
but she grabbed for my seat
and I said Im not that kind of guy

What is this word love

what is this word love
where does it get it power
to crush a gentle dove
or blossom buds to flower

so gentle from the lips
so mighty to the ears
source of thrusting hips
source of bitter tears

my heart cries out I love you
though caution reins me in
unbridled passions deluge
what would that begin

passion from I love you
hate comes from I love you
sorrow from I love you
I love you, from I love you.

Tenshi or Icarus

I have seen the storm clouds gathering
the tides of your passions ebb and flow
I have seen the sun on your hair
and the fire in your eyes as you look at me
but I have never seen you free

tonight we will travel to my escape
where I will take you body and soul
and I will teach you the power of regret
or the full measure of loves passion
and we will cherish or despise each other

swim with me into the night
spinning recklessly out of control
standing tall upon your knees
we will disrobe with our eyes open
one button at a time until all is undone

then you and I will play with the embers
burning our hands and our souls together
tossing the fires between us
in a dangerous game of catch
until we are embroiled in a delicious fire

yes I know there is a price to pay
for both sin and happiness
some will try to define it
but who will pay the price to know the truth
I dare you... not to love me but to live

and now you must decide
will you acquiesce surrender submit
not to me but to yourself
to the passions so clear to see
what will you find beside your bed this night

will your passions erupt beyond your fears
with blanket strewn as ragged toys
the scent of vanilla in the air
the taste of chocolate on your breasts
cascading kisses seared upon your skin

a broken pile of thoughts and memories
shattered and ravaged by time
wait patiently for us on the floor
huddled together with black lace and fear
cast aside as we embrace each other

what comes at the dying of this night
will Tenshi die as Icarus *
or will you cleave tight to me and cry
as love pierces through bright clouds
spark of my souls life within you

this night you will see the end
and know what every lover knows
that even though storms arise
and safe ships find safe harbors
love is only found with nets cast in the deep

*Tenshi = Angel in Japanese Icarus = in Greek Mytholoty he is the son of Daedalus and is known for his attempt to escape Crete by flight, which ended in a fall to his death. Icarus' father made a set of wings out of feathers and wax and warned Icarus not to fly to close to the water or he sun. Icarus was so thrilled to be able to fly he forgot the warning and flew to close to the sun. The wax melted and Icarus fell to his death.

Angels Flight

busy angel take you flight
and beat your wings for her tonight

let him feel the way she feels
his heart to sing, her heart to reel

speak to her of memories past
and touch her heart that they might last

whisper love to heart and mind
the soul will follow all entwined

if this is wrong so it begins
but do not speak again of sin

Lilly flower in winter’s night
wear you blackened silk tonight

find you slumber close your eyes
in your dreams your angel flies

angel wings so far from home
remember you are not alone

embrace the winter’s sky in flight
angels sleep with angels tonight

Please Whisper

Could you please whisper.
Pretend that were together.
Embraced in my arms.
With no distance between us.
Sing to me in my dreamland.


Yes this is for you.

Hugged Not a Haiku

hugged not him nor I
yes I understand the stone
helpless and alone

Sonnet 1

Dear Ms.

the angles conspire and whisper our names
blushing as moonlight dappled thought the leaves
heats our passions bright with newfound flames
and silvery paints your shoulders without sleeves

clasp my hands with desperate hearts embracing
entreat my eyes caress your shadowed form
unloose the tempest now within you raging
and wake me gently slumbered upon the morn

had you but closed your hazeled eyes and called my name
and pray me walk so gently upon your fields
youths impetuous memories would not your passions tame
and blind true loves eyes that you may not now yield

wretched upon your future heart will empty memories lie
when true loves rich and fertile soils remember just goodbye


Copyright (C) September 2008 Cordell Rich

good night kiss

by Liliana Negoi

i'm watching you,
pretending i don't know your intentions,
pretending this is only a friendly dinner...
but your hands shake nervously
while you fill my glass with red wine...
i can almost feel the scent of your lust
when you glide your eyes over my body...
for a second your eyes meet mine...
and i remain breathless
because of the unveiled passion i see in them...
one second you're there...
and the next i feel your mouth on mine,
breaking my every bit of resistence with your kiss...
your hands burning my skin through the black silk
have abandoned the glass of wine
somewhere on their way to my breasts...
and tonight the wine will remain untouched,
for my lips are a feast far more appealing to your hunger...


To read more of Lillys poems please visit her page at
http://www.poetbay.com/poetHome.php?writerId=29
Lilly is my favorite poet of all time and has many wonderful poems. Please visit her page to see more of her work. Used with permission.

Break Me if You Can

Dear Ms.

Drowned me with your storms.
Cursh me with your words.
Wound me with your lashes.
Bind me with your tyranny.
Melt my soul with your eyes.
Break me if you can.
Scream at me please.
But give me no more
of your silence.

Copyright © Cordell Rich 2008
http://www.coffeeconnection.co.uk/poems/2192-break-me-if-you-can.html

Your Kiss

Dear Ms.

Your kiss lies there
waiting for my lips,
to draw from you
quivering breaths.
Your body shudders,
in anticipation
and fear.

Cordell

On the Porch Without You.

Dear Ms.

Clouds of purple and blue and grey
Gallop across an enormous sky
Grumbling now and then.
Each pulled toward another
Not for my sake alone
Or for the beauty they create
But out of anger or spite
Clashing in flacid rebukes
Savage only in anticipation
Folding colors and emotions together
With pounding rebukes and blinding lashes.

Cordell Rich
From My Journal June of 2007