8 poems

6/2/10

What kind of fool decides in his forties
that what he really wants to be
is a poet
Fortune's foe?
A friend to all follies?
What kind of fool?
This kind

Copyright Ryan Cole 2010

Balance 6/1/10


Standing on an edge
wondering about the fall
feeling the wind against my face
thinking about a time long ago
if not very far away
perhaps this too shall pass
but for now
I am balanced

Copyright Ryan Cole 2010

For Jennifer F. 5/31/10

Motionless
Yet with fire and movement
She holds the pose
relaxed, never stiff f
illing the canvas with life
and creating art
out of stillness

Copyright Ryan Cole 2010

A Haiku 5/30/10

Night blooming jasmine
drifting in the air tonight
and I think of you

Copyright Ryan Cole 2010

Lets Get Lost 5/29/10

Lets get lost
Lets run away
though there are no circuses left to join
We'll create our own
just you and I
We'll walk the tight rope together
and swing on the trapeze
everyone will say how lovely you are
as they laugh at me
Yes, let's get lost
Let's run away
We'll leave this world behind
to live in castles in Spain

Copyright Ryan Cole 2010

Mantra 5/28/10


Like a mantra
the words that always echo inside
make their way to my unwilling lips t
o be asked of the beautiful, stupid moon
"What am I doing with my life?"
The ever present question always
unanswered except for the simple words
finding their way to my unwilling lips
"It's better than the alternative."

Copyright Ryan Cole 2010

For C. 5/27/10

She makes her way to the dark woods
the windy moors
The blank places on the map
where dragons be
Not for her the birdsong or the dappled glen
The gentle stream
No, she is the torrent and the tussle
The wild places and barren lands
The world sees only her face
Bewitched and beguiled by the beauty
Desired and demanded
She is just a commodity to be taken and used
and then discarded
No better am I
this much I know
Though perhaps not just by the beauty caught
Seduced instead by the sadness
as is my way,
for I too have dwelt in the dark woods
The windy moors
and the blank places on the map
where dragons be

Copyright Ryan Cole 2010

Grapefine, Sunrise, Wildflowers 5/26/10

The sun rises over the harsh mountain landscape
climbing upward
not yet reaching the stink of Bakersfield
brown and grey and dry
When suddenly bursting bright purple
covering the horizon promising hope
that worm in the soul
Maybe this day something good will happen
perhaps this is not the end

Copyright Ryan Cole 2010