(Part 1)
TEARS
A heart attack!
Dear God, not
mine, though I would
rather that it be.
What do I do if
He takes her
from me?
Blockage, calcium,
I thought women her age
were supposed to take
extra. Its supposed
to be helpful for the bones; it
may just kill her.
“Sir? Is this your wife?”
A nurse?
“The doctor is waiting for you, she’s all done.
She’ll be fine, right this way.”
On my face
tears.
(Part 2)
THE MIRACLE OF SLEEP
You slept in my arms last night,
And I kissed the top of your head;
I felt on my chest your small sleep smile,
Did you feel me laying beside you in bed?
As I drifted in your soft fresh scent
Your gentle breathing tickled on my chest;
But our hearts beating in compliment to
each other,
That is what I think felt the best.
Your hands lay there on my stomach,
And the warmth contrasted with the cool
sheet;
I had to smile to myself as I remembered
How earlier I rubbed so much to warm your
feet.
The weight of your leg felt so natural
As it pressed heavily down on my thigh:
Finally, I felt again contentment and at
peace,
And you moved slightly as I let out a sigh.
But this morning the miracle evaporated
from my life,
When I woke and your face I expected to
see;
And I knew you watched over me from so
far, far away;
I would swear last night was real, yet how
could that be?
(Published Collage. Ed. Jaz Gray. Middle Tennessee State University. Spring (April), 2010.)
(Part 3)
A Lovers Prayer
Dear God,
I want the pain to stop.
I want to hold her in my arms,
Tell her I love her one more time,
That I will keep her safe forever,
And not let that be an unknown lie.
I want to sleep a restful sleep,
Dreaming without waking to cry,
Not of screaming at her to lock the doors,
And if she really loves me she won’t die.
I want to see her in my sleep,
The way she was before it all ended,
Beautiful and vibrant with love and life,
Not hooked to machines her life suspended.
I want to touch her hand and feel warm flesh,
The way it felt the day we first met and loved,
To remember her lips as we kissed our first kiss,
Not the kiss goodbye I only pray she knows I gave.
I want the pain to stop.
Amen.
In Loving Memory of
Patricia JZH Forman
December 1, 1956 – November 4, 2008
c. September 9. 2009
Matthew E. Forman
As stand-alone works:
TEARS c. October 16, 2008
THE MIRACLE OF SLEEP c. January 11, 2009
A LOVER’S PRAYER c. July 21, 2009
Thursday, April 8, 2010
ONE
As through this life I wander
Often I sit and ponder,
If there will ever be
One to journey beside me.
One who will share the open road
One who’ll let me help carry the load,
One to help and ease my mind
One to share God’s gifts we find.
Will I know her when I look in her eyes
Will we share many glorious sunset skies?
Will she understand the words I write
Or know the ghosts that haunt my night?
So through this life I still wander
And so often I still sit and ponder,
As I journey lonely and free
Perhaps this is how God intends it to be.
c. September 2, 1998
Matthew E. Forman
Often I sit and ponder,
If there will ever be
One to journey beside me.
One who will share the open road
One who’ll let me help carry the load,
One to help and ease my mind
One to share God’s gifts we find.
Will I know her when I look in her eyes
Will we share many glorious sunset skies?
Will she understand the words I write
Or know the ghosts that haunt my night?
So through this life I still wander
And so often I still sit and ponder,
As I journey lonely and free
Perhaps this is how God intends it to be.
c. September 2, 1998
Matthew E. Forman
Monday, December 14, 2009
Yellow Roses and Strawberries
Yellow roses, an even dozen less one
Sit arranged on the bedside nightstand,
Fresh picked strawberries and chilled cream
Beside them, our breakfast close to hand.
The new-borne day has quickly arrived
And I see the sun rising in my side view,
As the first exploding rays catch me
Hammering westbound to get home to you.
You stretch languidly and smile in your sleep
Knowing even in your dreams I’m on my way,
Even though late last night I called you from Erie
You still hear my promise I’ll be back today.
I race against the scurrying minutes
As the rig runs on between the lines,
Putting Louisville in my back pocket at last
I feel the seconds drag like clinging vines.
Parking the tractor I gently close the door
As I watch the windows for you stirring inside,
I rush to the door and quietly enter through
And creep upstairs where under covers you hide.
Smiling, I kiss you beside the eleven yellow roses
With the missing one clutched in your hand,
And the fresh strawberries and chilled cream
Await our hunger on the bedside nightstand.
c. May 28, 1998
Sit arranged on the bedside nightstand,
Fresh picked strawberries and chilled cream
Beside them, our breakfast close to hand.
The new-borne day has quickly arrived
And I see the sun rising in my side view,
As the first exploding rays catch me
Hammering westbound to get home to you.
You stretch languidly and smile in your sleep
Knowing even in your dreams I’m on my way,
Even though late last night I called you from Erie
You still hear my promise I’ll be back today.
I race against the scurrying minutes
As the rig runs on between the lines,
Putting Louisville in my back pocket at last
I feel the seconds drag like clinging vines.
Parking the tractor I gently close the door
As I watch the windows for you stirring inside,
I rush to the door and quietly enter through
And creep upstairs where under covers you hide.
Smiling, I kiss you beside the eleven yellow roses
With the missing one clutched in your hand,
And the fresh strawberries and chilled cream
Await our hunger on the bedside nightstand.
c. May 28, 1998
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Let It Be
When I looked into her eyes I found
I no longer stood upon solid ground,
And as she gazed straight back at me
I felt my soul cry out "Let it be."
Let it be time for me to live
And find that life has more to give,
Let it be that I learn a new way
To arise and give thanks for this day.
When I felt her fingers on the back of my hand
I wondered with the shock that I could still stand,
And as she took my hand and turned to walk with me
I heard my heart scream out "Let it be!"
Let it be that hope has not passed me by
Leaving me only lonely nights in which to cry,
Let it be that the possibility still does remain
That I have not listened to joy's last refrain.
When we stopped and I held her, my head near her hair
I was struck by how amazingly lite was the scented air,
And as she lifted her face to mine, arms clinging to me
My blood boiled with the agonized prayer of "Let it be..."
Let it be a metamorphosis from just being a friend
And that the darkness of my grief may be reaching an end,
Let it be that this kiss will be a violently released shove
And that I will find that I can once more know that sweet love.
And later, as we lay beside each other in the dark cool of night
The warmth of skin on skin will tell me that this is right,
And with the reflected moon and stars the only light with which to see
You will hear my voice softly whispering "Dear God, please. Let it be."
c. October 31, 2009
I no longer stood upon solid ground,
And as she gazed straight back at me
I felt my soul cry out "Let it be."
Let it be time for me to live
And find that life has more to give,
Let it be that I learn a new way
To arise and give thanks for this day.
When I felt her fingers on the back of my hand
I wondered with the shock that I could still stand,
And as she took my hand and turned to walk with me
I heard my heart scream out "Let it be!"
Let it be that hope has not passed me by
Leaving me only lonely nights in which to cry,
Let it be that the possibility still does remain
That I have not listened to joy's last refrain.
When we stopped and I held her, my head near her hair
I was struck by how amazingly lite was the scented air,
And as she lifted her face to mine, arms clinging to me
My blood boiled with the agonized prayer of "Let it be..."
Let it be a metamorphosis from just being a friend
And that the darkness of my grief may be reaching an end,
Let it be that this kiss will be a violently released shove
And that I will find that I can once more know that sweet love.
And later, as we lay beside each other in the dark cool of night
The warmth of skin on skin will tell me that this is right,
And with the reflected moon and stars the only light with which to see
You will hear my voice softly whispering "Dear God, please. Let it be."
c. October 31, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
DRAGONS
I sit here smoking my cigarette,
Smoke drifts upward in a pirouette,
Wishing that I could simply forget,
The reasons for the guilt my conscience has beget,
Dreaming of the days that in ancient times are set,
The days when knights in armor were so well met,
When the dragon was all to be feared if one was let.
The beast covered o’er with scale and claw,
Armored by nature from his tail to maw,
In simpler times when strength was law,
The dragon was such a simpler beast than we ever saw,
Compared to the beasts with their immense corporate paw,
From whom we must take our living by the wages we all draw,
And in a society that uses our guilt to fill its craw.
In those days wars were fought by hand,
And your country was your native land,
And it was only for your children you planned,
But now you cannot safely walk along the ocean’s white sand,
As claims are made that not many more generations will have the ozone band,
And perhaps today the Samaritan too would join the damned,
When we have to fear death should we stop to bandage a stranger’s bloody hand.
And the family no longer stands like a fort,
In days of easy divorce and child support,
And we should feel shame that this needs a court,
Because too many would flee to a foreign port,
And a father’s wages are garnished for fear he would be that sort,
And his creditability is questioned by anyone wishing to make report,
Lord, how I wish for the simple dangers that gave to Sir Gawain his mort!
Or, could it be that the dragons were simply smaller at Arthur’s court?
c. August 17, 1992
Matthew E. Forman
Smoke drifts upward in a pirouette,
Wishing that I could simply forget,
The reasons for the guilt my conscience has beget,
Dreaming of the days that in ancient times are set,
The days when knights in armor were so well met,
When the dragon was all to be feared if one was let.
The beast covered o’er with scale and claw,
Armored by nature from his tail to maw,
In simpler times when strength was law,
The dragon was such a simpler beast than we ever saw,
Compared to the beasts with their immense corporate paw,
From whom we must take our living by the wages we all draw,
And in a society that uses our guilt to fill its craw.
In those days wars were fought by hand,
And your country was your native land,
And it was only for your children you planned,
But now you cannot safely walk along the ocean’s white sand,
As claims are made that not many more generations will have the ozone band,
And perhaps today the Samaritan too would join the damned,
When we have to fear death should we stop to bandage a stranger’s bloody hand.
And the family no longer stands like a fort,
In days of easy divorce and child support,
And we should feel shame that this needs a court,
Because too many would flee to a foreign port,
And a father’s wages are garnished for fear he would be that sort,
And his creditability is questioned by anyone wishing to make report,
Lord, how I wish for the simple dangers that gave to Sir Gawain his mort!
Or, could it be that the dragons were simply smaller at Arthur’s court?
c. August 17, 1992
Matthew E. Forman
Saturday, July 25, 2009
A Lover's Prayer
Dear God,
I want the pain to stop.
I want to hold her in my arms,
Tell her I love her one more time,
That I will keep her safe forever,
And not let that be an unknown lie.
I want to sleep a restful sleep,
Dreaming without waking to cry,
Not screaming at her to lock the doors,
And that if she really loves me she won't die.
I want to see her in my sleep,
The way she was before it all ended,
Beautiful and vibrant with love and life,
Not hooked to machines her life suspended.
I want to touch her hand and feel warm flesh,
The way it felt the day we first met and loved,
To remember her lips as we kissed our first kiss,
Not the kiss goodbye I only pray she knows I gave.
I want the pain to stop.
Amen.
Matthew E. Forman
c. July 21, 2009
Shelbyville, TN
I want the pain to stop.
I want to hold her in my arms,
Tell her I love her one more time,
That I will keep her safe forever,
And not let that be an unknown lie.
I want to sleep a restful sleep,
Dreaming without waking to cry,
Not screaming at her to lock the doors,
And that if she really loves me she won't die.
I want to see her in my sleep,
The way she was before it all ended,
Beautiful and vibrant with love and life,
Not hooked to machines her life suspended.
I want to touch her hand and feel warm flesh,
The way it felt the day we first met and loved,
To remember her lips as we kissed our first kiss,
Not the kiss goodbye I only pray she knows I gave.
I want the pain to stop.
Amen.
Matthew E. Forman
c. July 21, 2009
Shelbyville, TN
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Miracle of Sleep
THE MIRACLE OF SLEEP
In Loving Memory of
Patricia JZH Forman
December 1, 1956 – November 4, 2008
You slept in my arms last night,
And I kissed the top of your head;
I felt on my chest your small sleep smile,
Did you feel me laying beside you in bed?
As I drifted in your soft fresh scent
Your gentle breathing tickled on my chest;
But our hearts beating in compliment to each other,
That is what I think felt the best.
Your hands lay there on my stomach,
And the warmth contrasted with the cool sheet;
I had to smile to myself as I remembered
How earlier I rubbed so much to warm your feet.
The weight of your leg felt so natural
As it pressed heavily down on my thigh:
Finally, I felt again contentment and at peace,
And you moved slightly as I let out a sigh.
But this morning the miracle evaporated from my life,
When I woke and your face I expected to see;
And I knew you watched over me from so far, far away;
I would swear last night was real, yet how could that be?
c. January 11, 2009
Matthew E. Forman
Murfreesboro, TN
Published Collage. Ed. Jaz Gray. Middle Tennessee State University. Spring (April), 2010.
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