

I want to splash the darkening sky with rivers of fire
Purples and reds and luminous oranges of sunset
And the waters will abstract my painting in its dark mirror surface
Making an abstract of my realism
A dream of my reality
-gws


I want to splash the darkening sky with rivers of fire
Purples and reds and luminous oranges of sunset
And the waters will abstract my painting in its dark mirror surface
Making an abstract of my realism
A dream of my reality
-gws


Don't disperse disused desperation
Drastic and droll
Dreadfully dramatic
Deeply disconcerting
-gws


Roses and rust and rivulets of blood
Rubies and robins and radiant flame
Victory red lipstick of defiance
Red flesh of cool plums in summer
Winking red of garnet facets in grandmothers' rings
Washington Reds hanging from autumn apple trees
Red hand prints representing the missing and murdered
Blinking red lights lining dark empty streets
Red dresses whipping and swirling to tango on stages
Crisp red uniforms of Beefeaters on guard
Red sports cars cruising the streets of LA
Cardinal red of Stanford Sports
Crimson Red and Columbia Blue of my high school
Cherry red inside a pie
Glossy candy apple red
Ripe red strawberries perfuming summer picnics
Enflamed red of flushed cheeks
Sacred menses red
Red haze of rage blurring vision
Bruised red of kissed lips
Fruit punch red staining faces
Watermelon red dripping from hands
Red wine glowing in glasses
Berries bright red in winter snow
-gws


Spring has arrived
Birds sing sweetly
In quickening branches bursting with blooms
My winter soul peers out of bleary eyes
Before I pull the covers over my head
-gws


What is happening in my head
That I have dreams that I must wed
Oh what a dream to cause me dread
While I was tucked up in my bed
My dream reflects my feelings deep
That swirl and churn while I'm asleep
Such anxiety does darkly steep
Like vicious shadows slink and creep
And in the morning light I wake
All too aware of my mistakes
Afraid the wrong path I may take
So precious are the things at stake
So ground I must so I achieve
A state of peace I can believe
My anxiety for now relieved
Now in a state of calm reprieve
-gws


I am no poet
I am an observer
A curious wallflower
Peering into the places most do not dare
The voyeur blending in and watching
Keenly aware of the scene and vibe
I am no poet
I am a witness
A lyrical historian
Peeling back the layers of what is obvious
Making note and taking measure
Commenting on the beauty and the bruise
I am no poet
I am a documentarian
A mental photographer
Describing the visage of the soul
Capturing the form of feeling
Casting light on dreams
I am no poet
I am an illustrator
A linguistic artist
Scratching lines on paper
Forming images from curves of ink
Building portraits from words
I am no poet
I am a woman
A single breathe in the wind
Performing no obvious magic
Sharing the same life experience
Human and divine
-gws


Isn't it funny how carpenter bees think themselves no less dainty than honey bees?
They faithfully believe the flower will support them even when the stem bends toward the ground.
They aren't exactly wrong.
-gws


Here is you bear
All worn from love
Or perhaps adorned with it
Your partner in your slumbering adventures
Defender against all that scares you
It is your beacon in the darkest night
It's felted heart doused in the
Nostalgia of your mother's perfume
Tangible reminder of lingering embraces
That will greet you again in the light of morning
Goodnight my little bears
Hold each other tight
-gws


I am looking for the counterpoint to my melody
A voice both hauntingly harmonic and intriguingly independent
That when blended with mine creates a masterpiece
-gws


Love feels like Pandora's Box of contradicting experiences
Love alights you upon a mountain top of elation
And sequesters you in a dungeon of anxiety
Love can feel like Elysian Fields
And Dante's Inferno
Love can make you feel like an accomplished genius
And the village idiot
Love gives your soul wings
And your body two left feet
Love makes poetry of your dreams
And salad of your words
Love inspires amazing highs
And devastating lows
Love is celebrated when it arrives
And mourned when it departs
Pleasure and pain separated by fate's coin toss
A game of chance we cannot stop playing
-gws