Between Waking and Dreaming

Do not pull me from this place too soon
This place between waking and dreaming
You see
The moon is singing
A song meant only for me
She sings of hope and wonder
I must stay here and hear her
Just a while longer
Embraced by her soft silver light
Her welcoming night
Full of mystery
Legacy
Lunacy
Soon she will set the stars to ringing
A cacophonous celestial pealing
Then I know our evening
Is at its ending
That soon I must be leaving
This glorious realm
Between waking and dreaming
Where I dance with the singing moon
Please
Do not wake me too soon

-gws

Another California Christmas

Another California Christmas 
Is coming round again
And I find myself daydreaming
Of family and friends

The caroling and Christmas cards
Gifts amusing and sublime
Remembering the best of years
The best of Christmas time

No smoke this year to choke us up
Just filtered sun and chill
Lights and sounds and decor sit
Upon each window sill

A melancholy in my heart
I long for times of old
When life was not so stupid hard
When wrapped in silver and gold

Wherever this Christmas sentiment
Finds you this time of year
Crack open that bottle of Napa red
For some extra California cheer

Despite my humbug mood this year
I raise my glass above
I toast you sunshine dreams of joy
And immeasurable love

-gws

This poem appears in the 2024 edition of the Bards West Anthology.

The Best Kind of Foreplay

Photo by Maksim Veter on Pexels.com
Sit with me
Speak to me of
Philosophy
Art
Spirituality
Poetry
Sexuality

Share with me the
Beauty of your experience
The intricacies of your dreams
Tell me how lemons taste to you
Describe to me the complexity of scent and flavor
Of your whiskey
Invite my deepest curiosities
My darkest dreams and desires
To sit at your table
As you dine upon every thought
Savoring each exchange
Like a finely crafted meal
And I will do the same

Join me in unguarded honesty
Lose yourself in focused curiosity
Paint my soul with meaningful words
Excite me by challenging my beliefs
Without burning them in shame
Or drowning them in judgement

Stay here with me
Suspended in the silken web
We have woven between
Infinite synchronized heartbeats
We have crafted a spell from
Two souls orbiting each other
Do not let it end
Until the sun greets the world anew

Watch my lips as I speak
With your eyes burning with hunger
I will meet you on that threshold
Captivated by your mouth
As you share your inner self
In a verbal strip tease
I drop the last of my pretense
At your feet and wonder if you noticed
Now the little distance between us feels too far
I am all too aware of my body's pull toward yours
It feels inevitable and I know you feel it too
The spark of radiant connection that captures us

Words slow then stop
Only body language remains
Plump lips
Flushed skin
Fluttering lashes
Subtle smiles
Unbreakable eye contact
Goosebumps
And all from a conversation
The best kind of foreplay

-gws


Dawning

Not everyday will be warmed by the sun
And not everyday will be dampened by rain
Some days we triumph
And some days we feel the sting of disappointment
Everyday dawns with infinite possibilities
Everyday grants an unblemished fresh start
Sit at the junction between waking and dreaming a while
And stare at the dawning of possibility
Breaking over the horizon
And when you greet the world each morning
Let the hope of infinite paths
Energize your curious being
To discover the greatness that awaits you

-gws

Heroes and Villains

Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com
I am not the author of your story
As much as that saddens me to admit
You are the wordsmith of your tale
You write yourself as the hero of your own journey
Despite being so often the villain of mine
But understanding how you see your world
Understanding that you can be none other
Than the hero of your pages
Helps me gain perspective into why
You write me as the arch-villain of your narrative

There is no mirror in your story
You cannot see yourself
And as if bespelled
You see only monsters and
Enemies in every shadow
My pages would describe the cause
As a self-afflicted curse
Yours would imply the question
Are villains born or made?
For you would say you are
The result of what others made you
Be you hero or villain
You are forever alone
Shadowboxing every perceived threat
And drawing blood from everyone
Who gets too close for too long
Blinded by pain and unable to
See that the one causing
The most pain for you is you
Like a manifested destiny
It becomes so

As our books sit side by side on the shelf
Yours a story of never ending rage, war, and loss
Mine becomes a story of surrender, retreat, and release
For I am removing myself from your story
It is time to make myself the hero of my own
And write the closing of this chapter
For I can feel the peace and love I deserve
Waiting for me in the next chapters of my life
I am ready to transform my story
Into the self-love story I have long deserved
I hope you find your happy ending
I write a magic wish for that
Into my final paragraph
Of our chapter in my book
Then turn the page to my tabula rasa
Full of potential and possibilities
And the freedom to write my future
As rich and joyful as I can imagine it

-gws

Words Have Power

A rewrite of a 2015 poem
Words have power
They are thoughts made manifest
And loosed into the world

They are fragile crepe paper ghosts
Spoken softly to breathe thoughts to life

They are shining lights
Spoken with bold love and given as gifts

They are a clarion bell call
Spoken with volume, power, and purpose

They are truth and belief
And love made real

Words have power
They are thought made manifest
And loosed into the world

They are knife edges
Spoken to cut the soul

They are blunt force
Spoken to crush and wind

They are daggers
Spoken to pierce the heart

They are lashing whips
Spoken to welt and sting and scar

They are hurt and anger
And resentment made real

Words have power
They are thought made manifest
And loosed into the world

Beware how you manifest your
Intentions into the world
The heat of passionate anger
Can turn language into fists that leave bruises
That cannot be seen and may never heal

Beware how you manifest your
Intentions into the world
Regret is a bitter friend
For what is said cannot be unsaid or unheard

Beware how you manifest your
Intentions into the world
Think before you speak and
Hold your tongue until you possess
A calmer mind and kinder words

Words have power
They are thought made manifest
And loosed into the world

-gws