the words i never said . . .

Wednesday's Dog

the words i never said
    began with "you,"
there were squiggles
running down the sides of your
                 thoughts,
beaming lights
     like neon cords
               left dangling . . .
an array of brilliance
         that only intimidated me. . .

what am i to you,
a mere troll
hidden from your sight . . .
           beyond the darkness
of my cave beneath the bridge. . .
you are blinded by your
curtain of shining glory. . .
and
i feared that moment
         that you would see me. . .
my darkness
       casting a shadow
on you

my truth a sharp frozen shard . . .
          biting you deeply,
and you flinch
     beneath the burden of me . . .

the words i never said
       began with "you" . . .

you are the light of my life . . .
you cast your beams
into the shadows of my self
you melt my frozen core . . .

and then leave me in the dust
of my demise
wanting more .  .  .

***********************************************************************************

This next poem was not written by me . . . but I found it in "The New Yorker" magazine for April 11, 2011 . . . by Carl Dennis. I really liked this one because of its plain and straightforward meaning . . .  

New Year's Eve

However busy you are, you should still reserve

One evening a year for thinking about your double,

The man who took the curve on Conway Road

Too fast, given the icy patches that night,

But no faster than you did; the man whose car

When it slid through the shoulder

Happened to strike a girl walking alone

From a neighbor's party to her parents' farm,

While your car struck nothing more notable

Than a snowbank.

One evening for recalling how soon you transformed

Your accident into a comic tale

Told first at a body shop, for comparing

That hour of pleasure with his hour of pain

At the house of the stricken parents, and his many

Long afternoons at the Lutheran graveyard.

If nobody blames you for assuming your luck
Has something to do with your character,
Don't blame him for assuming that his misfortune
Is somehow deserved, tht justice would be undone
If his extra grief was balanced later
By a portion of extra joy.

Lucky you, whose personal faith has widened
To include an angel assigned to protect you
From the usual outcome of heedless moments.
But this evening consider the angel he lives with,
The stern enforcer who drives the sinners
Out of the Garden with a flaming sword
And locks the gate.

                                         - Carl Dennis