At Home With Ann - Poetry

Injustice

2009-11-22T13:57:00.004Z

this is the promised land
the golden medina
where the grass is greener

in this ‘new’ land
its declaration vows
the pursuit of happiness for every man
life and liberty and equality

if you're the employer
not the employee!
what hypocrisy!

In G-d We Trust
the motto of this state
that’s not enough when
the ethos means

no business ethics
no rights
no contracts
no leave

they can dismiss you as they please
no such thing as loyalty
no pat on the back, a job well done
you’re an asset to the company

instead – you’re a liability
dispensable, expendable
to hell with security
if you don’t like it, tough

there’s always another
to take your place
in the land of the free
the United States

2009

What Tongues Are Really For

2009-11-18T16:48:00.001Z

willingly she parts her lips for this dark stranger
savours scent, touch, taste
one by one each sense explodes

her tongue explores new sensations
works its way round hardness
solid within the depths of her mouth

with every stroke of the tongue
thawing like virgin snow
satin liquid slides down her throat

nibbling, biting, sucking
a texture like finest silk
burning desire melts the mass

every greedy lick softens ’til no more
craving sated, an orgasmic orgy of delight
mixed emotions, satisfaction, sinful guilt

she cannot resist, her little secret
never lets her down, never fails her
delivers again and again, more and more

she hides herself away
slowly strokes another square
still bound in precious gold or silver
addictive little nibs of treasure

2006

Vacillation

2009-11-18T16:45:00.000Z

In deep thought

My secrets confound

What to do

When chaos abounds

Wise to share

Or not to impart

Soul to bare

Or keep in my heart

2006

The Devil Rides Your Back

2009-11-18T16:42:00.001Z

(sleep paralysis)

Can’t push it off, can’t make it stop
I’m petrified as stone
Cannot move a single muscle
Lips zipped - dry as bone

Its foul face is thrust in mine
An insufferable weight bears down
Crushes the breath from my chest
Silent screams resound

Pressure lifts like a jack-in-the-box
The threat it may be gone
I gulp for air, I look around
Anxiety lingers on

2007

Super Fiendish

2009-11-18T16:38:00.002Z

before my eyes
numbers dance
I’m not competing
no point in cheating
still - I sneak a peek
and take a glance
at the answers

2009

Stuck

2009-11-18T16:30:00.002Z

the usual ride through urban sprawl
gives way to barren rocks, sparse scrub
a wilderness parched - no soul, no heart

over horizon a welcome change of scene
and pace - so slow we’ve stopped
the road before us awash with bleating goats

no care in the world, no haste, no hurry
the boy guides his tribe – stuck we worry
with nothing to do but take in the view

glimmering in shimmering light
harsh sun reflects on leaves of olive trees
undersides gleam like silver foil snagged on the breeze

beneath their shady awning
sudden movement catches our eye
a wagtail rolling in the dust, relief from heat

he hops between trees
his wagging tail a comic figure - we toss crumbs
charmed by his stylish dive for dinner

flock moves, at last clear path ahead
must leave distractions behind
the boy raises his stick at us - we smile

wheels kick up dust
we're on our way again
we will still make it - albeit - late

2007

Steam Rising

2009-11-18T16:27:00.001Z

Air stifling
Windows wide
Heavy inside
Curtains still
Upon the sill
Music playing
Bodies swaying
Glasses clink
Bubbly to drink
Sounds vibrate
Appreciate
Party thrill
She must
She will
Abandon sleep
Shuffle feet
Pace the floor
Walk out the door
Beat pounds
Rhythmic sound
Tempo slows
Her eyes close
His warm breath
Caresses neck
Hands on skin
Shudder within
Body bends
Fever transcends
Heart complies
Passions rise
Joy to discover
Perfect lover
He mysterious
She delirious
Not surprising
Their steam rising

2006

No Mr DJ!

2009-11-18T16:23:00.000Z

Another day down the pan
For some the night just began

You hit the sack - it’s over again
Told - go away

He’s got a headache, tired, not tonight
Yeah - sure - not any time

You pad downstairs, on the radio
DJ plays love songs on his late night show

He croons, “Relax, chill out, let go!”
What’s he doing, doesn’t he know

It’s tough listening to his stuff
When you feel rough; you’ve had enough

It shouldn’t be allowed, sad lyrics and rhymes
Numbing the pain with a glass of red wine

They taunt, flaunt, haunt your sorry soul
Stemming back tears, stifling a choke

With every beat it’s getting worse
Abject misery in every verse

You can’t believe it’s over, the song man drawls
He says he watched the whole thing fall

Stop putting yourself through this torture
Reliving the past, worrying ‘bout the future

Snuff him out, take his records off
The loneliness of unrequited love

No more love songs or for evers
No more heartbreak, never, ever

Hey Mr DJ, breaking up’s hard enough to do
Don’t you know, don’t you know it’s true

2007

New Woman

2009-11-18T16:20:00.000Z

Like a dried up snake she’ll shed her skin
Don’t much like the one she’s in
Her chance
To be born again

She’ll trade-in her battered heart
Pump fresh blood and jumpstart
Her run-down body
To fully charged

Into the graveyard of broken hearts
She’ll bury her shattered parts
Toss on the garbage
Hurts and scars

Purged of her past sharp and smart
On cylinders firing
She will emerge
A fresh new start

2006

It Should Have Been Me

2009-11-18T16:18:00.000Z

Life was good
The whole world shone - too hot
I got burned, the wings of a moth
On a candle flame

All our plans
Together we’d come and go
Do as we please
So, you pleased yourself

Dined out on fresh meat
A new world beckoned
Yours reckoned without me
Took her where I could only dream

I do not rage, no hate, no envy
But, nagging at the back of my head
It is hard to reconcile when
It should have been me

2009

Give and Take

2009-11-18T16:15:00.000Z

It’s a balancing act - an art

To measure what’s fair

When one scale weighs more

The other not

It’s not a game, it’s not a race

A perfect match, a perfect weight

Both tying in equal place

There’s always one prepared to give

The other glad to take

2007

Forbidden Love

2009-11-18T16:02:00.003Z

Beneath his breath, he sighs her name
Doesn’t want to; tries to hide it
Knows it can never be this way

She catches it on the breeze
Bouncing from leaf to gossamer leaf
Each one dripping his frustrated tears
Through her open window, she knows, she hears

He lies awake, his eyes shut tight
Cannot deny the way he feels
Loath to fight wrong over right

Forbidden love, she moans
Praying though that it could be so
Tossing, turning, yearnings sincere
Through his open window, he knows, he hears

Her every line, her curves
He traces through his memory
She shivers, her passion stirs

Floating on the wind to her, his touch, his kiss
As one their bodies sensuous
Sway far away and so near
Through their open windows, they know, they hear

2007

Coming Home

2009-11-18T15:58:00.000Z

The distance, it was not so far
He came, he stood, he looked
He stared up at her window
He walked the rocky path

She looked out across the street
His face beneath the lamp begged the question
Wordlessly she brought him in

She turned away
Not wanting him to see the ache upon her face
The wasted years, the misery

He touched tokens collecting dust
Photographs, those he loved and missed
Pieces of memories of peace

He savoured her sweet scent
A fleeting trace of paradise
Masking bloodshed’s stench

The distance, it was not so far
The journey, a million miles
Save, in the name of faith
Their world was torn apart

2009

Holy Water

2009-11-18T15:56:00.001Z

no need to lift the slats
no sunlight filtered through the cracks
he knows, he feels it in his bones

he’d prayed, ancient words chanted
a liturgy the same beat as the silver strings
now bouncing rhythmically on arid ground

the sky a dappled grey, mottled white
the mist of his breath against the pane
clouds his view of precious beads of life

falling on orchards, vines and olive trees -
doors opened wide, he inhales rain kissed air
eyes raised in thanks for answered prayers

2009

What Do I Want?

2009-11-18T15:53:00.001Z

I don’t know what I want
I want something I know I do
I don’t know what it is
I need something I wish I knew

I don’t know what I want
I’ve tried most things the fridge can proffer
The empty bottles line the wall
I know I’m gonna suffer

I don’t know what I want
It’s not as simple as that
Instant gratification was not the cure
It weren’t the answer I was looking for

I don’t know what I want
Like a caged animal I pace the floor
Temples gripped between my palms
Clamp the fuse of this human bomb

I don’t know what I want
I really wish I knew
Sickened by tears of frustration
For an unknown want, need, desperation

I don’t know what I want
Maybe it’s not something
Maybe it is someone - who?
I wish I knew

I don’t know who I want…

2007

Conscience

2009-11-18T15:48:00.001Z

Bitter chill sliced the air, starless night descended
A voice murmurs her name, she opens the door, a little afraid
Slips on the chain, temptation beckoned

He reads her mind and she’s unsure
His morals and values they are not hers
Excited by his silver words she must lock that door

A tongue that melts her, eyes that glisten with intent
Goosebumps prick her skin every pore quivering
She knows she shouldn’t… she does, she lets him in

A lonely wolf bays at the moon heralds her awakening
This creature of the night, sunrise departs
She sees no shadows, she sees his mark

2007

Replaced

2009-11-18T15:41:00.001Z

You’d think she’d recognise the signs
It’s not like it’s the first time, or the second, or the third
She’s travelled this road before
You’d think by now it wouldn’t hurt
But no, each time it hurts that bit more

Displaced in their eyes, replaced in their heart
Traded in for another model whose cause is more appealing
A life with more meaning and a countenance more revealing
A voice more endearing and needs so more - needy
With just about everything much more than she

2007

January Revelation

2009-11-18T15:31:00.000Z

She used to dread the month
The whole year spread before her
Wondering what it would bring

He changed the feeling one single day
Now her January has some meaning
Even if it never happens again

Sustained by a memory
That winter day their worlds collided
The impact of pleasure - and pain

They met; she thought a meeting of minds
Maybe it was the heat, the New Year fireworks
Though likely it was his velvet voice

Lying side by side he softly spoke
Philosophy, a story, his fantasy
His words taking her breath away

Was it planned, she thinks not
As the wolf howls to the moon, it happened
The closeness of a humid night in January

2009

My Poetry

2009-11-18T15:27:00.004Z

emotion scribbled
solitary exercise
black and white escape

2009

Divine Retribution

2009-10-19T20:22:00.003+01:00

We’re apart – for now
You’re doing your ‘thing’
But, when day is done
We’ll likely be together
In the world to come
You’ll think you’ve gone to hell
In heaven, I shall be
That, my love, is destiny

© 2009 ann raven

The Last Time

2009-09-05T17:14:00.002+01:00

Same aromatic smells, bustling sounds
Foreign taste, our special place
Nothing much changed
Since the last time

We shared a war zone then
Now we meet, the uneasy peace
An awkward kiss
Not like the last time

Blackout curtains, darkness, silence
Save the sirens wail, bombs overhead
Your gun and bullets under the bed
Afraid it was the last time

Precious moments seeking comfort
Not straying from the other’s arms
As one, afraid to sleep alone
Maybe for the last time

Then it happened, your call to serve
And mine, get out, go home
On my own two thousand miles
That was the last time

I wait for news, no email then
Not knowing if you survived
Years pass, by chance I find you
Here, like the last time

But, I’m not that same young girl
And you, my soldier of principle
Our lives and ideals now worlds apart
Far from the last time

We’ve changed, no going back
We’re not the same
We reminisce, a final kiss
For the last time

© 2006 ann raven

The Cigar Box

2009-08-26T21:02:00.006+01:00

I stumbled on a box hidden away
Long forgotten memories
Everyone should have one of these

Good old days, another age
Young footloose and fancy free
With no responsibility

The world was mine, to conquer, climb
Joys and passion of youth now faded
Snapshots of friends – not all lovers

Was he my first kiss, or this other?
Memories I thought I could never forget
Washed away – faint with age

Like discoloured letters, corners curled
A ribbon lovingly tied
For some unknown reason laid aside

Declared their love or said no more
Those watermarked with tears
Wondering if they’re still here

Tucked beneath the lid a lock of hair
I twirl his curl as I did before
Picture that face like yesterday

Caught in the folds of an envelope
A ring, cheap, tarnished, worn with pride
I’d almost forgotten him

Nostalgia lies wrapped in tissue on the bottom
Words and verse – letters of illicit love
Now he was the one

I close my eyes remembering
Forgiven – not forgotten
Some things are best left, hidden

© 2007 ann raven

Tempus Fugit

2009-08-17T20:31:00.009+01:00

time has flown
long days alone
waiting for love to knock
once more at my door

it is no friend of mine
each passing day another line
I cannot stop
the onslaught of time

do not think
love is just the right
of the young
the beautiful, the bright

desirability may fade with age
but, I know
deep inside
passion never dies

Destiny

2009-08-16T16:50:00.001+01:00

How long life, how long will we
Be granted to fulfil our destiny
In the vastness of the universe
Fleeting moments on earth are we
To leave our mark, make good our name
To leave cherished memories of what we became
Given freewill to make a difference
To shine like a star in its brilliance
So much to learn
So little time on our sojourn
Soon celestial angels will take our hand
For the world to come, our Promised Land
Praying we leave behind a binding legacy of love
As we cross over to the heavens above

2006

(Published in Your Legacy of Love by Gemini Adams 2009)