Tapestry

...there need not be, this apathy
nor this need to come out angrily
like you perceive this sinful thing
when there's no sin inside loving
so shelter your woes and hold your head
while stomping on the words we've said
but better yet, come take our hands
together tightening loving strands
...but you shall carry those battle flags
signs with words that rhyme with rags
like you perceive this sinful thing
where there's no sin inside loving
so shatter your reservations and move on
instead of mocking these folks for wrong
far better is to come take our hands
together tightening loving strands
...for what are these claims and these shouts?
nothing but hate, displays of your inner doubts
like you perceive this sinful thing
when there's no sin inside loving
so shrug off this nonsense upon you now
let go of hurting and reclaim your vow
to love and to take our hands
together tightening loving strands
of this tapestry we all call life

By: Elizabeth Azpurua

Languid Floating

My lips across her shoulder
taste her collar bone
her lashes spell out longing
and say "don't leave me alone"
Her hair is on my shoulder
it intertwines with mine
I fear I am dreaming
please don't give me a sign
I just want to hold her
nearer to me still
and wake with her come morning
laying there until
the words that I will whisper
remind her of our dream
where we were languid floating
in skin colored like cream

By: Elizabeth Azpurua

Platinum Butterfly Again

"Like a Butterfly"

Raise your voice if it breaks
if it fails to utter the words the way you wished
Don't let their hands cover you now
You are like a butterfly that flies through
the meadow to show
that though there be one thousand bees
buzzing to and fro
you will be the one with gentle wings
silently to come and go
Raise your voice if it breaks
if it fails to be given chance the way you wanted
Don't let their arms hold you down
You are like a butterfly that settles on a flower
in a meadow just to show
that though there be one thousand bees
buzzing to and fro
you will be the one with gentle wings
who's beauty softly comes to bestow


3/26/13

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"Platinum"

They're all fools in playful clothes
like clowns dressed for a show
In button ups and brighter shades
and some shall wear a bow
She's made of plastic and he's made of paper
Yet you call them like your own
While you're made of platinum, but you don't see it
Shame...look what they've done
They're all drones in line of color
like puppets being played for a crowd
In button ups and brighter shades
and painted faces vivid and loud
She's made of plaster and he's made of pinstripes
Yet you call them like your own
While you're made of platinum, but you don't see it
Shame...look what they've done
They parade about on strings in bright colored things
in a show made for a crowd screaming loud
they dance like fools and clowns button up and bright
with swirls and colored hair and polka dots and stripes
And there you are all platinum, precious; you shine
Like a beacon sticking out at the end of the line
You have no strings but mimic them
Such a damned shame
For fools like them to take your rarity
Where shall I place this blame?

3/16/13

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"Alive Again"

Your radiance, your alabaster
skin
you're contagious
with laughter that trickles in
my whispering soul
hiding out inside carrion
you laugh and like the
spring
I come alive again

3/23/13

Learn to Fly

He pushed you off the ledge, didn't he?
He flew with you a while, I did see
He became your wings
and your will to fly
Then he left you there to fall and die
I've been on the ledge before, you see
Several men before have pushed me
They gave me wings
so I could fly
Then they left me to fall from the sky
I've been where you are so to speak
falling from heights to make you weak
and still you long for the wings
that held you aloft so long
I've been where you are in a sense
where falling could never recompense
the gift that was those wings
that gave freedom for so long
But darling, you must learn to glide
whether with wings or the strength to survive
there's nothing but air around you
and the threat of the ground below you
so embrace the wind, embrace the sky
and soon you will learn on your own to fly
Stay clear of the ledges and don't look down
someday someone will come around
and fly by you
they'll fly by you
with wings they earned on their own
because they had to

Shiver White Moth

"Paint it White"

Burn my retinas
in a startling white
paint my horizon
and cover that light
the color that comes again
each setting night
and reminds me of a friend
so paint it white
paint it white, white, white
and burn it bright
until finally
I go blind

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Moths Corrupt"

Too many months and holes appear
the moth ate the clothes hanging here
so little holes let in the cold
let in the light
and now look old
Too many months and moths corrupt

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Shiver"

Shiver but no cover
no lover, no guide, no guardian
no feather for a pillow filled with stones
no leg to stand upon on your own
Shiver but no shelter
no helper, no friend, never someone
no pitcher for your water to quench your thirst
no one to hold is just the worst
So you shiver and you shake
laying there wide awake
dreaming of a lover or a friend
a helper or a healer a guardian
Shiver on your own because you chose it
Funny how shivering was not your wish

Sorcery

Hold aloft the candle and just let it flicker out
you're the wind in the willows
and the spreading of my doubt
then you cradle me, tenderly
before you let me fall endlessly

Your whispering words from beguiling lips
weave stories 'round me
of truth that does not exist
Brush my hair away softly
with fingers untrustworthy

The hands inside your pockets hide the sin
of stolen love and innocence
you had always hoped to win
Your eyes are hiding sorcery
Your days are numbered over me

Just lock my doors and shut me out
inside your garden blooming in doubt
I shall sit inside these darkened days

Your woven lies and bag of tricks
discarded with blown out candle wicks
testify to the error of your ways

Silently I'll fall endlessly
from your hands of sorcery

By: Elizabeth Azpurua

The Ones You Never Knew

He tells me I'm good lookin'
says he reads my poems
says he loves my hair
says he loves my arms
says he wants to hold me close
expounds upon my dreams
but really he just wants inside these seams

She tells me she loves me so
says she wants to get to know me
says she needs to spend more time
says she needs her family
she doesn't want the doors to close
for all her hopeful dreams
but really she just wants cash to buy her things

She says she's got my back forever
says she'll always stand by me
says no one can take my place
says she tells me everything
says she always wants to stay close
to fulfill all of her dreams
but she never quite says all that she means

He tells me I'm his truest friend
says he loves the weird I am
says he truly gets my life
in ways only that he can
says he will always stay close
still following my dreams
but all he really wants are carnal things

She says she loves me dearly now
says she stands up for my good
says she sees the best in me
saying she's done all she could
says she likes to stay real close
she believes in my dreams
but with a knife in my back shows what she means

He says I'm ever beautiful
says I am going to be his only
says he'll never stray again
he will prove this to me
he just wants to hold me close
to end up in my dreams
but all he wants are his hands beneath these seams

So, they want to strip me bare
and own me as their own
Or take all my money now
and everything I've known
Their knives are in my back
and their voices behind me, too
Saying what they will
while they're saying that they're true
But all I really know now
is what I always knew
The ones you let in close
are often the ones you never knew

My Spoon

Diddle for a diddle, I said 'hey!'
A fiddle for the damned cat to play
Where did the moon go?
The cow wants to know
The dog is still laughing
and he probably knows
where that dish ran away with my spoon
Diddle for a diddle, I don't want to play
Tell the damned cat to just run away
I cannot even see the moon
nor listen to the cow moo
The dog is now barking
for he probably can tell
the dish is going to get hell
Where is my spoon?
Where is my spoon?
Hey, no diddle for a diddle
I'll break the cat's fiddle
The cow can go find her moon
The little dog is dead and the
dish will be soon
for she ran away with my spoon


3/2/13

Wicked Cupid

You're like lightning
I can only see
when the storms come
You're like lightning
I can't touch
or I'll be done
You're a bright light in a streak
across my grey sky
and your light could make me weak
if you came nigh
So, shoot me down
and strike me dead
and charge my body
from feet to head
Oh, just shoot me down
and strike me dead
like a wicked Cupid

You're like lightning
Brief and quick
you come and go
You're like lightning
you bring the rain
and I won't know
You'll be a light swift across my sky
in burning heat
Never know when you'll come nigh
my own defeat
You'll shoot me down
and strike me dead
and charge my body
from feet to head
Oh, shoot me down
and strike me dead
like a wicked Cupid

Words, Trees, Wings and Wine

My words are the anchor in me
like the way roots work for a tree
this is my
reason why
I breathe

2/9/13

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

don't coat my silver heart in brine
and waste
don't still my beating wings
and change my fate
my eyes are glued to the moon
my hands are seeking you
just bathe my fragile heart in wine
and haste

E.A.

1/26/13

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Take me, my pale fellow
and lead me into the wood
my hands are seeking trees
my heart so misunderstood
Yet you're the one
who always showed me how
to be OK with being me
and what I've become now
Take me, my pale fellow
and sit with me in silence
there are no words within the trees
that actually make sense

2/11/13


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Your chords you tried to tie me with
To bind me to my own wit
and leave me here in the shade
Your words you tried to lie and with
your tongue you wished it
but I will not now be played
So settle now the score my friend
and let us not sit here and pretend
there is no need for tying us in knots
So hear me now my not subtle friend
I need this here right now to end
I shall not be double crossed
Not again

1/26/13

This Shall Pass

Who played with your symmetry
robbed you of poetry
and took all the remnants of hope
but I'll build you a canopy
to cover your apathy
and wait at the end of this rope
for this to pass
let this pass
like a storm driven across these shores
Who played with your empathy
cast off your ecstasy
and took all of your hope
but I'll rebuild your energy
to form your elegy
and tie a knot in this rope
for this shall pass
this too shall pass
like a storm that leaves these shores

Serpent Heart

Your serpent heart in coils and scales
is ravishing these wishing wells
and I am waiting on the roses to sing
Your fishy words and spectre movements
like a serpent in the currents
I am waiting on the waves to bring
my body to the shore
to the islands seeking more
to the moment where my feet sink into dirt
but by and by the waves roll high
and crash me on and on and I
am tossed to and fro while getting hurt
Your serpent heart in coils and scales
seeks me out, no protective whales
come to save me from your leering ways
Your forked tongue and evil wiles
lead me down depths for miles
I am waiting for a bubble to bring
my body to the shore
to the islands seeking more
where roses bloom when my feet sink into dirt
where by and by the clouds roll high
and sunlight comes with love and I
am no longer tossed about getting hurt

by: Elizabeth Azpurua

Chess by the Sea

Lately I have been unkind and wasted
Wanting what my hands cannot hold to
Your vessel is adrift and I am cloaked here
hiding my face and not turned towards you
The howling winds of southern skies are calling out my name
the whispers in the whimpering lies are taunting in their game
Your vessel is sinking and I am playing chess
with the shells on the shore in a mess
Lately I have lost my mind and waited
For the time when my hopes all came true
Your vessel sinks below the waves before me
and here I am and what else shall I do?
The howling winds of southern skies are singing my shame
they whisper with wicked lies inside their taunting game
I am losing all my ways while wasting my time
with shells on the shore in such a crime
Lately I have been a sorry sight ill fated
Wanting what my hands cannot hold to
Your vessel is gone below the sea waves
while I had stood hiding my face from view
The howling winds of southern skies have given me a name
the whispers in the whimpering lies is that my name is Shame
Your vessel sunk while I made a game with a mess
of shells and called them my pawns like chess
thinking I could somehow love you less
to love you less...........
Lately I have lost my mind and waited
For the time when my hopes all came true
But as the night fell upon me and turned this to darkness
I looked upon the waves, but where were you?
The howling winds of southern skies don't call my name
for they've silenced in their wicked lies, it's all the same
I lost my way and lost my time and lost you, too
while I played a game as fools often do
Thinking all my moments were like a game of chess
just to let you sink to somehow love you less

by Elizabeth Azpurua

Angry Back and Forth

"Pendulum"

Pendulum you compared to
my back and forth
my fighting towards you
the angered fits
the quiet rage
the seeking you
the empty page
Pendulum this be true
my bi-polar self
my longing for you
the yearning tides
the grateful me
the happy days
and the empty
Be that I may be
this back and forth
comes again
and for what it's worth
I feel as though
I fight myself
because I know........
and then I don't

1/5/13

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Anger"

it perches in your soul
if you feed it and give it wings
and it makes a nest and sings
but its song leaves a hole

1/4/13

No Blank Pages Allowed

I hate staring at a page that won't fill
with words that capture the
enormity of the emotions I
feel are too complex to put
into a space on paper

you really cannot begin to fathom
where my thinking starts and
stomps about in the cages of
my weary mind leaving
footprints smeared in thoughts

I find making sense a chore
and rather tell you of giant shells
and whales and a tree that sings
than tell you my aching heart
has lost words to put into
poetry

I would rather write of paper planes
and angels making bubble gum gems
and circus tents lit up
in winter gloom
than tell you my mind has failed
to convey this emotion that
overruns my stormy heart

I hate staring at a blank page
so I toss words onto it
and sometimes they fall into
rhymes for you
and sometimes they just stare back
telling me my words fail
and I am forced to admit
there are no words
that convey what
this is

Foreign

It seems that when I settled down to sleep, I would awake yet in a dream
for the faces I knew belong to foreign hearts and the contact I have is sparse
The ones who used to hold my hands now wave strange flags up high
with banners proclaiming foreign names saluting a foreign sky
The smiles are different, the laughter is fake, the tales are told not quite the same
and of me none remember, nor mention the truth that I am, now I am just a name
There's parades of fools marching with those who I loved in the streets
acting like clowns in bushels of idiocy wearing caped costumes of sheets
Where is the wisdom, the love and the empathy now blending into the crowd?
Where once there were hands to guide me along, now my hands aren't allowed
It seems that my sleeping has changed all my life when waking inside this hell
where the ones I once knew have foreign hearts and smiles and can't tell
who I am from the scenery and who I was from their lies

Embers and Ashes

You burnt the church
I burnt the bridge
You burnt the house
out on the ridge
I burnt the meadow
and burnt the boat
but I can't let go
of the taste in my throat
of the ashes in the air
and the smoke all around
and the soot in my hair
and the embers on the ground
I walked away from it all that day
as it went up in flames
and blew away
Yet I keep glancing at the embers
and how they glow
but who remembers?
I keep the ashes in my pockets
like an anchor to the past
and I wish this wouldn't last
but I can't move on
You burnt the church down
I burnt the bridge
You set fire to the house
out on our ridge
So, I burnt the meadow
and burnt the boat
When will I let go?
Maybe I won't
Remembering ashes in the air
and smoke all around
and the soot in my hair
and embers on the ground
as I walked away that day
my world up in flames
nothing left to say
nothing left to say
When will I look at the glowing embers of the past
without any ashes holding me there steadfast?
I wish I could toss them out far into the sea
but I burnt the boat that used to be
the vessel for my relief
You burnt the church
and I burnt the bridge
There's no more house
out on that ridge
Ashes for a meadow
Ashes for a boat
Nothing left that I know
and no antidote
Ashes through the air
and memories in flames
and soot in my hair
embers were names
but the ash in my pockets I hold too tight
remembering before now, before the fight
When will I look at the glowing embers of the past
without these ashes holding me there steadfast?
I would toss them out far into the sea
but for some reason I keep them here with me

by: E.A.

Antrim Coast

All the things that I loved most
I found along the Antrim Coast
where cloudy skies met crashing seas
and tangled my locks inside the breeze
The foggy morns met rainy days
where sheep along a cliff did graze
and all about along the coast
was history that I loved most
with tales of Giants from long ago
told often by those who know
this place of mystery does host
the magic of lore along the coast
and Irish skies meet the stormy sea
to strike a chord deep down in me
with all the things that I love most
along the rocks of the Antrim Coast

by: Elizabeth Azpurua

Fondest Dream

last night in dream i dreamt of birds
an albatross and friends
where with large wings they flew me high
over these mountains
and i thought it passing strange to me
to dream of birds here meant for the sea
and then recalled my fondest dream
to have the waves right next to me
for if I was a bird with wings
I'd fly from my mountains
and go in search of distant shores
and gather up my friends
and though be it passing strange to see
a flock of birds here meant for the sea
the truth be told my fondest dream
is to have the waves right next to me

Hold One and All

The moment may never be
and we will try to raise up our hands
and shake off the chains that bind us down
into these forbidding lands
While people will mock and point and laugh and children will all go cold
as we as foolish as we can be argue over what we have been told
May we gather our young and gather our new
gather our old and gather our few
May we hold one and all and hold all near
and keep one another close with no fear
The moment may never be
that the world will shut her eyes forever
so we shake off the chains that hold us captive
and learn to be wise and learn to be clever
While those who mock and point and laugh will one day wither away
let's not be foolish and blind and walk far from the better way
May we gather our young and gather our new
gather our old and gather our few
May we hold one and all and hold all near
and keep one another close with no fear

The Day

Harold in the day that the day doesn't end
and the day that the world didn't stop
and bring about the day that we don't pretend
that we are all dying just to rot
Wake up that morning and tell them all the truth
no pretense, no softening of words
and let them know where you stand and where you go
you're not a sheep in their herds
Harold in the day that the day does begin
and the day where you love for real
and recognize the love of a friend
and learn again how you should feel
my tongue is at war with my ears
and my soul is waging battle with my heart
my mind is sinking slowly inside of my fears
and my body is yearning for some art
but though it be weary I keep going on
and waiting for the day when the day seems long
where the people don't follow like sheep to a cliff
and hope isn't just four letters and a 'what if'
Harold in the day that my day does begin
and the day that the world is brand new
and bring me a friend who doesn't pretend
like somebody else I once knew
my tongue is still at war with my ears
my soul still waging a battle with my heart
and slowly my mind is sinking inside of fears
yet my body is needing a new start
at life

December 12, 2012

"Twelve Stones"

Twelves roses in a vase and they all died and fell in crumpled remains
and upon the road I found twelve stones and gave them names
I filled the empty vase and set it out to remember what life is about
but stones don't smell like roses
Twelve days and I waited in silence once and felt the weight in me
and cried out twelve nights for peace to finally settle inside, please
but the weight of the pain was like stones in my soul and my soul
wasn't meant for stones at all
Twelve months and I knew it was coming to an end and it hurt
when I realized twelve months passed I tossed the stones in dirt
I threw the vase out and let it shatter like my heavy soul for
I don't want stones anymore

12/12/12

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"December"

It's blown in again, this colder wind
that settles in my bones and then
I just need a friend
The snow blows by in a grey sky
and there are times that I cry
for Spring at night
December is closer than November was
Yet December is just full of Santa Claus
and what I want are tulips and daffodils
not winter skies or snow capped hills
It's settled down again, this cold air
and it blows around inside my hair
with a chilly flare
The lights and trees all glow these days
with packages of bows and plays
and Jesus' name being praised
December is closer than November was
But I am already tired of Santa Claus
when what I want are Spring rains and budding trees
not waiting through the Winter wearing fleece

12/12/12

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"World Can't End"

The light in your eyes I cannot see
Nor feel your arms wrapped 'round me
Nor find you wrapped beneath my tree
Nor sleep at night with you by me
For miles apart and days and years
And with the mounting of fears
After having shed many tears
Are all of these alarming fears
That I will not see you again or
Hold you close needing more
Nor see you smiling at my door
While knowing I need you more
Because they say the world will end
Yet I hope that they pretend
It cannot end without you my friend
Please tell me they pretend
I wish your smile I could see
And feel your arms wrapped 'round me
The world can't end until this can be
It cannot end without you with me

12/12/12

Winter is Coming

"Winter"

Candles and lights and trees abound
and red ribbons tied 'round the street
with each little flake I am feeling
angels are falling on me
and they're whispering songs
as the greet me from heaven
and wrap me in arms of ice
Mistletoe clinging to branches up high
leaves me trying to reach toward the sky
I have faltered on ice and snow in the woods
while on the way to you
but Winter can't stop the warmth in my heart
whenever I think about you 

::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Coming"

It's coming.....20 days left they say
It's coming.....and the world will be done that day
So they say
So they say
But I am dreaming of touching your face
and hearing your laugh
and sharing your space
I am dreaming of being held by you
so the world is not ending, no, this isn't true
It's coming.....20 days left they say
It's coming.....and the world ends on that day
But they say
and they say
the craziest things
For nothing will stop all my dreams
I am dreaming of touching your face
and hearing your laugh
and sharing your space
I am dreaming of being held by you
The world will not end until this is true

12/1/12