Cassiopeia

A shooting star streaked,
cracking momentary brilliance
upon the new moon's canvas,
tattooing the black void
with its sole illumination.
The glowing, aphrodisiac aura
embraced emptiness, draping
vanilla and honeysuckle scents
on Cassiopeia's shivering
shoulders of silky alabaster.
Her bright eyes sparkled.
Cosmic winds seeded discovery,
eliciting an amused pleasure
acknowledged by her alluring
Mona Lisa mystery.
Only Adonis and Aphrodite witnessed
my brief, parking lot caress.
She planted an eternal garden
in the placid waters shimmering
from the forest of my heart.

He Yearns

He yearns to hear her breathe in her sleep,
and gaze upon her timeless and serene features.

He yearns to nuzzle the delicate lily radiating
from her soul during the moments that well up
in the heart during quiet, hesitating intervals.

He yearns to sip wine from her lips at midnight
under the full moon, while her cheeks and neck
blush from the adoration of unrestrained longing.

He yearns to embrace the scent of her perfume
as it wraps him in the blanket of her allure.

He yearns to wander through unfenced ranges
with her on spirited steeds, unfettered by convention.

He yearns to shudder from the grace of her
finger as it grazes over his shivering flesh.

He yearns to glimpse her expressions
as she sketches a kitten and a ball of yarn.

He yearns to know what it feels like
for their hearts to beat in the same rhythm.

He’s afraid that unrequited yearning
will only drive her out of his dreams.

Beyond the Last, Elusive Chimera

A red haired goddess stalks my lucid dream
from a land beyond the last, elusive chimera;

her fair, honey-dipped skin - an eye-catching raceme
of lilies of the valley - opens like a spewing caldera

as she closes her eyelids, darkening blue pools
as if an eclipse blotted out clear morning rays;

a shimmering misty shower reflects jewels'
faceted starburst glitter-rain-induced daze,

and she lays claim to the fading, but still-glowing,
ember that yet hums out a zesty, soulful tune

in the wee, haunting hours of autumn, plateau rising;
leaving a mesa, color carpeted with leaves strewn

into a blanket, radiating a softly inviting bed
upon which we lay, nuzzling, cheek-to-cheek,

and I smell her ambrosial breath dance: a thread
marking the seam leading from valley to peak;

then, a skein of yarn unravels autumn's sparkling scheme
winding along a dusty, meandering path to a new Riviera.

This poem has been selected by the editors at Osprey Journal for publication in their July/August 2009 issue.