At_Last

ipples

G.F.E. McGuiness

Ripples on the beach Notions dwell on ocean swells Distant, out of reach. Echoes of the gulls What feigning ears strain to hear Reality annuls. Perfume blown of shells Will ignores the fetid spores Choking in this cell. Seaweed on the sand Tongue worn gags, strips of rags Wiped of whips and bloodied hands. Waning tides of memory languish. Seized on seas of pride and anguish, Arks so waxed to sail an ocean Flood of pure devotion. Ripples of the mind Do I cave to burning skin Failing my own kind? Echoes getting duller Between the fears there's little there Fantasy uncolors. I scorch my earth To leave it barer Lest this landscape be held dearer

The problem's birth Is my own worth Begot so many mirrors.

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