of obstacles to fate

painted on
and curled
the waves of ocean
turn to foam
that sprays
the land with water
crashing into
rocks
on their way to the shore
interrupted
on their course
by the grand and sullen doors
of the shoreline's first guardians
the ocean draws into me
and i to it
but doors hold fast
so tightly knit
so neither i
to the ocean
can go
nor the ocean
to me
can come.

-D.B.
3/29/2014 & 4/4/2014

of gates and pleading

gates that guard the ocean

standing tall

and daring me

strong 

of iron

wrought

in fire

hot

from coals

that burn 

eternally.

my fate

to enter

through these gates

the ocean's vastness

open please

i call

but nothing happens

so i bid it

once again

open please

but it stands there

strong and tall

i fear the gates

their silence

piercing

blocking out

ocean's call

open please

i bid again

they stand there

mocking me

and so i turn

in fury

turn again

to face 

my newfound enemy

i yell

open now

they stand there

silent they

stare at me

and so i cry out

open now

and still

they stand there

sullenly

i wrap my fingers

round the rails

and shake the gates

with all my might

and scream out

open open open!

but still

they do not heed 

my call

open open open OPEN!

i plead my case

but then i fall

OPEN

open

open

open

black indifference

stands its ground

my futile tries

seem foolish now

for though i tried

was not enough

a gate is mindless

it pays no mind

to beatings

words

heartfelt screams

gates see nothing

but have a lock

for just one key

which i have not.

-D.B.
4/2/2014

purification

i'm drowning in a desert
and nothing's making sense
my world is turned upon me
as i reach up my hand
above the waves of golden grain
that rain on me like fire
crashing down in waves that scourge
and bruise me without tire
my lungs are drenched with desert sand
as the dunes grow ever higher
upon my shoulders they build for me
a murky, hidden pyre.

it's caught me in a whirlpool
of unprecedented heat
the anger that's within
comes from my burning, my defeat
it brews around as hurricanes
that will themselves to grow
and boil and froth more misery
as on their path they go
through oceans of insanity
and seas of salty doubt
that seep into my every wound
searing and stinging throughout.

i know not why i'm in the ocean
nor why i'm in a drought
nor why i seem to be forgotten
when i'm crying out so loud
i am drowning in a desert
and burning in the water
i cannot grasp, can't understand
this paradox, this hour,
but if i'm here i ask of You
to purify me now
to cleanse me of my bitter sins
and make of me a tower
wrought of that which is sublime
of joy from sadness grown
of misery to loveliness
of beauty turned from woe.

-D.B.
3/9/2014

peaceful ultimatum

the crashing waves
quench my cravings
for a peaceful
ultimatum
to the night.
demanding
i transcribe
the words
come from my head
to the paper
or the screen
take waves
of sound
turned to
satisfying rhythm
through the fingers
i can channel
ocean's
peace.

-d.s.b.
11/12/2013

my seaglass i'll not find on these sands

my seaglass i'll not find on these sands
just rocks of many hues:
some are bland
some are pretty
but none compare with you.
my seaglass i'll not find on these sands
for mine is a brilliant blue
and though i have found
some red, green and brown,
still none of them are you.
my seaglass i'll not find on these sands
for here is naught but rubble.
the shores from our past
wash away as I walk;
they cannot bring me you.
my seaglass i'll not find on these sands
but behold, far off in the distance,
there's a blue softened shard
the waves of time sculpted
and that one, yes that one, is you.

-D.B.
8/28/2013

fog on the water
waves crashing down
rocks smoothed by ocean
mist all around.
nothing more perfect
on the edge of land
a beautiful story
a beautiful plan.

-D.B.
10/2012

grey clouds
smudged on a canvas of blue
soft as the sand.
a lazy artist
swirling the murk to life,
formless but living.
shafts of grey
slide to a mirror surface,
feet stepping on each other.
the ocean,
undulating to unheard rhythms,
a blend of swirls and ripples.
grey clouds
set free in waves and foam,
dancing to the shore.

D.B. 5/11-12/2012

dear can't you see

dear can't you see where I have brought you to,
the place of beauty's soul?
beyond the shoreline, in the mists,
where lightning rips, where thunder rolls.
dear do you fear for I have shown to you
a dark and empty hole?
it waits for you, you are the key,
you'll bring My light, the light it stole.
dear will you listen to My silence?
it embodies all you know.
when all is calm and storm has left
and you're still here
but not alone.

-D.B.
10/2011