YOUNG LEAF

Trembling, to a satin
umbilicus she cleaves,
as dolorous Heaven
human perfidies grieves.

Diamond droplets drench
her pure, dazzling emerald,
as Thor's crimson bolts
Creation's fury herald.

A leaden sky tears profuse
of rage inflamed showers,
to Nature's caprice newborn,
in terror she cowers.

Sullen billows a barrage
of black barbs release,
blemish her tender bloom,
naught would their ire appease.

Battered, weary, she clings
fast to her silken stem,
now dauntless, soul aglow,
this viridescent gem.

Squalls, tho' fiercely they rage,
ere long must dissipate,
shadows anon retreat,
she notes the gale abate.

This storm weathered, in form
prone her pain manifest,
courage accrued, she
contemplates Fate's grim bequest.

Upon dark, sodden earth
her brethren lifeless lie,
thro' the petrichor laden
air their spirits fly.

In gravest bewilderment
their demise she mourns,
as victory's diadem her
bruised brow adorns.

Nor the Sun, nor Zephyrs,
nor birds fluttering by
her anguish heed, attend
her fervent question "Why?"

No earthly kindred her
despairing heart would ease,
with much brutish chiding
they disparage her pleas.

In Life's vagaries now
serenely acquiesced, 
eternal sorrows she carves
in her ever aching breast.

© 2014 Lily's Verse

Lilium Candidum

Image Source: greatilluminators.blogspot.com

BLACK

Fate snuck a charcoal sock into
my load of pure white wash; 
slate, pewter and ash meld into a
leaden sludge. It perfuses
my skin, its sombre susurration
serrates my soul.

In obsidian waters immersed,
I stare unseeing
at gunmetal skies; cold grey they
dye my warm brown eyes.

My piceous breath mottles ivory 
roses by the bedside,
sooty drops slide over my skin
into my tea.

My footsteps imbrue Green and Blue,

scatter trails of ravens' feathers
in my wake.

Viscous, voracious granite feasts on
my thoughts,
seeps into my words, speckles my 
dreams, clothes my body, 
lines my heart,
trickles into embraces.

Onyx stained blood effuses from 
my wounds,
limning torment ineffable to a 
starless spirit rendered aphasic,
casualty of a war waged 
against myself.

Hermetically sealed in blackness, 
I breathe in sable silences 
that once blackened 
the bowels of despair, darkened 
the very darkest darkness.

© 2014 Lily's Verse

Lilium Candidum

Image Source: www.tumblr.com

DAISY CHAINS

Days of dancing daisy chains,
of summer sunshine, azure skies
and hopscotch games.

Days of dazzling daisy chains,
of carefree laughter, long train rides
and paper planes.

Days of dreamy daisy chains,
of feasts of candied orange peel
and raisin bread.

Days of dainty daisy chains,
of clouds like Angels' wings outspread
and white dresses.

Days of delightful daisy chains,
of volumes read 'neath giant beeches
and lemonade.

Days of dancing daisy chains,
of love eternal's sweet vignettes
in life's Autumn.

Days of divine daisy chains,
of rosewater scented music
and life lessons.

© 2014 Lily's Verse

Lilium Candidum

Image source: express.co.uk

MUSE

Deeply entranced is he, held fast in her thrall; 
she is his Sun, his own circadian rhythm.

Her dulcet tones he hears, as he outlines her

lips, her laughter, as he plots her smile.

Her tears he weeps, her rainbows traverses,
as he traces her soul's portals. 

The scent of her favoured magnolias envelops
him as he sketches the hands that lent
them their delicate hues.

Sweet tartness of berries suffuses his palate
as her faintly pink cheek he tints.

His tread bears the lightness of her step, his
stance, her grace.
Her exertion impedes his breath, her indecision,
his pace.

Her joy illumines his spirit's sunless recesses,
her pain radiant summer skies pigments dark.

From her deepest wounds his life blood issues,
her demons deride his blithesome brushstrokes.

Larkspurs sway in the wind to the measure
of her skirts, their colours echo the cadence
of her heart's song.

Staunch ally, daunting foe, tender Goddess,
fearsome harridan, ever fickle, she torments
and soothes.

Ardent she enwraps him in fond embraces,
abrupt repudiates with savage rebukes.

Depleted, enraptured, resplendent likeness
rendered, fruit of his toil he contemplates.
Her being shines forth, in his soul's triumph
he exults. 

Erato incarnate, his agony and ecstasy, soft
kisses his brush, her breath hence to stipple 
his every creation.

© 2014 Lily's Verse
Lilium Candidum

Image: SIBYLLA PALMIFERA
Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Artist: Dante Gabriel Rossetti

NIGHT

Day's harsh rays depart, to twilight's
placid embrace yield. Night's
glutting velvet effulgence paints the
earth, her gentle brushstrokes
diffuse, her shades serene.

Cascades of raven tresses, her
crowning glory, shimmering jewels
dress, heady night jasmine perfumes. 
Her robes billow, aglow with 
evening primrose,
her eyes spill darkly limpid pools.

Softly she sings her mellow air,
redolent of breezes' caress.
Loving she bids Nature repose,
soothes her fevered brow, wipes 
her tears, Day's ponderous
burdens eases. 

My breath now tranquil, tamer
courses the blood through my
veins. Unseen am I blessed; in
the quietude of unlit depths,
I hear the Universe speak,
revel in its music.

My mortal heart the Day Star's
light seeks, yet my immortal soul
would vistas of eternal Night -
tender comfort of fireflies' glow, 
of my countless beckoning
kinsmen shining their light.

© 2014 Lily's Verse
Lilium Candidum

Image: NIGHT 
Source: imgkid.com
Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau

FOR MY SISTER

The comfort of yesterday’s sunshine fills
the room, this emptiness it does not warm.

Fingers of late light drift in, painting
the walls in the indefinable
colours of your voice, brushstrokes
of its angelic timbre marred
by my anguish.

Dust motes gather in sorrow, clinging
to the ever dimming light
of the past, as if to form your wispy
likeness in the bleak evening light.

The leaping mermaid on your wall weeps,
her tears staining the starry sky.

Demons that besieged you defile the
white marble floor; there you lay, a fragile
princess cruel dragons consumed.

Perfume emanates, butterflies flit away,
Melodies pour forth, girlish giggles echo,
from early pages of your diary.

Safe may you be, far from all that pierced
your heart so deep,
rendered your wounded soul inert.

I pray you see Beauty through the eyes of
your child, find Peace in her prayers,
Love, in her breath.

I pray we meet in the Infinite,
where whimsical Time ceases, where the
Light never dims, where souls would exult
in sublime merging of songs and Bard.

© 2014 Lily's Verse

Lilium Candidum

Image: PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN
Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Artist: Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret

This poem is inspired by and dedicated to a great spirit - proud Irishman, writer, poet, cinema projectionist and air-raid warden during WWII. May his soul rest in peace.

SCRIBE

All about me my children sigh,
as with each moment the end draws nigh,
dispirited I here recline,
o'er vagaries of fate I repine.

Fragments of plots litter my stage,
players unborn in battle engage,
enchant, coquette, repudiate,
yet nascent, incomplete, inchoate.

As tales untold course through my veins,
meekly I scale my losses and gains,
talent relinquished, lives rescued,
art forsaken, revenue accrued.

Delights of moving pictures spry,
grief at author’s designs gone awry,
joy of cradling my own firstborn,
by works abandoned rendered forlorn.

Loath am I with this life to part,
though regret festers deep in my heart,
'mong fruit of my quill would I abide,
as my spirit wanders far and wide.

My kith and kin, you made me whole,
Angel of Death would now have my soul,
grant me one last breath to imbibe,
I’m soon to be one with Heaven’s Scribe.

© 2014 Lily's Verse
Lilium Candidum

Image: http://erasitexnisan.blogspot.in
Artist: Leonid Pasternak

OAK

Shorn of all courage, in grief to
thee I wander. Soul ripped asunder,
body shattered,
in thy verduous shadows I sweet sanctuary seek.

Recumbent, I implore thy gnarled roots vouchsafe anchor,
imbue me with thine enduring might.
Stalwart would I be
as thou, unyielding when life's storms bludgeon and buffet.

Soft murmurst thou, soothing speakest of bygone days, of Epirus,
his rustling leaves Zeus' divine pronouncements, of Thor's own sacred
giant,
of Druids swaying 'neath thy golden catkins.

Hither rooted, e'er forbearing, tidings thou attendest from distant lands.
Langourous caresseth the wind thy branches, whispereth messages of
hope, airs of reverence singeth.

Writhen arms outspread, in evergreen embrace enfoldest thou this
forlorn child, comfortest my supine form,
my wounded spirit healst.

Deep I drink of thy
reviving bounty.

Purged of pain,

my soul cleansed,

at thy feet

am I reborn.

© Lily's Verse
Lilium Candidum

Image: OAKWOOD
Artist: Ivan Shishkin
Source: www.liveinternet.ru

QUASI MODI

A winter's day, crystal sunshine
courts cheery laughter,
roses bloom amid baby's breath,
innocence trills, a perfumed
melody fills the room.

A shower of icy shafts shatters
my silver crescendo,
blanches blushing blossoms;
frigid glances puncture my heart.

Crimson drops issue from my eyes,
float upon my breath into 
tomorrow's refrains.

There I wait, on a porch that stands
no more, trembling in a patch
of noonday warmth,
muted in mid-song, cast aside,
bewilderment my sole refuge. 

A lamentable presence, a shard of
glass in her roseate compote,
this lumpen excrescence
she would disavow,
its duty done,
in its silken essence she revels.

Honeybee, alight not on one bereft
of the sparkling nectar
you seek. Away, for I am
perfumed with bitter almonds.
I contain your death throes.

Your garden no longer breathes,
mother, 
your shrine to yourself
that once thrived on your vanity.

I still smile and sing in the dark, 
alone with my affliction,
unseen, unheard,
for my breath would blight every
garden. No, blatant gaiety
would not behove
a rose with stem awry.

© 2014 Lily's Verse
Lilium Candidum

Image: STUDY FOR THE LADY CLARE
Source: paintingandframe.com
Artist: John William Waterhouse

AT TWILIGHT

Spotlights of God rays fade;
the volant chorus retreats,
lambent purity of its 
Golden notes lingers.

Twilight draws her heliotrope 
veil over sky and earth;
her ebony tresses she frees,
strewing tawny ribbons
on the horizon.
Downy pink drapes conceal
her trysts with stellar lovers.

There, Jupiter sparkles,
Antares below, 
Altair, rather diffident.
Vignettes of bygone days
haunt the shadows.

I count the stars 
as is my wont, defiant, 
heedless of the gloaming 
in my spirit. Here, I seek
my panacea.

I kneel before this sacred
moment when
light and dark entwine;
the twain in perfect accord, 
neither present nor absent,
weary of warfare 
proclaim a truce.

A sumptuous emptiness 
such as Nature ordained,
a cosmic stillness, restores 
my heart to myself,
gluts the lacunae in my soul. 

In that instant,

I am whole.

© 2014 Lily's Verse
Lilium Candidum

Image: HESPERUS AS THE PERSONIFICATION OF EVENING
Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Artist: Anton Raphael Mengs

DUPLICITY

You speak to me of love?

The very eyes you seek 
to ensnare me with 
betray your heart.

Honeyed phrases drip off your 
serpent tongue, whilst with your
Lust you commune sub rosa.

His brute force would suffuse
your embrace ere you would
constrict me in your coils.

Supple as a panther you
would stalk your quarry
as he guides your every move.

Your poison rubies would 
confound the eye
as your Bittersweet vines 
drain my life’s blood.

Would I, even in my vanity,
mistake your crimson
Russulas for rose petals? 

You declare me your lodestar.
Stars consume themselves! 
Away, or be burned to a cinder!

My 'radiant smile, very like
a resplendent sunset', I owe 
to the befouled air around me.

Astrape’s weapon are you, 
luminous deathly arc!

The Devil’s alliance would we be,
wreaking untold havoc, leaving a 
wasteland in our wake.

Your summer sun would singe you,
your Daphne, despoil your blood.

More thorns than rose am I,
a garden to be turned I’m not,
merely a morass.

Leave me to my legacy.

© 2014 Lily's Verse
Lilium Candidum

Image Source: www.pinterest.com
Artist: Vladimir Kush