Lost Love Deliria

A Poem by Terry O'Leary

AWAKENING

Sleep and slumber, dreams of wonder... weaving,

morning’s vacuum broke the spell

Pitted pillow, note of parting... leaving,

“from your friend, a fond farewell”

Sunrise throbbing, twilight aching... grieving,

daydreams, flashbacks, nightmares knell

Pale phantasms, visions sneaking... thieving,

plot to fill the empty shell

12 DELIRIA

1st Delirium: COLLAPSES

Fractured sky bolts, billows bursting... rumbling,

heavens tighten, turn the vise

Horsemen saddle shafts of lightning... tumbling,

jagged highways must suffice

Ruptured skyways, hailstones crackling... crumbling,

naked pearls of paradise

Toxic tongues of laughter stinging... stumbling,

ocean buckets choked with ice

Droplets drumming, thunder muzzled... mumbling,

washed out whispers pay the price

Smothered blazes, cinders smoking... humbling,

ashes shaped in sacrifice

2nd Delirium: DESCENTS

Asphalt alleys, ashen faces... frowning,

blowing bubbles, chewing gum

Drinking ale from tavern tankards... downing,

moonlit beads of painted rum

Stony stars and sea misshapen... drowning,

humble rivers’ rhythms hum

Apparitions aspirating... clowning,

diamonds dying , minstrels strum

Incandescent candles conquered... crowning,

vacant vapours, cold and numb

3rd Delirium: FATES

Tempest turmoil, tapered turrets... holding,

dungeons, dragons, chains and racks

Wheels of fortune, Tarot temptress... molding,

Hangmen, Towers, One Eyed Jacks

Sand dune castles, cryptic candles... folding,

warping walls of liquid wax

Idols colder, combed and coddled... scolding,

hide in fissures, peek through cracks

4th Delirium: LOST SOULS

Sunken cities, pilgrims peering... gawking,

squinting eyeballs, blazing sun

Janus facing, shepherds chasing... stalking,

friends embrace before they shun

Tearooms steaming, tumult teeming... talking,

lovers listen, poets pun

Broken stones unanchored, quaking... rocking,

slipping, falling, one by one

Beaten pathways, footsteps marking... mocking,

wedged in webs which spiders spun

Circus shelters, big tops tumbling... locking,

people pacing, soon they’re none

Numbered exits, zeros numbing... knocking,

midnight daylight’s days undone

Moon blood shackles, shivers shaming... shocking,

starlight striders streaking, stun

Hushed but harried hermits waiting... walking,

restless rainbows on the run

Pixies, elves, and echoes bouncing... balking,

fading fast when dawn’s begun

Bantum butterflies are flitting... flocking

sometimes conquered, overrun

Hocus pokus, seers focus... squawking,

voodoo wavered, witchcraft won

5th Delirium: INTROSPECTION

Sundown furnace, fires fading... coughing,

dusky dew drops drain the air

Empty chalice, sipped in silence... quaffing,

thirsting shadows unaware

Looking glass and lattice scorning... scoffing,

local loser gapes and stares

Faces covered, dancing naked... doffing,

peering inside, hope despairs

6th Delirium: THE VOID

Tales of taboos, mystic mythos... missing,

windows shuttered, bolted door

Kindled candles, tongues and anvils... hissing,

heavy hammers, echoes roar

Dark deceivers, raven charmers... kissing,

draging demons from the shore

Hopeless hollows filled with doubters... dissing

standing empty - nevermore

7th Delirium: SEARCHING

Martyred monks haunt runic ruins ... waiting,

banging broken bells below

Vaulted hallways, voided voices... grating,

churning Chinese chimes aglow

Granite graveyards, spectres spooking... skating,

blackened bushes, roses grow

Midget dwarfs seek mutant migrants... mating,

packing parcels, ice and snow

8th Delirium: NIGHTTIME

Throbbing drumheads, fingers blazing... steaming,

coins of copper, beggars plea

Rusty residues of resin... streaming,

opal amber filigree

Orphan shades in shallow shadows... teeming,

steeping twigs in twilight tea

Cloister doorsteps, Prophets gaming... scheming,

tracing tracks of destiny

Blacksmiths blanching, horseshoes glowing... gleaming,

partially sheathed in black debris

Phantoms feigning, nightmares scathing... screaming,

dusty dreamers drifting free

9th Delerium: EMPTYNESS

Water wheels in wastelands... turning,

drowning relics in the slum

Rumpled rags of fashioned burlap... burning,

lit by bandits blind and dumb

Pastured prisons, ponies bridled ... yearning,

forest fairies under thumb

Sounds inside of cauldrons coughing... churning,

blaring bugles, tattooed drum

10th Delirium: ALIENATION

Rain unravelling, wistfully weeping... falling,

treacle trickling, fickle sky

Mushrooms sprinkled, visions sprouting... sprawling,

seagulls drowning, dolphins die

Rabble gasping, spirits broken... crawling,

lonely lonesome swallows cry

Babbling brooks and breakers ebbing... bawling

puppies paddle, puppets sigh

People passing ripple past me... calling,

rainbow colours, collars high

Chaos seething, lepers looting... stalling,

stealing stallions on the sly

Pencils pausing, scholars scrambling... scrawling,

scratching scribbles, asking why

11th Delirium: JETSAM

Silver sails sway pallid pirates... prowling,

Jolly Rogers, wind and sound

Parrots perching, tattered feathers... fouling,

tethered talons, tied and bound

Shipwrecked foghorns, trumpets stranded... howling,

spiral springs of time unwound

Magic moonlight, shimmers shaking... scowling,

burnt out matchsticks washed aground

Prairie wolfs, coyotes calling... yowling,

witching hours, midnight hounds

Tightrope walkers, grizzlies grunting... growling,

seeking islands, lost and found

12th Delirium: RELIEF

Slumber shattered, vapours captive... haunting,

chained in mirrors, breaking free

Scarlet skylines, daylight dawning... daunting,

rivers rushing to the sea

Silence softens, sandmen whisper... wanting,

piercing rafters, turning keys

Shadows shudder, notions fluster... flaunting,

moonbeam bullets meant for me

Mind in migraine, meadows trembling... taunting,

sparrows speak in harmony

REAWAKENING

Pitter patter, teardrops paling... pearling,

salting scarves in secret drawers

Mist amongst us, smoke rings rising... curling,

climbing from the ocean floors

See-saw circles, senses swerving... swirling,

swept away with silver oars

Courtyard jesters, sceptres twisting... twirling,

push the past to foreign shores

Passing pangs of passions heaving... hurling,

burning bridges, closing doors

Roses wither, icons waning... whirling,

time decays and time restores

My Review

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Featured Review

Beccy

Something of a roller coaster journey this, and a most fascinating one. In particular, the reference to Janus caught my eye and to me was pivotal to the clever unfolding of this quite fascinating poem, as are those last rhyming words on every other line that lead the reader by the nose as it were, directly to the closing stanza and the re-awaking of the senses. The release from temporary disorder; which love of course can and almost always does cause.

A poem, (one of very few,) I have shelved in my library and will read from time to time with great enjoyment. Beccy