A Deeper Shade Of Gray
A Deeper Shade Of Gray
Date: January 12,2012
With every piece you take away
I paint a deeper shade of gray
Someday the canvas will be filled
My voice unheard, my passion stilled
Locked away in caverns deep
The embers glow, in twilight sleep
Never once to breathe the air
Nor dream to life, what isn’t there
The flames are stifled by abuse
Though I fight, there is no use
Too many days, I’ve wondered why
To chase so hard, what you deny
But I won’t plead or beg of you
I made a vow, I’ll keep it true
And when you look into my eyes
What you’ll see, is clear and dry
Cause, I see through the flattery
Falling snow cannot touch me
You shut me out, and left me cold
I’ll find some other hand to hold
My emotions, you picked apart
Came picking, picking at my heart
Until I had no more to give
Your hurtful games, I won’t relive
As, I know there is no magic here
Behind the cunning puppeteer
And hidden in the songs you sing
Are candied words, wrapped in strings
I’ll stand no more, filled with doubt
I’ve locked it down, won’t let it out
And in those deepening shades of gray
My fond desire fades away…
************************************ *********
Copyright © 2011 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Related quotes
Brine and Bone
Brine and Bone
Date: January 18,2012
When the current burns the air
Save for me the passion there
Beneath my breast the raging beat
Without your song is incomplete
Lift me from these crashing waves
To be your serf and wanton slave
Tis no finer place I seek
Than locked within your reveries
Hold me soft, from dusk till dawn
Through the night, with diamonds flung
And in the breaking of the day
Hold me closer, in the gray
Should I miss one moment’s breath
Besiege my soul a living death
Strike my eyes forever blind
Should you leave my voice behind
For every breath and every verse
Without your charms, would be a curse
I’d be naught, but brine and bone
Should your love, turn to stone
************************************ *********
Copyright © 2011 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
To You, To You
To You, To You
Date: March 13,2011
I give my heart, my soul, my world
To you, to you, to you
All of me, my everything
I give to you, to you
Whispers blowing in the wind
The skies of striking blue
All the fire that burns in me
I give to you, to you
The passion of my tender heart
Burns fast, and fierce and true
All the flames that I embrace
I give to you, to you
I give my words, my song, my verse
To you, to you, to you
All the magic of my dreams
I give to you, to you
Take my voice, my thoughts, my sighs
I give them all to you
Please harbor safe, my precious dove
This love I give to you
************************************** *******
Copyright © 2011 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Sipping Secrets
Sipping Secrets
Date: February 5,2012
I inhaled the splendor of his song
Drank the secrets capped with foam
Reveled in a fleeting breeze
To sip the nectar of his tease
I harbored hope, when there was none
Joined the games, just for fun
But soon I felt, trapped and tied
Prisoner to the fire inside
Forever hard to let it go
While warming by the golden glow
My heart is prone to giving in
Lured by passion to his sin
A bad boy dressed in stainless steel
Never allowed to see or feel
Living by another's creed
Still trying to find what he believes
The nights so cold, they froze my soul
Tied me to his whipping pole
And fire alone just seems to chill
With nothing more to haunt or thrill
So many seasons pass me by
But I won't fret, or waste a cry
Mistakes I've made are all my own
I've always known where I belong
The passion warms, while it last
A moment's fun, in the past
I know ahead, the dawn awaits
But, still the sun…won't see me break
I'll keep the whispers of his song
All the memories, I still own
No one can take my dreams away
They'll see me through the shades of gray
************************************* ********
Copyright © 2012 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Take The Fire
Take The Fire
Date: January 17,2012
Take the fire away from me
Never more again to see
There’s no spirit to rouse and warm
Only smoke, my eyes to burn
The beauty of a snow white swan
Is smothered by the flaunt and fawn
Tarnished kisses charge the air
To whisper false of grand affairs
A bright red rose, wrapped in thorns
Defies the passion, vowed and sworn
So take the fire, I have no need
It burns of lust, it burns of greed
************************************ *********
Copyright © 2011 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Let's Just Try
Let's Just Try
Date: September 19,2012
I'm trying to forgive the hurt
For all you've said and done
I'm trying hard to understand
Though my heart tells me to run
I'm trying hard to find a way
To lay down the grief and doubt
I'm trying hard, so very hard
To chase the demons out
I'm trying still, to turn a cheek
To forget the bitter blows
I'm trying now, with all my might
To rise above the snow
I'm really trying to accept your faults
And understand mine too
I'm really trying to make things right
We've still so much to do
I'm trying, trying to be strong
To bear the crippling weight
Trying hard to make a change
I hope it's not too late
I'll keep on trying, yes I will
As long as you try too
Because for me, it's worth the strife
To keep on loving you
********************************** ***********
Copyright © 2012 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Midnight Kisses
Midnight Kisses
Date: March 12,2011
Breathing slow, breathing deep
‘Cross the sea of slumber creep
Mists aglow with hidden fire
Sheets the bed with fresh desire
In the shadows of midnight's keep
The blaze is quickened, in flurried sleep
A haunting breath of flash and flame
Creeping ‘round the window pane
Scents that stain the pillow case
On the river of silence race
Swallowed up by raging need
Storms the crown, to plant the seed
Behind the shade of fevered dreams
Piercing truth, in stillness screams
Secrets locked beneath the skin
In visions ripe to trickle in
Broken whispers flutter by
Painting promise on the sky
Naked flesh begins to yearn
As passion flares, the body burns
Trapped in a subconscious mind
The light of day will never find
A fire as hot as is this bliss
Drowning in a midnight kiss
************************************* ********
Copyright © 2011 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Rose For All Seasons
A Rose For All Seasons
Date: January 15,2012
This I compare to the raging vein
When spring gives birth to renewing rain
For never was a bloom so rare
As the golden treasures growing there
For soon the summer skies burn down
Yet still the blush, comes furling round
The cardinals’ cage alive, entwined
By a single rose, from thorn-less vine
A breath and then the summer slows
The bud inside the cage still grows
Though winds rise up to bring a change
For autumn’s hues to rearrange
Yet, in the caverns waning light
The embers glow to warm the night
No frost or snow could fail or fade
This ever growing serenade
For love plants deep the tender seed
A winter bloom that waits for spring
*********************************** **********
Copyright © 2011 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Chat With My Heart
A Chat With My Heart
Date: January 19,2012
I sat down lonely on the floor
Turned the key
Unlocked the door
I let the passion flood my view
I hoped some light
Would filter through
I asked my heart
To seek what's real
To dig down deep to what it feels
I begged to know the reasons why
It clings like life, to alibies
And while chained to my attention
I had to know if it's pretension
To understand why it defends
And acts so blind, that it pretends
Yet, no matter what I say
A heart should never
Act this way
It's stubborn to my dying breath
I still don't know the answers yet
************************************** *******
Copyright © 2012 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Flash and Flame
Flash and Flame
Date: January 17,2012
I’d rather live in this distress
No thoughts revealed or dreams confessed
I’d rather sing in broken rhyme
Than dare reverse the hands of time
No other life could hold as dear
As the fleeting moments when he is near
I’d rather bear this life of pain
Than never taste his lips again
No other soul could sing to me
Those scalding thoughts in reverie
I’d rather wait with heart ablaze
Than fall forever from his gaze
No other flesh can hold as true
The flame that burns me through and through
I’d rather die in a dark abyss
Than be denied his hungry kiss
He won me with his flash and flame
My heart forever, his to tame
************************************* ********
Copyright © 2011 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Broken Branches
Broken Branches
Date: January 24,2011
I've tasted sweet o'hungry lips
And felt thy warm embrace
Though now blinded from my sight
In dreams I know thy grace
Whilst nevermore shall honey sweet
Melt soft against my tongue
It's locked away in melodies
Of all the songs we've sung
So, if I'm cursed to see no more
Beyond these clouds of pain
I'll stand and face the bitter force
And languish in the rain
As bending heart and broken branch
Trap grief beneath my breast
For deep inside the cardinals cage
The passion's laid to rest
But, never was a song as sweet
Nor shined on me as bright
As all the windswept lullabies
That whispered in the night
I close my eyes, to feel again
The fire upon my lips
And in the magic of the flight
I still can taste your kiss
So, I'll not weep for all that's lost
Or hope to find once more
The passion of our yesteryears
Was swept beyond my shore
Life will bring another day
The sun will rise again
And I'll not mend my broken dreams
By searching in the sand
I've tasted sweet o'hungry lips
My soul still wears the stain
In silence I will walk in strife
Until the heartache wanes
************************************ *********
Copyright © 201 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Burn Baby Burn
Burn Baby Burn
Date: January 15,2012
I’m burning myself in the midday sun
While shielding my soul
And pretending to run
Yet, I’m still holding on
When I should let go
It’s a strange paradox
So hot, yet so cold
I’m lost in the chant of a cold winter rain
And yet I keep listening
Though it’s causing me pain
I keep holding my breath
While waiting to see
If my life will move on
And where it’ll take me
I’m so tied to emotions
That I try to forget
But, try as I might
I’m forsaken as yet
Why do I still cling
To this cold barren dream
When it’s full of illusions
And cruel heartless schemes
I search for my muse
In the wind and the rain
But my hands are left empty
And my soul is left drained
Seems I can’t turn the page
With this hole in my heart
It just doesn’t make sense
I still hide in the dark
I keep asking myself
My question the same
Why keep rolling the dice
When I’m losing the game
Why do I continue
To offer my heart
When I know that it’s useless
There’s no fire in the spark
************************************ *********
Copyright © 2011 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Sweet Dreams
Sweet Dreams
Date: August 11,2012
Do not suffer as I sleep
When ‘cross my lips, a stillness creeps
As I will pass this way again
I have not died, I'm here my friend
Whispers of a passing breeze
Will bring to life sweet memories
And butterflies that softly land
Will be as I, to kiss your hand
Sweet as berries from the vine
You'll recall these lips of mine
I have not gone away in death
I did not breathe my final breath
Deep in your heart I shall remain
A joyful spark, an endless flame
So do not grieve when I have gone
I would not leave your heart alone
Spare the tears and sad goodbyes
As, I'll be here, when you close your eyes
************************************* ********
Copyright © 2012 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
I Sowed, I Sowed
At the heart of things, I sowed, I sowed
And waited for my gifts to grow
But tender roots could not take hold
In a hardened soul…so dark and cold
Yet inside of me, it thrived, it bloomed
It burned away all doubt and gloom
Now every breath that swells in me
It steady grows, just like a tree…
But inside of you, it could not grow
Was stifled by the falling snow
Unable to embrace the flames
Was satisfied, with fun and games
I gave my heart to make it real
And spread the passion that I feel
But songs of hope, were not enough
To rise above the fangs of lust
There's nothing I can do…or say
Time won't sweep the fire away
You'll yearn for me, as I will you
You can't deny, the fire is true
We'll hold our breath in deep of night
Pretending to be joined in flight
We'll ride the waves in our ascent
Come crashing down, trembling…spent
Echoes scream through my mind
Again, again the scenes rewind
Dreams hold fast the secret fire
Fueled by flames of deep desire
Your loins relive the raging burn
But from the night, you cannot turn
While fighting ghosts on tangled sheets
The fire will rob you of your sleep
Forever connected, our fire entwined
Yet separated by boundary lines
Never will, two wrongs be right
Never will, we share the night
Just two lost souls adrift at sea
To never touch…to never be
At the heart of things, I sowed, I sowed
In a place where love could never grow
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Thread Lightly As You Go
Thread Lightly As You Go
Date: February 26,2012
Tread lightly on my heart, sweetheart
Speak soft, and gently go
For locked behind the walls of steel
The pain of sorrow grows
Locked within a rusty cage
A dream in pieces lies
Like diamonds of a moonlit night
Torn from the midnight skies
Whilst round and round, the whispers
Float gentle in the gloom
Just memories in a garden
Where once our passion bloomed
Time has laid to rest, my love
The blooming of my heart
In cold and lifeless slumber
It perished in the dark
Tread lightly, love…tread lightly
So fragile is the glass
Tis fraught with many fractures
And wounds of seasons past
The wind outside is ruthless
The days…so long and cold
A thief of bright tomorrow's
Stepped in to steal our gold
Like a puzzle left unfinished
A poem without an end
My passion's loosed and fraying
No soul to help it mend
Thread lightly, dear…thread lightly
Speak soft, and gently go
Leave only care and mercy
To tend the seeds you sowed
************************************ *********
Copyright © 2012 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
I Will Rise
I Will Rise / DRAFT
Date: June 27,2012
We have lost the warmth of flames
Stifled by the silence of our secrets
As quietly as we came to touch
We let go the hand that held us
No one knew the flutters of my heart
Or discerned the fever of my desires
Only for you, I spoke in whispers
Only for you, your secrets kept
But as the sun rose on our history
I was burned by the flames of disdain
And as I searched for you, spoke your name aloud
I was answered by the lips of a stranger
I stood brave as the sun melted away before my eyes
Numbing me in the heartbreak of resignation
My hopes dashed as I laid down our whispers
Freeing them to dissolve into your shadow
I am still reeling in bittersweet confusion
Struggling to see the light beyond the clouds
Time, so cruel, has stolen my sighs
Revealing to me, a treasure, no more than fool's gold
I held my breath for you, sang to open fields of silence
I stood alone on the shore to watch you play in the distance
Creeping close, in the veil of secrecy, to speak to you in whispers
My heart hopeful for a chance to understand
But as I stood eye to eye with my undoing
I saw the truth that I refused for a decade long
Dispassionate eyes drilled cold and hard into my soul
I found no lover, no ally, no friend
Your refuse was my treasure, sweetheart
Your plaything…my heart
Though I bleed, I refuse to sink beneath the stones of my sorrow
And I will not allow shallow waters to drown me
I will make my way to the shore, and stand on my own two feet
I will find my voice, my passion, amid the debris
I will gather my fire, and I will sing again…
I will sing again…
*********************************** *****************
Copyright © 2012 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
When Pablo Speaks
When Pablo Speaks
Date: July 10,2012
My mind to frolic, with words of Frost
Slides between and then is lost
Drifting ‘round to fellows long
My thirst is deep; desires strong
Filled with all that Maya says
Flits in and out my meddling head
And ah, when Pablo speaks of love
My heart's aflutter with pure white doves
Around the beat, who else but Poe
A deep dark place I've come to know
I stop to ponder the words worth
As if I've nursed them from their birth
I settle to hear the rambling brook
Where Gwendolyn baits my eager hook
Then ‘long comes Oscar, running wild
I listen like an eager child
When Langston paints his colored hues
His canvas fills my point of view
Not just the finest spinning me
To this state of flux and reverie
For verses drift from near and far
Forever reaching for the stars
Feeding on the gentle night
I languish in the word's delight
Finding rhyme from ‘neath the skin
The place where passion's settled in
To fill my cup, appease my soul
Till hunger's sated, fat and whole
The empty space behind my eyes
Is filled with life's sweet lullabies
And when at last, I lay to rest
I'm filled with cadence of the best
************************************* ********
Copyright © 2012 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Injuries...Self-Inflicted
Injuries…Self-Inflicted
Date: September 4,2011
And while I swim in rivers
Deep as my desire
The fickle flame that warms me
Cannot sustain my fire
A' clinging to the chalice
To wring out every sip
A poison to my spirit
But ambrosia to my lips
I'm haunted by the flavors
Drip, sweetened from the vine
I relish in the torment
And hunger for the wine
This burden, my obsession
Tears loose in bitter flames
To scald the tender longing
That welds me to this game
************************************* ********
Copyright © 2011 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Not Today...Or Tomorrow
Not Today…Or Tomorrow
Date: September 29,2012
My fire, my burning lover
Your flames do sear me still
I've writhed beneath the fury
But yet, to claim my fill
Your whisper's sweet, seductive
My veins rage with desire
A spark of your persuasion
I too…am forged of fire
Your lips so bold, so hungry
Such brazen, hawkish need
So greedy, all consuming
Yet, anxious still to feed
One touch, and I am taken
Enraptured…captured…thrilled
In breathless sighs, confessing
My secrets…whispered, spilled
How easily you command me
So sure, you play this game
A thrill takes me to places
That words cannot explain
I'm chained to this obsession
Though fate don't give a wink
How long this passion lingers
How deep in love I sink
Oh, my burning lover
There's so much we failed to say
We'll burn for all eternity
Yet…never for a day
************************************** *******
Copyright © 2012 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
A Sacrifice Of Honey
A Sacrifice of Honey
Date: August 30,2011
There was a raging fountain
Gushing sticky sweet
A menagerie of flavors
Dripping at your feet
A need but for a moment
To stop and taste the wine
There were no poison apples
Just honey sweet, benign
Cast off the pleas and whispers
And quick to turn a cheek
When all it took was passion
To keep the honey sweet
Fire it seems, is fickle
It can't be bought or sold
Denied the flames of passion
It turns from hot to cold
Love laid upon the altar
Left as a dying flame
A sacrifice of honey
Was paid to play your game
************************************* ********
Copyright © 2011 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!
Pulling Out The Shards
Pulling Out The Shards
Date: May 23,2011
I covet his sweet hungry lips
Cling fast to the fire
I can't forsake the memories
The need of him…desire
I yearn to revel in the heat
Embrace it long and tight
I can't put out the eager flames
That warm me through the night
I know it's wrong to hanker on
In envy of such prize
But I can't train my rambling heart
Or tame my wandering eye
I hear him on the whispering winds
And taste him in the rain
He fulfills such simple joys
A need…I can't explain
I'll never touch his shielded soul
My heart deterred no less
For midnight dreams keep burning bright
And never let it rest
Still I go, in blinding snow
And lay down with the knife
To cut myself, time and again
Forever clinging tight
Fate has dealt a losing hand
But still I hold it fast
And stand each day in bitter rain
That falls like broken glass
I rise each morn, in spite of pain
In search of his regard
And end each day, the same old way
Still pulling out the shards
*********************************************
Copyright © 2011 Leria Hawkins, All Rights Reserved
poem by Leria Hawkins
Submitted by Poetry Lover
Vote! | Copy!