the chapel

Posted on July 22, 2017 by

the chapel by anelephantcant

Click here to hear the poem read aloud:

the chapel

outside the ruined chapel
I grieve for my lost friend
I see death all around me
there’s only one way this can end

I remember my eyes were once light blue
though it’s been a thousand years
these days they’re always dark and red
the product of a thousand tears

I have left my jacket somewhere
I know it’s going to rain
now there is no way back to you
I have long since missed my train

I painted exquisite portraits
showing elegance and grace
but no lady wants to buy them now
they always show your face

there’s a crush around the cash-line
there’s no way to reach my money
the Greyhound bus sprints from the gate
I no longer find me funny

the east wind smuggles winter
across the bleak grey sea
but I no longer have the magic
that can charm you back to me

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and then

Posted on July 15, 2017 by

and then by phil burns

Click here to listen to the poet read the poem:

sometimes you drive me crazy
I start to think that maybe I’ll
be better off without you
I wonder is this all worthwhile

it isn’t easy getting close
when we have long lived single lives
especially when you and I
have tongues like cold sharp knives

we know just how to damage
with words fine laced like dirt
we probe to find the weak point
we know exactly how to hurt

and we have both grown selfish
unaware of others’ needs
we hide deep within our dark caves
until the fear of pain recedes

so we are quite reluctant
to venture brave outside
to where our hearts were ravished
to where life and love reside

you start to scratch my broken nerves
I wonder is this all worthwhile
the clouds are dark the rain pounds down
and then and then you smile

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between

Posted on May 6, 2017 by

between by anelephantcant

Click here to hear the poem read aloud:

between

between the dreams and memories
between the thoughts and fears
I hear the music of your love
as it whispers in my ears

the dog slumbers in the sunshine
beneath the dying pepper tree
as you once slept in my embrace
before you hungered to be free

now I’m stranded on the platform
as the train departs without me
to my surprise I understand
you no longer care about me

there’s a motorbike and side-car
it is travelling much too fast
under the goggles and the helmets
I see the faces of the past

in my heart the dust still lingers
in my life just wrecked despair
I drift in no direction
seeking one more breath of air

I search for what you left behind
when I drowned in distraught tears
between the dreams and memories
between the thoughts and fears

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she walks bridges

Posted on April 29, 2017 by

she walks bridges by anelephantcant

Click here to hear the poet read the poem:


she walks bridges

he has so many reasons to love her
the girl with the smile that bewitches
he believes she is half mermaid
he knows that she walks bridges

she brings summer time in winter
one smile and the weather switches
a gentle breeze sweeps rain away
she laughs and she walks bridges

she floats through life with sparkling eyes
helps him taste a thousand mixes
shows him the way to renaissance
holds his hand as she walks bridges

she paints his world in colours new
she brings him love and untold riches
he is penniless but full of joy
watching her as she walks bridges

The following is a superb interpretation of this poem by Kris Anderson, Californian musician and composer, and friend of AnElephant:

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one second

Posted on April 22, 2017 by

one second by anelephantcant

Click here to hear the poem read aloud:

one second

one second in a lifetime
one second of pure surprise
the second when I first saw you
and tumbled lost into your eyes

one minute unexpected
one minute of pure bliss
the minute you were in my arms
sharing that first sweet kiss

one weekend spent in Venice
one weekend dazed together
the weekend when we fell in love
I knew it was forever

one month you crossed the ocean
one month you left your world
the month you shared your life with me
said you’d always be my girl

one year of laughing phone calls
one year loving far apart
the year distance meant nothing
you were deep inside my heart

one thousand nights I’ve wakened
one thousand nights I’ve wept
one thousand nights I’ve thought of you
wondering how I ever slept

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time

Posted on April 15, 2017 by

time by anelephantcant

Click here to hear the poem read aloud:

time

once when time was long and slow
the poet decides that he must go
back to the start of everything
back to where all life begins

time doesn’t move from right to left
it doesn’t go from east to west
it never varies up and down
it simply always flows around

I know that I can’t bottle time
it slips through fingers and through minds
it can’t be fenced it can’t be boxed in
it is a simple complex concoction

no barrier stands in its smooth way
it changes inexorably
nothing ever halts its progress
there is never any point to protest

it passes on it takes its toll
it tells me that I’m growing old
proverbially it teaches wisdom
brings agelessness when death at last does come

once when time was long and slow
the poet decides that he must go
back to the end of everything
back to where his life takes wing

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a moment of life

Posted on April 8, 2017 by

high on a hill by anelephantcant

Click here to hear the poet read this 90-second poem:

a moment of life

there is a moment of life to remember
when we view the Danube in full flow
or sail once again into Venice
or see the Alps’ needled peaks draped in snow

perhaps it’s just another clear morning
when we gaze at the murmuring sea
and sense far off lands on soft breezes
and feel contentment in just being free

we see golden dawns and red sunsets
we walk hand in hand on the beach
our hearts find a new optimism
can happiness be at last in our reach

high on a hill stands a castle
invisible to my tear-filled eyes
until you point it out from over the bay
and I know there’s no need for more lies

red flowers seduce casual butterflies
cicadas play rhythm in the trees
your eyes find mine with no wrinkles
and my heart is unlocked with no keys

and then there’s that instant of clarity
as sharp as a brown-handled knife
and I realise you’re all that matters
and that this is a moment of life

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments