Elmer Sayre

You called me,
from a corner store in your home-town,
in Sulawi.
...

Darkness it was
When we were young
Seemingly there was nothing
We were both unsure, soft lips unclaimed.
...

When you claimed that God is unnecessary
You seem to forget -
The taste of your morning coffee,
the feel of the wheelchair as you sit,
...

Briefly there is heaven amongst the flowers in the villa but my heart is somewhere else I cannot stand the incessant whining and chatter and false pretenses of glory proposing to write magnum opuses, what is it? nothing but food for cockroaches in tiny library nooks seldom seen by living souls yet;

Reaching a crescendo, thunder growling like thousand foxes in the distant ready to pounce on unsuspecting smaller fauna; the crescendo erasing the soft stiletto-pointed step-in worn by a lost Ukrainian damsel looking for an Italian savior in a hot humid night while the chug-chugging ferry sleeps;
...

You said I am irrational

destroying the library in my head
...

You are blinded by my wings
Wings fleetingly showing stars.
Incredible as it may seem but it is not mine, nor yours,
Depend in yourself.
...

what is the difference
between our two worlds?

you have your private jet
...

We are the squatters and the city is ugly with us.
Tourists brood and frown, Don Arman frets and complains-
Our huts shadow his mansion perhaps
...

Early morning when you left without saying goodbye
Frantic about meeting a schedule or so
You should have waken me up
Cooking omelet for you and packing your lunch
...

The mountains did not speak to you my Lady, the birds did, gliding swiftly, guiding my steps, up unto the promontory, after the formal gardens of Villa Serbelloni, you were there cold, silent with the Baby while the world wakes up unmindful of the light of the world;

I bring my soul to you, baring everything, opening my heart, murmuring of distant failed summers, reckless abandon, brothers lost in cold posturing, wanting to gnaw back at time but failing, rebuked by age, consumed by the listlessness of my soul;
...

Is it that you cannot bear to

hear the heartbeats of Elena so young,
...

I am surprised why you came home grandpa
when no river flows from here
you can no longer use your bubo
your spear is incongruous at your side
...

You said that I should write
My poems
In iambic pentameter,
Or else they are not poems.
...

I cannot breathe fresh air anymore
what with all the things cluttering
cellphones 1,2,3, laptops 1,2,3
cantankerous television sets
...

Cold soldiers
marching
platoon-strong
and counting
...

I have every material wealth conceivable-

A mansion in the hill, fatuous women;
A fleet of cars, fat contracts;
...

We who have witnessed your coming witnessed your abrupt leaving.
Why leave us in the eventide, when everything is ripe for the reaping?

You said you are weary with all the cares of the world better to snuff the flicker.
...

A thousand hurt you gave me.
My circle suffered so much with what you have done;
Communal tears springing from our withered eyes without end.
Heartless to the core your ambition consumed you
...

When the thousand sorrows exploded unexpectedly
My whole being sunk to depths unimaginable,
And I ran.
I ran but there is no place to hide
...

Do not hug me tight lest I suffocate and leave you,
Gaze at me, at a distance, no chains, unbound.
Freely circling like seeds with feathers freed from the tree.
Mature, sure, confident, knowing well enough.
...