Fire And Water Poem by Rachael Swiss

there is a pen in my hand and it trembles violently
electric waves carrying thoughts to poised fingertips
the words must flow now or the finger will bloat like sausage
and the dam will collapse without the hope of one boy
the destruction of so much depending on so little flesh
and we must break it down and wash this city away
Rome at the end of the empire
New York at it's finest
as your mother, your sister, your lover, your friend
i'd rock you to tender sleep while the violin played
and the city burned
cradle you in these protective arms
while yours reached toward a universe of potential
and the lullabies would come and go like consciousness
my baby, my brother, my lover, my friend
you'll fall from time to time
you'll bleed, you'll cry
but wounds will heal with exposure to air
and the phoenix within us will rise again
as birds of fire must take flight
concrete particles brushed off of scraped knees
marching head-strong into the future
and with every trip there is clarity to gain
people to learn and places to grow
and love makes it all worth living for
the flood, the pain, the experience of it all
bliss is meaningless without comparison
the moon holds the secret of life within her phases
she smiles upon you with her magic
the goddess waxes and wanes and turns the tide
gaze into her open face and know her forms
for without the burning passion of the sun-star
you would never know her beauty.