I Laid My Head Upon a Rock

Poem 16

I laid my head upon a rock,
I placed my cheek against the block,
I'd made for all the world to see,
The single promise I could be.

Her eyes demur, her lips divine,
Her taste still lingered as the time;
That we could lay, our arms entwined,
The scent so sure that I could find.

The other in a world of fright,
Through midnight's madness in the night.
I pressed her deep and felt her sigh,
From deep within it reached so high.

If only there were time to dance,
To seize a taste of life's sweet chance.
To spin the seasons with her charm,
She pressed her breast into my arm.

I saw her smile and heard her laugh.
Meant only for my better half.
The other fool had played around,
Who else but me is such a clown?

She'd given me her heart and soul,
The way she moved her story told.
That each unending promise broke,
Turned weak excuses into jokes.

My heart exploded, who was I,
To make the sweetest woman cry?
Instead for once I'd held my tongue,
I 'd heard her say what I had done.

For now I know I did not see,
The passion she had held for me.
Of course by then I'd been too late,
The victim's twin decided fate.

That there could be no shining stars,
No future place could be so far.
Away from me the one that felt,
The mystic dream that we'd been dealt.

And I so blind and full of self,
I put her sweetness on a shelf,
By boxes, toys and other things,
The selfish pleasures she could bring.

I bowed my head, she had the right,
She gazed upon me on that night.
And with her went the need to be,
As darkness crashed inside of me.

And down I laid in silent strife,
I slashed myself as though a knife.
Had torn my pride with burning fire,
Kindled deep within that pyre.

Built of guilt and foolish pride,
Alone I lay, alone I cry.
My face against the stone should tell,
Of this man's journey into hell.

07.16.2013

Charles F Berman Jr