summer poems – Page 4 – Hayden Winston

Red Wine

Red wine passes through my lips, heals the hurt of the day,

this is not to say I recommend you mend all wounds with wine –

Knew a man who couldn’t put down his favorite way to block the pain, died of it.

But this full-bodied cabernet distills my insides,

Keeps work, debt, worry at bay.

So I sip as I sit, and melt away.

A sudden rush of emotion
withheld, censored, eyes closed
immersed in the ocean

Clear blue skies, muddled intentions
breaking life open
skirting the law, another family tradition

The seams can’t be sewn together again
A rush of ambition, of love, of blood
“Quick before it all turns to dust”

A demigod among men, eternally lamenting

Vanity and insecurity tucked into their proper places,

Sunrise, sunset.

Friends and lovers past, a sea of half-remembered faces,

Sunrise, sunset.

Chances missed and paths leading to the roads less traveled by,

Sunrise, sunset.

Moon towering high ruling over night,

Sunrise, sunset.

Enduring fears dissolving,

Relentlessly evolving,

Without change we are nothing.

i
just want a little respect, a bit more consideration,
body – all pain and determination

ii
writhing in the sunlight, kissing the sky,
watching the tides rise and die

Cool clean air and remnants of the past line the avenues.

Cafés on every other corner, magic spent with a love that’s true.

Loves, lives long lost – extinct.

Enveloped in the winding hills,

Entranced by hazy blue skies,

Could use another week (a month, a year) away,

Lost in the city by the bay.

For you,
I’d learn to write love songs in Spanish,
Sonnets in Italian,
Haikus in Portugese.

The kindest disposition,
Warm hands, tender lips.

For you,
I write love notes in the morning,
Dance all evening,
And sing until my voice has gone.

The night is young, this moment’s fleeting,
We roam the city while its sleeping.

For you,
I’ll brave the cold, the rain,
Climb cliffs to sit hand in hand,
Hearts open, love flowing.