What I'm Told

Alleviate this paralysis.

Free my limbs from damnation,

My heart from sorrow,

My mind from the echoes of a distant future.

Break my flesh.

Tear the muscle,

Caress the tired bones

That hold me hostage to this body.

Breath me in.

Deep breaths until there’s nothing left

Then let me fall,

Let me shatter under the weight

Of this world

So dauntingly heavy,

So daringly affixed to my spirit,

So alive,

So alive like the fluttering heartbeats

Of a woman in love;

Alive like the misty morning fog;

Like coffee on a cold morning;

Like the first snowfall of the year.

Then let me be.

- ELKS

We Are Already Different

A better word for change
Would be "future"
For within it
Nothing will ever be the same.
Every particle in our bodies
That we believe make us unique;
Acquisitions of character patterns and behaviors;
Will all evolve and shape us
Into people we never thought we'd be.
With time will come a reckoning,
A self-realized revolution;
A distinct shift in brainwave activities
That couldn't be predicted,
Happening without force or will.
Our choice is weakness versus strength.
Should weakness prevail
We will destroy ourselves.
With strength will come an enlightenment,
The likes of which we'll have seen
One hundred times throughout life,
But that feels different
And will impact us beyond any stretch of imagination,
Breathing new life into
The shift of our bones,
Lightness of our being,
And the reflection of ourselves
In the wind through the trees
Or the rustling of leaves.

- LKS, 12/15/12

When Nostalgia Isn't Quite the Word

I feel like I could float
Up to the sky
And rest my fingertips
Within the cloudy cushion of the stratosphere,
Could drink in the lightness
Of the air up there,
Like I could
Keep this heavy heart at bay.
I could stretch my toes down to the Earth
And let the comfort of the world's warmth
Consume me.
I'd let my atoms melt
Into the sea,
I'd let my bones rest
In the wind
So I could really be a part of everything.

-10/20/12 LKS

Things That Keep Me Awake At Night

The world is wide and there are lots of distractions available to you there, but they only soothe for a limited amount of time. Only time itself can mend the broken and the wounded, the hurtful and the wretched, and it is time that we are all bound to. We are bound by our capacity to care for one another; to hold each other up when times of need call for it. Time can be a cruel master, but she is wise too. She gives us the freedom of knowledge and choice in everything that we do. That's the beauty of this world I suppose. It is both limited and limitless. It gives us strength and it exposes all of our weaknesses. It is our gift and it is our burden, but either way it is ours. Let us hold on tightly to it. Let us love one another.

-LKS 10/14/12

There Exists A Distant Sound

Go back to the time
You remember most
Where the pain was least
And life's ghosts
Didn't haunt your dreams at night.
Light a match and kiss the flames,
A taste so sweet you'd never know
It was burning
Like the passions that left long ago
Leaving a gap in your heart
So large the ocean couldn't fill it
Even if it tried.
Reminisce
But don't miss those times;
With your eyes wide
Immerse yourself in this day.

- LKS, Written 9/27/2012

And If You Asked I Wouldn't Tell You Why

Steeped within the comforts of my former home
I roam the vast plains of time
Alone.
I fear not,
For I am tranquil with the thought
Of dissolving into this
Throne of lasting brick and stone;
Abandoning all former woes
That might call my name if I had known.
It is my every haven:
The creak of the garage door,
Watermarks upon the floor,
The chore of cleaning up those melted ice cubes
 Who could not stand up
To the heat around the valley’s core
If only they’d have shown themselves before
They might have had a chance, poor things.
My travels may just prove me weary
My shadow may just show me weak
But I will cling to this serenity,
I will keep myself afloat,
And drift along in serenity
Through time’s sands
However remote.

-LKS 9/24/2012

Slipping

All you ever wanted

Was to be free,

But I seethed with a fire

That detained your nature,

Breeding a distrust that

Disrupted the harmonies

Your innermost desires have been singing

For as long as I can remember.

Frightened,

You retreat into consciousness

Where your truths are your lies,

Where your lies are my truths,

Where boundaries are blurred

By exchanges of misunderstood innuendos

And metaphors govern

The sacred interactions we share.

Return to me.

Release me from the flames

So I can set you free once again.

-LKS 9/20/12