Bad Vibrations

by Barbara Herrick

      He touches me and sets a vibration.
Now he covers my ears and steals the bell.
      We are due for a lengthy migration.
How hard it seems to salvage what I sell.

      Now he covers my ears and steals the bell.
We are shifting in the wrong direction.
      How hard it seems to salvage what I sell.
He chooses from the simple selection.

      We are shifting in the wrong direction.
Now we glance around to notice a sign.
      He chooses from the simple selection.
How stealthily he steps over the line.

      Now we glance around to notice a sign.
We should perhaps try a deviation.
      How stealthily he steps over the line.
He is looking for appreciation.

      We should perhaps try a deviation.
Now we lose our sight in the growing dark.
      He is looking for appreciation.
How blue the landscape and eerily stark.

      Now we lose our sight in the growing dark.
We are due for a lengthy migration.
      How blue the landscape and eerily stark.
He touches me and sets a vibration.

Copyright © Barbara Herrick 2003

Sestina Per Giuseppino

by Barbara Herrick

I worry about you alone in the dark,
Questing much as Roland to reach the tower.
Scanning the landscape for the amusement park,
Seldom pausing to savor or smell a flower,
Stumbling out of step and shuffling off the mark.
You may just as well—I gave you that power.

You may just as well—I gave you that power.
You wander alone because I fear the dark!
In my shadow you search for the tall tower.
With my baggage you retreat to the pale park.
In your pocket you keep a crumpled flower—
A keepsake of me—I must have made the mark.

Your comings and goings leave a heart-bruise mark.
You may just as well—I gave you that power.
I cannot distinguish the light from the dark,
When you spiral past up steps to the tower,
Swaying like the roller coaster at the park.
Perhaps you wait til I'm ripe, in full flower?

Don't fight the bad guys with your wilted flower,
Or sign documents without leaving your mark.
You may just as well—I gave you that power.
Let me rescue you from the cold of the dark.
Carry us both to the top of the tower,
Instead of crying on a bench in the park.

Come out of the rain sheeting down on the park.
Spare me the memory of your wet flower.
Your waste has carved rivers, left a rugged mark.
You may just as well—I gave you that power.
If we honestly travel to light from dark,
We'll sooner spy turrets of the tower.

Banish the naysayers from our stark tower,
And closely follow by the path in the park.
Bring me a new poem and a fresh flower.
Fail if you will—I've already made my mark.
You may just as well—I gave you that power.
I fear for your safety alone in the dark.

A pleasant remark you spoke at the tower
(While I rolled flour for a lunch in the park)
Lent a dark secret an enormous power.

Copyright © Barbara Herrick 2003

Another Chance

by Barbara Herrick

Another chance,
A contraction of time—
The last effort
To make our poem rhyme.

No more mistakes,
Not one single wet cheek—
This time we'll try
To be milder and meek.

A miracle,
A new kind of devotion—
Neither loses
Nor causes commotion.

These soft kisses,
This void in time and space—
Nothing wasted
Now we have found our place.

Never lonely,
Not lost in the dark fleet—
A new tribute
Almost close to complete.

The eons dragged,
Then out of the wild blue—
Another chance ...
Already I miss you.

Copyright © Barbara Herrick 2003