syntax by Maureen N. McLane

and if
I were to say

I love you and
I do love you

and I say it
now and again

and again
would you say

parataxis
would you see

the world revolves
anew

its axis
you

Sharing

http://skateexplorediscover.deviantart.com/art/Picnic-With-The-Ghosts-93159570?q=boost%3Apopular%20in%3Aphotography%20picnic%20tree&qo=12

I split my happiness
down the middle
like we've shared many things:
sandwiches, a soda,
stories we told no one
else. How is it that I can
release part of myself to
you and still have no loss
of power? I break open
the side of my humanity
yet to be seen and I am like
a fortune spewing out the wisdom
of ancestors. On your day of rain,
hang your umbrella on the branches
of this tree and sit, sharing
with me my plate of life
devoured with this apparatus
of serenity.

Untitled

This is middle ground. The place
where my ending meets your beginning.
The moment my frown meets your smile.
Wave a white flag so we can triumph
this field of battle. I will comb
the grass with my fingers as I breathe
our conversation. Your words soothe
me like David's harp soothed Saul.
They say that love is a battlefield
but the only thing I am fighting
is myself.

A thought....

Asking a Christian writer to only write about Christ is like asking a Christian artist to only paint portraits of the cross. I write about real life. Since God is the giver of life, I write about him.

Empathy

http://r2624w.deviantart.com/art/i-m-ready-217586791

You taught me empathy, a lesson
that keeps me up at night; I weep in solidarity, whispering
prayers for your safety, from others, from yourself.

You showed me the bruises on your body that mirrored
the ones in your soul. I could only stare dumbly
hoping that my friendship would be numbing to the sting
of childhood memories and present day atrocities. I tasted
blood in my mouth from the devouring of words my mother
told me to never speak. I wish I had shouted them for your
honor, screeched them against your enemies, our enemies.

This hatred of injustice is my sanity. I paint
the white walls of this room with strategies of revenge.
I hear the words you aren’t saying and I pocket
them to sustain me on this journey of recovery,
this walk of salvation, I walk for you.

I write for you. You have closed your eyes to my words.
I sing for you. You cannot hear any music.
We held each other together but you
crumbled in my arms. I am left with pieces of misunderstanding,
misuse, misery. I rock them as if to comfort a baby.
But you are dry bones. I haven’t heard you laugh in over two
years. My lullaby is an amateur prophecy and unlike Ezekiel
I have a fountain of doubts. I have spoken my own words.
I have confirmed my failure.

You were my world and I could not save you, friend.
So I must save the rest.

Questions

If you saw me withdrawing, why did you just walk away?
If I am not to blame, why are things not different?
Why do I think about you every time I write?
How come "friends" hurt more than they help?
Where did the conversations go?
Why does everything seem fake?
Why can't I let you go?
Can you see me?

Why is it that every time I write I sound so depressed? Don't worry; I'll put my smile on before I see everyone tomorrow.

I'm really not so depressed. Writing just gives me the capability to be vulnerable in ways that others will not be willing. I'm an open book if you take the time to read. If.

And so...

Now I wonder if I really belong.
Take me to a place where I am reminded of who I am.