why must I always be the thief

I only came to measure the pace

in fits and starts

the hourglass can’t hold me

my reception matched

only with unexpected departure

I am broken too

always among you

and them

invited rarely and with caution

wishing to be quietly

riding the flow

tonight 

not by my side

but settled in my heart

breaths pace quietly in tandem

dreaming

you came 

unrequested

you gave unlimited

my heart was yours unwavering

fated

As I continue working on forms, the above is a cinquain. The cinquainis a poem composed of five lines. It is unrhymed. It which uses 22 syllables distributed among the five lines in a 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 pattern, respectively.

wishing I could embrace the quiet night

but it’s deafening to me

I’m looking towards morning light

stars splayed full and bright

yearning to usher peaceful dreams

wishing I could embrace the quiet night

endless turning in a sleepless fight

this bed too big

I’m looking towards morning light

inhale exhale this chest holds dynamite

I’ve lost count of the passing sheep

wishing I could embrace the quiet night

ghosts sing soundtracks filled with contrite

my mind frantic with the pace

I’m looking towards morning light

dawn is now in sight

today smiles anew

wishing I could embrace the quiet night

I’m looking towards morning light

my first attempt at a villanelle style poem

The  villanelle is a nineteen-line poem divided into six stanzas with two repeating rhymes and two refrains (a phrase or line repeated at intervals within a poem, especially at the end of a stanza). The lines are of any given length. The form is made up of five tercets (three line stanzas) followed by a quatrain (four line stanza). The first and third lines of the opening tercet are repeated alternately in the last lines of the succeeding stanzas; then in the final stanza, the refrain serves as the poem’s two concluding lines.

words not spoken 

carom from the walls of time

silence separates hearts

yours and mine

I’m leaning upon crumbling bones

recalling the taste of your tumbling tears 

rivers will never run backwards 

the current unwavering through the years 

change arrives when it chooses 

often leaving us wanting more

following the blazing sun

clouds roll by to even the score

right down the middle 

trouble rambled a path

our turn had come

to live with sadness’ wrath

towards the door without your thoughts

fraying threads have you running 

when you return it will settle

but I already know you aren’t coming

goodbyes offered at this time

beckon me in the wrong direction 

I’ll always hold you

while my soul seeks resurrection