Painsure

I remember all the good times, 
but I force myself to forget 
the pains that came with them. 
So what thoughts really win?

-Dennis Birtch

Synonyms

They are there, 
dancing on the end of my thoughts, 
waiting to be pushed 
by stale beer and old memories
into words I wished I would have said. 

-Dennis Birtch

A Few Drinks

This night drags.  
I have moved past my movies
Slipped by my poetry. 
Now I have find myself
immersed in song. 

-Dennis Birtch

Love

None of it was real,
from where she sat, 

it was all just an illusion. 

She was still alone. 

- Dennis Birtch

Upon Waking

"It is always her"

As if in a dream.  It is her. It is always her,  but I can not remember her face.  I know her eyes,  I know her smile,  I know the tenderness of her kiss.  I know the sting of her passion as she playfully bites my lip.  I know her laugh,  I know her tears,  I know the sadness of her words. I know the joy of her desire as she softly whispers in my ear.  I know her pains,  I know her conventions,  I know the distance of her affections. I know the secrets of her heart as she gently touches my skin. I know her hopes,  I know her fears,  I know the depth of her love as she slowly moves away. I know the pull of her ... I know the ... I know the ... I can not remember her face,  but it is her. It is always her. As if in a dream. 

My heart stares (working)

And as quickly as she danced in my words she left to listen to mediocrity. 

-Dennis Birtch

Rudimentary Love

I had met an adventure once. 
I pushed it and it broke me. 
I am parts of what is left, 
loosely glued back. 
Forever cracked,
missing pieces, 
but somehow still whole. 

- Dennis Birtch

Thoughts of You.

Symmetry demands that when two imperfects collide the result is one of beauty. Yet I remain here and you remain there. Separated by a line defined as the straightest point between our two distances. And we as parallels shall never meet. 

- Dennis Birtch. 

Gifted Words

A sonnet is no more 

then words lacking prose. 

I always thought 

you were better than that.

- Dennis Birtch

Midnight Rainfall

I gave up trying to stand. 

I sit here,

the water falling

on me like rain. 

-Dennis Birtch

All I Have to Do

"All I have to do is speak."

All I have to do

is look. 

All I have to do 

is smile. 

All I have to do 

is approach 

All I have to do 

is speak. 

All I have to do
is grab her attention, 

but I don't. 

I write words. 

- Dennis Birtch

Abuse of Loneliness

"her vision always remained just under the surface"

And the wind pushed her back

against that which tried to break her. 

The feeling tore at her,

shoving her in the direction

she wished to escape from. 

Tears welled up and soon

her vision always remained

just under the surface. 

- Dennis Birtch

Rippled Reflection

"she looks down to find the familiar"

Reflection forms as she forces herself to stare at the simple mirror. The beauty is lost to her, stolen by her disillusioned vision. Tears come to her eyes again, just as they always have. She blinks in an attempt to fight them back, but they come.  Her sight is washed, it is almost impossible to see, but still a movement is caught. She watches as the glass cries with her. It mimics each newly formed streak causing the image to flow off the silver backing and gather in a pool on the floor. Just a frame remains, her emotions leaving the mirror now bare and blank, ready for endless possibilities. Still, her mind remains blinded. She gazes at nothing, she is alone and scared, so she looks down to find the familiar.  Nothing has changed. Her likeness floats upon the puddle and she sees no beauty. Emotion collects in her eyes and the barrier that was built can no longer hold back the flood.  Droplets pelt the mirage creating a ripple of distortion and change. Reflection forms as she forces herself to stare at the simple waves.  Beautiful.

- Dennis Birtch

Photo: Unknown

Painted Footsteps (Work in Progress)

"I leave steps of wondrous dreams"

Suppressed by a pedestal in which no statue resides, I regard a blank slate where once there was inspiration. I struggle for breath against the weight that only emptiness offers. With my body unmoving, my sight soon finds focus.  I watch as words begin to run down the sides as undertones of fresh paint are being drizzled against its surface.  Each slow moving drip brings with it the colors of my imagination.  No clear pattern seems to exist, every newly formed streak in itself a possibility. Refusing to remain solitary in direction, colors of thought seek out others. Defying the basic law that demands a straight descent, I could sense a whimsical contemplation nudge some to take a curvature that slides it into another. Free flowing verse after verse is formed. What once were just dripping words have become waves that smash downward breaking against what is holding me static. Gasping, breaths are caught as I struggle to be free from this bondage. I can feel the colors around me wanting to be my guide. I reach out and to my surprise I find an edge.  Barley grasping with fingers I force myself upwards. Tearing free I emerge up through the colors until I am standing in a puddle of self discovery and from it I leave steps of wondrous dreams as I turn my back and walk away.   

- Dennis Birtch

Inhibited Words

"Ink holds still and refuses to create words"

Restrained and immovable, it looms over actions. Ink holds still and refuses to create words.  An affront to the story, a halt to the exposition. Characters not brought about to act upon a stage. Desires never felt or acted upon during the growing push towards the apex of a journey. Dreams will crumple before sleep is scribed. There will be no elegance in the unrefined endeavors of a protagonist while action rises. No heartless delineation of an antagonist when the climax is in sight.  Unwritten acts of courage, honor, friendships, and love; shall never see full beauty or vigor in a plot. Stillness with a loss of conflict. Emptiness where there should exist dwindling action. A resolution never thought. No right holds a story from emergence.

- Dennis Birtch