hope

this window is just
the idea of sky

in the same way hands
merely suggest caress

human hearts imagine
more than what is given

this ceaseless
invocation is hope

and is the reason for
so many moon songs

© Sarah Whiteley

Whole-Hearted

A new little piece written for a friend’s birthday. He’s one of those rare people who lives whole-heartedly and finds something to appreciate in every moment. I hope you enjoy!

on timidity

I hope that you can
forgive the cocoon of me –
the heart tight-wrapped
in tiny silks still
thrums to the sounds
of your laughing

© Sarah Whiteley

the aging heart

when one is young
a heart’s pain is half-wild
hot and sharp and crazed as wasps
in an aging heart
the pain settles in a way
like an ever-present
ache in the elbows
a creak in the knees
or like rousing stiff-jointed
in the chill revelation of morning
with your heart’s hurts waking
upon the pillow beside you
and the niggling frustration
of wondering just where
you left the damn keys

© Sarah Whiteley

the skin of me

together, we break,
and impossibly apart
we are impossible parts
without reason
without schema
without breath to break
upon tinkering fingers
though you will remain
the skin of me
and my heart
the failed invention
of your hands

© Sarah Whiteley