Poem: "Temptation"

"Temptation"

The distance widens
between what was
and what is

the clock reads 2 a.m.
it is dark outside
and she is stuck in bed
restless

clinging onto the pillow
in a futile attempt
to spare her
from present despair

she gets up
and slips on
her favorite red skirt
high heels

she leaves her hair down
"It's much prettier that way,"
her ex used to tell her

inside, she seethes
anger and regret
churn her stomach

she reaches
for a cigarette
in her purse

lighting up
she takes
a long drag

and looks out
the open window
as the rain pours down

she smiles to herself
"Maybe tonight I will,"
she says
with a glimmer in her eye

as she heads out the door
into the beautiful unknown
daring to tempt Fate
one final time.

Copyright: 2009, by Raymund Diaz Delizo

Poem: "Infatuation"

"Infatuation"

The barrel of a .22 revolver
sleek, black, beautiful
the gun lays untouched
on the kitchen table

the anticipation
of the impending doom
that lies now at her feet

butterflies in her stomach
she gets up and goes to the window
her face gaunt, her eyes afire

she gets up slowly
and retrieves the gun
caressing it like a lover

she hears a voice inside urging her
"you know what you must do,"
she smiles as she puts the last bullet
into the chamber
and puts the .22 to her head

her hands are sweaty
her mouth parched
anticipating the moment
as the inevitable must
come to pass

she gently pulls the trigger
aching for the world to fade away
as thunder rings into her ears
sirens blare in the distance

her infatuation has come full circle.

Copyright: 2009, by Raymund Diaz Delizo

Poem: "Prey"

"Prey"

The memory of you
still lingers in the recesses
of my tortured brain

the fragrance of you
still clings to the sheets
every time I lay to sleep

late nights spent
sharing coffee
watching you smile
as we talked about
nothing in particular

the way you looked
against the moonlight
luminous and dangerous
with a sultry gleam
in your eye

what we have
is reduced to dust now
in the aftermath
lost in the endless seams
of promises unkept

the night I caught you
in bed
with my sister

did you like it
when I walked in
and she had you
bent over
on the aching bed?

how I spent sleepless nights
awake while you were out
showing the world how much
of a woman you really were

if fate intends despair
and love must fade away
let ours streak across the sky
and reach its noble end

as I sit alone in the room
we once shared
know that I still love you

you are out there
in the shadows
watching me

a huntress waiting
to consume
her prey.

Copyright: 2009, by Raymund Diaz Delizo

Poem: "Fragile"

"Fragile"

Rain on the windowsill
as the radio blares
struggling to get
these words out

before there is no time left
they are all I have
that is still mine

pictures of you
on the walls
sometimes, if I close my eyes

I can still feel the subtle warmth
beneath your veiled contempt
"It is over now," my mind
is quick to say

but my heart clings to you
ever still, in the silence
that comes between dreams and sleep

the flames of your betrayal
have scarred me
the empty spaces
will never be whole again

if you must go
remember that I
was the mess
you chose to leave behind

in your darkest hour
in your most intimate of moments
I wish you well

may you never be the same
again.

Copyright: 2009, by Raymund Diaz Delizo

Poem: "Interlude"

"Interlude"

He had been watching her
for days on end
the woman has been on his mind
ever since he saw her
walking alone in the rain
under the eerie silence
of glittering street lights

she has been getting strange calls
amidst tossing and turning
caught midstream
in a wave of the jagged landscape
such a fragile, tortured mind

she goes beside the window
the moonlight shines brightly
against her luminous skin

such a beautiful creature
she lies in bed
and imagines the sweetness
of her lover's lips as they brush
ever so gentle against her aching mouth

the warmth of his body intertwined with hers
is denied this fateful night
as he waits outside
the downpour soaks him to the bone

the lingering fragrance of what was
desperately seeks her out
as he walks away without a word
his love for her unrequited.

Copyright: 2009, by Raymund Diaz Delizo

Poem: "The Crash"

"The Crash"

Sparks flew as the car hit the guard rail
the same scene replays
just before the moment of impact
as the car ignites and explodes

every moment fades to black

miles away, a son wakes up
to the news that his father
barely escaped an ignoble end

it is December now
in the young man's mind
a car hits a patch of ice as it
careens off the road and
into an embankment
landing viciously in a ditch

time plays in slow motion
there are screams, there is blood
all is cold

the sirens are approaching
in the distance as snow and sun
silently watch

there are tears
and the solitary sound of
desperately beating hearts
waiting to escape.

Copyright: 2009, by Raymund Diaz Delizo

Poem: "Shadows"

"Shadows"

It is past midnight
he cannot sleep
lying in bed
alone again tonight

outside, the city lights
glitter and cast an eerie glow
as nameless faces walk by

he turns on the light
and grabs her picture
off the dresser

he closes his eyes
and imagines she is there
next to him in bed

her vibrant smile
her lushly painted lips
her lumonious skin

every lovely part
permanently etched in his mind
he decides that tonight
he will unsettle the dust

even though she cannot fathom
such devotion lost in the shadows.

Copyright: 2009, by Raymund Diaz Delizo