Love to no avail
like a salmon that
swims upstream
seeking eternity
Ever chasing
the golden ring
of life to
self-sustain
Leaping hurdles
and barriers
along the way
to nirvana
A journey that
never ends for
even once found
is often lost
–Victoria Emmons © 2014
Reach for your face
And you vanish
Into blank air
Your eyes
Black holes
Void of expression
Or feeling
What happened
To the crystal blue
The soft sweet love
That once radiated
Beneath detailed
lashes of expectation
And anticipation
–Victoria Emmons © 2012
It was late in the second set
before “Saturday in the Park”
finally rang out on stage.
I had waited all night
for that song.
Waited for you to show me a sign
that you were still there
in my life, in my heart.
Your sign finally came
in the form of my tears.
–Victoria Emmons, 2012
Reach for the trigger
Save her from harm
Holster unbuckled
Sound the alarm
Mischief and pleasure
Too many years
Changed her demeanor
Causing the tears
How to override
Fate such as this
Once we were friends
Sharing such bliss
Now she is colder
Ice in her veins
Blame her disease state
Slapping the chains
Tight around her wrists
Cops everywhere
The flashing red lights
People who stare
This sad girl in need
Cries for rescue
Wants love in her life
As we all do
No crime has happened
As it appears
Why do they take her
Away for two years
Reprogram her days
And sleepless nights
Remove the cocaine
Assure no flights
New thoughts emerge
Bright meanings land
She’ll soon discover
The shifting sand
–Victoria Emmons, © 2014
Rescue me, mon ami,
from the debris of life
save me from the
threads that weave
my heart to yours
I need saving now and then
my head is tired and
my body aches for you
to save me some day
on your white horse
I’m not your Fairy Godmother
flying in and out of your life
to save you from yourself
I carry no magic wand
to make it all better
I can only offer one gift
my eternal love for you
wretched soul that you are
so rescue me, mon amour,
save me from myself
–by Victoria Emmons, © 2014
How much is enough
To show her you care
How many times
must you weep
How much is enough
For a father to say
He loves his child
More than life itself
How much is enough
For a daughter to hear
That her papa is grieving
Her loss from his world
How much is enough
To tell her you love her
And kiss her brow
As tears wet her cheek
How much is enough
To say you regret
The pain and the prison
That one moment caused
How much is enough
For peace to restore
And pride to erase
The memory of a face
–Victoria Emmons, © 2014
Birdie
The Saturday morning market attracted the usual crowd eager for organic vegetables and people watching. My shopping bag was heavy with zucchini, golden beets, white corn, a potato or two, and a paper bag of Cremini mushrooms. The farmer’s market is the best place to buy fig vinegar and some of Sister Sarah’s homemade canned tomatoes. I couldn’t take home much else. Or so I thought. Continue reading
Be that as it may
They came
With no warning
Just like the cancer
They raked
They cooked
They sat with him
In his loneliness
They laughed
At TV game shows
Puzzled through
NY Times crosswords
They worried
They fretted
They gave their time
And their love
And they brought
The small, white
Plastic trash bags
For the remains
Neatly lining
All five of the
Small, round cans
In the bedroom
They dutifully
Emptied each bag
Once a day
Of its toxic contents
Their legacy
Of love…
And then they
Said goodbye
–-Victoria Emmons, © 2011
A tiny scream
Inside my head
Awakens me
From my bed
What thought say I
To none but me
What woes are there
Or dreams to be
What lies within
My gentle skin
What thoughts persist
When light begins
And thus is born
A year of pain
Of restless nights
Am I insane
–Victoria Emmons, © 2012
Is enough
Two too many
To find a date
To wait and wait
For him to state
His intentions
One lonely ticket
Two far gone
To hear a sound
Of my past life
With my old man
His favorite song
One is okay
Not two or three
Or even four
Just one
One lonely life
To hear the score
Of violins and
Saxophone dreams
A piano note or two
Blend the cacophony
Of life together
With a single tune
–Victoria Emmons, © 2013
La Vue de rue Sleidan 