The River Whispers

My river speaks in whispers
the sound of it's voice reaches me beneath the rumbles of traffic,
grievances of sea-birds
and the chorus of leaves in the wind

It's breath smells of mud and stones
as it smears the dampness of growing things
inside my nostrils

To me, it murmurs secrets
why the maples crowd it's banks to watch
it's slow parade to the sea
how it's waters, siphoned from beneath the mountains,
tastes in the mouth of the ocean

It unravels mysteries of being bridge, hurdle, artery
to the beating heart of this world
and in it's hushed, trickling voice
it imparts the wisdom of enduring-
the beauty of moving, always to bigger things



The River Whispers by Dakota Farley

Whats Left

The world wears away all that is
into nothingness
billboards and road signs
now tattered and indecipherable
are testaments to what this Where used to be

Grooves worn in dirt roadways
and footprints in soles of shoes
are evidence of steps that took
all the Them's
from this Once Was
and into oblivion

Shards of glass
in the rotted window frame
flash in the sun,
brief flickers of memories
from when our Whys lit the day
and night
and kept Us roaring through all the Wheres
picking up Hows and
throwing them to the side of the freeway,
as aware of When as the ruins are
here in this ruined Now.


Whats Left by Dakota Farley

Divine Mysteries

I hold them before me in my mind-

On my left, a perfect golden youth
small in stature but so steady
a father's eyes in a young face
so solid is my Peter,
the Rock form which all I have
is built.

On my right, a tall, thin, dark shadow
pale as a ghost with the stance of a broken man,
a ruined temple
pain and passion swim in bottomless brown eyes
so wretched is my Judas
whose betrayal came in loving kisses.

How I can love one so selfishly
and the other so selflessly, always in the wrong order-
is more Mystery than Divinity.



Divine Mysteries by Dakota Farley

Jewels

Somehow,
as I look up at the turquoise-copper sun-setting sky
I am simultaneously reminded
of grandmother jewels

Wire and shining stone
treasures from a far desert somewhere
and you,
or more truly, us

How somehow despite being hard,
thin and unapologetic as strands of copper
and smooth and placable
as round blue stone
we fitted together,
oddly,
but together
just like some of the most beautiful things,
together.



Jewels by Dakota Farley

Motel Mornings

When the dawn light clatters against the windows,
and it's racket seeps through the shades and curtains

When the small sounds of stirring daytime
build into a tidal wave of waking,
drowning our brains in consciousness

When we once gain begin to recognize,
to relish the feel of skin on skin,
the smell of last night's love

When we open our eyes in increments,
only to get lost in the sight of one another-
the parting of your lips,
the curl of my hair-

Only then will we know the pain of parting
and how grating is goodbye

Leaving us on the sheets,
and alone
rejoining the world.


Motel Mornings by Dakota Farley

For Corey

I look at myself in the mirror
and I think of you
Its that close to my heart, this song of you and I

Your brother was your side-kick
and probably still is
but you and I were just as thick
for all that what was ours
didnt resemble yours and his

While you might have left me
I havent been alone
Theres parts of you with me
these pieces are in my pockets,
weighty, like stones.

You showed me how to own
what I liked, what I was
To say it out loud in uncompromising tones
To tell people, not when they asked
but just because

Its because of you
I love over sized jackets
that smell like smoke
and tucking my hands
deep into their pockets
finding eight ball keys, lighters,
Swisher Sweet wrappers
and receipts
for food you bought
for you and me

Youre why I like parks
Just sitting in my car
listening sometimes to the radio,
others giving voice to my own thoughts
just to hear how they
bounce off the windshield

Youre why I like fields
driving through them and
imagining myself as safe
and anonymous as a tall
piece of grass, only as lost as I want to be

Youre why I get tattoos
on my birthday
Using the occasion to
poke holes and flood myself
with ink
Pictures that yell out what
this heart is loud enough
for evne the most blind and
deaf to purposefully misunderstand

So, when Im asked
why months of your silence
hasnt made me stop
waiting for you, I laugh
in their questioning faces
because I could never hate you
without first hating myself

I know you never had much use for my words
going about your deeds silent and uncompromising
but please, hear me now
When I said I couldnt live without you
I didnt mean that your leaving would bring me death
but that until my last day comes
you will always be with me
For Corey by Dakota Farley