A reflective collection of poetry, Fall Leaves Float opens the door to life and invites us into the experiential journey. From the musty feel of an old library brought to life in Brittle Pages" to the poignant wistfulness of "A Father's Wish", poet Darrin Kramer has a unique command of the human condition. He pleads with us to ponder the real meaning and significance of our very existence. We are reminded to appreciate the life we have been given and encouraged to never give up in the face of obstacles. Through his poetic imagery, we are taken on a celestial journey through magnificent visual picture dreams. Fall Leaves Float enables us to visualize what "listening to silence" really means, and we are shown the depth and complexity of love. By filling empty space with thought, light, word, and meaning, Kramer allows us to pause and reflect upon our lives. "Darrin Kramer's poetry frequently guides you on an unanticipated end point. A person's facial reflection or twinkling eyes, a kiss, snow in winter or the path of a floating leaf. These are some of the visual images his prose conjures up. His writing style is free, loose, upbuilding and sure to prompt you to continue reading to completion as I did". -Frankie Gilliam Harrison, physical therapist "Your work conveys lovely thoughts and is very mood-invoking". -Stephanie Hewitt, customer service"
Fall Leaves Float
By Darrin KramerAbbott Press
Copyright © 2012 Darrin Kramer
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4582-0655-8Contents
Author Introduction...........................xiAcknowledgments...............................xvBrittle Pages.................................1Secrets of This Life..........................2A Fathers Wish................................3Shallow Fields................................5Quiet Voices..................................6Candlelight Dinner............................7A Burning Match...............................9Cry of the People.............................10Shadow of Goodbye.............................11Ivory Towers..................................12Broken Hearts.................................13Fall Leaves Float.............................14Broken Cities.................................15Under Your Umbrella...........................17Crevices of Light.............................18Nazreen.......................................19Will One Sing for Me?.........................20Young and Weary...............................22My Butterfly People...........................23Leaves of My Life.............................24Listening to Silence..........................25Winding Roads.................................26Oxen Carry Heavy Loads........................27Thunder In The Corridor.......................28Caressing Tears...............................29Imprints on People............................30Waiting at the Crossroads.....................31A Moment of Silence...........................33Guide Us Away.................................34The Setting Sun...............................35Watched Time..................................36Cry of the Wind...............................37Time Passage..................................38Cascading Waterfalls..........................39Eternal Shores................................40The Last Palisades............................41Smiles for Tomorrow...........................42Happy Again...................................43I Walked Between The Wall.....................44My Journey Home...............................45Waiting Candles...............................47Behind Dark Veils.............................48A Bright Light................................50Worn Ribbons..................................51Trust.........................................53The Storm.....................................54Picture Albums................................56Ambiance......................................57The Music Plays...............................58The Dawning...................................59Another Memory................................60Behind Stone Walls............................61Between Fallen Trees..........................62Walk in the Rain..............................63To Harness Dreams.............................64Carousel of Life..............................65Enemies at the Gate...........................66Gazing Through a Window.......................67A Lost Reward.................................68Freedom's Gate................................69Two Paths Taken...............................70Facing Reality................................71Images........................................72Only One Lover................................73No Regrets....................................74A Special Moment..............................76Dear Mother...................................77Footsteps.....................................78The Sun.......................................79A Summer Day..................................80Alphabetical Index............................85About The Author..............................89
Chapter One
Brittle Pages
The antique desk
holds lost names.
A quill pen lonely
for another letter.
I smell old leather books.
The words sit silent now,
a writer forgotten for
centuries, so long ago.
Sitting in my study I
blow away thick dust
breathing life into old
words, now new again.
A mind alive, reading
to remember days long lost.
The paper, brown and brittle;
feels and smells like no other.
Old bells no longer ringing
upon the modern mind.
Old voices, dust of the past
a whisper inside brittle pages.
Secrets of This Life
Secrets of this life
strands—antique days.
Our Studebaker cruises
the town square. I stopped,
the barbershop is closed.
Shall we go to the diner?
Mischief instead?
My imagination?
Like old weathered bridges,
together, we were once strong.
Raking leaves like memories,
the basket is too much
for me to carry now.
My third leg, a cane,
steadies a feeble stroll.
The rocking chair on
the front porch, misses
you—as do I.
Our secret hideouts.
Our secret places,
microscopes in the heart.
Sadness, my loss of you,
is the nucleus of
flowing tears. Amour!
Secrets of this life.
A Fathers Wish
A father's wish, in my loins you sleep
safe from this earthly state.
Awaken in my eyes; come and peep
My life, my story to relate.
"Hello my daughter, child I never bore.
Where to start? So much to say.
A creation real to me, a glimmer of what's in store.
The price of your birth, I would pay.
Your beauty hidden no longer
remove the cover, life now flows
transcending our joy, together even stronger.
Rise up, get ready! Time now bestows.
Oceans pierced, your entrancing eyes
a sapphire gem so rare.
Breathless, my surprise
Enter my world. Look and stare."
"Father, through your eyes
continents, the world I see.
My existence; my life I realize
oh, for now I am free!
I see our home and the pool.
Are those my cats?"
"Yes dear. That's Joey, Tabby and Spats."
"Father, what a wonderful life ......
