Going on holiday...

I will be taking a break from posting on my writing blog for the rest of the year, but will promptly return at the start of 2012. I would like to wish you all the happiest of holidays and I appreciate your patronage of my web page!

Life in Technicolor - IX

Life in Technicolor – Part IX

By Brandon Palzkill

A cold, clinical room sits

at the end of a sterile hallway,

within an unremarkable hospital.

An old woman lies in bed;

wispy; frail; diseased;

decaying with every passing moment.

Merciful medication courses through her,

and she sleeps away the pain;

dreams a final dream, in vivid color.

The pale winter sun fades

down behind the frozen grounds,

yet she stands on a tropic beach,

memories rolling in as crashing tides.

The soothing water splashes over her feet,

and her life flashes before her eyes.

No regrets; she’d had a long, full run.

Her dreams fade to black

as her heart finally winds down…

death peacefully envelopes her. 

Life in Technicolor - VIII

Life in Technicolor – Part VIII

By Brandon Palzkill               

Everyone said he was crazy

for running the race;

out of shape, past his prime.

He’d run for miles;

fourteen… or was it fifteen?

He had to keep going;

he couldn’t stop;

couldn’t let himself give up.

Had to run… had to keep going…

It was all that he had left;

to cover those last few miles,

to glide across that finish line;

a desperately needed win

in his needlessly losing life.

He’d failed completely,

beyond the war,

even as he schemed to succeed;

his truly, madly, deeply

had gone;

flown away; lost to the winds;

sacrificed in his Pyrrhic quest

for financial gratification.

Nearly there… almost there…

She left him behind

and his green false security

became a meaningless trifle,

to be squandered away

until he had nothing…

except the road ahead.

He ran to cross his final miles,

old in years, young in will,

and abandoned all thoughts

of pain and sickness

as the path disappeared

beneath his feet.

Forward… forward…

He ignored the warning

creeping up his arm.

He lost his breath,

but didn’t let that slow him.

He would cross that finish

line;

nothing would stop him;

nothing would hold him back.

Yards to go… feet away…

nearly there… slowing down…

stumbling, trying to catch his breath…

he crashed and fell, inches away…

he rolled… he’s in…

it’s over… he did it…

a small win; an important victory;

a milestone to end the day.

Life in Technicolor - VII

Life in Technicolor – Part VII

By Brandon Palzkill

Numbly perched upon a park bench,

she moped beneath

 a dreary drizzle,

watching raindrops

as they make tear tracks

down the indigo lily petals.

The dour flowers

dragged under the dampened

weight of her lamentation;

her marriage was over;

gone like a passing train,

taking his warmth and compassion

and leaving despair

to drip upon her head.

He left her for his work;

his corporate mistress

with whom

she offered no competition,

and she was discarded

while he sought his fortunes.

Tears mingled

with the splattering rain,

while she remembered

all their happy moments

and she begged the storm

to sweep her memories away;

she didn’t want them;

they threatened to destroy her.

A splash, a sob,

and she was shaken from

her self-pity.

A frightened young boy,

cold and completely alone,

sat wordlessly in a puddle,

lost in his own misfortune.

He cried; she watched,

and her heart had remembered

its true purpose for being.

She pulled herself up,

and offered him

some much needed kindness,

to dissipate

the heavy downpour.

For the first and only time,

she was a mother,

defending her frightened cub

from the outside world.

She showed him shelter

from the harsh elements,

and found strengthening sustenance

to help him go on.  

She kept him safe

while he was hers to protect,

then guided him through the storm,

toward the long lost home

that waited for him

beyond the darkened clouds.

She delivered him from harm

and as she was his savior,

he was her salvation,

bringing her back from the depths

of her own dejection,

which threatened to claim

her fragile soul.

Her heart had taken a step

toward its healing journey,

and she remembered

what her heart could offer.

She needed to wear it

out into the world, again;

healing the brokenhearted,

she would finally heal herself.

Life in Technicolor - VI

Life in Technicolor – Part VI

By Brandon Palzkill

Alone at his darkened desk,

his home away from home,

he shifted his stolen attention

to the tangerine aura

seeping through his high-rise window

from the midnight

city skyline.

The office had become

his friend and lover;

it provided comfort

and shielding,

deep within its recesses,

encouraging and nurturing;

pushing him to succeed,

to achieve fortune

and greatness.

Tangy bitterness inched its way

up his throat

as his thoughts ran to his wife.

she nagged and nagged

but didn’t understand…

this was all for her.

He endlessly slaved

away from home

to give her a cherished life.

Would he rather spend his nights

being tormented

by the orange luminescence

that bathed his office?

Did she believe his

desires to be pulling him

away from their inviting home;

away from her waiting arms?

Surely, she knew the answer;

why must he waste precious breaths

in needless explanations?

His words were valuable.

Every time his mouth opened

would earn him or cost him

and his voice seemed better used

to make his plays

and bring home the fat payday.

Perhaps she would forgive him

once he’d made them wealthy

beyond any dreams of avarice.

Until then, he needed more,

and he was going to

wheel and deal

to materialize their riches…

however long it may take.

Life in Technicolor - V

Life in Technicolor – Part V

By Brandon Palzkill

Cherubs raced across the sky

on brilliant shooting stars

and stole the air

from her heaving breast

as her speeding heart

sprinted toward

a joyously abrupt halt.

His fingertips brushed her face

and everything became

real to them;

not some illusion

or mirage,

cast out of blinding despair;

he had truly come back to her

after an eternity

and a day.

“I’ve missed you,” he quavered,

fixing adoring eyes

on his long-lost Aphrodite,

and her tender smile

painted a beautiful Hallmark

greeting card;

a “Welcome Back”

filled with unfaltering love.

He returned her affection

in kind;

she trembled and swooned,

and nearly melted

beneath the violet glow

of intense longing

that shimmered behind his

sparkling eyes;

a sparkle that spoke

a million words.

The silent wanting became

sonorous,

and she couldn’t bear it.

She pulled him into

her warm embrace

and felt their hearts

beating in passionate  

synchronicity

as they shared this first

of physical connections.

The embrace became a kiss,

and no greater kiss

had ever been known.

The longing of eternal months,

spent miles apart,

surged through their

melded lips,

as a spark of lightning,

cast down from the heavens.

Their lips parted

and they were deeply

under each other’s spell.

She made an unspoken offer;

an intimate invitation.  

He accepted  

with an enthralled nod,

and they followed each other off

for a proper reunion.