SPRING THAW

©2001 Phyllis Antal


I stand
on the bridge
hypnotized
by the swirl
of running water
over ice and snow

The Creek
has awakened
from its long winter sleep
twisting, stretching
embracing Spring Thaw

I am mesmerized
by the bubbles
that break the surface
tease my spirit
before they disappear

Under layers
of remaining
ice and snow en rout
to ...... Mother Lake


Originally published in SEEDS Magazine




FRIENDS

©2001 Phyllis Antal

In our world
Of harshness and splendor
Friends keep us sane
Yet they stand apart
From one another

They are the silver dust
Of evening, the golden grains
Of daylight, or the dazzling diamonds
Of the night

Others are rare gems of different
Size and color
The fire of the rubies
Or the shy and serene topaz

Each one has its own
Brilliance and shine
Not to be compared to the other

All the dressed
In one's own fashion
Coming together as one
In a rainbow of opals



Originally published in RHYMES OF GREATNESS by the National Institute of Poetry.




LATER

©2001 Phyllis Antal


She sits, lonely, in her bachelor apartment,
wishing she did not have to be alone;
her life, seemingly going nowhere.

Had she been wrong, not to have grasped
the opportune: her lifeline
of repeated marriage proposals
from the man she so loved?

Her man had pleaded his undying love, and yet,
could not, or would not, let go of his hurtful past,
descending into an empty shell.

With each of his betrayals she had stood strong
and would not cry, although he could no longer
blindly surpass, the dimming light from her eyes.

Tears no longer left unshed, she had circled her arms
around his neck one last time
and had begged him "To please get help."

On that final day, she had whispered
into his ear, "Later."


Originally published in THE BEST OF 1998 by the National Institute of Poetry.




OUTSIDER

©2001 Phyllis Antal

She stands
on the edge
carte-blanche
an outsider

A vision
hidden, behind
the frost
of the windowpane

The ghostly figure
cries a thousand tears
into the wind
to no avail

She retreats
into the night
a shadow
branded....an outsider.


Originally published in ISLAND JOURNEY



SHADOWS

©2001 Phyllis Antal


As I walk
My shadow walks ahead of me
Contemplating on shadows of the past
"HAPPY SHADOWS"

A daughter laughing with glee,
A son's tiny arms circling my neck,
Another small daughter
Dancing and twirling,

Now my shadows of life
Have grown into a HANDSOME MAN,
Two LOVELY WOMEN
Leaving their young shadows to the past

Lovingly, a mother's shadows
Include past, and present
To be consoled with the future
When, one day her grown shadows too

Include past, present and future
In a continuing circle of life, WITH LOVE!



Originally published in PORTRAITS OF LIFE.




STRANGERS

©2001 Phyllis Antal


When had the curtain fallen
on my love
and I

Silence, fills the room
awakened, only by
the crackling fire

We don't talk
the stranger
and I

He, playing his game
I, behind
my newspaper

Silence is golden
not so
the stranger and I.