Red Mourning

Red Mourning

The day we buried Eddie, it snowed.
We gathered like penguins on ice,
all in black; black suits, dresses,
black umbrellas turned against gusts.

Black veils shrouded our hearts in grief,
and draped into the open hole of his life.

But she stood like a wounded heart,
splayed and bleeding its fire,
dressed all in red; red dress, shoes,
red umbrella kissing the sky.

Scarlet veils bled love from her veins,
and dripped into the open whole of his life.

People will talk. She said nothing
until the last flower was laid in snow.
Red is my love’s favorite, she whispered
to those silent men with black shovels.

I want to know he looks down from heaven;
smiles me vibrant in this cold and lonely world.




Shirley Alexander
2010

Walking on the Dark Side of the Moon

(All photographs displayed on this site are the original work and property of Shirley Alexander)

Dark Side of the Moon


There was a time, I could shine.
When I thought of you, I could shine.

I stand alone under night heaven;
feel light on my upturned face.
Does it glow if you are not watching?

I might have been this moonlight,
a reflection of your distant fire.
But, I became the dark face
and she, your moon.

Somewhere inside, a new light burns.
It is a world without phases,
a place where day welcomes night
and returns to warm the morning.

I stand alone under night heaven.
There was a time, we could shine.
There was a place, I could burn.

Wings spread, a wiser phoenix
will rise from the ashes of your fire.
Do you shine if I am not watching?


Shirley Alexander
2010

Fear of Falling

Fear of Falling

Fifty years ago, my sister and I raced across a long, high porch;
jumped off the end to fly across daffodils and old barking dogs.

That was before my sister fell.
She sprained her arm on harder ground.
Afterward, I would run across the porch,
leap into abandon, arms open to sky.

My sister would run to the edge,
brake a full stop, sit down, and cry.
I never understood her fear of jumping,
or the tears she shed for what was lost.

I spent a lifetime long jumping from one thrill to the next, fearless.
Then, one day I took the highest leap, for love. Now I understand.

Shirley Alexander
2010