Free Verse

Sentimental Serenade

/ Lisa Gastaldo / Leave a comment

An opus to a bygone love

Image by Kate Cox from Pixabay
There is a chasm where the echoes of you resonate
Memories vibrate, resounding up through the depths
Humming, strumming my heart
Orchestrating haunting internal melodies
Sentimental serenades bereft of lyrics

Frequently, the songs are as tender as a lullaby
Tranquil, faint, soothing as a purr
Intimate whispers shadow my perceptions
A fleeting smile or tear offers a glimpse into the hymns

From time to time, the reverberations are flagrant, flamboyant
Visceral concertos of cacophony
The interludes intrude and occlude
Boisterous crescendos, their clamors are deafening
Outwardly silent, inwardly surging, I await their conclusion

Most often, the intrinsic music is my resident accompaniment
Instrumental ballads proclaiming, portraying a bygone life
An opus of a lover pining for an encore
The unfinished symphony plays on beyond the curtain call

Originally published on Medium.com

Perceptions

/ Lisa Gastaldo / 1 Comment

Do you see me?






Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay





I am a woman of many faces:
Mother, Daughter
Friend, Sister
Widow, Writer
Survivor

My roles define the façade you see
I conform to your reality
Never unveiling my complete identity

I parcel out my character
Offering tidbits to delight, entice
The designated consumer

Your view is obscured
Tainted, tinted, rendered incomplete
By your imagined image

Will you dare — Do you care
To shine a light on my persona

Shapeshifting like a kaleidoscope
A psychedelic palette freckled with crystal and coal
Charming and disturbing
My colors twist and turn











Once there was one who embraced my entirety
Who gazed pierced my mosaic individuality
And did not turn away

Iridescent, my soul shone for him
Enraptured, my soul captivated him
Unfiltered, I was known











What is the face you perceive
Will you — Can you — comprehend my totality
Or are you limited by necessity

Do you see
Me?















Originally published on Medium.com



		
	
			

	


			
				


	

							
First Light
						

			 / Lisa Gastaldo						 / 1 Comment
								

			


		

		

At long last, dawn





Image by Comfreak from Pixabay *





Endless Winter





Fear seeps trepidation creeps
Through my bones
Chilled from within
Cold-blooded — numb
Internally, eternally(?) frozen

The calendar marks the seasons
But the climate remains the same
A year of upheaval, uproar
Uncertainty, insecurity
Pandemonium
Distrust, mistrust of each other
Of ourselves

Clamor, Anarchy
Outbreak, Outcry for
Restraint, Relief
Rescue






Rising Spring





At long last
Faith warms dawn transforms
A hibernating heart
Awakened — free
Inwardly, outwardly joyful

Liberated from its stalemate
The break of day kindles spirits
Fair weathers’ watch resets, renews
Expectations, anticipation
Tranquility
Potential, promise for us
For humanity

Comradery, Community
Release, Revelry for
Healing, Harmony
Hope










*Poet’s Note: One of the first blooms of Spring, the crocus is often viewed as a symbol of rebirth, renewal, and hope.





This poem was originally published on Medium.com.

			

	


			
				


	

							
My Heart Beats Eternal
						

			 / Lisa Gastaldo						 / 1 Comment
								

			


		

		

The life of a mother’s love





Picture created on Canva with Image by griffert from Pixabay










Breath of my bosom
Life in my blood
Cradled by my womb
Until you appear

My heart blooms

Delicate seedling
Newborn tendrils
Swaddle my devotion
Never to unleash

My heart flourishes

Young sapling blossoms
Flowers fiercely unfurl
Branches scouting boundaries
Defining an identity

My heart encourages

Robust roots anchor
Brawny boughs broaden
Noble and vivacious
A purpose proclaimed

My heart rejoices

Lightening gales assail
Resilience assessed
Wounded not wrecked
Storm weathered strong

My heart wails

Towering gnarled timber
Verdant crowned canopy
Picturesque maturity
Ancestral wisdom cherished

My heart rests
within yours










Dedicated to my mother, who has always cradled my heart.










Originally posted in P.S. I Love You @Medium.com

			

	


			
				


	

							
After the Storm
						

			 / Lisa Gastaldo						 / Leave a comment
								

			


		

		

A poem of survival





Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash





Thunder heralds
the tempest’s arrival
There is no eluding
the impending turmoil

Lightning shots snap
Glaring x-rays blaze
illuminating the scourges
of storms gone by

Currents caught in a perpetual loop
Static sparks sizzle and singe
The needling cocoon
your only shelter

Bellowing winds howl
Bringing you to your knees
Cat o’ nine tails gusts
flail at your sins

Wildly biting
Frost relentlessly nips
Staccato hail pelts
hammer your heart

With cold, callous blood
the icy assault persists
numbing you to the bone
begetting amnesia

Flashbacks surge
Contentment is forgotten
Comfort hushed
to nebulous whispers










Grifters of tranquility
tempests are transient
Abandoning their onslaught
once depleted

Fragile and fatigued
Will your wounds take root?
Lesions hemorrhage and
nourish stagnation?

Or will your scars stoke resilience?
Cultivate your resolve?
Deem yourself worthy
To endure
To survive










Drained of their tears
Their grey weight dispersed
Clouds adorn the indigo sky

Alabaster luster glistens
the promise of hope










Previously published in Being Known @Medium.com

			

	


			
				


	

							
Damming Love
						

			 / Lisa Gastaldo						 / 2 Comments
								

			


		

		

Photo by Garon Piceli from Pexels










We shared a lifetime
a lifetime ago

Flawed, yet unbroken
Beautifully blemished
Burnished to a luster
reflecting devotion

Eager archaeologists
we examined tenderly
Ardently unearthing
our unique treasures





Intimately excavating
Discovering
Learning
until love was clairvoyant

We knew Us
by heart

Youthful — Innocent
We had commenced
only to be aged
beyond our years





Invaded — Tormented
Cancer corrupted
Our perfect union
prematurely extinct

Nearly a decade required
to cast aside mourning
Shed my shroud
Discard my armor

Unaware of my naiveté
I auctioned my affections
Inept as an ingenue
Headed for slaughter

At first, I sought
lightening in a bottle
but flashy liaisons
promptly implode

Still desperately seeking
I mistook
desire for romance
Fleeting attention
for adoration

I settled for inadequacy
Forged perfection
Alluring courtships
proved to be counterfeit

Am I greedy?
A relationship glutton
trying to echo
our marital harmony?

Or am I an addict?
Craving the fix
of holding someone dear?

Earnestly yearning
to be cherished once more

Now a wary skeptic
disquiet compels retreat
to lick my wounds
Safeguard my heart

But my soul pours out
The floodgates have opened
How does one dam (damn?)
the desire to love?










Originally published in P.S. I Love You @Medium.com

			

	


			
				


	

							
Shipwrecked
						

			 / Lisa Gastaldo						 / 3 Comments
								

			


		

		

A sequel to Into the Deep





Photo by Biorock Indonesia on Unsplash





Tears welling in azure eyes
you recited your amorous soliloquy
I bathed in the water of your emotion
permitted myself to rest
to be soothed

At long last
be content

You proclaimed my imperfections endearing
My scars — badges of honor
You aspired to be my person
To travel — to battle — alongside

But when the veil of infatuation lifted
and love’s bounty could truly be discovered
You cowered — deserted
too feeble to exert the effort

Starstruck by serendipity
I had envisioned the beauty in our future
Surmounting struggles
a path to strengthen our union

Did you not trust our relationship to withstand?
Or did you simply become apathetic?
At what point did admiration fall to disregard?

I showered you with tokens of affection
My first
now my last
poetic declaration

You sang my praises
Lulled me with sweet nothings
And I
the enchanted fool
was enthralled by your music

Captivated by your siren’s song
I lowered my shields
Allowed you to see the wounds
residing in my soul’s abyss
immersed for a decade
concealed from view
by warrior’s armor

When did our treasure begin to tarnish?
Why carelessly lay waste my self-respect?
Or are you oblivious to your actions’ aftermath?

Masquerading as my beloved
you celebrated with my family
Camouflaging your discontent
with flattery and lies

Buoyed by false affirmation
I sailed hope’s waters
Swept up on a promise
A doomed flight of fancy

Was I always your dirty little secret?
You couldn’t admit
even to yourself?

Once again battered and broken
submerged by my own tears
The suffocating weight plummets me
shipwrecked
into the deep










Originally published in P.S. I Love You @Medium.com

			

	


			
				


	

							
Into The Deep
						

			 / Lisa Gastaldo						 / 3 Comments
								

			


		

		
tim-marshall-QKPFF-AmzHU-unsplash
Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash


I’ve waded through the shallows often.

Colorful, glistening creatures

tickled my toes and skimmed through my heart.

Alluding to promises

never to be granted.


I’d nearly forsaken the expedition.

Weary of the fleeting encounters,

apparitions of affection and

shipwrecked expectations.


Prompted by tedium.

Coaxed by kismet?

I endeavored once more.

Hope beckoning like the North Star.


Hesitantly, a signal was launched.

A gentleman and his retriever

the siren’s song.


The message acknowledged,

courtship’s discourse began.

Formal pleasantries swiftly abandoned,

yielding to intimate conversations

oblivious to the passage of time.


Safe harbor determined and a rendezvous is set.

The two captains’ galaxies twinkle with flirtation.


Crystal Caribbean eyes enchant.

An alluring smile delights.

Tender first kisses,

rip currents of passion,

affirm the attraction.


Captivated, our two spirits ponder,

Are we ready to draw up anchor?

Chart a unified course?


Can we be brave enough

to submerge our souls?

Immerse our selves?

Into the deep?









Originally posted in P.S. I Love You @Medium.com