Kinesis

I wish I could pull him in
Give him a kiss
Or free him of sin
I wish it wasn’t like this
I’m not even sure what I miss
I keep running back to his abyss
His energy is kinesis

He doesn’t need us here
We circle like a sphere 
We gather atmosphere
Into his space we steer
His distance isn’t near
He’s more than a light-year
His silence we all fear
My soul still sent out a flare

His absence I can’t dismiss
At war with his own violence
Alone in his own silence
So lost and without guidance
Impenetrable like a diamond
But love doesn’t require science
And so we all persist –
Even though he doesn’t exist

© Delia Ross. 2019

I don’t know what it is so it doesn’t have a name; a song without a name


Searching for life in places I shouldn’t
I’ve given loyalty when I knew that he wouldn’t
I’ve given up when I knew that you couldn’t
I’ve tried to love again even though I am still wounded
I’ve been left behind, where I should have been included
I’ve learned how to grow although I am uprooted
I’ve been promised truth when lies were spoken
I’ve been given vows that were already broken
I once may have slept but now I’m truly woken
I fall out of steps because my heart is swollen
You see me as free but my door is never open
I know time is out but here I am still hopin’

© Delia Ross. 2019

Shackles

What is it you don’t want me to know
If I did do you think I would go
Well, honey, I’m not so cold
People change, people grow

What is that you try to hide
Do you feel regret deep inside
Do you always need an alibi
You still search for light while driving blind

What is it that you need to kill
It’s redemption that you need to feel
It’s been hovering and drawing near
There’s a chance if you still want me here

What is it that you’re running from
Is it just a wound or a loaded gun
Has it left you mostly feeling numb
I swear the best is yet to come

Why do you keep your surface clean
And stay hidden beneath a screen
Did you have troubles as a teen
Your soul just needs an opening

What is it you don’t want me to find
If I did would I lose my mind
Nows the chance for you to unwind
Living life in shackles isn’t how life’s designed

© Delia Ross. 2019






Trying to Forget

You’re coming to town, I heard in the news
You mention her name, it gives me troubling blues
I’ve been that girl, and I’ve fell in her shoes
I forget why I care or how I still hate you
They don’t think I’ve moved on and it’s probably true

But I don’t want you back, I’m the one who left
And the only one who apparently felt
It makes no difference now how many women you get
I was number one and your best asset
I spend all of my time just trying to forget

© Delia Ross. 2019

Lesson Number One

The first lesson in life there’s not a soul you can depend

You’re standing on a slope and you think you have some friends

You see an edge of hope and you try to rope it in

You have a moment, feast on it, and hope it never ends

You build it up, then break it down, and wish it works as it intends

Laughing all the way while you write your long amends

This will be enough, you hope, to finally settle all the winds

Soon you’ll find it shocking there’s even less who attends

Apparently you’re not the only one who pretends

You shouldn’t ignore lessons that the uni recommends

I gave it to you straight but you took a thousand bends

Now you have a list of a lot of ex-girlfriends

© Delia Ross. 2019

Could Have, Would Have, Should Have

I could have been a lawyer
But I studied instead to mope
I could have loved you better
Now instead I hate you most

I would have wrote a letter
But this poem instead should work
I would have ripped your heart out
And put it on a perch

I should have sought out shelter
When it started to get worse
You should have loved me better
But now instead I’m broke

© Delia Ross. 2019

If

If you never leap
Our hearts will never be fulfilled
I will slowly be climbing
This hill until I’m killed

If you never wake
I will always stay asleep
Trapped in a nightmare
With only fear that I can reap

If you never jump
My heart will always be on stall
Waiting on a spark
Where no one ever heeds the call

If you don’t believe
I will never love at all
You may take in hope
But it’s likely that I’ll fall

© Delia Ross. 2019

Pieces

Here, here are all the pieces
I’ve donated them to you
For you to assemble and mend

I’ve signed all official forms & releases
Your package will soon be in view
It’s stamped and addressed to you my friend

Hopefully you can teach me what peace is
My heart is now yours to attend to
Please make all this loneliness end

© Delia Ross. 2019

Viral Outbreak

I’ll never be anything to anyone you see
I’m not even certain I’m anything to me
I can’t sell you on something I do not believe
God didn’t equip me with eyes that can see

But he gave me the ability to feel
I feel it all without being able to heal
This was never ever part of the deal
It’s like daily I’m having to bow down and kneel

But not for you and not for him
A vast ocean without the knowledge to swim
A country on decline and it’s all looking grim
I’m tired of aching with a broken limb

Everything I do is a potential mistake
Every move I take another reason to ache
Any chance I give you just another heartbreak
Love it needs a vessel like a viral outbreak

© Delia Ross. 2019

Emotional Cargo

I wish I didn’t know what it is that I know
I’d stop myself from going down a path I never grow
Then I’d never sneer when I see an old photo
I’d never ever wonder who I’d be without the woe

I wish I didn’t know what it is that I know
I’d stop myself from packing all of this emotional cargo
I seem to carry it with me no matter where it is I go
I’d gladly give it to you but there’s no place left to stow

© Delia Ross. 2019

Heart Failure

All my plans haven’t gone away
They’ve really just been delayed

People they fret I can’t explain
They all just sort of strayed

It’s not my style to beg or plead
I sometimes require aid

They all want something from me
I have nothing for trade

Many years spent on this journey
Every direction came a grenade

You tell a different story
That isn’t the life that you portrayed

Why do you get all the glory
While I’m prisoner in this stockade

No need for you to hurry
My heart rotted and decayed

© Delia Ross. 2019

Permanent Winter

She owed them a pretty picture
Her soul was pretty injured
She sold it but never got richer
She kept it hid under a fancy fixture
The ones who buy it always get triggered
Pointing at you with their middle finger
Too far away you can’t hear them whisper
The season there is a permanent winter
With a sign that reads “winner winner”
You’ve been fed that lie since you were a beginner

© Delia Ross. 2019

Invisibility

Both of us lost what neither could win
Choosing to struggle over complying
But I guess you know best, why else were you spying
Maybe after her you simply gave up ever trying
Some may live close but they aren’t as gratifying
The effects won’t last long, about as quick as when you’re flying
You know I’m always right, there’s never need for clarifying
In these words I fight because you’re so electrifying
I need for you tonight to realize that I’m dying
To die never loved it sounds so very terrifying
I’m leaving this for you it’s why I’m always writing
You already live a beautiful life, it’s why I’m never prying
It’s a bit unfair, I’m invisible, you’ll never catch me crying

© Delia Ross. 2019

Cross Your Mind

Crossed our wires, wrong hands for hire
and now they’re blaming me

Shooting blanks and loading tanks
with riots in the street

I’d rather bid my precious hours
where two lovers greet

And if it seems it’s worth my time,
perhaps I’ll move my feet

Into the light, we sail tonight
I brought for us a treat

You’re feeling sour, my mood can tower
it’s best that we shall meet

I promise skies, and never lies
we can be discrete

You can’t deny, I’m on your mind
I think that’s pretty neat

© Delia Ross. 2019

Never Thought

She never thought she could again feel
Her heart was paralyzed with fear
His words weighed heavy & cut through steel
Wounds so deep one had to kneel
It never seemed the wounds would heal
The lessons never appeared clear
Just gashing pain brought from his spear
The crowd behind him full of cheer
Lashing out at you every year
She must hate him a great deal

© Delia Ross. 2019

Shadows

I would never take the spotlight from you
I will follow your shadow, I already do
If you fall behind, I’ll a clear path to get through
No obstructions shall impede your view
In your honor, I’d erect a statue
That’s probably something you already knew
A shadow always exposes what’s true
Just look how long my shadow grew

© Delia Ross. 2019

Ten After Sunset

Pain after sunset
denial and regret
It’s now ten after sunset
you haven’t admitted anything yet

Blame during sunrise
But never a tear in your eye
Aim for shock and surprise
It’s so much better when they cry

Shame morning and afternoon
You’ll catch him singing the same ole tune
Same lying up under the moon
He wasn’t born with a silver spoon

© Delia Ross. 2019

Tight Ropes

Such tight ropes we weave and trample
A love like yours I deserve to sample
Your flame is brighter than any candle
There’s not much that we couldn’t handle

I’ve never seen a face like yours
I’ve seen them all and lived through war
Walked every land, touched distant shores
You’re the only body I want to explore

© Delia Ross. 2019

Depression

Standing near a cliff waiting for the wind to blow
Years I must be waiting time is moving very slow
Lost so many hours no longer know where to go
Might have heard you shouting, guess I’ll never ever know

Always seeing others with someone on their side
Leaning towards the edge, no one even says goodbye
Even broke a rib on my own trying to climb
The pain so excessive I think I’d really rather die

© Delia Ross. 2019

Epic Tragedy ‘My Son’ + Author explanation + Review

My Son
Part 1: The Promise
“The bloody note,
That his lost wife wrote
He found under his pillow
When in the afternoon he awoke.
His heart grew weak as he read her final thoughts
Her last words about the son she lost
And the promise that she broke.

 

But it sends him right
Back to that lovely night
When they felt each other’s love
And gave each other light
But he tears up when he remembers the deed
The love he felt then, seems now like greed
Her promise he would recite.

‘Our life together, darling, has just begun
And I would be honored if you had our son.’
He was her man and she was his lady
And so he asked her to have his baby.
Neither hesitated.

She laid on the floor
As the blood poured
She felt the one inside
Would live no more
And she was crying for help and she called everyone.
Thinking that someone could save her son.”
The promise laid on the ground torn

The shame she had
When he took her hand
In the hospital room
But he made no demand
And when he first entered she wouldn’t even lock
Her eyes with his, she just turned toward the wall
Thinking the promise, she would damn.

But she looked in time
With her tearing eyes
She wanted to see him
The one she was denied
And when she did her world was shattered and put in submission
It was black and bloody and in the fetal position.
Her promise was a lie.

‘Our life, my darling, had just begun.
I only need my girl and I don’t need a son.’
He said this, but he could not hide his pain
He knew that their love would never be the same
Neither reiterated.

And alas one evening
While he was dreaming
She’d lay in the tub
Her wrists slashed and bleeding
And when he saw the result his heart receded
It tore apart when her wrists stopped bleeding.
The promise she was relieving.

And after the police went
And after the trial
After the search of his house
And long after denial
That’s when he found her letter of regret.
Buried under his pillow so he couldn’t neglect.
But then arose a devious smile.

‘Our life, my darling, has just begun.
All I have to do is save some of your blood.’
He knew a man who could restore her life
Half of this woman would still be half of his wife.
Shockingly, he never hesitated.”

-Fin-

My Son
Part 2: The Note Beneath His Pillow

“My darling husband, I can’t look at your face
I made a promise but it went to waste
The lovely day when we became one
And the lovely night when we planned our son
But now I’ve never felt so low before
I don’t want to look in your eyes anymore
I saw your pain when you heard the news
We asked God for another but he must have refused
And all I wanted was to carry your name.
Now I hide my head in shame
And your face that day in my mind remains
I’m not even a woman anymore.

 

The one that I knew could carry my soul
The one who could shield me from the cold
You lent me all that you had inside
I tried to give him to you, you know that I tried
I saw you crying as I came to
Losing myself was all I could do
I never looked right at you again
I regret it now, since you needed a friend
And all I wanted was to carry your name.
Now I hide my head in shame
And your face that day in my mind remains
I’m not even a woman anymore.

And I was wallowing and rolling in the pool of blood
The rivers that originated from me would flood
All I tasted and felt was the death
Of my baby boy who would never have breath
I cried for you, baby; I cried for you in fright
Years went by in that one horrid night
Would we ever be the same? Would we ever smile?
Would I ever get over it? Am I too fragile?
And all I wanted was to carry your name.
Now I hide my head in shame
And your face that day in my mind remains
I’m not even a woman anymore.

Things are a little more clearer now
There is a sense of peace in the solution I found
Strange I choose to bathe in blood
Again, it might as well be mud
And soon I’ll rest in the dirt with the worms
And never again feel this heart that burns
I may be letting you down again
But it’s only one more time, you were my very best friend
And all I wanted was to carry your name.
Now I hide my head in shame
And your face that day in my mind remains
I’m not even a woman anymore.”

My Son
Part 3: Half of Her Life

“The being, he’s been waiting for has just opened her eyes
There was a feeling of dread, but not a look of surprise
He knew her at first site but she did not know his face
He had his work cut out for him, her memory to replace

A man who was a monster had perfected an art
To bring back the dead and do it with just one body part
Her husband had brought in a container of red
And there was no touch of guilt or second thought in his head

He would have her love
The one who went away
The one who made a promise
Half of her, the body, but the mind decayed

And as the weeks past, he fed her the past
But the scars on her wrists were given no fact
He said that she must got them from broken windows or barbed wire
The blood covered furniture and clothes went into the fire

She ate it all up and her husband was content
He didn’t have it all, but it was worth what he spent
But every so often his memory took him to
The horrible consequences of the life he would choose

But he would still have her love
And he would get her back slowly
She would forget her promise
Half of her, man-made, and surely unholy

But she always grew restless when he wasn’t around
That when she closed her eyes and tried hard no explanation was found
Then wandered into a room where the standing mirror was stashed
And too her surprise, it wasn’t her in the glass

But it looked as if it was a younger look-a-like
And the image moved it lips, spoke and had a voice like a spike
She would show off her arms and reveal no scars
And she’d tell her of the real reason that her memories depart

“He just wanted your love
Did he mention your son?
I can see not by the look in your eyes”
Half of her, other in the mirror, she couldn’t shun

She confronted her husband with the story she heard
And he just stood still and spoke not a word
And without even thinking twice gathered all the mirrors
And locked them in the basement to hide from his fears

And in fury he jumped on her, strangled her, bashed her head.
But you know you can’t kill what is already dead
The tears in his eyes, he couldn’t bare that she knew the truth
He passed out from exhaustion and she took him to his room

He just wanted her love
And now it was falling apart
But she wandered to the basement of mirrors
Half and half brought together from the dark

He awoke and the memories came back
So slow he had to catch his breath
But he heard laughing in the dining room
He rushed into to see pictures of a bride and groom

His lovely wife regained her mind
And forgave her love for she knew he meant right
And they sat together and laughed without shivers
Looking for hours at wedding pictures

He just wanted her love
And he had found it at last
The deeds may have been in sin
More or less, who’s to guess

With or without a son
They sealed their love with a kiss
Because the promise was built on their love
Two halves, sown together, at the wrists”

-FIN-

© Delia Ross. 2010

(Special thanks to Dustin Hiatt. RIP)

Read more

Cyanide

Every minute peels across my pride
Seething into cracks where it may hide
His words poison worse than cyanide
Just remember his heart already died

Unto the moon I do confide
A confidant down by the roadside
He uses pain like trails to be a guide
Reaching him requires more than stride

A sign on the door reads “occupied”
It’s partially true but somewhere a lie
Pictures of smiles and times that we cried
Hidden from view and a prying eye

© Delia Ross. 2019

No Pretense

You say there’s no reason for our unfriending
But why do I feel like it’s always near ending
We never even got a proper beginning
There’s always another you are attending
And here I go with more words of offending
I wish these messages I would stop sending
Or maybe more kindness from you is worth lending
If you are confused I am too comprehending
These situations that keep us from ascending
I’ll do what I can to keep from descending
I’m grateful for you and will go on defending
Thank you for allowing my childish venting
At least you’ll never find me pretending

© Delia Ross. 2019

Gold Rush

His smile is a compass
Or lighthouse that guides me home
A permanent road where I’m free to roam
All enemies who enter he’ll crush

When I’m lost and all alone
I feel a sudden gentle brush
And smell a scent not like cologne
My senses ignite like a gold rush

He stands there like a stone
Fully aware he’s on his throne
My voice once loud now hush
Who needs flowers when your cheeks are flush

© Delia Ross. 2019

Ironclad

You can’t navigate the future by ignoring the past
It’s quick like lightning, our lives flash by so fast
If we don’t steer straight, might get lost in the vast
Nothing’s ironclad and we’re not built to last
Hate is bred, love can’t be forecast

Even now my mood has already passed
Though you never thought to even ask
Why my smile is hidden underneath your mask
To carry it alone is quite a challenging task
But thanks for allowing me under you to bask

© Delia Ross. 2019