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    Silence of the Sirens
    Silence of the Sirens
    Silence of the Sirens
    Ebook330 pages1 hour

    Silence of the Sirens

    By Michael Tapia

    ()

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    About this ebook

    A collection of 159 poems previously published in seven chapbooks. Chapbooks are no longer available. Diverse themes and subjects seen from various facets and sometimes moving into the surreal, such as “Promise of the Butterfly,” or “Floating Away”. Speaking of love, death, faith, history, struggling against those who want to oppress, the value of the individual and finding one’s place in the sun. Title poem establishes what is desired but cannot be attained. "Abraham's Secret", "Ishmael" and "Faith of Our Forefinger" were originally a trilogy, starting with the beginning of western faith and moving through a modern scene. ."Strange Fruit” is derived from the Billie Holiday song and continues the thread into a contemporary context. “We Used to Play” is autobiographical, growing up in a world where grown-ups are incidental.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMichael Tapia
    Release dateNov 15, 2018
    ISBN9780463783344
    Silence of the Sirens
    Author

    Michael Tapia

    Born and raised in San Antonio Texas. Retired from the USAF as a Russian Cryptologic Linguist. Had tours primarily in Germany, with six years in Berlin, Germany. Graduated from University of Maryland overseas division, B.A, A.A., Community College of Air Force, A.S.

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      Book preview

      Silence of the Sirens - Michael Tapia

       Silence of the Sirens

      Copyright ©2018 by Michael Tapia

      Registration Number CI-549258140

      All rights reserved

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author.

      This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.

      Publisher: Cicada Cadence Publishing

       For

      Michael S. Tapia

      Brief and pure hope, Always in my mind 

      Table of Contents

      Silence of the Sirens

      Garden of Sand

      Cicada Cadence

      Raindrops Against Glass

      Alchemy of the Soul

      The Math of One

      Being There

      I Have Been A Monastery

      Free to Dream

      Tannenberg

      Last Time

      All of You

      1945

      Ancient Voices

      Promise of the Butterfly

      Rocking Boat

      Night Call

      Fanfare for the Common Man

      Moving on To

      Soul mated

      Tomorrow We Will Fix Your Soul

      Shadows of the Deep

      Fin de siècle - Killing Time

      Abraham’s Secret

      Ishmael

      Reflections of Sand at Night

      Faith of Our Forefingers

      After the Bomb

      Gathering of Angels

      New Particle Accelerator

      Return of the Titans

      A Walk in the Desert

      High Ceilings

      Still to Be

      The Expanse of it All

      House of God

      The Passion

      Floating Away

      I Am Was

      Lover

      The Wave

      Ashbury, Ashbury, We all Fall Down

      An Exceptional Beauty

      One Way to England

      Pandora’s Pantry

      Able to Breath

      The Joshua Tree

      A Scientific Fact

      La Chasse aux Papillons

      Paper Dreams

      Warrior Proud

      Patented Proof

      Tempting Faith

      The Road

      Among the Young and Beautiful

      Breaking Bread

      Midnight Moments

      The Meaning

      A Soft Good-bye

      Folie à Plusieurs

      Fiesta Flambeau

      Strange Fruit

      Dapple of Shadows

      Meeting the Queen

      Breaking Old Habits

      August Moods

      Dancing Alone

      Falling in Love

      Elderly Love

      Flea Market Carpet

      I’m Sorry

      Image on Canvas

      Slithering Shadows

      Talisman

      The Railroad

      The Beauty of the Back

      The Fall of the Heroes

      The Northland

      Three Day Weekends

      Turning the Key

      Upon Misleading Roads

      Vow of Poverty

      Withdrawn but Not Retreating

      Coiffure

      White on White

      Koi

      Diablo

      The Menagerie

      Wanderlust

      The Light

      The Time of Day

      Man of Her Dreams

      Beggar’s Prayer

      The Cabin in the Woods

      A Public Hearing

      A Summer Too Long

      All is in Order

      Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

      Change in the Weather

      Dead Poets

      Fame’s Companions

      Fleeting Melody

      For a Rainy Day

      Heaven on Earth

      The Lions of March

      Hide Away

      Letting Go

      Metaphor Teddy

      Never a Rock Star

      Now That We Know

      Se Habla Español

      Silent Plumage

      Cupboard Connotation

      The Survivor

      We Used to Play

      Where the Crocus Blooms

      Toccata and Fugue

      An Island in Winter

      Tortilla Mama

      Prelude for a Lover

      Speak of Love

      Just a Small Curse

      Songs Before the Mist

      Wings

      Subtle Breathing

      Sun Walkers

      The Mornings to Be

      The Shell Game

      The Unopened Door

      The Water, The Light

      Expanding Light

      To Be Released

      Sounds Against Twilight

      The Returning

      Upon the Wind

      A Heavenly Meeting

      World of Extinction

      When Lambda is Zero

      Tutto Fellini

      Faces

      Come with Me My Love

      Great Expectations

      Making a Safer World

      In Silent Expectation

      Orpheus

      Dreaming Details

      Doing Lunch

      Form

      Pas de Deux

      Leaving the Great Divide

      Discreet Valor

      La Belle Dame Sans Merci

      No Need to Move

      Blue Tango

      Sandra in the Morning Light

      The Fix Is In

      Organic Birth

      The Latest Edition

      No Manatee Left Behind

      The Storm

      Leaving

      Silence of the Sirens

      Upon the distant island, surrounded by the shells of 

      Ships wrecked upon the rocks,

      Rocking to and fro,

      Through my telescope

      I see the sirens singing upon the rocks, 

      Alluring and seductive,

      Too distant to hear their song,

      I think they know that I spy upon them,

      As sometimes they stare in my direction

      Full lips, enticing eyes, arms beckoning,

      And though I want to hear their song,

      To throw myself upon the rocks,

      They flee, flying far above the sea when I approach

      Saving me from myself.

      I imagine a melody that will drive me mad,

      Ecstatic emotions overwhelming all desires

      Of self-preservation, emotions only a god could endure,

      Emotions so violent a calmness will abide,

      Desires devoid of thought,

      I would gladly bask beside them

      On the edge between life and death,

      Luring others to their death,

      Still I hear the silence

      And seek the madness.

      Garden of Sand

      Through the temple of bones,

      The desert wind passes.

      A famine of the heart,

      A famine of the mind,

      Seeds that wither beneath the sand, 

      Sail upon the sand.

      Between the mounds of the undead,

      It carries once powerful voices of the desert

      Beyond eternal flames.

      Are we not the Chosen?

      Feel the words within our blood,

      Turning, warming, feeding.

      Did we not leave the garden

      To thrive in the desert?

      Were we not cleansed

      In the river of sand?

      From Palenque to Giza, 

      Water lily to stone,

      From Ur to Jerusalem,

      Lion to cross.

      A throbbing heart is offered

      Upon a blood-stained altar, 

      As the water lily cleanses

      The flower shields.

      Through the Valley of the Dead

      A soothing sirocco sings,

      Souls are but a whisper,

      Stone but a slave.

      Abargi hears the thunder through the valley

      He feels the rumbling of the earth,

      But Marduk sits upon the throne,

      The lion’s roar is silenced beneath desert dunes.

      The wall wails no longer;

      The golden dome is tarnished beneath the fervent sun.

      We wander through the desert, from the desert.

      A poisoned stream we return to the barren sand.

      The chimes of bones chant

      Till the wind abandons us

      Upon silent dunes

      Beneath a cloudless sky.

       Cicada Cadence

      I will only wait

      For the leaves to fall

      And for reflections to disappear;

      I will only stop

      To hear the wind stirring,

      But when your eyes open

      I shall be gone into the past;

      When you mind awakens

      I shall be shielded 

      By the night.

      Raindrops Against Glass

      Somewhere in April,

      Beneath a stained-glass sky,

      We saw the first light of dawn:

                  Transposing colors

             Merging in black rivulets

                Upon the fragmented sidewalk

      We walked among the refuse,

      Blown against curbs and buildings: 

            Raindrops

                 From an interlude

                    Clinging to glass reflections

      I heard your voice 

            In a momentary whisper 

         Knowing home

            Was farther

                  Than miles

                        Measured by lingering words

                             Caressed in darkness

      You spoke of soft childhood memories,

      Of running upon 

      Blankets of larkspurs and daisies

      As wispy clouds 

      Drifted upon palettes of blue.

      Counting the steps 

      An uneven rhythm,

         Upon the gray segmented concrete,

      We blended into tinged daylight colors

      Somewhere in

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