Cristine A. Gruber- Three Poems

Noise

Now that all activity
has slipped away and
I’m alone to excavate
the deeper crevices of my brain,
I hear more noise now
than when the house was full.

Can’t silence the screaming
that grows inside my skull.
Easier to hide when
the noise lumbered about.
Harder to blend when
the clamor comes from within.

Light of a Low-Hanging Moon

                            (Sequel to Blow off the Dust)

The lonely one remains,

well into the night he stays.

Bypassing the neutral chair, he

takes up residence on the aging couch.

Pouring a second glass of liquid fire,

he follows it up with two more chasers. 

After each shot, he plays with his ring,

twirling it one way, and then the other. 

In the forgiving light of a low-hanging moon,

he takes off his ring, remains immeasurably sad.

Strings

She wasn’t old,

nor was she sick.

She ate right,

took care of herself,

and walked every day.

There was no explanation

for her sudden

departure,

family and friends

baffled by the timing.

The autopsy showed

all organs healthy but one---

tendons damaged, strings

near-severed, no longer 

pumping life’s necessary force.

No physiological reason

was found

for the failure,

but those closest knew,

the report was sound.

Take care

with your words;

heed all thoughts and deeds,

for the strings of the heart

are all too affected.

Her passing confirmed

what poets have known

for centuries---

it’s all too possible

to die from a broken heart. 

Cristine A. Gruber writes from sunny, Southern California. Her work has been featured in numerous magazines, including: North American Review, Writer’s Digest, California Quarterly, Dead Snakes, The Endicott Review, The Homestead Review, Iodine Poetry Journal, Leaves of Ink, Miller’s Pond, Napalm and Novocain, The Penwood Review, The Poet’s Haven, Pound of Flash, Pyrokinection, Red River Review, The Tule Review, Wilderness House Literary Review, and The Write Place at the Write Time. Her first full-length collection of poetry, Lifeline, is available from http://buybooksontheweb.com. More of Cristine's work can be found and enjoyed at http://sierraviewjournal.blogspot.com/.