melissa's eyes . . .

baby blue skies
above Aspen in spring,
not a single cloud

dares appear,

sandy-white beaches
in Cozumel,
the water
baby blue clear,

but baby blue waters
in Mexico,
and Aspen’s
baby blue skies,

are sad imperfect
imitators,
of the blue in
my baby’s eyes

--James Sizemore (2008)

© 2012 James A. Sizemore. All rights reserved.

.thoughts

i think of spirits dancing,
conjoined in harmony;
with flowing grace like ocean waves
that ride the moonlit sea.

i think of all the words we say,
of what is false and what is true;
the little lies we tell ourselves
and tell each other too.

i think of all the heartbreak,
of guilt and shame and pain;
the smiles we use to mask the truth
of tears we shed in vain.

i think of lovers laughing,
of friends just holding hands;
constrained to midnight rendezvous
to escape the world's demands.

i think of all the thoughts i think
of the things that cross my mind,
but still the things that matter most
are the thoughts of you i find!

-- James Sizemore

© 2012 James A. Sizemore. All rights reserved.

on the advent of our wedding

on the advent of our wedding
as the nuptial moment nears
my heart is filled with love and joy,
my head with hopes and fears

fears about our futures,
—money, kids, careers—
the challenges and crevasses
we will face throughout the years

hopes of love eternal,
hopes of joy divine
hopes the heart that beats in you,
will stay forever mine

joy, divine, unparalleled,
blessed so many ways,
joy, the act of loving you
the rest of all my days

love; a love that's more than love,
love more true than true,
love so deep i'd sooner die
than live unloved by you.

--James A. Sizemore (May 2008)

© 2012 James A. Sizemore. All rights reserved.

i think your special, and i'm not insulting you

special describes the sunrise,

on a jamaican sandy beach,

the crystal blue waters of cozumel,

or the taste of a sweet georgia peach.

special denotes the uncommon,

– exceptional, rare, and unique –

like the high of the rocky mountains,

at the top of a tall aspen peak.

i've stood at the top of those mountains,

touched their crystal blue skies,

strolled those sandy white beaches,

watched the jamaican sunrise.

but of all the special things i've seen,

– magnificent, fantastic, true –

i have never laid eyes on anything close,

to the special i see in you.

-- James Sizemore (August 2009)

© 2012 James A. Sizemore. All rights reserved.

for Hannah

My outrageous, talented, uber-creative, beautiful daughter Hannah turned 11 on the 17th of December 2008. The back story to the poem is that in my memory of the day Hannah was born the weather seemed unseasonably nice. A quick Google search confirmed that the 17^th was the only day in December of 1997 when the temperature hit 60 degrees.

thirty-one days in december,
i only celebrate two;
one, the day of jesus' birth,
the other when god gave me you.

twenty-fifth day of december,
we remember the birth of god's son;
but of all december's thirty-one days,
that's eight past my favorite one.

day number one in december
is actually day seventeen,
for that is the day on which I did see
the most beautiful thing ever seen.

thirty days were cold that december,
--nineteen ninety-seven--
but the seventeenth day hit sixty degrees,
as my hannah arrived from heaven.

sixty degrees in december
--a clear and bright blue sky--
the perfect way for god to say,
here's your angel from on-high.

eleven years since december,
--four-thousand eighteen days--
and Hannah rose you've made me proud
four-thousand eighteen ways.


-- James Sizemore (December 2008)

© 2012 James A. Sizemore. All rights reserved.