She lies hidden

In tall grass

Great sienna oceans

Sway in the breeze

The lioness

Stalks in shadows

She sees my passion

Her hair catches the wind

Ivory Black,

Burnt like bone 

Dark as coal

Her body is Smooth

Like skin

Hot, wet and white

Against the night

Warm Savannah rains,

Lightning in distant thunder

Purple mists clings to twilight

Obscuring our presence

Hiding our intent

Carving our souls,

With a killer’s touch

 Claiming us free and innocent  

For we are Wild,

Like the clouds that rage

Inside a painter’s brush

Or an artist’s palette

Collecting the night 

With all its splendor

Random strokes

Laid out as a tapestry

For all to see

For all to fear

Yes, we see you

We see in the dark

We have your scent

We smell your blood

And together we hunt,

And together we kill

And together we feed

This heart of the lion.

Magic was the city

Olden in it's charm

The moon strools

  It's Alleys and court yards

As Achellis sleeps nearby

And you

Never more beautiful

Etched in a moment

Stunning

In the velvety night

Became a fantasy

Ever so Sweet

Like chocolate

Dipped in honey

Touched to your lips

No ! more like a dream

To which

I never wish to wake

Still

We hold one another

ever so tight

Afraid to let go 

Time, ticking 

sweeping us away

Swirling,

Mystical,

A perfect day

White horsed carraiges 

echos the ancient streets

with a million stories

dark and deep

Of love and romance

holding us prisoner

adding us to the conquered 

with just the flip of the tarrot

Your heart became mine

And my soul, yours

Yes, atop the hill

Overlooking the square

We heard the song

Of young lovers

In the church

Soon to be wed

We were children again, 

In love, again

For the first time, again

We could hear the sounds

We could hear the city breathe, 

We could feel the Music,

Bluesy

Wild

and Seductive

Dust rises in the moon light

Shining through the boards

And cracks in the wall

Oil lamps flicker

From my master's house

Strange is this light

That floats o’er the fields

The cotton is stilled

In the deep air of August

Reflection on moist skin

Warm, black as night

Smooth and alive

I watch as it rises

With each passing breath

I’m sensing your youth
For older was I,

A slave to another

Son of a warrior

African decent

Sweat soaked and naked

Louisiana plantation

Sounds of the South

Prayer speak, voodoo
Softly spoken incantations
Night sounds 

Strange cicada
Gator and cotton mouth
Hum of mosquitoes 

Roll of the gar

Blind is the old man

Who rattles his bones

Under oaks draped in moss

Near the dark bayou waters

They bred us as cattle

They used us for barter

Yet you were so gentle

You stuck in my mind

Bearing my child

They dragged you away

Oft'times I've wondered

Where you may have gone to

But I died a year later

In the first part of May

We'd known one another
And old were our souls

Young were our bodies

All shackled and chained
Yet time keeps moving

It's funny how it happen
I'm driving my car

Stopped for no reason 
Just for one moment

Then suddenly I saw you

Turning you smiled

For having remembered

That life long ago 
In a time far away

"Study in red - No17" 8x10 Pen and Ink on Fabriano

by Terrence L Cope "Click for larger image"

Last night ,
I lie awake, dreaming,
Of live's past, you and I.
You had looked into my eyes,
And knew who I was,
On that bench, you remembered,
A long time ago.
Stopping, you sat beside me,
We had known one another,
We may have been lovers,
In live's long ago.
Like Cairo, before the pyramids,
We sat in the tall grass,
We stared at the sky,
We gazed at constellations,
I named a star after you,
Remember?
The one in the heart of the Lion?

"Untitled Oct 3, 2010" 8x10 Pencil and Ink on Paper

by Terrence L Cope

Her eyes
Dark as the ocean
Deep as my soul
Distance
Melting
As wax to flame
Time Crawls
As it races eternity
In her eyes
I stare at the light
Hang on each moment
Each sound
Each word
Feable in attempt
I place in brush
I recant in words
My love.

"My garden -sketch" 8x10 Acrylic, ink and pastel on paper

by Terrence L Cope "click for larger image"

Petals of iron-rust and verdi, water falls down velvet sleaves

Swaying fro in winter’s breeze which dances with the dark knight

My garden rests atop a hill and echoes through the evening still

while dew drops rest where spiders build webs of silver moon light.

    

Artists scream apocalypse on building brick and metal rails

Desperadoes seeking canvas nails that lie scattered in the shadows

    

A path alights with fireflys to guide us up the sandy knoll

The cat that sits in ambush knows the mystic of this moon-white glow

    

Don’t be afraid, come my love,Take my hand,I’ve things to show

A moon above the sky below and I’ll teach you how my garden grows.

"Sketch in blue light" 2010 Pencil and pastel on paper

by Terrence Cope "click for larger image"

Oft’ times

I

find myself

Staring

down
Long
Empty 

halls

Bright Lights

Reflecting 

White
Paint

I
Sitting

Cross-legged

Stuck in limbo
Purgatory

Spinning

Around
with dying suns
and desert moons

Ride the time out

Where are you?

Floors
Hard

Grow Cold
To the bone

Concrete

Pools

Give way

I am sinking
Down, down

Violet-grey clouds

Mask 
This days sun
Dying Rays

An aged hand
It's many fingers
withered 

reach out

None find me

I close my eyes

Feel the warmth fade
she had come to the party
Without invitation
Wearing a costume
Sorry
I did not recognize you

It is then

And only then
Images
Wash over me
Like winter rains

Those single moments

Frozen time

You

Are mine

You

Are far away

You

I miss you

Except

When I close my eyes

"Something" 8x10 Graphite and Ink on Paper by Terrence L Cope

click for larger image

     I squint through sun light reflecting on a line of machines...trucks.....cars, as they sit idling on the highway. Like tiny ants in a line we march our ways to and fro, restricted to this pavement like the paths of our lives, Cocooned in steel and plastic, stereo blasting, I stare blankly with no thought, neither happy nor sad. We speak not words, we speak the language of cars, we know who we are by what we drive. Our deepest thoughts are laid out through a few choice words on a bumper sticker, a flag on the mirror or balls hanging from a trailer hitch. I have traveled this road a thousand times before and not a soul do I know yet we are brothers and we share the same mind. Red lights dance in the rising heat as to guide me on my way, but I cannot move and I must stay for we are America.....

...... and we are going home.

"The Pier" 14x18 Oil on Canvas by Terrence L Cope

The Sun, which rises in your eyes, hides my love and in you my soul can’t be denied it’s place in heaven.In time we might lose sight of our dreams, like ships away at sea, just know my love will be waiting for you in heaven.Love’s like this candle which flickers in its light; holding back the night. It's life will one day dim and fade, yet one look at you and all's OK in heaven. And at night I call your name; all the stars don’t look the same and should you ever fall from grace, you can take my place in heaven.

"Self portrait - study" 18x24 Graphite, Ink and Pastel on Multimedia Resin Board

Sept 2010 Terrence L Cope click for larger image

            Time sets on a million hollowed eyes, squinting, staring dazed through silver shadows
           Shallow screams, ghost town, Angry words echo the empty halls, graffiti prayers ....its time .... we must go
     Bluest eyes I’ve ever seen, tangled loves and broken dreams, as cars collide outside, careening in slo-motion
     Souls depart on the next flight out, leaving only debris, broken glass , and memorials to their passing
     Headlights blind, my mind and white lines, blur, forever eternal, to the roar of steel belts on asphalt
     Everything I'd ever sought never came my way, except flashes of your silly smile and stupid things you’d say
     Small shower of a cigarette glow explodes on the road, Take a drink and light another, breathing deep
     Exhale, grey smoke, like a ghost, rises and dances in vails that disapear out a windows crack
     Check the rearview mirror, ten years lie behind and I still remember ..... must keep driving ....
     Have not traveled far enough, far enough to forget, monotony repeats itself and their's no time for a rest .......

"Untitled 09-08-10" Pen, Ink and Pastel on Fabriano by Terrence L Cope

click for larger image

I can't stop thinking
Rain beating on tin roofs
Rust shows its age
I turn to sleep
I like to sleep
It's the rainy season
Humid, Sticky
I watch insects
As they dance to the light
Seeking it's end
On one so bright.

"Duck. a revisit" Pen, ink and Pastel on Fabriano 8x10 by Terrence L Cope
click for larger image

"September 4th" Sketch on Fabriano 8x10, by Terrence L Cope
click for larger image

All the children are grown today, like dreams, they've up and gone their way

While we sit as trees that've taken root, make beleiving we are clouds

and grasp that freedom from our thoughts and shout these deeds aloud,

Yet Shallow and small, this need to feel some "purpose by design"

We search and pray for fathers grace to provide some sort of sign,

A simple smile, some simple feat, you know, change our water into wine,

Or better yet, a nod of head, a passing glance .... sent our way,
As if to say ... we did alright ................... we did OK

Still we grasp for something gone, we know not what but something's wrong

We reach for times sacrifial dreams, you remember, schoolyard themes, 
Ones that once defined your being, all those songs you sang along with

Yet as we breathe, we continue to dance to whatever music's that was played

And we dance, and dance in those clouds above until we dance our dreams away.

When I

was

young

I

would

walk

on

rocks

Without

Shoes