Suite: Architectural and Threshold Poems

This suite gathers twelve thematic duets,

each exploring the thresholds and structures

that shape our passage through space, memory, and ritual.

1. Banister Poem

Each step a quiet promise,
a slender curve beneath my palm.
I rise on whispered echoes,
held by polished wood and trust.

In the half-light of morning,
my fingers trace the winding beam.
A soft guide through creaking shadows,
your voice carried from floor to floor.

2. Balustrade Poem

Pillars stand in measured cadence,
each carved with yesterday’s breath.
Between them, I weave my longing,
a ribbon of wind and memory.

Stone sentinels guard my reverie,
columns spacing heartbeats in time.
I lean into their silent rhythm,
finding beauty in ordered rows.

3. Balcony Poem

I speak into the dusk below,
my words floating on lantern light.
A lone audience in the square,
held in my copper‐tongued gaze.

Moonlight spills across my threshold,
shadows dancing on cobblestones.
I call your name into the night air,
an oration to empty sky.

4. Parapet Poem

Behind this low embattled wall,
I scan the horizon’s flame.
A silent guard for fevered hopes,
unyielding against the storm.

Fingers brushing cold limestone,
I stand sentinel over loss.
Each heartbeat drums a warning,
each breath a vow to remain.

5. Threshold Poem

My foot hovers on the sill,
a moment draped in possibility.
One step and the world will tilt—
I hold my breath between.

Crossing from dusk into daylight,
my shadow stretches behind.
I tremble on this narrow line,
becoming new with each inhale.

6. Railing Poem

Copper rails pulse beneath my palm,
tension spun in metal threads.
I cling to edges of uncertainty,
finding balance in the grip.

A ribbon of turned steel,
binding void and solid form.
I trace its spiral promise,
a tether against the drop.

7. Terrace Poem

Sun-warmed tiles cradle my dreams,
stepped gardens climbing skyward.
Each level a new revelation,
each bloom a hidden prayer.

Between earth and horizon’s lip,
I plant my thoughts like seeds.
They unfurl in terraces of green,
reaching for a distant blue.

8. Colonnade Poem

Columns arch in silent rows,
pillars of ancient conversation.
I move through their echoing hush,
my questions answered by their stone.

Marble gods lined in procession,
bearing witness to my tremor.
I touch each fluted guardian,
drawing strength from their still weight.

9. Vestibule Poem

A breath between two worlds,
doors whisper of what lies beyond.
I linger in this lucent vestibule,
caught between leave and return.

Faint light sifts through heavy curtains,
a prelude to arrival or departure.
In this narrow chamber of pause,
I weigh the gravity of choice.

10. Vestibulary Verse

Words stand at the lintel,
each syllable a carved keystone.
I build my meaning step by step,
doorways unfolding in verse.

Language as corridor and arch,
definitions hinge on breath.
Suffix and prelude converge,
opening halls of thought.

11. Genkan Poetry

Shoes line the polished floor,
each pair a story left behind.
Bare feet tread the threshold clean,
offering self for careful entry.

Step inside and bow your dust,
shed the street’s invisible weight.
Here, kindness hinges on stillness,
ritual welcoming the soul.

12. Twelfth Night Poem

In borrowed clothes and stolen names,
we dance beneath a glassed-roof sky.
Revelry blooms in torchlight’s wink,
truth hidden in masquerade’s sigh.

Masques dissolve as dawn approaches,
faces shift with each new light.
Hearts unmasked, we greet our shadows,
finding freedom in the night.