the empty sky hangs X like an inheritance
above my head X no one wants to collect
red and decaying X trifles and mementos
these memories aren't X meant for burial
what i expected X or deserving of cremation
——
Tag: Jane Dougherty
Poem 20160324
the woods still sigh, the owls still weep
in the darkness, dark shadows creep
and thoughts of you still fill my head
the fallen trees run black with mold
the silent leaves no longer gold
a sweet, low song fills me with dread
i left you here cold in the ground
with shuttered eyes, you made no sound
yet there you stand, though you are dead
——
Jane Dougherty Writes
Poetry challenge #23: Nove otto
Happy Early Halloween!
Poem 20160319
musty motel, the bedsprings groan
my suitcase and a broken phone
the voice i hear forever moans
never alone, never alone
my pocket’s full of finger bones
worn smooth like ancient magic stones
guarded by shrouded, cackling crones
shrill monotones, shrill monotones
outside the blackbirds all have flown
inside blossom the seeds i’ve sown
the shadows growl, calls the unknown
a blank headstone, a blank headstone
Poem 20160313
the reflection is you, liquified, but
a mirror doesn’t respect personal space
the image is behind your eyes, after all
it is as close to you as your own skin
a mirror doesn’t respect personal space
an invader always light-seconds behind
it is as close to you as your own skin
never farther than your heated blood
an invader always light-seconds behind
the reflection is you, liquified
never farther than your heated blood
the image is behind your eyes, after all
——
Poem 20160203b
under the tree, the shadows crawl
but not a single bird will fly
above the leaves nor near the wall.
under the tree the shadows crawl
and in the house within the hall
a cat naps, but she’d rather lie
under the tree. the shadows crawl
but not a single bird will fly.
—–
Poem 20160129
hollow man
with bones so fragile
that you break
–you shatter
under the weight of what if
why not–when–why–why
hollow man
your shoulders sprout wings
leather hard
paper thin
too fragile to beat–to lift
to bear empty weight
hollow man
every breath a strain
a rattle
a wheezing
crushing an empty chamber
that once held a heart
hollow man
you struggle although
failure is
a small sleep
and even a hollow man
can see the sunrise
—–
Poem 20160121
i am full
i contain multitudes
does it matter if what i say
contradicts
what i said before
i didn’t say that
very well
do i contradict myself
it’s one of the multitudes
at fault
a singular wit
mouthing off
i’m sure
one word out of line
and the train jumps the track
o captain!
these contradictions
are hard to take
harder still
to reconcile
with the crowd in my mouth
and you thought
keeping my wisdom teeth
would put my incisors
out of alignment
what about all those souls
—–
By a weird coincidence, my Zen a Day calendar had this quote by Walt Whitman today, which is what I thought of when I saw Jane’s Challenge:
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
–Walt Whitman
Jane Dougherty Writes
Poetry challenge #14: Take a favourite line
Words and Feathers 