a bone will creak
before it breaks
much like a dried branch
stepped on in summer
that makes the birds
go silent
but muscle
say
–a heart, for example–
will make no sound before
shattering like glass
or perhaps it is beyond
human hearing
——
Tag: quadrille
expectations adjusted, unmet (20171009)
autumnal orange light floods the parking lot
while soft snowflakes fall
even though these aren’t snowflakes
even though the greasy stink of smoke gives it away
hills burn
and wind pushes ash toward the sea
i hope the sunset–at least–
will be beautiful
——
what are you afraid of? (20170731)
we are all monkeys screaming in trees
look out for the eagles
look out for the snakes
all fears are now equal
life, death, children, resources,
sex, power, violence,
not being able to sleep
without the tv on
and sleeping with the tv on
——
three for a dollar (20170717)
candles flicker for obvious reasons
birthdays, farewells, power outs,
supplication to saints
checking that canary you
carried down into the coal mine
homemade bikini waxing
sealing someone’s fate with a signet
pressed into a blood red blob
liberace
but mostly the presence of ghosts
stormy weather (20170605)
i blow your house down
like an ill-tempered storm
or come down your chimney
some kind of psychopath santa
crowbar open your windows
with words both iron and soft
but you remind me
it’s not my house
if i can’t open the door
——
something feathered (20170522)
she opens her mouth
a bird escapes
some magic trick
silent bird
with its beak
welded shut
by shame
by trauma
–haaaaaaaaaaaa–
the sound
you breathe out
through your mouth
the sound of wings
you can’t breathe and lie
at the same time, girl
——
you can hear the moon talking to herself (20170508)
the wolf plants himself by the fire
just an emaciated bag of sticks
–what do you want, moon chaser
he licks a paw and grins
–just waiting for you to die, fat boy
–ingrate
together, we watch flames
sparks echo stars
shadows echo night
——
fragments of peace (20170410)
paper mâché jesus
angel composed
entirely of dried ivy
stuck to a stone wall
jesus comes apart
during a soft drizzle
collapsing into smeared
classified ads
a dry santa ana
picks the angel apart
one leaf at a time
leaving withered veins
without blood
——
for
dVerse ~ Poets Pub
Quadrille #30: drizzle
It’s National Poetry Writing Month!
Day 10
Check out these sites:
giggles and hits (20170227)
taking up pen, preparing a page
sober, serious–really quite sage–
i wrestled a wriggle
a jiggly smudge–no more than a giggle
struggling to make it behave
ultimately, i was the slave
discovering, to my chagrin
taming a word is a terrible sin
——
the line of breaking light (20170130)
we await the turning of the earth
pretending we turn it
beneath our feet
but that which is shifting
is inside us
a tidal force within
the pit of our stomachs
guiding our sleepy eyes
toward the horizon
and the first light
of dawn
Words and Feathers 