floating and leaving no trace
touch us gently, please
i wish for bread to fill an angel’s evening
this moment feels charmed
you shared your need like a quiet dance
devote a thousand words to
ask a promise I can never keep
——
for
Specks and Fragments/The Elusive Trope
Magnetic Poetry Saturday Challenge
all the dragons have been put
in pet stores and the magic
swords melted down into third place
trophies for dodgeball and the
rings that make you invisible
are plastic slap bracelets even
the dwarves have lifts in their
shoes and are as clean shaven as
they dare to be without losing
their street cred
whatever natural bridge
led from that other place to this
or held up under our feet long
enough to let that other place thrive
here has collapsed under
the weight of adult shoes
——
for
as everything turns grey
writing prompts by J.R.Rogue and Kat Savage
3. The Natural Bridge
what do you want to do
marry every girl you know
that gets pregnant
messiah complex
if she’d been more educated
might have been her guess
though misguided
both she and i, really
her exasperation at
my naiveté
my disgust at her lack
of compassion
and carrying that
knowledge about us both
a red check in a black column
shaped like a ridiculous valentine heart
——
for
as everything turns grey
writing prompts by J.R.Rogue and Kat Savage
2. The Debt for Happiness
there is no reason to look
in your direction any more
this portrait is done
sallow yellows and sickly greens
of a soul split open like a rotted pear
dark bruised purple of pride
swelling just under the eyes
the whimpering greys of despair
running in streaks through your hair
casting ashes on your skin
and the reds
anger–blind rage–just blindness
so many drops, so much crimson
a shower of blood
that would make a butcher invest
in an umbrella
——
for
as everything turns grey
writing prompts by J.R.Rogue and Kat Savage
1. A Painting in Vengeance
i am an old growth forest
with leaves red as blood
undersides caked with black mold
the loamy earth
cannot contain my writhing roots
now exposed to shadows and gnawing
field mice–
–here in the shadows
you cannot see the sun
that crowns my head
i am the dog
wagging my tail
lowering my head for
a hand
or
a handout
if it’s a smile
or a warm word
i receive
i count it
a worthy
transaction
but how often it is
the bone
dry and scraped clean
and how my teeth
break against it
the runcheon rattles, its chains are long
it keens a ghostly murder song
upon the moors, upon the heath
with rasping, fetid, icy breath
the runcheon rattles, its chains unwind
with wailing moan it hunts though blind
across the meadow, out of the wood
where no child ventures whose soul is good
the runcheon rattles, its chains pulled taut
’tis bloody though it lacks a heart
amidst the town, within the lane
it shudders in the cold and rain
the runcheon rattles, its chains a ruin
its labored breath a grating tune
beyond the hedge, through the gate
it tarries not lest it be late
the runcheon rattles, by chains unbound
all too soon its prey’s been found
upon your hearth a sudden frost
the runcheon rattles–and you are lost
as the animal blossoms
a wild moon breathes out
this soul follows secret winter
wither, ancient spirit!
murmur and wander no more
——
for
Specks and Fragments/Elusive Trope
Magnetic Poetry Saturday Challenge
All Hallows’ Eve Poetry Slam
hands cupped over my ears
the seas
hands pressed against my ears
the bees
silence never
i turn out my pockets
to prove i have nothing
left of you in my
possession
and am surprised
to find
ashes, a little salt,
a brittle molar hollowed
out by those twin mice
regret and despair
and what could be a
hummingbird’s heart
–beating or still i cannot
say–but composed entirely
of smoke
——
Words and Feathers 