the problem with temptation (20161113)

turning the flashlight
pointing up
into the tree
the white beam
punches me in the nose
suddenly i smell
the oils of the needles
feel the resinous pine
sap sticky on my fingers

a small green insect
dances into the light
caught in the beam
as if in amber
still except for the furious
motion of its cellophane wings

that’s the problem with
temptation i think
shining a light
where your eyes
aren’t accustomed to the
darkness
what you catch there
may be taught
to fly into a flame

——

for
as everything turns grey
writing prompts by J.R.Rogue and Kat Savage
8. The Problem With Temptation

time for dirty hands (20161112)

time to get your hands dirty
time to get your knuckles bloody
time to snarl like a tiger
and leap coiled spring that you are
made so against your will

but really
this is the only fight worth
clenching your fist for
gritting your teeth for
we are all stars
let’s give them one hell
of a sunburn

Open Mic–Not So Easy Bein’ Green

Y’all should hop on over to the November Open Mic page and check out the latest offering by Poet Rummager, our very own Rose. It’s so fun, you’ll croak.

You should also make the leap and follow her blog. I’d say more, but I have a frog in my throat.

seed/fruit (20161110)

i hold a seed
the size of an almond
in my fist
a dried out husk
covered in thorns

when i squeeze
it pierces my flesh
the soft spot
below my thumb

i bleed
i squeeze harder
feeling the bite

the seed is thirsty
but i won’t be
enough
to satisfy it
though it would
certainly blossom
and bear terrible fruit

crimson drops decorate
the floor
the sizes and shapes
of cherry blossoms
i contemplate
tossing it into the fire
–being done with it
–being free of it
but i worry
i will miss
having something to feed
i will miss
the feedback of that sting

the taste of time (20161109)

cutting into a steak
overwhelms me

we are all
sacks of shambling meat
delicious char blackened umami
a result of rapid oxidation

it happens to us at a snail’s pace
every day
as the clock ticks down
so slow you can’t smell
the melting fat
or hear the sizzle

all of nature waits to sink its
teeth into us
and have that taste of time
running down its throat

——

for
as everything turns grey
writing prompts by J.R.Rogue and Kat Savage
7. The Taste of Time

purple is the sky (20161108)

wine-colored sky
[or maybe eggplant]
hard to to pin down
as it wheels about
cut to ribbons by old stars
by new moons
smeared with clouds
like a car window
fogged with a child’s breath
amazed at the power
of her own lungs

in the new cold
we strain to hear
crickets of the fall
as we stare into
a darkened eye
that covers us, a dome
like a bruise turned
inside out

——

for
as everything turns grey
writing prompts by J.R.Rogue and Kat Savage
6. Purple is the Sky