floating and leaving no trace
if i had any vices left
i’d give them up for you
except for the ones
that creep into my dreams
after all i don’t invite them
but sleeping next to you
has an effect
on my brainwaves
i’ll be all innocent
in the dawn
if that’s what you want
——
for
as everything turns grey
writing prompts by J.R.Rogue and Kat Savage
5. Late Night Vices
That’s right. Voeko has linked a great little short story all about taking that big step into the dark. Well, I’ll let you listen (and watch).
Here’s her site (which you should visit).
Here’s the November Open Mic page (which you should visit and participate in).
it all has to be cut down
the waist-high grasses we
thought were wheat
but turned out to be inedible
there was no chaff to separate
no flour to be ground
no bread to be baked
but the unleavened
hardtack of regret
and false hope
——
for
as everything turns grey
writing prompts by J.R.Rogue and Kat Savage
4. What We Reap
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
Words and Feathers 