floating and leaving no trace
long-eared
dark-skinned
grass eater
speaking with a human tongue
what a frightful beast
under the moon
are your lips red with blood
or just the dew
i’ll give you a fine silk suit
if only you will help me
finish this bit of labor
though i know it is a sin to ask a boon
i think farmer mcgregor had best
be wary of you
and not take the offer of a ride
from a strange black horse
this garden fruit and soft summer colors
you come to me in the shade
world relaxed, murmurs of
bees and no lonely blossoms
though soon gentle eden will know
wild wind, wet rain, winter frost
——
these rooms overflow, voices ringing with laughter
i too let my voice, a small bell, ring with laughter
but it’s false and hollow in my ears, fakery
of the worst kind. they watch me, ringing with laughter
because they see inside, they smell the rot of me
their noses wrinkle, their throats catch, stifled laughter
ah, if only i could slip away unseen now
then they could resume, a profound choir of laughter
but i stay where i am, eyes on my back, my neck
cadaver cold, waiting for the end of laughter
——
dry winds mourn for us
my eyes also dry–just salt
a vanished ocean
but even the tide returns
come–it’s time to start rowing
——
Yes, the fabulous, if somewhat naughty, Rose pinged the Open Mic page, and pinged it rather hard. Go listen to it, at her very own site.
And I said I would post a new reading for everyone that comes in for the rest of the month, so here you are.
summerless blood
that weight on my shoulders
it is no feather
nor unbearable
i will carry us
carry you
carry me
through brambles
through flame
through disaster
i will be the disaster
so will you
we will not emerge
unscathed
but we will emerge
together
i would fit you in my pocket
if i could
but
you already fit in my heart
in that spot between my shoulder blades
where our wings emerge
——
i keep my heart
sealed tight in a jar
so you can’t hear its beating
i put a blanket
over the glass at night
since it makes noise
while i sleep
i whisper a soft lullaby
the words your name
repeated like a heartbeat
——
we complicate the afterlife
or simplify it
smoking shadows or blinding light
always some kind of
inflated vision
of unimaginable prosperity
like a costco with free samples
in every aisle
no lines at the registers
and they take whatever credit card
you have in your wallet
of utter misery
processing travel reimbursements
with unclear reasons for changes of flight
destinations not approved
and receipts so crumbled and faded
they may as well be ancient greek
palimpsest
as for me
i will take peace and quiet
some kind of eternal stillness
as long as i can get
netflix
——
cry, luscious goddess
lather us with sweaty summer worship
these breasts–smooth, languid, meat
–no
a thousand frantic lickings
the fast water must bare you
mad blood
red chocolate
crush my lust, my storm of a need
——
for
Elusive Trope
Magnetic Poetry Saturday Challenge
And a bonus line:
Words and Feathers 