Photo by Nik MacMillan on Unsplash
I bet the sad part
of the love of your brief life
kicking the bucket
on laundry day is you still
gotta finish her frickin’
laundry.
I hope nobody
can vouch for this, and I pray
she can before me.
***
Originally posted on Medium.
Photo by Jesse Bowser on Unsplash
It requires a deft feel of
space, atmosphere,
my place within it.
Shrinking is the easy part;
few notice my contortions
to accommodate.
Conversations flow in torrents;
my awkward trickle dries,
I silently observe.
By the time anyone pauses
to notice my absence,
I’m long gone.
Disappearing one’s self
from physical social functions
call for skill and patience.
Social media ghosting only requires
resolve to never logon again;
no one looks for you there.
Voiding verbal social contracts
with friends and loved ones
can be a bit trickier.
But total mastery of this art
necessitates majestic dexterity
and stately self-loathing.
It is mastered only when
you never leave your bed
no longer seeking connection,
and no one ever again seeks
comfort within your touch.
Ghosting is easy with practice,
but living with the aftermath,
not so much.
It’s doubtful you even noticed
that I left this poem.
***
Inspired by dVerse Poetics: Your Majesty, hosted by Gospel Isosceles. Other poets contributed to the prompt here.
We were supposed to implement some type of majestic vibe into this prompt, but as you can see, I predictably went the other way with it.
By SpaceX – Falcon Heavy Demo Mission, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66235869
Floating behind me,
a sea of blue, an immense sphere
comprising all that I know,
adore and despise,
breathe and asphyxiate,
drink and drown.
Ahead, you glisten, in quiet peril
reflecting light, juxtaposed in endless black,
after reporting a problem, drifting away,
brave smile in your voice
unintelligible
at this growing distance.
“You’re too late,” you said,
while still in range,
the warmth in your voice
transcending the void,
inexplicably soothing
my chilly fingers
and frosty extremities.
“Oh shit,” I said,
profanely breaking protocol
as the aspect of you
slowly shrank to a point of light.
“I’m sorry,” I offered to the magnets
within the transmitter mic,
a vain effort to overrule
our physical plane.
“It’s ok,” you said tenderly,
reassuring neither of us,
us both ignoring the
depleting oxygen alarms.
“I’m on to my next waypoint.
We’ll have to rendezvous
at the next target window,”
you declare as if our time were not
fleeting, finite,
our fates fixed.
You disappeared beyond the thin blue line,
leaving me to contend with the enormity
of the pale blue light and
an hour of radio silence,
floating above our northern hemisphere,
tilting away, towards winter.
“You free?” your voice vibrated
into my anxious receiver
after a maddeningly long silence
as your glimmer emerged
from the far-side,
rising to rival Venus-glow
and moondust.
“Yes,” I replied quickly,
maneuvering towards a
rendezvous altitude.
“I’m listening. I’m here.”
Then everything went null,
no heat, no cold,
not even light or shadow or grey,
leaving us clasping onto nothing.
***
Shared at Poetry Pantry #496
Photo by Jennifer Arlem Molina on Unsplash
1.
You are a commonplace being,
bound to one of many wandering orbs,
circling one of countless common
main-sequence stars
– not unlike the twinkling sequins
pinned overhead to our night sky –
within one of a myriad of galaxies
among the observable universe,
and yet, despite our observations,
there is no evidence among the galaxies
of another galaxy like ours,
for among the trillions upon billions
upon trillions of doppelgangers
– give or take a few trillion,
for this poem is of art, not science,
and numbers that big hold little meaning
to an average poet’s brain –
there is no star like the one star
entrapping our world,
no world like our world,
and no one on that world
who makes me smile like you do.
2.
I wrote about how special you are,
trying to quantify and distil your
essential essence into
an incantation I could call on
to fortify my purgatory
with memories of you,
but my words were too remote,
too chilly, too clinical, and
may as well had been stillborn
as an incomprehensible dead language
when translated from my inner-voice
and gestated into our common tongue.
I click my tongue
in bemused disapproval
of the effort
while still retaining the ability
to smile at the universe, knowing
that its vastness contains a singular you,
a lone me, and a bond
unlike any within our reality.
I smile, knowing
that somewhere, sometime,
I have entered your thoughts
as you often rule mine,
and at that very moment,
I know that you smiled at the thought.
3.
Scientists estimate
that there are at least
one hundred billion galaxies
in our observable universe,
an unimaginable number
which is somehow far less than
my “trillions of billions” of galactic
scientific wild-ass guess,
but not nearly as poetic.
Somehow,
I guess my imagination
exceeds even the
observable universe
when trying to solve for
the commonplace, exquisite
variable of you.
***
Originally posted on Medium.
Image by Lee_seonghak from Pixabay
If I had known that would be
the last time our lips met,
we would never forget;
I would have held our kiss longer.
If I had known I would breathe
the last of your scent,
I would have inhaled your ferment
till my lungs fell from hunger.
A thunderstorm rages tonight
on the border of day and night,
of summer and autumn,
erasing our space.
If I knew the lines between us that merged
would forever diverge,
I would have dissolved them
within your embrace.
And if you were here now,
if you appeared now,
we would sit near and allow
the storm to pass, unbeknown
But you’re a memory;
red spider lilies will bloom
anew from this autumn storm;
you walk a distant shore alone.
If I had known that would be
our last time within our lifetimes,
I swear I would have said
something more clever.
If I had known
with a kiss before parting,
I would have shared something better than
“prepare for the weather”.
A thunderstorm rages tonight
within our twilight;
hope you’ve prepared for the weather.
You are a memory;
red spider lilies have bloomed, renewed
in the space that was once me and you.
***
Originally shared on Medium.
Shared on Poets United Pantry of Poetry and Prose, 2
From culture trip: Hanakotoba: The Secret Meanings Behind 9 Flowers in Japan:
“Red spider lilies are bright summer flowers native throughout Asia. They are associated with final goodbyes, and legend has it that these flowers grow wherever people part ways for good. In old Buddhist writings, the red spider lily is said to guide the dead through samsara, the cycle of rebirth. Red spider lilies are often used for funerals, but they are also used decoratively with no such connotations.”
Image by Theresa Otero from Pixabay
I will moonlight to melt your nightgown,
shearing away the shear cream lace
from your cocoa butter-oiled skin,
leaving only our want laid bare
and plain in the pale, made flush and
flesh ripens with readiness,
follicles forced to attention,
energy flowing to the epidermis,
primed to exchange forces
that brought us closer than now,
the point of no return with my fingers
clenching your throat as you implore me
to bite the nape of your neck again
– this time like I mean it – and so
mid-thrust, I lean in and you moan
my name, each moan piling-upon
the last thrust, building a rhythm until
it becomes a chant and percussive covenant
between you and I, building until
you yell my name loudly, impatiently,
shaking me from my moonlit vision…
“Where were you just now?” you ask
between sips of chamomile tea, nearly spilling
it on your makeshift pajama sweatpants.
“I was telling you about the lace negligée I was
going to wear to surprise that jerk Eric before
he dumped me for that bimbo Twyla via text.”
“Sorry about that,” I offer,
adjusting my seat at the foot of your bed,
careful to conceal my erection from you.
“Wanna talk about it?” you ask, adding
“It was weird. You spaced-out and started
mumbling something about moonlight.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I insist.
“You need me. I’m here for you,”
which was true; I am here. For. You.
You continue ruminating about Eric; “I mean,
can you believe that guy? The sad part?
I’m more disappointed than surprised.
I should’ve seen it coming.”
“Sometimes, when the heart is involved,
we only see what we want to see,” I reply,
trying to elude imagining you
in that lacy getup again.
“And Twyla, of all people!” you continue,
spilling tea down your chin as I
resist the urge to lick it off.
“Some friend she turned out to be, right?
She must live to pounce on my table-scraps.
Can you imagine pretending to be a friend
just so you can sneak in on the sly like that?
I mean, how shameless! Who even does that?”
“Lust makes folks do strange things,” I tell you,
offering a napkin for your spilled tea,
now drizzling down the nape of your neck
where I wish you’d implore me
to bite like I meant it. I sigh, adding,
“What can I say? People be trippin’.”
“Not you though,” you assure me with a warm
smile. “I tell you I got dumped, and you’re here
in less than ten minutes, consoling me.
You’ve always been a good friend to me.”
“I’m nothing special,” I deflect,
returning your smile, “but I’d do anything
for you.”
***
Written for Real Toads The unreliable narrator prompt, hosted by Björn. As this is one of my favorite tropes to read and write, I had to participate.
National Memorial for Peace and Justice, 2018, Montgomery, Alabama (photo: Michael Delli Carpini, CC BY-NC 2.0)
not everything needs a story
it’s possible to want justice
without being seen as angry
and you’re damned right I’m angry
when our justice is perverted
time and again, and again
you fixate on the anger
spinning a yarn about
the irrational response
of us ungrateful thugs
the ones you want to
linger beneath the soles of your feet
will be the very ones who
you’ll beg to add more days
onto your life.
and when the Maker calls your number,
I will play bailiff,
executing all plans for your demise.
and the difference between you and I
will be that I had nothing
to do with it.
make your presence known in other ways.
show this world that there is
so much more to living than
constantly trying to flaunt your
privileges in my face
OR
belittling me every chance you get.
“when they go low, we go high,”
and it must feel like shit
watching angels scale the skies
while you reach into your pockets
for God-status and pull up lint instead
not everything needs a label
it’s possible to seek solitude
without being tagged as arrogant
I look inward for serenity
I demand airspace to be me
authentically free from the box
you cram to shove me in
I guess I’m arrogant enough
to exist in stout defiance
of your weights and measures
not everything needs approval
it’s possible to just want to breathe
without society constricting airflow
or to share life, laughter with a lover
without enraging a stranger lording
bizarre, anachronistic, dogmatic views
I wish to seek the warmth of the sun
free from fear of fatalistic reprisal
because I fit some unsavory description
or I love in a way that you don’t
and, I’ve watched you, watching me–
you want me to be this robotic
thing intent on following your lead:
no disputes, no disagreements, and
no opinion of my own,
and losing the biggest part of me
is not something I am willing to do.
this frustrates you . . .
it digs into places of your soul
that you aren’t willing to share and
I have fun witnessing your strength
dwindle to mere nothingness
since it feeds off hate.
***
This is a collaboration with my good friend trE. trE is an insightful and gifted writer. I highly recommend that you visit her blog, A Cornered Gurl.
Image by Ichigo121212 from Pixabay
master bedroom,
tinted garden-green
with golden glints
of morning
sun rises
with my grip
on the circle of
your hips
we circle back
to forest-hidden roads
traveled in youthful
exuberance
wizened
upon shared intimate
garden paths
wicked giggles
yield the voice-box
to guttural yearnings
***
Written for dVerse Quadrille #85 – Raising our Poetic Voices, hosted by whimsygizmo. Other poets have contributed here.
Also shared at Real Toads The Tuesday Platform, hosted by Rommy.
Currently displayed on Tygpress.com. You guys did it!
Well damn! You guys actually did it! I’m impressed. I was going to take my ball and go home, but you folks with your outrage went at this entity with your cease-and-desist and your pitchforks, and they didn’t want any of that smoke!
I know most of you were just as pissed-off as I was, and I’m grateful that you acted on your own senses of justice instead of turtleing like I planed. I am the undeserved benefactor of your righteous actions, and I thank you all. This little guy is grateful that you collection of little guys didn’t take this lying down.
I honestly hope that this the last time I find myself writing about blog harvesting, but I suspect it won’t be. We’ll cross that bridge when it comes, but for now, let’s get back to our scheduled programming.
Photo by Kristopher Roller on Unsplash
I’ve learned a lot these past few days. I learned far more about DCMA than I ever wanted to. I also learned that I have wonderful online friends who are incredibly supportive. Well, I knew that last part, but it’s nice being reminded every now and then, like when talk me out of taking a flying lead and nuking my blog from orbit.
Thank you for the support and much needed perspective, trE, msjadeli, petrujviljoen, iidorun, and Dewin Nefol. Again, I’m not going to fight this because I didn’t get into poetry and creative writing to quibble over someone unethically stealing site traffic. I imagine I’d feel differently if there was evidence of someone actually passing my work off as their own.
I was always leaning towards shuttering my blog, and once it’s time to renew my domain in February, I just may bow out then rather than paying the fee. I’ve got a few months to mull it over. But I won’t let a content thief influence my choices.
Thanks again, and sorry for the melodrama.
Your friend,
Barry
Aooga, Aooga - here there be prompts, so dive right in
But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for
Hotwife and Cuckold stories without (much) humiliation
Poems and stuff from a mostly carbon dude.
Apophenia and creativity in poetry
Poems and stuff from a mostly carbon dude.
Poems and stuff from a mostly carbon dude.
Poetry Writing Month and Beyond
writer, storyteller, veteran (see MaxieJaneFrazier.com for more)
