Shadorma

Quills

/ Just Barry / 14 Comments
joshua-ness-189165-unsplash

Photo by Joshua Ness on Unsplash

Quills

The hedgehog
craves closeness of warmth
and comfort
but it can’t
risk hurting those they care for
or wounding themselves

Dismissive
nature or nurture
combining
avoiding
emotions flatlined and taut
growing defective

Reflective
not seeking the gaze
transparent
apparent
apparitions, illusions
flowing refractions

Subtraction
by adding my quills
I will wound
inaction
pricking with lethal absence
living detachment

Reaction
defies all reason
yes I care
but won’t share
reason, nature can’t undo
an inert hedgehog.
** *

Written for dVerse MTB: Phantom Form — Shadorma, hosted by Gospel Isosceles. Poets have contributed to this prompt here.

*EDITED: to fix the erroneous syllable count. It’s kinda cool what two extra syllables per stanza can do to add a wee bit of spice.

Warming the Kiln

/ Just Barry / 7 Comments
jonathan-chen-199962

Image source: Unsplash.com

Warming the Kiln

alchemy

elements of strife

calm to see

commonly

coalescing in proto-life

nexus calls to me

 

majesty

warming up the kiln

warning me

patiently

of fires burning within

scorching all i see

 

drowning me

in fires of righteous

grounding me

profoundly

bring clairvoyance to sightless

as we crowd to see

 

pulsing plea

compressing plasma

fusing free

flame of sea

igniting molten magma

the blacksmith emcee

** *

(Warning: Video contains strong NSFW language.)

 

Written in anticipation of one of my favorite hip-hop artist’s pending new album, rumored to drop on April 7th. Kendrick Lamar currently holds the title as the greatest rapper living, and he recently released a single that hints at what’s to come very soon. You might say that I’m a bit excited for it.