all of a sudden passion suddenly

[RhymeFairy]

he crosses the street
handy lil blue fit-it kit
in hand. he professes
he can fix anything, with
everything he carries
inside.

first stop was a lonely mom
two boys, no father. all she ask
to measure the sidewalk
put a number on all the cracks
that kept cementing her fate

second stop, an *I am the man
of this neighborhood. he requested
a fluffing of his vanity, his pretentious
pride needed another boost.
like a peacock he strutted
around boasting of all his charming
I can do no wrongs.

last stop for this day, he knocked
upon the door of I am retired
and need some peace. home
day after day, she replied no service
needed at this time.

his lil solemn face smiled
cheeks dimpled as he spoke
to all three. he measured
counted, fluffed, and lastly left
upon these three the impression
of a sweet lovely day
and the forget me not innocent
love of a child ...

 

[vampiredust]

The Lachan, Little Marlborough Street

A gilded bagpipe player swings
from the confines of the pub
sign, playing his tune in the
wind. Only a colony of old
newspapers in the gutter
salutes him, pages twisting
at the end of the song.

 

[vampiredust]

Nixon at the London Coliseum

Nixon grins at me from a poster. He's
in China, away from the melting jungle
and marching flowerpot men. I can
hear his aria spinning the wire globe

on top of the tower, but nobody else
can. I imagine him changing his masks
in between performances, smelling
poisoned roses that anonymous fans

have sent. He won't ever die. When I'm
old, he'll be sitting on a mountain
somewhere, watching the world till
the fields with their bombs; grinning.

 

[vampiredust]

Chasing the wind

Dad pulls the sails in close
as his body, not the boats,
heaves along the wind's arm;

the metal boom of the mast
lurching with every roll. We
are getting closer to her, he

says, expecting me to steer
us in the right direction. But
I can't read the compass nor

the maps he has laid out. But
now that he has gone, I can
see her chasing the boats on
the waves and know what way

the needle will go.

 

[vampiredust]

Photography class

choose a photo

I choose a buddhist monk
draped in a sunset skin,
face clenched as if an invisible
gun was pressed against his
head

High resolution

I can only see ghosts
here

Either that, or monkeys

sharp/blurry
perspective

low exposure, flash shutter speed

he is still. I am not

High resolution. Lots of detail

I cannot see any more
nor can the teacher

 

[DeepAsleep]

I got this book of poems I
read out loud just so that, when I read
I don't feel like I
sleep alone. I never sleep
enough and I never eat enough
these surreal and original drunks, these

bastards

keeping me awake.

 

[vampiredust]

Router Bird

I watch the stunted fingers
feed my words with life that
I cannot see. I want to touch

it, so it can feel me creating
something for it in return. But
as I approach, I can hear it

chirping, crackling the air with
its feathers as it flies. I can't
understand its song of 1's and 0's.

 

[vampiredust]

Watching the migration of pollen, St Lukes Gardens

The flowers are flying
today. I can hear their
propellers whirring in the
morning breeze. The nest

of rubber snakes are too
weak to catch them in its
bronze jaws, so they sit there
hissing as they lift off, heading

towards mounds of fresh loam,
signs planted like landmines. And
as they sleep, they bloom; eyes
never watching our rise and fall.

 

[flyguy69]

Car Keys

:::::::

 

[vampiredust]

dogs pant as they lie
on the pavement, ribs
drooping as the sun

beats down on their
leathery fur, using the
bones as a xylophone

it plays its song. I can
hear it as I wander past
stalls selling organic bread

shaped like ships knots
and vegetables scooped out
of a dead man's chest, the

red peppers beating like an
exposed heart.

 

[vampiredust]

Dementia

The evening cloud has edited
out the blue sky I saw earlier,
covering up the rubber grass
someone in my block has set

on fire. I thought I saw that
earlier, but can't be sure. The
air starts to be filled with a
siren's wail, drowning out the

noise from the TV. I thought I'd
read the newspaper earlier but
now I'm not sure. You rang me
today but I never heard you voice.

 

[echoes_s]

I stopped to think of something profound
to say
and i could think
of nothing
that could so sweetly
say –

How i wish
to learn more of you.
To slowly give you my heart
completely.
With freedom and joy,
dance with you.

My first dance…

 

[Sara Crewe]

Cow River Beach

I guess the cows once drank
from the fresh water that drains
down the brackish bed into the sea.
I have never seen a cow
here but tonight the sea trout
are running. Funny to say
they’re running when they have fins
for feet and maybe it’s egocentric
of me to even compare. Two fools
wander by and stop, seeing only a meal
where I see a miracle. They end up
on their asses as a living fountain worth
a penny not for a wish but a laugh
at their expense. Around them the fish
flail and spray white splashes
across the sand banks and when I squint
to decrease the scale this could be
the Rio Grande full of rapids
but I have never been to Texas
and probably look stupid
in a cowboy hat. On the fallen log
that bridges the two sides of the beach
my eyes follow the fish as they smash
scales against river rocks for the last ten feet
before they are free of the shallows
and swim into the mouth of the ocean
where they will try for the rest
of their lives not to be swallowed.

 

[Sealace]

it is not a race
it is not a race
it is not a race
it is not a race
go tot sleep
you are the only you
you are the only one in your stinky shoes
big shoes
"he said dont worry
he doesn't like big girls"
she convinces herself
this truth
certainly certainly true
no doubt

and there are days you wear your burden like a badge
see see see what I have done in spite of it all
somedays you sinsk below its cover
when the eyes hover and wonder
whatever she did wrong
she sure must be doing it
just look what you have done

but you take one have to take the other until the day comes
when you call the burden into transparency
with neither pride nor shame
because baby if you take one you have to take the other

it is not a race
it is not a race it is not a race

 

[The Mystery Valiant]

starting

Regret,
restate,
regroup,
repeat.
Always in a state of redundancy,
and caught in a mass lunacy.
If it was not relinquished,
I'd be sorely diminished.
But you'll stand admonished,
and at the reconstituted finish.
pugilistic verbosity and,
dynamic veracity can.
Reason,
rectify,
realize.
Pacify.

 

[wildsweetone]

Regret,
restate,
regroup,
repeat.
Always in a state of redundancy,
and caught in a mass lunacy.
If it was not relinquished,
I'd be sorely diminished.
But you'll stand admonished,
and at the reconstituted finish.
pugilistic verbosity and,
dynamic veracity can.
Reason,
rectify,
realize.
Pacify.

pacify Pacific
panoramic pandemic
indemic sanctimonious
sanction actions
additions contritions
connotations notations
notorious renown
infamous infatuous
flatulence fortunate
pacified...
regret regressing
poetry? where's my chalk board?

DeepAsleep, where are you?

 

[vampiredust]

To a school bully I once knew

I used to draw matchstick men
in my notebook, animating them
with the tears you used to force
out of me as you stood there,

laughing everytime I fell. I imagined
them leaping out of the window,
scaling the walls like spiders as they
left this place that I did not want

to be. I looked at you and saw myself
trapped in your eyes, choking. There
would never be any stars every time
I left those gates; nor afterwards, I know.

 

[vampiredust]

Hair Spray

Mother bunches her hair
as if they are flowers,
tucking them neatly under
the cotton hair net. I can

hear them scrunching as
they move in line, ready
for the gilded cannon
to start firing. She presses

down and a million spears
are released, caught in the
throats of the prisoners. I
can't hear them choking.

Nor, I suspect, can she

 

[DeepAsleep]

pacify Pacific
panoramic pandemic
indemic sanctimonious
sanction actions
additions contritions
connotations notations
notorious renown
infamous infatuous
flatulence fortunate
pacified...
regret regressing
poetry? where's my chalk board?

DeepAsleep, where are you?

Objectified, desanctified,
realized, deified,
where am I,
jesus I'm about to defy
the vilification of procrastination?
I don't get it.
It must be art.

Yeah.

 

[Cockyfox]

Caprice

Lie to me
Touch my hand
Call me beautiful
Tell me again
Just one more time
A moment of fantasy
See me exposed
Ask me for more
Embrace me naked
Call me brilliant
Say you’ll cherish me
All your attention
Let my hair
Grab your fingers
Smile at me
Call me love
Just one more time
Lie to me

 

[DeepAsleep]

Ten AM (AN-TE MERIDIAN, BAY-BEE)
fourth of july
moved six times in eighteen months
got it down to routine

Pull down the books, box the books
label the boxes
"Shit to put in public bookcase (I WANT YOU TO KNOW I READ GOOD BOOKSLOL)"
"Sci-Fi/Fantasy to hide from the prying eyes of girls I'd like to sleep with"
"Philosophy (BURN)"
"College Textbooks (SELL)"
Etc, etc.

Take apart the bed, move out of the way
roll up the imported rug
(Remember to vaccuum that, the cat hair's outta control)
take apart the easy chair
clean the ashtray
Newspaper the coffee mugs
take everyone elses knives out of the butcher block
tape up the spice rack
leave the chicken, take the rice
stack the boxes, decide whether the nightstand will survive the trip
pack my truck,
get mad for forgetting to pack the clothes
realize all this shit's not going to fit in one load
leave irritation's cigarette butts in ashtray,
forget to dump them
find ashes on the papered mugs
unpack the truck,
repack the truck,
Books, rug, bed, ashtray, box of mugs,
plus rope
equals one load

TV, box of movies, miscellaneous tubs of shit
I haven't sorted through or looked at in months
("I DO own prayer beads, I'll be damned
There's that CD!")
Throw in the nightstand, shrug and hope,
OH GOD, WHERE'S THE CAT?
(Note: buy catbox)
pack the food, chase the cat,
frown at the bootsized hole in the wall it's hiding in,
unpack the foodbag, shake and yell, "Heeeerekitty"
give up and haul the first load,
leave the second on the lawn so the neighbors can see it
and clap their little hands

God it's hot, I hate moving in July,
haul it all up the stairs
make sure it's outta the way,
go back for more,
forgot about the dresser.

fuck.

Take out the drawers,
stuff them in around the second load,
what'd I miss?
Oh, the chair,

Third load!


can't find no home, around here,
but if I ever hunt one down,
I'm gonna buy a hat,
and hang it the fuck up.

 

[vampiredust]

Fossil

Crushed seashells scream
under my feet as I walk
along the beach, the sand

exposing the dead; their
bones stretched across
the dunes like a string

of stars. I can hear waves
whispering a eulogy as they
crash down, dragging back

the old and bringing in the new.
Only the stars will remain
timeless.

 

[vampiredust]

Weightless

for S.H

Cradled in your poetry,
my bones start to slip
away. The city becomes
a field of grey corn

as I dip below the cloud
and become thinner
than the air I can no
longer breathe. Touching

Earth's aura, I finally
lose the last of my velocity
and float in a wrapper
of night

Only your words bring me down

 

[vampiredust]

Helios

your cells felt like they were
stuffed with helium when you
swallowed those pills

and you wanted to tell Icarus
that he hadn't felt what it was
really like

to feel your heart beating faster
than the stars

and you were weightless
when they took you away

nothing could make you come
down

not even the voice of God

 

[vampiredust]

You

your body is a series of questions
that I can't answer

when I look at your eyes
I see Mars rising on the horizon

colliding with Venus as they form
the Northern Lights

I don't understand why that happens

when I feel the space between your
breasts, I am stuck in the void between
worlds

I am numb and cold

When I am with you, I can feel fireflies
running over your body; crackling the air
with the electricity we are making

This I get