all of a sudden passion suddenly

[vampiredust]

Diana

would laugh at me
whenever she could,
a doll that had the rip
cord removed at birth.

First Communion
was especially painful,
her sniggering driving
my candle's flame

to veer away from its
course. Years later
I learnt she had failed
at school, picturing

her laughing, laughing
until her cheeks
were the colour of plums
and mouth full of seeds

that would never bear
any fruit.

 

[Angeline]

Tony wears humanity
like black leather
that skims his height,
sometimes reveals a slump
in his shoulders.
Still he moves
with balletic grace,
an urban glide
in rhythm with the street.
He's a bird of prey.
There's something dark,
taut wound behind his eyes.
There's something seedy
to him, a whisper of troubles,
a waft of old pain. I've seen him
hold a spoon like a weapon,
offer his resignation like a gift
wrapped in a weary smile
that feels utterly familiar
to me.

 

[Safe_Bet]

dirty dancin'

With a shimmy that’s sublime
Her undulation jives with mine
Hair flys like a halo
Over a sinful bod

Girl gots the full on groove
Hips give a hot erotic move
Tits in full syncopation
With a class act ass

Ludacris sweat cooled by a Sexual Healing
Dancing with a “ride the thigh” feeling
Heart beats faster
On a firm down beat

Hot breath caresses while hands roam
No words spoke except take me home
Leading the willing dancer
To an a cappella duet

 

[drown]

angeline;

have written verse
and
contradictions here...

...and yet the times portend of things
beyond our coptic
tastes.

you see the infestation
and the rabid fare it brings?
you see defenestration
and the loss of sacred things?


a humble island outpost
in a most eclectic sea...
...and yet, in observation
what it was - will never be.

don't frequent these selected halls
don't feign the talent requisite,
but you, i know through intercourse
and so, if so...


...this perquisite.

t'is sudden passion
long aboil...
...or just below the boil
that comes to head
just now instead;

...there's ergot in the soil.

the question then is: something.
is there something here to grieve?
or is it something more than that;
some something to achieve?

the dorys
...take on passengers
each day, they take on more...
the newbies come,
...they always come...
but we...
...head for the door...

is there an end?
a consequence?
can we make wrong to right
or is it our sweet burden
to
choose one
to douse the light?


forgive the intrusion.

 

[annaswirls]

lost my voice in a race horse side track
calling the numbers down
calling the numbers down we ride
upfrom the stands we ride

I want a room with a door
no view necessary
it is all here behind closed eyes

the rain
the race track
the promise that I would not curse your footprints
only your grave
yet still you walk
surely you do, I would have heard
the caller cry
torn ticket fallen

I won't wait.
Your ghost has the same chance of hearingthe lies
as your thick lens glasses do of reading
this
son of a bitch
no, yuo never loved me
or anyone but that soft sad space you press
when you are feeling sorry for yourself
you love us for putting it there
and the memory of your cock
still pressing hard into anyplace it would fit or force
chasing the flag
my drink spills on the seat
cranky old man mutters his curse
and moves down

 

[vampiredust]

Hearing the screams
of mating foxes
is a common occurrence
at this time of year
the animal protection
guy told us after we
reported the noises two
blocks away. The vixen
screams for an hour
after copulation is over,
electrifying whatever
is near by. Fuck. I haven't
made love in a while,
even though my body
is still a conductor for her
voltage. Perhaps I need
some jump leads, something
to ionise the air and singe
our bodies the way memory
only seems to these days.

 

[drown]

so sorry.

wish i enjoyed this...

...but the corpse demands
more service from
the waitron...

did you see the rift?

 

[Angeline]

so sorry.

wish i enjoyed this...

...but the corpse demands
more service from
the waitron...

did you see the rift?

The rift, the raft
a rain upon a scattered sea,
the last of us who used
to be at one with sun,
with taking of a toast
and tea to pass a day
(though never did I lay
etherized upon the soft
October night).

An ergot, yes, a blight
has spread, an infestation
crawling in the deepest
bed of home asleep until
it creeps into the bone
to mutate once to
mutiny until the last
of synergy is fallen
into ash take out the words
take out the trash
somebody

turn the tv on
and blend into the wall
of sound to dream at least
to have a piece of quiet
once upon a time.

 

[champagne1982]

A cancer grows without surcease
until with excision comes relief
of pressure from unchecked growth
and pain of dying cells left mouldering
as they wither. We rot within, without
each titration of the solution
moderated with a sure and steady hand.

 

[Safe_Bet]

Stomzz, stomzz, stomzz
Marched the tiny hobnailed wings
Of the army of the righteous gnats

Massing for the final assault their legions shout
“Comply with our demands or be destroyed”
Thinking freedom is only what they believe it to be

Espousing the principles of the Principal
They buzz “do as we say, not as we do” or face the wrath
Of the imaginary ruler that does not measure

Hubristic in the extreme, like wee little banshees
They feed on the chaos, hate and drama
That they themselves create while calling for kindness

Some screech back at their rancor and pomposity
Frustrated with the rude little bites from hollow tongues
They flail, but sadly, cannot be heard by the willing deaf

The Poets sit serenely as the gnats drone about their heads
Ignoring condemnations for not worshiping the idol
And for exposing them as no-see-ems not avenging angels

One gnat who wished instead to be a Golden Goose
Misses the chance to hatch the egg of Golden Opportunity
Being too busy bellowing her pitiful honk of principled defiance

As always the Poets show kind consideration to the gnats
Not slapping them as they deserve, but instead offering wisdom
“No matter what happens, you will always be just a gnat.”

 

[annaswirls]

you must know you are losing me
fell asleep at the wheel
I slipped out three miles back
lots of rigs and hybrids
b-mers and vans with their flashers,
big hands, cell phone consoles
they have already paid the mandatory
compliments of my poetry
and mothering skills,
they have already lied about their wives
and to their girlfriends
texted them to say
they would not be able to make it

you must know
they already found a room,
transferred funds you must know
the market by now
Darling, do you not feel the wind of the open door?
boxing ring strength broken bicuspid
even your feet
are beautiful but you must know
your gloves have no grip
you already lost me

 

[tungtied2u]

i have seen too much and not enough
too much of me first,
look out for him,
don't you dare

not enough of let me
how can i help you
here, have some more

now is the moment to change the paradigm
brother, you CAN spare a dime
and change
things in good time
if you have the will

hope is a treasure
to often hoarded
open your chest, share
in the prosperity of your heart

that's a start
and an end unto itself

 

[vampiredust]

History From 423 Miles Up

After the Popular Science photograph

Up here, those two million
spectators look like bees.
A mass of black swarming
the Washington Monument,
waiting for that man, that
moment to arrive so they
might pollinate his words,
creating hope golden as honey.

 

[vampiredust]

Desire-Child

Some nights, I dream
of hanging my skin
on the bedroom door,
letting it burrow deep
into my sinews. Waking,
I never feel its kick or
turn; catching a glimpse
when my everything
is cracking around me
and I am hung in the air
like a moth unable
to dance for its master.

 

[vampiredust]

Snowglobe

Father built a snowglobe
when I was a child, leaving
me inside so he could see
my fear whenever he shook
it up and down. That was his
inherited game, the same
his own father liked to play.
I wanted to write an SOS
in the snow, bang against
the glass for help. But my feet
were attached to the base,
hands glued to my sides.
I had to eat the daily blizzard,
drown myself to sleep. I wanted
him to toss his souvenir aside
when he was finished, hoping
the glass would smash, my blue
heart never able to cut itself
on those uneven fragments.

 

[vampiredust]

Occupied

How easy it would be to think
in terms of Casablanca noir,

forgetting the parcelling up
of everything once held dear:

land, goats, inheritance. Shunt
and shove are words remembered

now, the lead that keeps you down;
bubbles in a spirit level always shifting.

 

[vampiredust]

Differences

Whilst doing the rounds
with a door to door sales
person in north London,
I noticed how close

a Muslim community centre
was to a Jewish one. Now,
this was a few years
before the recent insanity,

but I still felt a voltage
between the two ionising
the air, making my lips tingle;
almost as if they wanted

my words to be a conductor,
even though I was grounded
to neither.

 

[vampiredust]

Thoughts from a Bartender I Met Once

Don't be distracted by the Mosquito's
daily samba. It lives to eat, fuck and die.
Anything else in those moments
is as forgettable as the chilli coloured
earth that produces nothing. Ancient
Greek philosophers would have been
captivated by them, the way their credo
is raw and bloody like the meat
they lay their eggs in. Drink your tequila,
wipe the salt from your lips. Let
nothing crystalise, cut through to flesh
cloistered and bitter in its solitude.

 

[vampiredust]

Zero

Passing the charity collectors
on the high street
reminded me of the time
a boy approached me
in school, collecting money
for a cause we were doing
at the time. I had none
and he still pressed me,
pointing out the kid who
gave a fiver. How I wanted
to slam him against the lockers
and tell him how hunger
scuttled across our bodies
when we slept, how our clothes
were thin like watered-down
broth, how our lips resembled
frostbitten butterflies in winter.
How I wanted to say that when you
are poor, you have given since
the day you were born.

 

[annaswirls]

this is no secret
this is me, identity one
you tell me
you want to be truthful, that you have not been
in the past
which past?
whch lines?
which snowfall and pulled strings
that open blouse and tear touches were lies

this is me
identity one
signing in wondering what crime
do you want to see the files?
the notes the letters
blind, blind love is
snowfall beauty over eyes
crystal glitter crush
which is true?
who are you?
you are no carpet
I am no saint
reality is a cup of soap
open wide

 

[vampiredust]

The Snowwoman

What do you say to a woman
who is slowly melting? Do you
tell her to freeze the sun
recently discovered so she can
remain cold, or do you tell
her to cradle it in her arms,
watching it liquify every inch
of her existence? Perhaps
I should recommend looking
at the stars for guidance,
or swirl some tea leaves in a cup,
building a body that will rise
and collapse in a day. Like life
itself, I imagine.

 

[vampiredust]

The Somnambulist

The clock resets itself,
the skeleton key turns
in the lock. Silhouettes,
crisp funeral suits, wait
for the tide to drag them
back to their hidden lives.
That journey is not for you;
the bungee cord never
brings you back. The clock
resets itself, the skeleton
key turns in the lock.

 

[annaswirls]

certainly you would not say this
trigger finger river boy
cutting February by days and verse

it is a farce
writing to you
as if it were you

I was writing to you before
I knew you existed
my love my life my reason for
waking for closing eyes for toes
cold without socks I cannot stop to rub
numb extremities
not even yours my love

I see his letters
love letters and I want them
I want them all
to be for me
the never were for me
but you made us all believe
one, one


collection one
signing in
sure you took me sure you tuned me
over opened me wide good girl
good girl you crazy slut

but you always allowed me to fuck myself
with your tools and tune lock magistrate you held the mirror
held the mirror
breath condensed letters fuck yourself baby do it
alway
love always love made it real
took me there
inside never half way never quite all

 

[annaswirls]

someone said this will happen
if you skip a pill
if you miss the beat

"you need to get back in touch
with the other side"
said Doctor Know
if she only knew
this side
I cannot even confess to myself
dog sniffs wet spots
in guest room
wonders

 

[annaswirls]

critter my timbers as twice as high
twice as wide
we skip, playground mulch in sneaker
no

we dont
we never did

something happened there
didnt it
down by the barn beyond crusted eyed kittens
and puppies fallen through bridges
something
happened

she said it must e
no one winds up this fucked up
without some kind of story

do they?