writing live

[Lyricalli]

6

Sitting in the middle
of music and merriment
and it's fun
and i wish I could get drunk
but there's driving to be done
so I'm sharing glances
with the guy a few tables over
he's a little young
and I mull over the possibilities
of making up for some of the fun I didn't have
when I was his age
if I'd give in to temptation
with more than a diet Coke in my cup
settle back in my chair and sigh
as one of my favorite people sings
his cover of Merry Christmas Baby
and I just want to stay here
all night long
but home is an hour and a half away
and there's driving to be done



Merry Christmas Baby

 

[Lyricalli]

7

Even now
especially now?
my fingertips want to know
the textures of your skin
where are you smooth
or roughened
curiosly searching for secret spots
that might make you shiver
and if unknown to you prior, even better

I want to map you
in intricate detail
every millimeter of your intimate topography
until I've mastered the art
of sensual cartography

And, oh yes
I know this has gone of the rails
and, mmmmmm...
my mind is a mix of nonsense
and sex and firework bursts of memories
the sound of you laughing

Wandering down an unmarked path
can certainly take you to some unexpected places




Did I want to hit 'submit' on this? Nope, but smithpeter wanted spontaneous combustion and foolishness, so here we are.

 

[cascadiabound]

16. 12/21/21

These dark short days of December
Low clouds and rain squalls
Waking in the dark
Sun sets near 4pm
It has mirrored my mood
Dark and short tempered
Cynical and pessimistic
Unmotivated
And just plain sad

He says my mood lightens
When I decorate
Strings of lights
Hand made baubles
Shells and beads

This solstice marks two months
Since he departed this life
And left a hole in my heart
My guest room is empty
What to do with these stockings?
Will Santa know to pass us by?

The water is ruffled tonight
Low clouds obscure the sky
But this is the night
The longest night
And with it the sun will return
A few more minutes each day

Here comes the sun
It'll be alright
Just let me hear you
Call me darling

 

[Mrtenant]

(24-12/21/21)

Foggy Night

Another fog rolling in
Filling the night
Warmer days are coming
Wings flutter
Owl hunts tonight
Feels like a dream

 

[Angeline]

2

It's a marriage,
a creative, musical joining of brothers:
one sings, the other answers.
Together they spark,
the motor revs and songs pour.
The marriage of two makes music
that shakes the world.

This is great, right?

Who doesn't love the songs?
Who doesn't love the brothers
who saved us
from cultural mediocrity
and a nation's grief?

But what of the youngest brother
whose talents have been less
obvious and who is tolerated
like little brothers everywhere.
How excruciating for him
to feel rejected and diminished
over and over.

Isn't it a pity?

 

[Mrtenant]

(25-12/22/21)

The Party Ended

Years upon years
Her life, she spent
At the bottom of a bottle
Trapped in her family sorrows
Was there ever a time
When her universe smiled
A day in limelight
A marriage, a child,
Family, travel, when?
Anything to brighten her days
All anger and sorrow
A sister who gave up long ago
Appearance, health, disease
Self
All lost
In that party that never ends
Today it ended
In excess
I am so sorry
Little sister
Your time is done
Rest

 

[cascadiabound]

17. 12/22/21

Nancy unravels the end of her mother's life
Emptying her apartment
Negotiating with the bank
Fighting with managed health
Feeling the pain of loss
Oh so very close to Christmas

Cheryl is subsumed by anxiety
The caretaker for her husband
And relied upon by so many others
Generous to a fault
Her cup so depleted now
She is worn and exhausted
Even as death stalks her man

Russ heads out to the wild
Spending this Christmas alone
A beloved daughter
Caught between parents
Has chosen her mom this year
She's an adult now
Her choices are her own
He feels the pain of this betrayal
As his own demented father
Insists Russ is not his son

Shannon is losing a sister
Or had he lost her
Many years ago?
Addiction and selfishness
These kill every day
But a death watch at Christmas
Somehow seems an extra cruelty

The twins can't bear to face
The twin loss two months ago
Plagued by anxiety, grief and guilt
An unrelenting trio
This year marks a change
We are now the senior generation
How will we suffer these trials?
Can we find peace in this suffering?
Will the dead and dying let us be?

It is the brokenness of the season
May the cracks in our hearts
Be the place where the light gets in
To heal us day by day
Just as the sun also
Returns

 

[Mrtenant]

(26-12/23/21)

The Shipwreck

Wandering the strange sea floor
Boulders of green and blue
Volcanic mounts dot the seafloor
Ancient and riddled with secret spaces
The kelp is especially thick
Running through my hands
A step forward and then back
Bubbles exhaled from my suit
Ancient and antique
Brass helmet and waterproof canvas
My harpoon stabs forward
More bubbles burst forth
At the great fish of blue and gold
Swimming lazily past
Light changes at its usual time
Casting the sea in an ethereal glow
And the fish go into a frenzy
Several come from hiding
Blacks, whites, blues, reds, purples
A kaleidoscope of sealife
Still I plod towards the ancient shipwreck
Exhaling bubbles with regularity
I will reach it, must reach it
It is why I am here

 

[Lyricalli]

8

Maybe if it wasn't during the holiday
the memory wouldn't rise
like clockwork every year
of when I was fully aware
that we had melted into us
how it felt so easy
and so complex
still snuggly in our little bubble

There are few words to recall
Cuervo going down smooth tonight
attempting to mimic the warmth
of our silences
and quiet bits of conversation
lightly studded with sighs
in your relctance to go
and my willingness to stay
until you did

 

[cascadiabound]

18. 12/23/21

December hot tub
Cold breeze kicks up spray
Running to the roof in bare feet
Shrugging off a blanket wrap
To climb into the hot water
A novel pleasure
City rooftop on the shore
The city scape twinkles
Even the twin highways
Look pretty with their moving lights
Give me this pleasure
Every day
My body releasing tension
In the hot jets
This eve of Christmas eve

 

[Mrtenant]

(27-12/24/21)

Christmas Heat

Where is the snow and ice
That once graced the season
Glorious moon and starlight
Once gleamed across the frost
I could see my breath in the cold
Whiskey warming my insides
How I felt the cold biting my ears
Nipping my nose at night

Today, the steady southwinds blow
Making a mockery of past Winters
Christmas Eve on the front porch
Sipping lemonades instead of cocoa
Wearing short pants and teeshirts
Lighting evergreen scented candles
Scented pine cones from the store
Sweat trickling down my back

Yet my heart aches more for the lost
Those neighbors visited by tragedy
Fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers
Our people that have passed away
Leaving us to pick up the pieces
We who hold each other in the storm
Offering hollow words and prayers
What else can any of us do

Looking towards the night sky
Surrounded by stars of hope
Pinpoints of shining examples
The small things we can do
To ease the suffering of our people
Aid the sick, feed the hungry
Provide clean air and water
Comfort survivors in their need

Be it hours or minutes
Some grand gesture if you must
Touch one life on one day
Our time is so short
Giving hope giving grace
Giving warm long hugs for miles
Maybe the heat isn't so bad
I can still hope for a cool breeze

 

[HarryHill]

..
Poem on the back of a canvass

Two lover trees wrapped limb in limb,
grown together through the years,
hard to tell where one starts and ends,
They are one.

Iridescent light behind them shines,
rose and gold like diadem's,
hearts in his hands,
flowers in her hair.

 

[Mrtenant]

(28-12/25/21)


Cherry Blossom

There ain't no Safeguard
There aint no Old Spice
There aint no Irish Spring
Just a shot of cherry blossom

Yea today,

I smell like cherry blossoms

Gotta do the yardwork
Gotta clean the garage
Gotta split the firewood
A day's worth of dirt and grime

But today,

I smell like cherry blossoms

Got a date tonight with my girl
Dinner at a posh restaurant
Dancing the night away
Might even get lucky, yo!

Still today,

I smell like cherry blossoms

Workin a day at the office
Big meeting with the man
Conferences with the customers
Workin that promotion

And yea, today

I smell like cherry blossoms


There ain't no Safeguard
There aint no Old Spice
There aint no Irish Spring
Gimme that sweet bodywash

Cuz today,

Ima smell like cherry blossoms

Gonna smell like cherry blossoms
Smell like cherry blossoms
Smell like cherry blossoms
Oooh yea cherry blossoms
Gonna smell like cherry blossoms baby
Just like cherry blossoms
All day yea
Just like cherry blossoms

 

[cascadiabound]

19. 12/26/21

The
Santa
Problem gets
Worse every year
Recruiters have tried
To sell him the idea
Redheads make the best santas
His full beard now a snowy white
And bright blue eyes do twinkle
Causing strangers to say
"Hey there, Santa Claus!"
Perhaps it's time
To accept
Santa's
Hat

 

[Mrtenant]

(29-12/26/21)

Down By The Sea

"No please, no not tonight
My heart is heavy
And the day has been long"
Your plead for relief
Oh I could not agree more
In a world grown colder
With the dead and the dying
And yet the call is always there
The call to reach for life and living
Come with me my love
The ocean calls us
Even in the depths of Winter
Sweeping us away
Meeting the wind on the water
Wistful guitar strings in the air
Inviting you to join with me
Singing Hallelujah together
At a campfire by the sea
With the music of the surf
A perfect end to our song
Taking you up into my arms
With a searing kiss
A slow dance across the strand
My hand around your waist
Peering into your gleaming eyes
Green, blue, and gold nebulae
Reflecting the stars all around
How could I not dream
Of a love that is eternal
Closing my eyes
Tasting your kiss
Stumbling and cursing
Laughing and knowing
The best way to honor the fallen
Is with the love we share
Sealing this event
Beyond compare

 

[Mrtenant]

(30-12/27/21)

<title>

Standing in the framed round entry
Between the library and the hall
Backlit by the christmas tree
Placed just so, against the wall

Wearing that one hot chemise
Smooth violet night satin
She knows just how to tease
While sipping her manhattan

That look in her eye
Dangerous tilt of her hip
Definitely not shy
And biting her lip

I drop what I'm writing

 

[butters]

a late #5


beneath a curdled sky
zipped and booted against showers
a hunt
so much woodland
so many fallen trunks

grass and stream wet leather
not skin
sweat manages that
a beet face
steamed glasses

so much wood
so little firewood
except for big lumber
requiring chainsaw

rotten boughs host marvelous cities
residents carapaced or slick
microbial, bacterial, fungal
banked naturally by aspiring ants

though hair snatched by thorn brush
and ankles snared by wiry ground vine
delight at discoveries of den and fossil
retreating white bobtail of rabbit

 

[Angeline]

3

I carry you in my heart,
you are yes always there,
joy and pain, desire and loss
bonded in me as if a stone
precious as a jewel
a diamond, brilliant but cold
and so hard is what remains.

Maybe had there been
closure, a goodbye,
maybe if you were attended
properly, if I covered mirrors,
sat on a low stool, maybe
had a minyan prayed Kaddish
for your Irish altar boy soul
I could see sky breaking
through this blanket of fog
that clings like my own shroud.

 

[HarryHill]

Buttons

I came to show the words written,
pieced together over long years,
years of loss, heartbreak, sorrow.

They clothed me again,
naked man, stripped of pride,
standing in front of a mirror.

Garments made of single strands,
corse fabric sewn with clumsy hands,
clown costume made with no plans.

Then I stumbled, nay, fell,
into this den of poets,
dressed in iridescent garb.

Here I found you,
happy in your flowing gown,
seamless but filled with buttons.

 

[Angeline]

4

Sometimes my words break
down but they're not small,
even my whisper may command
you listen because all
my senses will spill
through
to you

the lilac bushes that rain
petal and dew, fragrant
spatters so soft
on a spring morning, a Saturday
with a blue bike leaning
on a brick wall, waiting
for turning wheels, for adventure

Oh snap and the river wears ice,
a thick blanket, nature's own rink
lined with nodding, denuded branches
watching girls glide and slip, laughing
through the cold fog that streams
from mouth and nose

and late at night when Satie's Gymnopédies
shiver our bare skin the moon
will beckon from beyond
the glass to bid us join as if wings
carry us to ecstatic flight

remember my words
and that passion speaks
with many voices.

 

[butters]

#6


fingertips touching the skies


splayed antennae collecting
broadcasts in every spectrum

beneath their skin
a solar hum

blood set dancing
by undeciphered messages

that travel in waves
without words

and even though the primate brain
lacks keys to unlock their code

our star beginnings
still resonate in recognition

 

[butters]

#7
there are better ways


barges in like a squall
all sound and fury
signifying nothing

banging his chest
full of shiny pins
signifying little

locals hunker down, button coats
tight against inclement winds
wait for blowhards to blow over

grass still grows
flowers still bloom
passion reserved

honed
controlled release
signifying everything

 

[Winter_Fare]

#1

How do we tell the children
The truth about nightmares
One day at a time

Until the last shadow falls

 

[Angeline]

5

I try to be kind
and if my kindness is ignored
I try to be silent
having wasted enough years
dragging sound and fury
behind me like Marley's chains
to know the toll they take.

And now I love my silence:
it's like watching the sky
and naming clouds, changing
rain to music and memories
like double rainbows,
well-being in all directions.

The light in our eyes when they met.
Your smile when I came home.
You called me Madame Joy and oh
how I was blessed.

 

[29wordsforsnow]

Just to be clear
laughter, tears, and fun
sitting in peace and the sun
friends, hugs and kisses, roses
in all the right doses
Happy New Year