My Atlas does not wince
nor does he cower; he hauls
his burden, self-forgotten.
Hour by day, my unwav’ring
tower, with purpling shoulders
and crackling skin, within him
a lambent glow glimpsing through
the faults. My Titan is stout and alt;
I rest in his shadow which feasts on
fearsome things. Some simply hiss
“BEAST,” as he quakes by, but his
eyes are on the sun and his ears are
in the sky, his burden perched upon
his sturdy shoulders high.
Apr 8, 2013
Apr 8, 2013 at 9:44 PM UTC
My legs will take me through;
never mind shrubs and jagged pavement,
my legs will take me through.
Precipitation looms – my heart striking
like a pellet in a pinball machine – and
it pours. Sprouting from the sky, my
little termites splash into the soil.
My legs will take me through.
I can and I have and I will,
my pulse insists; living puddles
splatter beneath my feet, my
insuppressible stride.
Inadequacy spoke and I replied:
My legs will take me through.
Apr 5, 2013
Apr 5, 2013 at 1:48 AM UTC
My trombone binoculars bend
right back into my head and I
can see the growth in all that
which I’ve fed – still no trees,
unappeased vines bending the
spines so that they too bow in
need. Apples san seed. No
lending from the skies. Not a
desert but a safely stagnant
demise.
Apr 4, 2013
Apr 4, 2013 at 2:41 AM UTC
Slow chew;
swallow, you
insatiable shirk.
You love to lurk in
shadowy turns;
show your camel’s
jaw, disrespectful
teeth which hash
and gnaw. While
other mouths stiffen
and gape you can
take another chunk
from integrity’s nape;
slow chew and swallow,
you insatiable shirk.
Apr 4, 2013
Apr 4, 2013 at 1:48 AM UTC
When she shows you her teeth
it is an invitation to pry them
from the cob; arid gums, each
tooth a cork plucked, warm pops,
air settling in to make good her
promise of decay;
no good – vitality never
rustled her bed there.
Apr 4, 2013
Apr 4, 2013 at 12:55 AM UTC
Sometimes my heart holds a
bubble wand and blows sternly,
pushing pops of cheer: wispy
lavender spheres, reflecting a
burgeoning sky, floating up, defy,
defy. Carried by the winds of
sighs, encouraged by the whistling
of leaves on whooping branches,
and the shrill song of grass
over a coliseum mounting in dew;
gladness freckling in the sun
and racing to have run.
Mar 14, 2013
Mar 14, 2013 at 2:32 PM UTC
thorns poke through
my palms. all belongs
to gravity but not yet my rose,
resting on my undaunted fist.
it will wither unceremoniously and
i will have only holes in my hands.
Mar 12, 2013
Mar 12, 2013 at 3:13 PM UTC
I am a snake
in a skirt with
frills; my body
bends under
smiles and over
sunsets, ensnaring
whole bars of
Beethoven’s
symphonies.
Ruby pellets
and pearls
embossed in
my perishable flesh.
I unhinge my jaw
to make a meal of
merriment and as it
settles in me I’ll
kiss you with venom
snoozing beneath
my tongue.
Mar 10, 2013
Mar 10, 2013 at 2:31 PM UTC
In my cabinet
no one comes
tapping. The
slap of my
thoughts
like the strike
of steel drums
on the walls.
No one calls.
My breath
booming; a
bass string
plucked in
panic. The
air around
opaque as
top-shelf
ignorance.
With me weep
my shoulders,
stooped, my
hands, curled
and catching
the precipitation
of grief. No
mewls, no
moans – my
voice, too, has
left me heaving
and weeping to
the sounds of
my seclusion.
Mar 8, 2013
Mar 8, 2013 at 12:15 AM UTC
I oppose
gravity;
you are
the string
which
stays me.
You are
wrapped
around my
ankle and
I’m breathing in
star specks.
And when
I come down
it is only
because your
lips are
so close to
the ground.
Mar 7, 2013
Mar 7, 2013 at 3:08 PM UTC