Oh man child, I see your fear
Tainted windows can suggest false stories
But poetry is not a broad brush that puts your own shame on display
Nor is such scrutiny wisely placed
---------
Reading poetry is not a place for brilliance
One needs only be a “good guy” looking for insights or meaning
Or maybe they are “Crowley”, finding their way to “Ingrid”
This reader traffic, seeking authenticity is not quite human. More an etherial ego dancing with the words
that see you,
circle you,
whisper knowings,
welcome you,
need you.
Whimsey and song court depression
You like music, right?
It’s a drug for vulnerability
until the body is knee deep
This manipulation wears a friendly face
And angst is not a mud-worthy tool.
Now who needs whom?
Nay - poetry literally reprograms the brainy.
“Lean in”, it says.
“I have friends all over the world - to New Zealand and back.”
Maybe it’s true.
Just check its call logs, its campfire circles, its Facebook connections.
Poetry feeds (on?) longing.
Apr 18, 2025
Apr 18, 2025 at 3:04 PM UTC
You
Caught a flight
Jaundiced manger
Held by strangers
I
Stayed behind
Unable to follow
Feeling hollow
You
Shined with love
Radiating joy
Captivating boy
I
Worked long hours
Never with his trust
I was not enough
You
Tender heart
Gave your mom a ring
Were you hungering?
I
Told "favorites"
asked you to be tough
We did weekend stuff
You
Showing worth
Always making grades
Standing on a stage
I
Earned esteem
In traveling more
Lost track of my core
You
Sought online
Admiring voices
Offered fun choices
I
Left my work
Could finally be home
but "Leave me alone"
You
Fly solo
Try psychedelics
Parents are relics
I
"Control all"
"Could never be nice"
"Gave more bad advice"
You
Break my heart
Demand Agency
Driving on empty
We
Naming boundaries
Balance found
Wellness bound
Mar 19, 2025
Mar 19, 2025 at 3:04 AM UTC
It's no accident
You fit the profile -
Brilliant, naive... lonely
Caught in their headlights
And held fast by the adoring crowd
It's a formula race
They take you for a ride
Straight out of the book
You willingly get in the car
Even as Rebecca ****** waves the flag
A trophy girl seals the deal
Intro the Queen of Hearts
She plays you deep
Grows a taste for speed
That you sweetly lap
Getting hit by cars
Is an insurance policy
Twice bought and sold
Realigning the steering
And covering potential loss
But while many might be totaled
By ventures in the down-under
A classic Valiant
Is a humble muscle car
That finds its way home
Dec 9, 2020
Dec 9, 2020 at 9:21 AM UTC
I suppose shame did drown my
"Christian" moniker
with the "bitterness" of what was to follow
But let’s be honest, harmony was
broken before his pledge,
when he turned his back to my tears
Are we pretending, now
that avoidance means "peaceful"
Or that a "prosperous garden" grows
from the whispered hostility of isolation?
No? Then hope remains
And candor spits and simmers
where a flame still flickers to get its breath
It's settled, then
We are playing the long game
because we are "victory people"
Nov 16, 2020
Nov 16, 2020 at 8:39 AM UTC
Putting things in jars
has long been a family practice
preserving the deliciousness of the season
by shelving the bounty of fall
The way the skin slips from the naked peach
is a seductive notion and cathartic connection
passed from one hand to another
packed tight in the kitchen
sticky with syrup
Heat and pressure mount a whistled release
for both windfall and sun kissed faces
Tomatoes, peaches, beans, and corn
offer rainbow promises from the storm
Even that one Columbus Day
But September 2020 we are shelving Manna
and sorting string beans for perfect presentation
and this ****** industrial chic, "man-canning"
looks back at me through the glass
and I am longing for something messy
Oct 16, 2020
Oct 16, 2020 at 3:10 PM UTC
iSolation
Hiding fAilure Means dEbilitation
Timely, couRageous exposUre resTores
Humanity
Oct 12, 2020
Oct 12, 2020 at 11:58 AM UTC
Always about you
Your thoughts
Your heart
Your dream
Putting them first
Their hurt
Their loneliness
Their fears
Leads to crucifixion
Labeled
Consumed
Abandoned
The End?
May 31, 2020
May 31, 2020 at 6:53 AM UTC
Hello, eyes
You have burned before
Does the glimmer of your gaze know the deep?
Hello quiet eyes
Reflecting pools of self
Wells of echo and ripple
You, I recognize
Hello tiny door of adoring
You will be my undoing
Welcome, you piercing
promising
open, knowing
eyes.
May 28, 2020
May 28, 2020 at 11:38 PM UTC
I hear you.
Who among us is whole?
I see you -
beautiful, broken soul.
I hear you.
What separates dark from light?
I see you -
keen with living insight.
I hear you.
When does winter become spring?
I see you -
connecting love to the sting.
I hear you.
Where is the source of the wind?
I see you -
spirited from within.
I hear you.
How do we make sense of pain?
I see you -
courageously vulnerable, again.
Feb 28, 2020
Feb 28, 2020 at 10:09 PM UTC
Your shadow spits on our embrace
But in the face of repulsion
Your need for assurance
Wears a rainbow smile
While as the sun you boldly speak
It's surface deep, and emersion
from the hidden psyche
Might just take a while.
A studied pupil shields a pain
And guards his vein so valiantly
That though I seek transparency
I help deny the dawn.
The scar of pride thickens the skin
Denies the kin access to light
Protects from bite of tenderness
and so we carry on.
But in this dance of flat and dark
Attention harkens beat and breath
And secrets stir, spontaneous
They ache to be made known
The depths of self find their relief
And our belief in rigid lines
Fade into warmth and common shape.
And light welcomes us home.
Feb 1, 2020
Feb 1, 2020 at 8:36 AM UTC