FLASH
"the exposure looks kinda funny"
"maybe just adjust the aperture a bit"
"add in the lighting"
"is the white balance set?"
the chair squeaks as it moves to the left
the weight shifts the couch in their direction
heat radiates from the family
whose fake smiles are nearly as blinding as the flash from the camera
despite the tripod, the camera sits off kilter
like the uneasy tension in the room
it feels hot--no, sweltering
unsettled emotions sit like
discarded mail
away and out of sight
CLICK
"Okay, we're good"
and the family heads off in their separate ways
with no goodbyes for the others
May 19, 2019
May 19, 2019 at 1:01 AM UTC
the red light bores into my eyes
--hypnotizing me--
before bright rays slide through the dust
warming my skin
I see the blue melting with the yellow
to form a vibrant green
that
signals for me
my foot releases
itself
from the brake
my momentum move me
forward
away from
safety
and then I see the headlights
slowly fading to black
everything is silent
death feels like a mother's embrace
Doesn't it?
what was forgotten comes
flashing back
only now
in sepia
May 19, 2019
May 19, 2019 at 12:55 AM UTC
cold sweat
feet tingling
blood rushing
heart pulsing
away
from
the
terrors
within
fitful, but not fulfilling
shadows prowl through my mind
failed attempts to cast doubt
into the farthest reaches
nevertheless
hairs stand on end
soldiers awaiting a threat not realized
goosebumps appear on the skin--
landmines that have risen from hell
I brace myself for the war
that never comes
as my eyes snap open
awakening from a slumber
that was
alas--
just a nightmare
Apr 10, 2019
Apr 10, 2019 at 8:50 PM UTC
a kiss, long forgotten
turns back the time
déjà vu got your head spinning
to sweet love
a cheesecake
sliced and shared with care
graham ******* crumbles on the chin
wiped away as a melody rings clear
keys pressed softly, your hands covering mine
harmonizing----until a ******
crescendoing like a storm
Cover your eyes, my darling
it won’t hurt
but it did
seeing that same heat
radiate
from you and another
lover
her lipstick
staining your face--
red
as the cold flush on my cheeks
when i emptied the bucket of your love
once full to the brim
of your
empty promises
Apr 1, 2019
Apr 1, 2019 at 9:56 PM UTC
i like it when my vision fills with color
kaleidoscoping into hybrid hues
or when skinny fine lines
grow into weathered wrinkles
i like it when borders border on nonexistent
and everything blends together
unseparated
unsegregated
i like it when lines grow bold
the strokes of a paintbrush gaining confidence
with every motion
i like it when lines are crossed
over and over
into a tangle of yarn
everything connecting
dissolving
into
a ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff
i like it when lines are blurred
and reality breaks down
letting my imagination roam wildly
i like it when things don't make sense
because i always know
that i can find that line
that leads me back home
Feb 28, 2019
Feb 28, 2019 at 10:02 PM UTC
huddled beneath the ***** dark alleys of the past
there's a girl
rubbing her hands together
for a semblance of warmth
the cold bites deep
through bare clothing
chilling her to the bone
as the frost flurries through
and bright Christmas trees
set her eyes alight
she shakily pulls a small
matchbook
from her pocket
with a breath,
she mutters a prayer
and strikes the match
to watch it burn
one last time
the flame wavers
but continues to burn
'till there is no fuel left
just as the light dies
she, too, dies
and the ghosts come
to take her hand
to a safer place
where it's Christmas yearlong
and warm embraces await
for the little match girl has left
for somewhere, something beyond our reach
Feb 12, 2019
Feb 12, 2019 at 9:05 PM UTC
that's what he said to me
before he fled the scene
whether it be from cowardice,
lurking in the darkest corners of the room
or the joyful victory lap
to triumphantly conclude a race
"Run. Just run"
whispered in the hallows of the haunted castle
screamed into the wind that slipped past you like a stranger, unbeknownst
warning of the foreboding nightmare you are about to be
awoken from
commanding your limbs to expel one last kick,
'till you fly away, far away
always remember, my friend
just run
Jan 23, 2019
Jan 23, 2019 at 6:46 PM UTC
a wisp of smoke curls up--heavenward
until it disintegrates into nothingness
a burnt tip-- alighted by an orange flame
that flickers quick from a cheap Bic lighter
the cigarette dangles tantalizingly
between two fingers-- index and middle
it's a balancing act--
to stay away from the ashes
and to not drop your sustenance
dark red lips slightly parted
nearly purple, but not quite
as if a speeding car halted at an invisible border
the arbitrary line between purple and red
she exhales
the smoke coming out in elongated ohs
once the smoke clears
she is gone
after all,
she was
a hazed out,
high-defying,
hallucinatory,
dream
Jan 14, 2019
Jan 14, 2019 at 2:47 AM UTC
Flickering lights
Scrolling past image after image
Of loss, suffering
While i lay back on my bed
My life is mirage of the chaos outside
Papers strewn about my desk
An internal struggle for innovation
Ignorant of what lays beyond the cold, glass windows
A hand cast over my eyes
Shielding them from what is too painful to see
As the numbness washes over me
i stare at the ceiling
Stressing over what to do with my life
No purpose, no hope
A feeling of uselessness
Maybe i should just die
A self-centered voice cries out
No one would care
No one would notice
but what would happen?
i question
is it really better--
to live without a hint of the future to come
or to die knowing the outcome?
the idea flew away
gone away like the rain
Yet the blinds remain closed
To the outside world
Only the strobe effect of artificial lights fill the room
Shut into a enclosed space
Where only i stay
Poring over words
Their beauty
Their pain
Once, we were unable to look at a violent image
Without regurgitating
Now i can see something like that and compartmentalize it
Trap it in a box, never to be seen again
No more tears fall from my once-swollen lids
As i’ve moved on from the emotional
Towards an unforeseeable future
Dehumanized
Dec 18, 2018
Dec 18, 2018 at 8:47 PM UTC
riding out the highs of life
with manic ferocity
until
the minutiae of life
drag you down into the depths of despair
a pure loyalty like no other
hidden by a dramatized emotional facade
always there to bring you up,
simultaneously bringing themselves down
it's a slippery slope--
emotional support
Oh, to be Mercutio--
is to be the eye of a hurricane,
winding about a center
--that may not be
as stable as it seems
Dec 11, 2018
Dec 11, 2018 at 8:33 PM UTC