Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
some kind of alchemy
transmuted these old, rotting
organs into wrought-iron
my heart is a machine
that's been skipping beats
for too long
I beat it into place
try to lift the weight
off my ribcage
and now I sit down to
write it out
but this time in first person
I've been cracking my knuckles
with newfound feeling
like I've been sleeping
for too long
 May 2016 Happynessa
Tom Balch
The bowl filled with hot water,
the dishes and cutlery from lunch
await my attention;

But back then
in the days of sixties summers the
beaches beckoned


The glasses first
followed by the plates, careful not
to over-do the coarse green back
of the sponge on the china;

And us
hand in hand in our rolled up jeans
strolling where the sea meets sand


Knives followed by the forks followed
by the spoons and as I look out of the
window the martins fly to and fro
feeding their young;

I can still hear the noise of gulls
and the whooshing of
waves as we ran sideways up the
pebbles trying to avoid getting soaked


“Where are the clean tea towels” I ask
and you call out
“In the top draw on the right”

When I´ve finished this we´ll sit outside
with a glass of red;
Funny how our taste changes over the years,

in those days of sunshine
and sand in toes it would have been
Blue Nun or Mateus Rose
and the washing up
was probable the last thing on our minds
...
Interfere journey Interference body Sweaty Write Mud
mind Breath getty Read Reference speed Preference encryp
To Two Time Self ready flow sacrifice beliefs feeling elf pelt
killing part of myself scuffing dreams bare in the air unfair  
outspent **** wiped well being clean provoked hell feeding on mean cornmeal convulsing restitution fed invertly beans bent
soul over to pilot retribution empty zeal stomach destitution
inside the pit spirit fly guide escape veal travel ways of savage meal
out the side five wing soar glide abide Nein but fine wine being shine
Kentucky Math Rock
 May 2016 Happynessa
Sequestered
And then...
A diffident embrace,
Hankered after bedeviled yearning.
Instead, butterfly kisses,
She planted 'pon breathless lips;
Scarved my neck
And schlepped,
Into mystery miles of misty memories...

But now...
That yesterday lingers forever,
Leaving evocative footprints
Left behind by flirtatious fragrance,
That oft beguile my pathway,
Into memories of her;
Whence fantasy atones reality...
Made of glass wood and cement
Thirteen monsters were council sent
Families lived in high rise flats
And children roamed with the dogs and cats
A little park near a collection of shops
The bus drove round a circle of stops
***** old lifts with gum on the floors
Held strange odours and graffiti on the doors
Darkened stair wells where creatures hid
Causing havoc like delinquents did
Behind the flats the landslide sprawled
Bees buzzed and insects crawled
The river flowed under a bridge which spanned
Connecting the residents to grassy land
Happy people but rough round the edges
As they peered from windows and leant over ledges
Bikes on balconies and clothes hanging down
The disillusioned youth wearing a frown
Drunken rows and secret affairs
All newcomers were greeted with stares
Tiny halls and narrow little rooms
The strange feeling of living in tombs
Sad faces watched the explosion together
The homes they once shared now gone forever
Next page