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545 · Aug 2015
lead pills
Justin S Wampler Aug 2015
With a steaming gasp of passion
I listen to his name fall from her lips.
The creaking behind the door,
god, the creaking.
The rhythmic slapping,
an applause to my final act.

The weight conforms to my grip,
the weight of life and death,
and I release the magazine
to study and admire the lead pills,
all in a neat little row.

Each one of them carries her sentence,
and his sentence,
ready to write history in blood,
punctuating each line
with a bullet hole.
544 · Aug 2014
(optional){10w}
Justin S Wampler Aug 2014
The only pain worth my time
is broken-heart kind
540 · Dec 2016
Untitled
Justin S Wampler Dec 2016
Fragrances of floral bouquets
and fresh cinnamon rolls
waft to and fro in the warm air,
the subtle hues of red and green
that are hinted everywhere,
paired with the little lights
stretched out on strings
that are wrapped around
almost everything,
bring us all home
for the holidays.
Join me, my friend
let us eat.
540 · Nov 2015
Saying Goodbye
Justin S Wampler Nov 2015
That's okay, man.
I understand.

Have a good time.
540 · Sep 2017
Mortgaged
Justin S Wampler Sep 2017
A picture of a blazing inferno,
flames frozen in time,
is as I burn for you,
forever this house on fire.

If ever the wood should
wither to ash and ember,  
I would bathe in the soot,
I would burn to remember.
Our love is light and warmth and crazy
I love you Emily
540 · Mar 2015
The love between
Justin S Wampler Mar 2015
From you to me it's only
about 2,455 miles.

We could both start now
and meet somewhere
in between

Or I could drop everything
and book a flight
Only for my airplane to
crash tonight.

But if I survive I'll still walk,
I'll meet you up in Seattle
before my death rattle.

Press yourself against me and
embrace my broken body.

**** me with your eyes,
stop my breath with your lips.
538 · Feb 2015
attraction by attrition
Justin S Wampler Feb 2015
When she says she loves you
it just means she's been alone
for far too long without touch.

And nothing's like a good ****.

I keep that in mind now whenever
women give me eyes at a bar,
or wherever it is that I happen
to attract one.

They don't like you, my mind whispers,
they're just lonely.

Lonely and afraid of being alone,
that's why they look at you.
537 · Aug 2014
time on high
Justin S Wampler Aug 2014
sleep rushes by in a way that
resembles a high-balling freight train

everything is comparably just as lost
as the nothing that has been gleaned,
the surroundings pressing into unseen eyes
are murals painted from intricate dreams

the ember-cherries sputter and flit
while smoldering into skin without pain
536 · Aug 2016
Coming
Justin S Wampler Aug 2016
Dandelion seeds in the wind,
the sun burning in her hair,
and she bathes in that light
with a sheen of delight
dancing across her lips,
pressing outwards against
the crimson velvet rope
of her physical boundaries.

Were it a dream, she'd fly
with those monarchs
that so well contrast
her gradient eyes.
536 · Aug 2014
Curiosity Embodied
Justin S Wampler Aug 2014
Where have you been?
Who were you there with?
What is his name?
Why do I even ******* ask?
When are you going to leave?
536 · Aug 2016
Doubt instilled.
Justin S Wampler Aug 2016
An ode to doubt instilled,
though so unworthy of my words,
still finds ways to derive life
and persist in this ****** world.
From the insides of my mind,
driving themselves out of my fingers
in bitter fits of agony and pride,
these dark thoughts still linger.

I beg of these thoughts to cease,
to ******* leave me be me
for once in my ******* life
without having to worry,
yet it does no good.

They just look down upon me
on my gravel-ridden knees
and are deaf to my pleas
for relent, for mercy,
as they batter my heart and mind
with meaningless uncertainties.

The steel belt of my trust
has been laden with rust,
and these days it breaks
with the gentlest touch.

Well, ****, so what?
Who doesn't doubt us?

...Maybe I need these feelings
in order to finally believe in

myself.
536 · Nov 2021
Daze days
Justin S Wampler Nov 2021
Dappled, isn't it?
Slotted bits of sun rays.
A radiant dalmatians coat
sprawled upon messy bedclothes.

***** sheets.

Always *****, no matter.
Yes, they've been changed.
Thousands of times, they've been changed.

That sparse sunlight
shines.
It highlights the
grime
and the sweat.







I awaken to a stiff neck,
and stretch out the cracks
and the pops
from my spine.
My bones sigh as I flick a switch.

The shower runs,
coffee is brewing in the kitchen.

I hum.

I'll be humming
for eternity,
walking through grass
and clods of mud.
My worn boots go on,
begging for a cobbler.

I'll see the sky,
the sun shares it with the daytime moon.
I'll whisper to myself:
It'll be time for bed soon.

A couple hours.

A few beers,
or whiskeys.

Waiting for that ever dependable
dappled sunlight.
It always comes.

Until it doesn't.
536 · Jul 2016
Bending between us.
Justin S Wampler Jul 2016
How long does your will run?
Does it bleed through the horizon,
persistently pursuing the setting sun?
Or does it waver in the summer heat
radiating off of these endless streets?
Is it all a mirage, a dream undreamt
from each late night's waking sleep?
How long does your will run,
because mine's only skin deep.
Justin S Wampler Apr 2016
I stepped down into the creekbed
from atop the gravel path leading off into the woods.
and found myself at peace.

It was brief,
but for a moment I couldn't feel her presence
even though she was right behind me.

The shallow water slapped my ankles
and I stood fixing my pants as I scanned my new horizons,
noticing her clear reflection on the water.

Alas, as I turned to offer her a smile
I saw her look down and drop her hands,
putting her phone back into her pocket.

At the time I thought she was disinterested.
Just checking facebook.
Or texting her real friends.

Yet I was glorified whence I discovered she was just taking a picture.

Taking a picture of me.

Me standing in the water,
me scanning my horizons,
and me forgetting all about her.
532 · Apr 2015
Rememories
Justin S Wampler Apr 2015
If we ever meet again
the only things I'll have
to show you are the
lighters from our memories,
and the vicious ways
that you've changed me.
531 · Aug 2015
poetry is stupid
529 · Oct 2018
Clean the landing too.
Justin S Wampler Oct 2018
I'm sorry for all the complaining
I did as a child when you asked me to vacuum the stairs. Really it was one
of my only chores.

Now when I visit and climb them,
the dusty, darkened corners of carpet
bring me to a violent halt.

The ***** stairs haunt me Mom.
528 · Apr 2017
No icebergs here.
Justin S Wampler Apr 2017
Whenever it rains
I see her lying before me,
vulnerable atop a picnic table.

Love isn't always a titanic,
more often then not it's subtle
like hundreds of little life boats
bringing us all to safety.

I find those subtle hints
of her honest love
floating towards me
whenever I start to sink.

I wear that shirt she got me,
I come home to a made bed
and folded laundry,
I see her letters and notes
on my mirror,
her face pops up on my phone
and when I answer all I can say is
"I love you too."
524 · Aug 2015
Conception
Justin S Wampler Aug 2015
I didn't want
I didn't want to begin with
I didn't want this
I remember the days before I was born,
the great nothings of that time are branded,
seared and scarred
into my mind
I didn't want days
I didn't mind the nothing
It was quite pleasant, if I recall correctly
that grey nonexistence
that black nothing
I didn't want all these somethings
I didn't want at all

It was comforting.
But the questions hurt
and the wanting came suddenly, harshly
and it will never leave
we are beings of want
beings of try and try again

I don't want to try
I don't try to want
I try
I want

Did you want to be alive?
Did you try to be born?
Did you choose existence?

I know I didn't.
It was forced upon me.
Justin S Wampler Aug 2016
They drank steadily throughout the day,
cheering and laughing heartily
every chance that came their way.
Gun slung low,
and caught off guard
the first one died
smiling and proud.
The echo of that shot
still rings in their ears,
eternally solidifying
that day in fear,
for the lad's
dear comrades,
every time
they taste beer.
521 · Mar 2015
Coasters on bottle tops
Justin S Wampler Mar 2015
I got up and lighted a cigarette,
walked away to take a ****.
I was halfway through my cigarette,
by the time I finished taking a ****.

Sitting back down at the bar,
my notebook right in front of me.
Hearing sounds at the bar...
Hearing sounds from Jeopardy!

The three other people that were here,
sat evenly spaced between open seats.
The three other people all felt near,
when we shouted out questions at the TV.
What are Prose Pros Alex?


Correct for $1600!
520 · Jan 2022
Sugar
Justin S Wampler Jan 2022
She used three
prescription placebo pills
to sweeten her coffee.
At least,
that's what
she said
they were.
518 · Jul 2015
Future
Justin S Wampler Jul 2015
Lakes beneath the earth's crust.
Swim in them, they flow through you.
Lakes on the surface of the moon.
Artificial gravity will be coming soon
518 · Nov 2021
A-little-ration
Justin S Wampler Nov 2021
She had melted mud
on her pretty palms.
With a tentative touch,
we held hands.
It subtlety squished
between gritty grips,
dripping down
to the foyer floor.
I saw it suddenly stain.

The ringing rain.

Wild winds
creaked, crashed,
and bent boughs.
The storm sighed
a bitter breath,
the mud made
a blood bond,
and I softly spoke:

"Don't drop
my hollow hand,
make mud
our only
counted care.
"

She said,
with a tiny twist
of her happy head:

"Why are you talking like that?"
518 · Jul 2014
these daze
Justin S Wampler Jul 2014
Golden strands still wafting
slowly down from the rafters
that I held you pressed
against whilst pushing
passion into minutes, maybe
time enough to see her
the goddess,
releasing her mind
embracing the sky
rhythm stretching fabric
making minutes into hours
upon
hours in which I've watched
as she grew , like the tide
I know I've seen
time decide
in the past,
the present,
and now in her eyes
the horrible knowledge
lingers the ever doubtful
promise of lies
she sees now that I
was destined to be
the one I've left behind.
517 · Apr 2015
Smoothicide
Justin S Wampler Apr 2015
One pill, two pill,
red pill, blue pill.

Chalkier than Pepto Bismol,
smoother than Crown Royal.

The blender does not care.

It just spins its blades,
without considering the drink it makes.

I sip and wonder if
it will be lonely tomorrow.

Stay sharp, blender.
Don't ever get dull.
Justin S Wampler Mar 2016
Yuh boozey faced and sittin pretty on summat.
517 · Sep 2014
Slumber
Justin S Wampler Sep 2014
Drinking is great
because I don't
have to *******
to fall asleep.
516 · Apr 2015
A loan
Justin S Wampler Apr 2015
Can't you all just
give me your money
and leave?
514 · Apr 2015
6:14 AM
Justin S Wampler Apr 2015
filth filth filth filth
******* filthy
we're all ******* filthy
rolling in the mud
of infinite cesspools
we're all disgusting
******* repugnant
dump us in the oceans of
radioactive wormwood
dump us in the ocean
and the drugs
in our filthy blood
are filthy filthy filthy
cleanse us all
with salt
salt the filthy earth
salt the filth
make it delicious
514 · Apr 2016
I write poetry sometimes
Justin S Wampler Apr 2016
Step up to the plate,
let the ***** fly past
and just keep swinging
until the dust turns to ash.

Burn it all, burn the light,
sacrifice your sight,
and replace it with
warm summer nights.
511 · Dec 2018
"Stay awake" says my brain
Justin S Wampler Dec 2018
Slow thoughts
Hidden thoughts
Whispering thoughts
Creeping thoughts
Sauntering thoughts
Slithering thoughts
Pervasive thoughts
Obtrusive thoughts
Contrite thoughts
Acrimonious thoughts
Petulant thoughts
Onerous thoughts
Wearisome thoughts
Monotonous thoughts
Bereft thoughts

then finally sleep
511 · Mar 2017
Tongue tied
Justin S Wampler Mar 2017
My beard is fragrant
with a hint of wet rosebud,
it makes me miss you.
510 · Aug 2016
From form to function.
Justin S Wampler Aug 2016
Where can we find a little respite
from these long days and nights
spent dwelling on wrong and right
and just focus on living.

Maybe it's not a matter of where
because there's people who care
enough about us to willingly share
and are always forgiving.

Tomorrow will surely bring
a brand new sad song to sing
about angels who lost their wings
and want a fresh beginning.

As we all do sometimes.
As we all do.
509 · Jul 2015
Haikusical
Justin S Wampler Jul 2015
Chords and calluses
are the subtle products of
bleeding for music
509 · Aug 2015
don't blink
Justin S Wampler Aug 2015
We exhaled in the morning sun
shining through the Venetian blinds.

The slotted bars of light
were almost tangible in the haze
of swirling blue carcinogens,
and I reached out to touch them.

The dust motes dodged my slow
grasp nimbly, almost dancing
with my fingers in the ambiance.

Fascinated, I looked at her
to see if she shared in my awe,
and saw my illuminated hand
reflected in her glazed eyes
as if reaching for something
that I've held all along.
504 · Mar 2015
Manic with Vanity
Justin S Wampler Mar 2015
The coffee ***'s braying invaded my daydream
so I snapped out of it and fixed myself a cup.
I sat back down at the kitchen table and
focused on the twirls and curls of steam.
Seeing the water join my atmosphere made
me think of prospective goals and my future.

Positive thinking, you know.

Such thoughts were like admiration for someone
who hates themselves; pointless and unwanted.
My eyes drifted to the sliding glass door and
I took a gulp, shuddering at the caffeine fixation.
I wasn't looking at the birds on the powerlines,
or the morning fog lingering under overcast skies.
Just at the two panes of glass and the cross-hatched
pattern of plastic supports that existed between them,
like expression caught inside of idealistic traditions.

Like seeing house pets kept in a cage.

At some point in my unfocused gazing my
thoughts shifted from the future to the past, and
I felt a hollow remnant of ex-lovers sitting with me.
They sat looking at me sip cooling coffee,
seeing me look at the sliding glass door.

Like an egotistical mirror manic with vanity and pride,
the reflection of the door showed myself watching me
and I liked what I saw inside.
It may be. Just maybe.
501 · Feb 2015
Buried in Consciousness
Justin S Wampler Feb 2015
The night had already begun before Harold had awoken, and as his eyelids lifted, the sun was slowly sinking like a lifeboat with a gradual but determined leak. He got out of bed and crossed naked to the windows, where he pulled closed the blinds to shut out the last slanted rays of the day from pelting him in the face.
"Hahhh..." He sighed with relief at the reinforced darkness, and lay back down in bed facing the ceiling without bothering to pull the blankets back up and over his body.

He thought briefly 'I'll never fall back asleep now, my body just won't take any more rest, I suppose' he had been sleeping for almost 14 hours at this point. Yet he didn't move from his horizontal position, but instead lied still with his eyes affixed to the ceiling and felt his retinas irising open to greedily take in what strands of light still remained. It was odd, feeling his eyes adjust like that. The kind of feeling you don't notice until you really focus on feeling it.

Suddenly and seemingly without cause his head rolled to the right, and he flinched at the brightness of his digital alarm clock on the nightstand beside him. In a brief confusion he read the clock and thought 'How is the sun setting at 11:37 pm?..' but then remembered it ran 5 hours too fast since the last time he lost power, and he had been too lazy to set it correctly.
"It's 6:37 you numb ****," he said to himself in a voice little more than a harsh whisper, "**** clocks anyway."

Sighing again, he swung his feet off the bed and felt them pendulum to the ground with an unsteady muscle spasm and he was startled briefly by his lack of equilibrium. 'Sleeping for 14 hours at a time will do this to a person, especially a person as hung over as I am..' as he thought, his mind throbbed with every unspoken word and he averted thinking about the previous night.

He righted himself and sat there on the edge of his bed, or his casket as he liked to think of it, and let his head hang limp and buried in his hands. "Another day well spent," Harold's voice cracked and rasped on the words he spoke, and he stood to fix himself a glass of water whilst gripping an unlit cigarette that he grabbed from his nightstand in between his lips.
500 · Feb 2015
Lies and Denials
Justin S Wampler Feb 2015
The hills rolled and faded away
in an obscuring gray snowfall daze
and he doesn't want her

A pair of pairs of jeans and a
gray hoodie with thermals underneath
couldn't warm him up to her

His head, three hoods deep, dreams
coddled in disbelief at the time passed between
the last she had him and now

These months, years they may seem,
are minuscule minutes in the eyes of history
and he keeps breathing without her

With the snow now up to his knees
and a want to be buried beneath the damp gray
he hitches deep and coughs
496 · Aug 2014
Age-gauge
Justin S Wampler Aug 2014
Twenty-two inches on a tape measure
keep pulling it out to see
the average estimated expectancy
of about eighty-three.

All of that curved yellow metal
is simply symbolic between
measuring the rest of my life and
not one inch being guaranteed.
493 · Apr 2015
Because Reasons
Justin S Wampler Apr 2015
Write a poem,
Hurry

Baby I can't.
I'm just trying to understand at this point.
Don't make me.
please.

It's more important. When you have something great you gotta go with it.
Any true artist would understand that. And I'd feel worse if you lost something great because of me

I can't Arlo. I need a cigarette. I can't write like you can.
I'm not an artist, i'm a ******* poser.

You can too,
Shut up,
You're my favorite person
And I love you.

Yeah, right now.

Fine.

I'm sorry.

Don't be.

okay.
I told you I can't do it.
493 · Jul 2015
a moth in the storm
Justin S Wampler Jul 2015
Spattered and rhythmic
the drops fall on us,
lying on the lawn we
become rust.

With eyes slit against
the falling rain,
lightning is but
a flash of pain.

The thunder clouds
our sense of perception
and dusty wings
hover over our reception.

The precipitation tastes
of remembrance,
and in my solemn
defense,

I love.
493 · Apr 2016
Shitheads read my poems
Justin S Wampler Apr 2016
*******,
you, the person reading this on the other end of the internet,
and **** your poetry too.
493 · Aug 2014
Her
Justin S Wampler Aug 2014
Her
She took my hand
She left her man
She drove all night
She smiled delight
She rode my wheels
She met new friends
She laughs and squeals
She makes an end
She loses control
She falls in love
She skips the toll
She likes to chug
She commits herself
She ***** well
She finds the light
She sees that I am not alright
She wants me now
She needs me now
She will never leave me now
...At least that's what I believed.
She fades away
She never stays
She wants another
She loves my brother
She takes me back
She doubts
She doubts
She doubts
She leaves.
****** her.
492 · Jun 2019
Guilt like bullets.
492 · Dec 2016
Internal combustion
Justin S Wampler Dec 2016
Seven years since first
I lit you up
but it still feels like yesterday,
every time I try
to give you up.
Cigarettes and cigarettes
492 · Sep 2015
Forget Me Knot
Justin S Wampler Sep 2015
Be my escape,
please don't fray.

The night,
the day,
time leaves me behind.

Over and over
again.
491 · May 2015
Propane (10w)
Justin S Wampler May 2015
Are you flamable?
I am.

I burn willingly
for love.
491 · Oct 2021
Unreasonable
Justin S Wampler Oct 2021
I've wandered past the edge of perpetuity,
and found it wanting.
I've danced on the fence of commitment,
wavering between never and always.
The infinite has mocked me,
I embraced my bitter mortality
and mocked the abyss right back.
There's no reasons beyond what we decide.
There's no reason at all.

Needs are met,
so set sail on the glass surface
of simple contentedness
and let the breeze of life
paint wrinkles on our faces.

Let's smile at the waning sunlight,
laugh at the encroaching pale moon.

For no reason.
No reason at all.
491 · Oct 2015
back in black and blue
Justin S Wampler Oct 2015
I can't figure out
what writes these words,
is it my hands
or is it the keyboard?
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