All poets speak of muses
To light their way of verse
For us who've lived abuses
Our muse need not bring us mirth

For sorrow is a motivation
It's a loss that guides my pen
My rhymes take form of devastation
My verse speaks of the end

Tragedy sparks fire in my fingers
With bleak outlooks for tomorrow
This saddened spirit always lingers
She's my muse, born out of sorrow

You were soft
Soft to the touch
Smooth like glass
But warm
Like the heat
Of a bathroom
After a shower
You were sweet
Like crisp white wine
Your bubbles
Rushed to my head
I forget
Like I forgot last time
Brittle bones
Are always buried
Under soft dirt
Oh so soft

I kissed her
and we made war
again and again

No words
Describe today
Sunshine beating me
With warming rays
Sweat on my brow
As I plant some grass
Knuckles ******
As I bust my ***

My lips try to whistle
But no tune presents
Hard work in silence
Gray dust of cement
Ripped jeans
And muddy leather gloves
A heavy sky
No cloud above

My mouth is empty
Of moisture and song
Of well-wishing words
As I toil along
Each movement of dirt
By steel headed *****
Gives way to the big empty
As I dig my own grave

I'm sorry to say I love you
I know this alters our dynamic
You thought I was a good friend
But I am a fiend, pining for you
I wish I was truly sorry
But I'm not
And I love you

It is this life that weighs me down
Like rain-soaked cloak-
Pregnant and heavy

Would that we could shed life
Cast our sodden cloaks aside
And float free through eternity
Whilst not violating
That horrible mortal sin

And could we choose to return
When our soul is well-rested-
And we are prepared
To steel ourselves against
The cutting of great insult
Led to sanguine injury
And sorrow deeply felt

But, alas, we are meant to toil
In wet cloak bound in iron,
In boots of heavy stone,
Riddled by blasts of insult,
weighted like beast of burden

But take comfort in your drudgery
Do not entertain that mortal sin
For though I am not with you-
I shall hold your hand in spirit
We are kindred in our journey

Rippling, budding, blooming flowers
Wave in soft and gentle breeze
Caressing with hint of winter chill
Bitter through my hair

Sun shining and bright above
Forecasting springtime rains
Which reach the fields and hearts
In cold clear cloudy morning

We gather for the Springwind
blowing remnants of winter passing
Frost replaced with dewdrops
Pitter-patter on softened soil

Creaking of the great tall trees
Reached high into the azure sky
Like boney finger dotted landscape
As snow removes its glove

Green shimmering carpet
Covers land with moss and grass
Flowers, brush, and dandelions
Show life fed from below

The Springwind is the sign of life
Earth's signal we all start anew
Tantalizing and wiping our memory
Of impending Autumn's fall

They called her heartbreaker
In hushed tones
As she walked around town

They called her heartbreaker
Not knowing
She was broken-hearted
Sweet image hiding
A boiling ocean
Of breaking waves

They called her heartbreaker
But she only swung the hammer
Trying to shape
Her own foundation
In a way that pleased her
Not you

They called her heartbreaker
But no one ever
Bore their own blame
Surely, she swung a hammer
But each of them in turn
Chose to put their heart
In the way

They called her heartbreaker
And as sure
As any slur
It was spit with force
Around the town
And she smiled
A little smile
Cause she had built a mansion
For her heart on the inside
And she wore the title
Like a gilded badge of pride

We, poets, write the words
of the heart's deepest desires;
from love and loss,
our darkest corners,
or lighting social fires

We, poets, create armies
with the power of our verse
our words are legion
for they are many,
armed against the worst

We, poets, are an arsenal
of life experiences and pain
young or old,
brave and bold,
truth spilling on the page

We, poets, are a cataclysm
fighting through soft ignorance
bringing an end
to hollow hatreds
and sad indifference

We, poets, write swords in ink,
write shields in lead,
paint hope in rhymes,
and love with words,
creating to the end

We, poets, practice art of war
with every piece we write
gather words of wisdom
for we poets will not go
quietly into the long goodnight

Swallow the seeds of hatred
and bloom
into
something horrific

Swallow the wine of fools
and get drunk
on
your stupidity

Swallow the meat of madness
and be
forever
unfulfilled

Swallow another breath of ill intent
and don't be surprised
when I, with glee
watch you choke

The flesh, corrupted
He said
We must remove the arm
And pray
The rot doesn't go to the bone

A King may
stand above all
but that doesn't mean
he may not
stand alone

Simply put,
Live the golden rule
And just be kind

One will make you smaller, the other make you big
One will make you happy, the other make you sad
So take your pills, Darling
Eat, drink, and be merry
Before you end up crashing
We all crash in the end

We could all be 10/6ths worth of humanity
If we weren't buried in being 1/2
of a person

And I wish that I could get high
And float like butterfly wings
Fly through heavy jungle
As I crack through my cacoon
After every imagined insult

Don't you see, we're down the rabbit hole

There are monsters lurking
In hedge mazes made for you
Don't be afraid to walk through it
If you don't, you'll be late
We're always in a state of late

While you watch for monsters
You may not even notice
My disenfranchised smile
And feline eyes burning in the night
As you cry
"Off with his head"

We're down the rabbit hole, baby

No matter the wish
You will reap
Crops you sew

The words are thick on my tongue
And fall forward like like drunken intentions
Piling at our feet like useless sand
Spilled from the hourglass of our lives
And spreading like dust around the room
Never reaching your ears
To be translated effectively
Into the message I wanted you to hear
I think you would have changed your mind
And understood the path I'd walked
But I am bound by the limits of words
Ethereal and insubstantial
And my human mastery of language
Is lacking

I am standing here
At the corner of 'no' and 'where'
Go find another corner, you!
Because this is my corner
And my corner, I won't share

I see that look in your eyes
But your hands hang at your sides
I step forward just a little
And you inch away
I was respectful and scared
You tilted your head a little
But never moved forward
I touched your shoulder awkwardly,
Lost my nerve, and walked away

Years later we would meet
With coffee in our hands
On busy Washington streets
Our conversation warm as summer
Sunning my heart
Like a lizard on a rock
You asked me, "Why?"
"Why didn't you kiss me that night?"
I shrugged and touched your shoulder
You go home to your three girls
And I return to my empty house
Sitting at my desk writing poems
My life a necklace missing pearls

Beneath your clothing lies your flesh
And it lied to me
And your flesh hides brittle bones
But they don't hide from me
Under armor of bones sits your heart
But in time I stripped your armor
Buried in your heart are sheltered feelings
But your feelings give no shelter
Your heart no longer beats
Your bones are sharp against me
And your flesh no longer yields
The fruit of love I planted there
You may cover up all your flaws
But you will always be stripped bare

When you sleep,
I think of putting my finger,
in your nose.

Would you be mad?
Or...
happy that I was thinking of being playful
with you?

I was but a few paces back
Too many to be close
Too few to be far
I saw his eyes as he contemplated
One thought to let go
The other to hold wide
My distance outside realms of binary decision
He looked down, ashamed
As his hand slipped from hard edge
In the last second, he reached and grasped
And held the door open for me
We both looked away awkwardly
As I muttered, "Thanks"
He quietly replied, "No problem"

Small ideas,
Spoken words gather,
One phrase grows,
And audience chants,
Change comes slowly,
Beliefs coalesce,
Your sentence, simplicity,
Brings avalanche

She believed
As she lay in relief
That sedentary
Actions
Would overcome grief
As bereavement
reigns supreme
But still she
Lays asleep

Rage
Unstoppable
Unfeeling
My breath takes life
Burns fields and kingdoms alike
Terror
Unfiltered
Unadulterated
This visage washes over
Scattering the strongest of warriors
Vanity
Unrelenting
Unresolved
I am pictured perfection
You measure against me, faltering
Elegance
Unerring
Uncompromising
You marvel beneath shadows
Cast upon by my wings

Ordinary
Underwhelming
Unsatisfying
My body, feeble human
But my mind breathes free

explicit*
Roll over *******!
you're hot as an iron,
the surface of the sun
is cooled by your skin
and you stole
all the ******* blankets
this treachery is akin
to your lawnmower snoring
no truer transgression
or act of pure sin
is equal to your elbows
raining blow after blow
like we sleep on a twin!
...

...
Roll back over, please?
I'm cold as ice
your skin feels nice
and you're snoring helps me sleep
It's our flaws that I love
and pointed elbows and all
it's a love I'd like to keep

So quickly,
Your blade flew
Severing strings
To this world.

I would pen you a love song
It's in my power, you know?
But today is not the day
The gray in my heart, it grows
And I write what I feel
Disingenuous isn't my style
No hollow happy verse
On makeshift paper to beguile

I want to write you a love song
It's not a line, but simple truth
But today the sadness aches
Like long ignored rotten tooth
And if I let my sadness fester
The pain will just grow worse
Today I write of tragedy
No ink for hollow happy verse

Continue to exert your influence
And savagely gather your power
As you watch your kingdom shrink
Until you rule over fields of ash
And crumbling infrastructure
Share your ideas and wealth of experience
And watch your nation grow