There is a gravity to
sadness; it pulls me
downward into a
deep dark well.
I can't climb out.
It's my own private hell.
I pray for levitation.
I jump, only to fall.
I feel forgotten.

I put one foot in
front of the other,
and I will rise.
I move on.
Hope returns like
a long lost friend,
and I find my sanctuary.

in another universe,
i would hold your hand,
walk around town with you,
and write our names on the sand.

in another universe,
we would bicker over little things,
like who has to wash dishes tonight,
or who gets up when the doorbell rings.

in another universe,
i would savour the taste of your lips,
memorizing every single crease,
as i grab onto your hips.

in another universe,
i would openly stare,
bury my head into your neck,
and do the things i would never dare.

in another universe,
i would make the first move,
pretending i don't really care,
but secretly hoping you approve.

in another universe,
i would not remain in the sidelines,
i'd barge my way into your heart,
dressed up to the nines.

in another universe,
you would spare me a glance,
notice me for a mere moment,
as i leave you entranced.

in another universe,
i would write this poem beside you,
we would intertwine our bodies,
perhaps, even laugh about it too.

in another universe,
i wouldn't wish for the us in a multiverse,
i would embrace you at dawn,
instead of writing this tragic verse.

Geniuses don't build
things that can destroy us all
but idiots do...Kelly McManus

Breathing full
along the brown tree line
next to the silent teal pond
birds still singing winter.
I feel my chest tingle
like when I was twenty five
discovering scotch
a woman’s breath on my neck
still believing somehow God was in that host
the priest raised.
All was ahead of me
and, as now
unknown.

It’s simple, simpler
when in my raucous brain
I well fight the warring birds
and focus on a single idea.

His crown sat bent -
    and it looked quite odd
          on the shady side
          of his sparse baldhead

His ego reigned
     while his daughter sweet
          could not make the move
          to get past her dread

His aproned slave
     dared not make a sound
          to defy the rules
          'til he made her dead

His cranium
     suffered sudden blows
          when an illness struck
          with the news ahead

He spat in barks
     telling all who came
          they should breathe their last
          and he died instead