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 Jan 4 Whit Howland
Maddy
An old friend said writing it down won't do
He was unclear that writing is my art and my lifelong friend
Every essence,nuance,color  travel is captured in my mind
Then it is crafted and when I feel it works then it becones a poem
So Dear Danny ,who left us long ago
I do write.it down because I am a writer
 Jan 4 Whit Howland
Emma
A washing machine hymn,
spinning the sins of yesterday,
clean clothes bleeding in sunlight,
scratches etch secrets on the air.
A girl-child sprawled on asphalt,
cotton slip, a ghost’s armor,
a dagger gleams in Jesus' eye,
and somewhere, my shadow laughs.

I made it back,
red doors collecting whispers,
the absences of children echoing.
No pills for this madness,
no mercy for the lies my mother
folded into the corners of her soul.
Truth’s ghosts die like martyrs
while my third eye cracks wide open.

Acid drips from my lips,
prophecies scrawled on sidewalks,
and I’m not high,
but I see it—
the collapse, the rise,
the sharp edges of time,
splitting me from the center.

There was no pulse.
She’d overdosed, slack,
white foam on her lips,
a classic whodunit—
but the culprit was clear.
It was us.
We ****** each other
with quiet hands,
without shame.
Not everything’s a mystery.
Sometimes reality is what it is:
a cold slap, a silent room.

I’m not here for this.
I’m here to refocus,
to zoom in,
to get my apology.
Otherwise,
what was the point of all this suffering?
How did they get away with this—
the lies, the silence,
the slow burn of cruelty?

“This is best,” they said,
abandonment wrapped in soft words,
a mother’s back turned to the light.
I wait, patient as winter,
for her end,
honesty’s blade in my hand.

Sugar and salt rim the glass,
cocktails of loss swallowed whole.
Everything’s funny in the dark—
they left for unsung dreams,
forgot me in the shuffle.
I hit the ground again,
words spilling like blood,
cold turkey with my soul,
waiting for the rhythm of a door
that never opened.
This is a special one for me. Didn't sleep right my mind's a mess. Happy weekend though.
 Jan 1 Whit Howland
Emma
She swelled with the tide, a temple of flesh,
A prisoner of the moon, caught in its mesh.
The babe, a fish swimming dark seas unseen,
A Pisces prophet with eyes serpentine.

They wove the spell, this chaos, this sin,
A labyrinth of whispers carved deep in her skin.
“Forgive me,” she moaned, lips cracked and dry,
“This child will tear the veils of the sky.”

Her hands, pale ghosts, reached for the flame,
“Punish me, lover, call me by name.
Bleed me, feed me, make it all slow,
Your love is a mirror—I shatter, I glow.”

Her womb was a temple, heavy with fire,
The hymns of a rebel, the strings of a lyre.
The babe coiled tight like a venomous charm,
A grenade of fate cradled in her arm.

The stars watched silent, the earth held its breath,
A shadow-child dancing with the drums of death.
She laughed at the gods, her voice wild and free,
“This is rebellion—it starts with me.”
Dr Bob changed the subject
when I asked him about youth
in Asia, but, then, he wasn’t
aware that I was a dyslexsick.
He lived at zero degrees
latitude yet he yearned for
the arctic, but being stuck
in the middle between a
Berg and a cold place he
always thought of Hobson
and never made the choice.
I teach my
little daughter about
things in the sea with
flippers, and I feel
like Neptune or
Posideon.
I can smell
the salty breeze.

Sometimes,
I feel like
I won the lottery.
Don't get me wrong,
I'm broke most
of the time, but
my life is rich with
golden memories, and
silver moments, built
one day at a time.
Here is a link to my you tube channel where I read my poetry.  A brand new video is up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMvnUCN6Rmc
This could be
the last poem I
ever write.
I hope not,
but it's possible.

If it were my
last poem,
what would I want
it to say?
Wow, not so easy.

Poetry has been a
loving wife, and I
will miss her on
all those sleepless
nights, when dreams
don't come.
Writing poems have
kept me in touch
with all the harsh
pain, and all the
sublime beauty.
Both are supreme
teachers.

Poetry has opened
my ears to the
sounds of the
earth, the whispered
rush of the creek
running over stones
and sticks.
The cries of my
children in the
night wanting
their mothers'
milk.

If this were
my
last poem, I would
want it to bring
some joy and be
a bit less sentimental.
Oh well,
guess I have to
write more.
This is a repost.  Here's a link to my you tube channel where I read my poetry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMvnUCN6Rmc
Many years
ago, I went to
this little
Irish bar.
On Sunday nights,
there was a jazz band.
They played
Monk
Mingus
Coltrane
Miles
and the Duke.

I drank gallons of
****** marys on
those hot
summer nights.
Dill pickle spears, and
green olives came up
later on those
hungover, dreamless
mornings.

I was young.
I wasted the days,
lying in the sun,
bayonetted by youth.
Copper colored skin,
tin soul.
I would go thousands
of miles, chasing
that train, before I
would be forgiven.
Here is a link to my you tube channel where I read my poetry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMvnUCN6Rmc
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