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The moon dusts off the rust,
Begonias woebegone,
Withering wisterias forlorn.

And in the morning,
A flower of mourning.

A blossom, a *****,
Baby's breath
In a smug golden wreath

Left bright yellow carnations
Of shifting grey hues,

Hard-to-pinpoint
Variations;
There might have been some blues.
YELLOW CARNATIONS: disappointment, regret
BLUE CARNATIONS/MOONDUST: a rarity, mystery, fickle, truth
 Dec 2018 A Mess of Words
Lily
I remember the evening
that we sat clinging
to paper cups
of coffee gone cold

over secrets spilled and memories told
two bodies cursed
with hearts grown old

behind your eyes
I found new worlds
A winding road stretched out for miles
to a small cafe at the end of the isle

Sweet pastries filled the mouths
of those who sat beside us
and stayed for a while.

How the hours went by,
people just passing through
The descending sun ending
a forever with you.
 Nov 2018 A Mess of Words
zen
my body is glass and with your fingertips you can shatter my façade and let passion flow from the pieces. I want the memory of you to be stained in my mind, your mark on my skin. I want to memorize the look in your eyes as you take me, the feeling of your gentle body pressed against mine.

I want to know what you look like when you wake up. I want to trace the bone range of your hips with the tips of my fingers and watch your eyelids tremble from their dark valleys into the waking world; I want to be the first thing you see, my silhouette faded pink and yellow by the morning light.
an old poem but one of my favorites
She longs for nights filled with sparks
lust and pleasure
Whiskey lips and naked kisses
Bodies close together
 Jul 2017 A Mess of Words
brooke
i went back through
my old pieces

and it all became so
bleached,

white sugar, white rice,
skim milk, I used to be
so rich, cream, honey
oak sap,

I wrote and it felt
natural, saw in
words and coffee
hues, tastes and
teaspoons clinking
bowls rolling, counters
covered in  flour
batter running into the
sink and onto my
feet, i could bake
bread on my palms
leavened and without
yeast

i wrote like everything
was alive because it was
because it is


because I am.
read a lot of my stuff from last spring, i've always been cautious about becoming too wordy. I have this conception about how i should write poetry and what sounds pretentious--i get really caught up in how other people read my stuff.  Anyway, I've been censoring myself over the past few months because someone told me to 'stop using such big words' and 'say what I really feel'.  But this is what I really feel, in big words and really
long drawn out flower analogies.
 Jun 2017 A Mess of Words
brooke
i used to wish the thunder
scared me.


but it never has,
always wanted to
catch bolts in my
hair, whip through
the rain, yell my
middle name
into the hollow
or up the crags
near Rockvale,
i will never
claim a wild
streak but I have
a such a loud
voice inside
me.
(c) Brooke Otto 2017
 Jun 2017 A Mess of Words
brooke
i once asked him
if he still loved her
and he said I'd hope not

i think that we
misconstrue open
wounds for old feelings,
for love,

that it is harder to let go
of the things that hurt
where we told ourselves
it was okay to stay,
to bed down and bunk
that we were safe,

the truth of the matter is
that none of us like to roam
and every country, every
campsite is as beautiful as
home, where we shared
too much and hid nothing
because what greater freedom
than to bare all,

it is safe to say i know the outside
of what love looks like, like skimming
pages or folding sheets-- not really using
the thing,

not really using the thing.

i don't think this is what it is,
all grit and open blisters,
maybe that is where it starts
before anything can begin


i'd hope so.
(c) Brooke Otto 2017
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