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Jen Grimes Sep 2016
The Dog


I found him, outside the basketball court
Sunday morning.
His golden coat seemed soft like
A Patagonia in dead winter, like
a blanket over your legs when the summer breeze hits.

I found him outside the basketball court
Sunday morning,
He came up to me with curious eyes; like
A child in a candy store, like
Detectives, always curious, like
staring at the phone waiting for your mother to reply
Curious.

I found him outside the basketball court
Sunday morning,
His gold tail hiding between his legs, ears perked like
when the caffeine finally kicks in, like
recognizing your best friend in the hallway, like
the addition of red roses to a bouquet, like
her ******* when the water is cold

I found him outside the basketball court
Sunday morning,
His fur was matted, his body emaciated like
The body of an anorexic, like
A child rotting from leukemia,
No longer soft, like a Patagonia.

So I covered him with a blanket,
His eyes fearful, not curious but wet
Like his nose hitting my arm, like
Carrying him in my arms, soft
Even in chilly November;
light as a feather.
Jen Grimes Jan 2016
Last night we sat in my driveway
Your chest heaved and I knew
Your heart was cracking under the pressure
Of "goodnight."
Because it was so close to saying goodbye

I scooted onto your lap  
While your tears dripped onto my thigh
And I tried to press my heart
Into your chest
Because I hated to see you cry
Jen Grimes Jul 2015
We stood on the edge
Of our worst fears
Of our new beginnings
It’s a race and time is winning

We laid our beaten bones
Wrapped up in a cocoon
Wrapped up I feel so small
It’s my hearts revival

We fell to the ground
Only to feel relief again
Only to steal our hearts content
It’s your love that’s spent

We unzipped our bodies
Emptied out their substance
Emptied out across the floor
I revealed my core

We stood on the edge
Of our worst fears
Of our new beginnings
We thought about jumping
Jen Grimes Feb 2016
It was 2am
And the L-trains were still moving
We
Were still moving
Bodies

Freshness poured from my mouth
And my skin waited
For flakes to sprinkle down from
The ash

There was no snow
Only clouds sluggishly
Whirling by

I don’t think they had much better to do
The clouds, except watch a spectacle
And his girl
Get high

Traces of marijuana
Stamped out by light blue
Spirits

They bit their lips
Let the smoke omit from tired lungs
And reveled in sleeping on clouds

He flicked the **** to the ground
Dirt caked in brown snow
Caked in muddy grass

She wanted to throw her body
To the hillside
Find long grass and tousled hair
Lay in the fray until the sun peeked out
Behind evanescent clouds

But it was 3am
The L-trains stopped moving
When they did

Jupiter aligned with its moons
And she turned on her back
Exposing her underbelly
To the brightest side of the moon.
Jen Grimes Sep 2015
What happened to enjoying
The scenery
Without our cell phones?
What happened to
Sitting in silence
As you inhale the nature around you
Why can't we
Just become a part of the picture
Instead of having to
Pull out our iPhones
To snap shot the moment
And send it out into the world
Jen Grimes Sep 2015
Acid trips
With Alice
Always lead me
To Lucy
With her diamonds
Not just a girls best friend
But mine
When crystal roars
Its ugly head, I forget
The sly panther she was
In the beginning
Jen Grimes Aug 2015
It takes an ocean not to break.
Jen Grimes Jul 2015
That’s promising
My mom says
And I tuck my chin
Because I’ve never had
Promising*

Promising means you’ll
Stay a while
Through clouded eyes
And whispered enigmas

The only promises
I’ve maintained
Were held tight
By pinkies

Are you really promising?
Or are those just words to me?
Jen Grimes May 2017
I.

my lungs felt like glass bulbs and my head was full of the sea. I leaned across the glove box with my eyes closed. He told me that was the best kiss he'd ever received; maybe it was the mint chocolate chip ice cream.

II.

from far away they were green, up close though, his eyes were blue. Definitely blue. A comforter beneath my tanned legs, his  hand against my thigh. His lips touched mine, gentle and innocent. We fell asleep to the buzz of the television.

III.

algebra was another language, but when he spoke to me; I understood every equation. His kiss left my head spinning. Maybe the pencils held too much lead.

IV

we spent the summer in a run down arcade. He had a freckle on his chest that I swore looked like New Jersey. Our kisses tasted of kettle corn.

V

his hands were calloused. I wish I never knew what cigarettes tasted like.

VI

I could write an entire book about each time his lips met mine.

VII

my sweater reeked of *** but he didn't seem to mind. When we passed through the halls he called me Jess.

VIII

it shouldn't have been him, but too much ***** can impair ones judgement.

IX.

we spent nights lying in the grass, it tickled my back. He gave me his lucky cigarette.

X.

the room was dark and the stairs creaked. His fingers quickened the pulse in my neck. I kept my eyes open.
Jen Grimes Oct 2015
And you stay
Even though, my fingers tremble sometimes.
You’re bumping out of my ears

I look down
when I’m telling the truth
But you help me up,
My favorite shotgun

We find maps inside each other
Travel the trail, down my spine
Tattoo your fingers inside of my thigh
You’re running through my veins

When I’m with you,
I feel like the Sun’s in my belly
And even though, sometimes, I use my fingers
To make myself empty, you stick around

We play in the grass
Stumbling through the doorway
Messy and full of laughter
With you everything feels brighter
You’re my sunflower

My favorite crash landing
I fall into you
You reach for me
The collision is beautiful

And you stay.
Jen Grimes Jul 2015
There's a leak in the faucet
It drips your name
The right pedal on my bike
Keeps coming lose
Like the way you tugged at my heart
I let it fall apart for you

You ripped up the floor boards
Stripped me to naked flesh
And bleached bones
i looked away
While you stared in silence
Uncovering the person beneath my shell
Jen Grimes Dec 2016
Consider the stars;
Let them illuminate
Your dark.
Jen Grimes Jul 2015
Fact
Things fall apart
Fiction
What's broken can't be mended

Fact
You have brown eyes
Fiction
I'm really a good driver

Fact
*** smells like skunk
Fiction
One cigarette will **** you

Fact
Your body is designed to heal itself
Fiction
Those scars will last forever

Fact
Love cures pain
Fiction
Heartbreak lasts forever

Fact
You smell like cinnamon and freshly mowed grass
Fiction
I don't miss you at all

Fact
Everyone is just one being
Fiction
We are all alone

Fact
All the strings inside me, snapped
Fiction
I prefer the made up version
Jen Grimes Jan 2016
It's been a while since I've written
Poetry
But I can never forget the
Words
That are stapled onto
My back.
Jen Grimes Jul 2015
And here I go again
Opening closed doors
Because I’m tired of being shut out
No amount of
Overturned stones
Could break through your glass house
I’m on the outside looking in
And someone snuffed the light out
Jen Grimes Mar 2016
And here I go again
Opening closed doors
Because I’m tired of being shut out
No amount of
Overturned stones
Could break through your glass house
I’m on the outside looking in
And someone snuffed the light out

She’s a shiny new ploy
Captivating your attention

I can’t seem to brush
This dirt from my shoulder
People keep dropping it
In the grave we made
But I refuse to admit its over

I’m digging deeper
But there’s nothing left
Just this swelling
In my chest

When you open up your door
No one’s on the other side
Jen Grimes Jul 2015
Her hands will mold to yours
Her arms will feel like home

Her voice will be
The only sound you know

She’ll kiss you
Beneath the moonlight

She’ll laugh
Her eyes glint like stars

The galaxy was her
But she was out to Mars
Jen Grimes Jan 2016
I can’t.* Allow those words
to melt off your tongue.
May they shiver and crack
as they hit the ground.
Relish in the crumble
that comes with every step,
as you crush those words
beneath the soles of your shoes.

Repeat after me:
*I can.
Jen Grimes Aug 2015
I am somebody, even
Without
You
Jen Grimes Dec 2015
I love him.
I would run into a burning building to save him.

I used to think that was worth something.
Jen Grimes Jul 2015
I’m not sure
How to talk
To you anymore

I laid my heart before you
But you’re reluctant
To explore

I thought I knew
Every creased edge of you
But now you’re a name with no face

I fought a war
To save us from bloodshed
But you’ve washed your hands of me

Words are only letters
That fill the silence
We can’t withstand

My stomach is full
Of twisted knots
That fray at every end


I grappled to save us
But you’re miles away
Sitting across from me
a poem I revisited after a month
Jen Grimes Jan 2017
There’s water in these veins
But somehow
I’m still thirsty

It drips across my collarbone
Reaches for my heart strings
But there’s a chord missing

There’s fruit inside this brain
But somehow
My stomach is empty

They’re just words
Being swallowed whole
Stretching to fit down my throat

There’s a fire in the depths
Of this heart
But the hearth only holds smoke

Inflating these lungs
Burning a hole

-I’ll be fine-

Where
Your lips used to be,
Pressed against mine.
Jen Grimes Sep 2014
In my empty room
I stared at the ceiling
I heard my heartbeat
And saw a billion stars

I thought that if I closed my eyes
I’d forget about it
I’d forget about you

But there they were
Stories of us
Written on the walls
Pulsing through my veins

Your lips against mine
A distant memory
Something too far away to reach

But **** did I want it
I wanted your lips
Pressed against mine
The way a harmony builds
And becomes a bridge

I wanted flowers to bloom for us
I wanted the waves to meet sand for us
I wanted rain to hit the windshield for us
I wanted it to come pouring down

Because I felt like a hurricane
And I wanted you to weather the storm
Jen Grimes Sep 2014
We don’t think
Before we speak
But our words
Only take seconds to sink
Into someone elses heart
We seem to have no problem
Destroying what’s not ours


Words mean everything
From people who used to mean something
Jen Grimes Sep 2014
Hospital walls get tired
And colors
They become dry
After a while
The memories fade
But sometimes they crash and fall
Like tidal waves
Striking my heart
As if one blow
Wasn’t enough to impede
My hearts beating
Again and again
They hammer
Their words
Down my throat
And a girl can only swallow
So much
Before she breaks
Jen Grimes Jul 2015
This girl is devilish
This one is angelic
Her lips turn forward
Her sweet gaze moves to me

But the girl reflecting
From the glass
Could give me hell
She's tight
Her eyes make sly conversations with mine

It's a mask
The one she wears each day
Showing people her small hands
And the underside of her belly
The way she moves
The way she speaks
Nervous and shy

She takes it off
Comes out in the night
When the boys are rolling
When the joint is right
She's a serpent
And she dances just for me
Jen Grimes Mar 2016
I saw a star once.
In the mirror
It was me
But it’s been a year
No,
1 year and 7 months
to be exact.
Now when I look
When I peer
Into the silvery cold glass
I see a stoney girl
Strung out
A lonely girl
A boney girl
Stuck out
****** in by a riptide
Out in the sea
Filled with dreams.
Jen Grimes Sep 2014
Sometimes
When I think
Of you
I picture you
At your place

I think of
July 4th
Cautiously turning
Over milestones

Carefully climbing
Every rung
On that ladder
My hands shook
But I would
Never tell

Fumbling through
The dark
Grasping your hand
And gripping it
Like a vice

Fireworks went off
For us
As your place
Slowly became

Our place.

— The End —