The poet's toolbox is
an onerous store for skills
with life and death
and words that ****.
Pandora's box with broken locks.

Hammering words,
chiselling words,
leaving the reader
nailed, *******, glued.

Pulsing phantoms through the brain,
playing tricks, memory ******.
But the writing keeps me sane.

It's the one behind taking the picture,
concealed, hiding in the crowd,
but not of it, divided from it
by the spirit of the camera.

What will she say, latter-day?
'I was part of it and this proves it.'
But it doesn't. She's moved only
by its framing, its history.

Seething anger has burned down the barn
Where iniquity wove its amber curtains
On vintage looms of deceit and falsehood
Skylarks can’t nest there anymore
And the creek is poorer for it

The harvester is grounded and
The scythe lies in the ashes and the brambles.

The Almanac forecasted heavy rain
But the wind instead blew from the East
And was impossible to batten down
Now things once wet are very dry and cracking

There’s naught to load and take to market
Where tears won’t buy the milk and butter
And there’s no one left to bake the bread

Hurry up those stumbling feet
Wishing won’t create a cow
And you don’t own a pasture
Or a salt lick anyway

The only thing that you have left
Is an igneous tomorrow and incendiary dreams
                      ..  ljm ..

If you leave me
All the hangers will get tangled in the closet.
It won’t matter;  all my clothes will be on the floor.

If you leave me
The cheese in the refrigerator will turn green.
And the milk will soon be far too thick to pour.

If you leave me
The remote will only tune in somber shows.
That will be OK;  I’ll have forgotten how to laugh.

If you leave me
Dust bunnies will build a hutch beneath the bed
Where one forgotten slipper hides that I will never move.

If you leave me
The sun will shine on everything that’s not within my view.
I won’t mind;  my sunglasses will fool everyone but me.

If you leave me
Hummingbirds won’t visit the back garden any more
They’ll be blind to the red juice in the feeder.

If you leave me
I will build a house of memory and grief
And move myself inside and lock the door
                    ljm

some  are cold as ice
I had been told
took about
four fifths of my heart my hard worked money
and one of my cats
to realize
I won't ever be caught stupid again
bye

trying to build tomorow out of yesterdays
misconceptions making yellow the sunrise
when black clouds are covering the window still
in  dark no shadows convey color is grey as
backs of a nickel plated worn
on the sidewalks crack
lack of light the glistening
side glance back
into the alley
she caught you in
molested you totally
ashamed to admit
you were so indefensibly
naive
slobbering at the
slightest smile
a tool my god
my *******
believed
and well
I think back would
the last three years
without
the veil before my eyes  in the sun
seeing it all
would they if  not for her
been
as good
I  forget
try to forgive

Burn yo castle 2 the ground
When u hear my ****** coming don't u make a sound
Snitches get stitches but these suckers get fouled
Ah wow
Get down
If u don't
Lay down
Plenty cake

If u try 2 go 2 war then we don't conversate

****** been ****** ******* while y'all *******

Break a swisher
Make her lick it
Blow it in yo face

Smoking haters out the box

Summertime come around
****** acting wild

Cpd hit the block
Sneakers shake the ground

Winter time
Icy roads painted wit the blood

****** wit my Lil ******
Meet up wit my snub

Meet up wit my snub
Naw meet up wit yo maker

Jesus
Allah
Buddha Satan
Hera hermes shiva me?
*******
Getting
On they
Knees
1+2
But they ain't praying tho

U ain't even gotta mic so what u speaking 4

U ain't even gotta high so what u fiendin 4

U ain't even gotta lie
Who u sleeping on?

If he ain't getting money don't speak 4 me

If he getting out his body he can't blow 4 free

If a ***** get loud makeem rest in peace

Deuce deuce at yo chest like double Ds

I squeeze them thangs 2 make them squirt
If a ***** acting childish get his just desserts
No Häagen-Dazs *****
We don't **** wit lames
Pockets got diabetes cuz we stuffing cake

N that's on me
Remember when the boys n blue tried 2 cuff a g
Remember times got hard
We was hungry
N now the fam eating good no gluttony
So go 2 sleep

Lil ***** go 2 sleep

That's what my cousin use 2 always tell me
Cuz when id wake dollar bills is what id c

On me now we living outta dream

Yea now we living outta dream

Yea now we living outta dream n errthing ain't always what it seem
So don't sleep mf don't sleep

When the waters of a rising ocean quench the fires of a burning society maybe people will believe in the science that could have prevented it all.