I swallowed my pride with such induction,
I feared a bleed,
Or spontaneous combustion,
So intense…..
I could not speak,
I raised my cheeks……
While clinching my teeth,
Shaking my head,
Composed…but riled,
How pleased he looked,
He thought I had smiled,
How wrong he was,
Someone spoke…….
……too soon,
My remains splattered all over the room
©B L COSTELLO 2017

It happened again
She is still “his wife”,
The police took the gun,
She’ll sharpen the knife
Things don’t always turn out like you plan,
You must take matters into your own hands,
Years of abuse,
Fear and deceit,
Eventually…he’ll go to sleep,
So many long years!
God how she’s tried,
He’s starting to snore,
She must decide,
So long she thought,
“Someone will save me”,
Work kept her busy,
Then…the baby,
The police always come,
But they never seem to help,
Tonight she’s gonna take care of herself
Anxious for what her choices can bring,
She hopes she is brave and the phone doesn’t ring
© B L Costello 2017

So, dark it was I could not see,
A vast and starless galaxy,
Like a child,
I felt to see,
My hands reaching in front of me,
Steps so careful
Mouth agape,
I pause between,
Then I wait,
Once again,
I test the ground,
Accepting,
There is still no sound,
The only thing assuring me,
is the pull of gravity,
Oh, God!
If I should start to float,
I am sure that I would give up hope
Without that pull,
How could I resist?
How else would I know if I exist?
©B L Costello 2017

I chew my butter,
It doesn’t melt,
Trust worthy as Lucy Van Pelt,
He tells me his troubles,
I don’t complain,
I tell him where to leave the change,
It makes me happy to watch him fall,
He runs like a girl,
I move the ball,
I asked him play…I was feeling kind,
That block head does every time,
Sometimes he such a basket case,
I could punch that red head in the face,
But he looks sooo cute on that pitcher’s mound,
Sometimes, he's just so Charlie Brown
©B L Costello 2017

Yesterday,
I Googled your name,
I searched under “image”,
Nothing came….
I dialed your phone,
It made me nervous,
A strange voice said it was “out of service”,
Your room is empty,
So is your chair,
I just can’t find you anywhere,
I looked in the mirror,
What else could I do?
Something familiar,
I look like you,
Sometimes your children are all that is left,
If I stare to long,
I get upset,
It’s only me,
10 years you’re gone,
Oh how I miss you, mom
©B L Costello 2017

When fear precedes,
Knowledge,
The last one heard is trust,
Prejudice believes,
Our differences define us,
And now a fool commands,
Imposing his beliefs,
I don’t know how it happened…
I guess he is our chief,
Tonight…. I’m on the couch,
I guess I’ll watch the rally,
I think I’ll just keep guessing….
Why take him literally?
He doesn’t think before he speaks,
He twitters when he’s tired,
I that think he hears voices,
That’s why he thinks he’s wired.
©B L Costello 2017

Submit or succumb,
What the hell did I do?
Give into desire,
Or give into you?
Questions like ghosts,
Persist like a want,
Lighting a smoke,
I engage the haunt,
Searching myself,
I forget what I had,
Exhausted,
Taking another drag.
The alarm goes off,
I extinguish the ****,
“Good morning baby,
It’s time to get up”
©B L Costello 2017