pink scars
peppered her lithe limbs
flower petals incised
on peach skin

moss coursed
withered yellow-brick channels
sloping loosely down
the crooked river mouth

clouds bulged
glazed heavily over the sun
like a flashlight
engulfed in sheets

lightning sliced
the pane of sky splintered
air ignited instantly
and danced around us

Life Is A Trip.
Call me Alice-
The one in Wonderland.
I eat a piece of this cake
And watch myself
Become too tall.
I nibble the other
And feel shame
When I get too small.
I hope one day
I find the right amount
To make me
The same size as
You.
(Gerry Aldridge 2016)

Tick tock tick tock
There goes the clock 

Busy with ticking away
Every second of the day
Giving a sound to time
Indicating day or nighttime

Tick tock tick tock
There goes the clock

Its hands are clapping 
While time is unwrapping 
Clapping on the beat
Every second never offbeat

Tick tock tick tock
There goes the clock

It seems to go so fast
When you're having a blast
Other times not at all
Time then just seems to crawl

Tick tock tick tock
There goes the clock

Again I give a big sigh
Trying hard to deny
That another day went by
Another day to say goodbye

Tick tock tick tock
There goes the clock

I keep having this dream where
I'm 14 again and I'm sure you're the love of my life but
I keep doing stupid things
And you keep saying stupid things
And all of our friends , they call us a stupid thing
Because really ,
All we do is fight
And it tears them apart
Seeing us tear eachother apart
And you're just standing there
Bc you know I'm gonna leave again
Bc I've left
A dozen times and once more at a cemetery
But this time it's different bc this time when i try to leave I trip over the reason I fell in love with you in the first place and instead of getting up I just kneel there

The pretty girl with the wide smile,
that doesn't quite reach her eyes.
The happy girl with the loud laugh,
that doesn't want to socialize.

The quite girl with the long sleeves,
is starting to feel like a fraud.
The perfect girl with the straight hair,
is getting tired of the façade.

The pretty girl has a fake smile,
and is filling her body with cuts.
While, the perfect girl with the straight hair,
is puking out her guts.

The happy girl with the pretend laugh,
spends her nights crying to the stars.
While, the quiet girl with the long sleeves,
has a body full of bruises and scars.

So, not everything is as it seems.
Because, while everything seems fine,
these girls are full of silent screams.

The lights are out; I can’t see anything.
The town is quiet; everyone is sleeping besides me.
I walk the streets of this little town I grew up in.
I see corn fields.
I see the library I use to love.
I see the local high school where dreams come true.
This town makes me sad because you’re not here anymore.
I want to see you again but that means I would have to go to heaven.
You had dreams of getting out of this town and doing something better, you said I could come with you to New York, we could travel the world.
Reality hits and I realize I’m not going anywhere so I lay down in the corn field and enjoy the stars.
We use to look at the stars together.
I miss you.

What will break my heart more
a sledge hammer
Or
*your words

im not much of a poet,
but his eyes look like comets
rushing to fall onto me,
being engulfed by earth's pull

im not much of a poet,
but i swear his skin
feels like the first drop of water
on a hot summer shower

im not much of a poet,
but his smile spreads across
my skyline like sunshine
on an early morning jog

im not much of a poet,
and he's not much of my poetry.