your art shook my foundations
disturbed my complacency

now I understand
why you are so needed

plain as you are
your voice came to me

and then I realised
it was I who was speaking

I don't seek your permission...
To write about the what, why and how.
It could be a haiku or come in the shape of a cow.

I don't need your approval...
When I don't sound the least bit poetic...
In my mismatched metaphors or ill-rhymed acrostic.

I'm not asking for your blessing...
When I pen down and put up what I think...
Be it in cloying cliches or in tear drenched ink.

I don't crave for your understanding...
When my 10 word poems weren't filtered through your poetic lens,
Or if my contributions in collaborations lack in sense.

I don't hope for your likes...
If my content does not tickle your fancy,
Or if my words just rubs you silly.

I mean no disrespect...
But don't be too quick to click on the 'comment' button.
Private messaging has been put there for a reason.

I don't mean to cramp your style...*
You're entitled to your own opinions of course...
But if you've got nothing good to say, please save it and shove it up yours.

Hello, I am the salesman,
though no solid wares I vend.
You see I've come to hock some love,
to hearts long on the mend.
They say I have a way with words,
though modest, I remain.
If you'll stop and trade your time,
you've only peace to gain.
I'll take in all your troubles friend,
these shoulders can bear the load
and if it's faith in life you've lost
I've been known to peddle hope.
So stop and start to barter,
I'll show you all the world is fine.
No worries if you're hurried now,
I can bottle joy like wine.

why doesn't everyone feel things like I feel things
Im always leaving my hands out
for about three years now they've just been bleeding
most guys will glance and flinch
while others will lift the broken skin and play in my blood till they're satisfied
a fascination grows as they mess with my emotions something they don't understand
I let them toy cause I'm empty and I don't really care since I can't actually feel anything everything's an act
nothing's real on this end
but you're different
you've loved and lost and have seen and experienced things that could make lights go out
your eyes are still pretty as **** and your laugh isn't ever gonna sound unlike some melody that my mom sang when I was young and okay
you used to tear at my blouse I use to tear at your face
your lips made my heart stop
and your fingers made my legs shake
but it wasn't till I lost you did I realize what I had dropped and thrown away was a beautiful work of art unlike any other
so now I just ache
now your lips make my heart drop and your fingers only end calls and I've got a bruise on my knee that reminds me of you cause it won't go away and it still hurts
or maybe it's cause I lost my balance and fell really ******* hard like you did that day your brother died and I didn't hold your hand but I kissed your stomach and you forgot about it for awhile and I said your name and you smiled for awhile then I left your house and you cried for awhile
but I couldn't help your wheezing cause I couldn't love you right and
no wonder your bed was so cold all the time despite your blankets you had nothing inside you no warmth to give
two years and you seem happier now
but when you reached out your hands were cold
you pretend not to notice my sudden interest in your breathing
"I could have fixed you."
why didn't I help you
how easy it could have been to tend your wounds  
something's changed here and now my hands are always bleeding
"I wanna help you."
I want to fill the vacancy of your chest
I can still hear iT IT ECHOES MY SCREAMING
LIKE WHEN LAST TIME I SAW YOU TWO WEEKS AGO AND YOU GRABBED MY ARM AND MY HANDS STAINED YOUR SHIRT BUT YOU KISSED THOSE CRACKS AND I FLINCHED AND YOU FELT IT YOU LET GO CAUSE I WASNT STABLE AND YOU NEEDED A PLACE TO REST YOUR THOUGHTS AND I CANT GIVE YOU SUPPORT AS MUCH AS I WANT TO CAUSE I DONT KNOW HOW TO TALK ABOUT THINGS IM SORRY IM SO SORRY
BUT I NEED YOU TO BE HERE I WANNA TAKE IT BACK I WANT YOU BACK YOU CANT LEAVE YET
NOT YET I WANNA LOVE YOU RIGHT I WANNA KISS YOUR FACE AGAIN
"ARE YOU STILL THERE?"
DO YOU STILL NEED ME?
I THINK I NEED YOU
"IM RIGHT HERE."
IM RIGHT HERE
MY HANDS ARE BLEEDING REALLY HARD RIGHT NOW
"IM NOT LEAVING."
I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU
"I WONT BE LEAVING."
AM I CRAZY
ITS BEEN THREE YEARS AND I STILL THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY
"YOU SHOULD CALL ME BACK."

He wandered a winding path,
through a wood he'd never traversed before.
No particular destination, he would know when he arrived.
The birds chirped and a spring doe darted through the brush somewhere.
He saw sunbeams dance through the budding trees
and felt the cold steel clutched in his hand and he thought
"It is a good enough day, for this sort of walk."
The wind blew,
mixing the music of the birds with that of it's hollow whistle.
The trail broke suddenly, disappearing  like a magicians rabbit.
Sun flooded his eyes, dazzling the senses.
He squinted, seeing a small and lonely field, grass blowing gently,
as if giving him a solemn bow.
The light warmed his cheeks,
and he thought, "Ah this, this spot is good enough."
The walk to the fields center was longer,
then he thought it would be.
And strange,
he couldn't hear the birds anymore.
But he could feel the cold steel clutched in his hand and he,
pressed it to his chin with a BANG... and he thought nothing.
But the wind still blew, and the sun still shone, and the day,
was still good enough.

I don't go outside often.
I avoid the sunlight,
And sleep in a coffin.

Your stereotypical vampire,
This is another sob story
For a ritual campfire.
Not an individual
To be admired,

But how I long to be
Blown into the nose
Of fame like *******
With no shame.

I'd be another meteorite
To crack under the spotlight,
Diagnosed with blocked sight

At a dead end
As inspiration deadens
And the debt of regret sets in.
Nothing would be more pleasant.

(c) 2015 Brandon Antonio Smith

translate that ravishing look,
your sparkling eyes gift to me
in to your love's exact caret,
reflecting that clarity perfect,
and  cut with a million faces
spewing your passion's urge;
I'll pledge my soul to you
for ever, wear that diamond
life after life, with you beside
smiling, making me wonder,
which is brighter,the love diamond
from your eyes, or your smile
moonlight shower, bathing me ever.