Maybe you said it once
And breathed it quietly in my ear
As we sat in your freezing car
Parked in front of the library
The roads were slick
But you were slicker
Handing out compliments like candy

Maybe you said it a couple of times
Over and over on the telephone
As we both laughed into the receiver
Me picturing your smile with every word
The connection was weak
But I was weaker
Falling head first into you

Maybe you said it a thousand times
And held my face in your hands
As we laid in that twin sized bed
Your body pressed against my own
The room was warm
But you were warmer
Moving for the first time in sync

But maybe you never said it at all
Or at least you never meant it
As you said this was the last time
Standing on the other side of the room
The air was heavy
But I felt heavier
Fracturing me piece by piece

A Republican delegation
From Congress has taken a little trip
To Russia, where the members hope
To strengthen a budding relationship.

But have they asked critical questions
About Crimea--the annexation--
Russia's support for Assad, or even
One human rights violation?

Have they asked about Russian meddling
In our elections? What about
Jailed dissenters, poisonings,
And freedoms that the leaders flout?

What about Russian involvement
In other countries' important elections?
Or did they even think to question
Russian-U.S. financial connections?

Were any of these questions asked?
The answer is no--none of the above.
Their murky mission instead is for them
To go to Russia to…spread their love

Prior to Trump's meeting with Putin--
The secret meeting behind closed doors,
Where the former KGB spy
Will have Trump groveling on all fours.

When there are reasons for cover-ups,
It isn't hard to understand
How out of desperation someone
Could play into another's hand.

Not only are Putin and Donald Trump
Lovingly exchanging rings,
But Putin also has Trump's lackeys
Dangling from his puppet strings.

-by Bob B (7-4-18)

this isn’t going to make sense
cause it’s not supposed to
and if I’m being honest
this isn’t for you
it’s not even for me

I’m stuck
I’m trapped
I’m lost
I’m every other word that describes people who feel at a dead end

I’m typing on a ****** phone
That’s connected to a ****** connection
That could possibly be a metaphor for my life

I’m writing
Because I don’t know what else to do

I’m writing
Cause that’s what they told me to do

But they also told me that what I think isn’t always true
That I’m special and I just don’t see it

But that’s the thing
I don’t see it

And if I don’t see it then why should it matter if anyone else does

And if I’m thinking something why should it matter if it’s true

What matters is that it’s in my head
What matters is that it’s always there

But here I am
Stuck in the same place
Back to square one
No progress made
The same questions, whether true or not

Will I amount to anything?
Do I really help?
Am I really worthwhile?
Do you actually care?

I see these people
When I’m online
They smile and post
They edit and pose

I can’t help but wonder

Do you really smile, or do you just do it to look happy like me?
Do you really feel happy, or are you trying to lie like me?
Do you understand what I feel?

Or is it just me?

I’m not trying to be selfish
I don’t want a lot
I just want to be happy
And I want others to be happy with me
But neither is happening

So instead there’s a poem
That doesn’t even ryhme
That makes no sense
  I’ll try harder

I dream up lines
Philosophize
Spread a word
For the birds

The birds want
the bird feed

I swat the flies
Benchmark the binds
Stress the test
Do my best

The soul wants
what it wants

I've been too excited
About the things I learn
I've forgotten to hide it

The world is dark
The world is light
Which we define
Which we divide

Cut up and give a form

My heart is ill
I eat the pills
My mind is gone
I may be wrong

More often than I'm right

Lights in the skies
Here come aliens

While I'm on LSD

I am this monster
This monster of rhyme
I hide in the shadows touched by no-one but time
From the deep we have risen and still we do climb
Myself and my conscious this monster of mine