Caffeine
a pen
I yawn and then
yawn again

nothing flows out except
mothballs

cloth ears they called me
deaf to their pleas
but
I was as different as
chalk is to cheese.

I yawn once more while
weevils bore into my brain
and yawn again.

The snipers have got me
shot me on Monday
sometimes I wish
I was
Solomon
Grundy

then I fall
into the week
because I'm weak
or antique
couldn't hold on to
the
yawn again
dawning on me that
what I see is
what I'll be
by Friday.

My heart
has cracked open
like the most
fragile of
elusive
eggs
viscous fluid
drips d
            own
upon the plate
filled with
fissures,
spidercracks that
threat to
quake into
seismic
         measures
and eventually
piece off into
oblivion
and only when
I can finally
unfold myself
from these
underwater
embryonic bends
fetal stretches
and folds
that never end
only then my arms
reach out
into the night
searching
and,
in tiniest of beams,
in one fell stroke
of midnight kismet
I find you
around me
in colored chromium
wrapping me up
headstrong,
filling my
wounded sutures
with
     liquid
gold

The wind shuffles the long grass
And the broad green reeds
Shifting and rattling
By the rippling black water
Chuckling water fowl splash
Swans and cygnets hurry past
And the weather is on the turn
It's time to be heading home

The last of the daylight creatures
And the very first of those of the night
Are sharing this half-way hour
The sky restlessly moves and changes
And bruised clouds rush over head
Like the rubbed eye-lids of a child
A weary teary child
Going home and ready for bed

The slack and glossy water
Laps at the stone beneath bridges
Echoing with the ghosts of barges
And spits of rain flick the air
Studs of cold hitting the face
Turning a collar to the cheek
And urging aching feet
Home-fire yearning me home

                               By Phil Roberts

It's not necessarily dangerous,
to pour gasoline,
on top of me,
I like the smell,
as I rub it in,
I rub my arms,
& gas my soaked skin,

It's only dangerous,
when you keep pouring it on me,
pouring it on me,
until I'm drenched
soaked in it,
you're poking & poking & poking,
you poke around to much,
till the fire is way too hot to touch,

Scorched hair just reaks,
in an unpleasant vaporous,
& dangerous
plume,
in such awaiting & toxic
stench filled fumes,
you never know when enough is enough,
when you get way too close,
because that gas is like my perfume,

You get too close for my comfort,
or yours,
& boy people just never learn,
by fire we will always burn,
& unafraid in ash,
again, return, return,

And as you take out,
that tempting lighter,

    Flick A Bick

I'm not going to be ashes just yet,
because you see,
I'm a fighter,

Listen,
step back,
behind the rope,
you are very near,
an extremely,
flammable accelerant,

Coming so close,
you are igniting,
certain buried,
& long forgotten fears,
bones I didn't want to dig up,

Engaging in,
a war within,
you are inciting,
me to burn,
& like you,
I too,
I never learn,
to me a burn,
might be exciting,

As I am burning,
& returning
in this old anger,
because I let it go already,
it's been gone for years an years,

Nobody likes to be to disturbed
from the stillness of a grave,
this would never be tolerated,
my soul you need to save,
would not be tolerated anywhere,
not anywhere else,
by anyone else,

Just leave me be,
I'm a smoldering coal
& a truly gentle
kind & beautiful soul,

Undisturbed I eventually,
turn into diamonds,

Until,
& unless,
that is,
until,
petrified wood finally burns,

As I'm raging out of control,
because you are a terrible arsonist,
a terrorist who stalks women,

I said,
don't stand so close to me,
I warned & warned you,
you just don't head or hear,
those warnings,

Too busy dragging,
those neanderthal knuckles,
to my door,
that's the place you cannot go,
don't set this old page ablaze,

Because I am,
my own justice system,
creating a devastating path,
that I never wanted to even take,
an enormous path
of destruction,
I will leave there,
in my wake
so for your sake,
our sake,
& everyone else's sake
for the love of God,
I don't want to destroy you,
back off from the intensity of my fire.