i'm eating glass shards
and complaining about
the way my gums bleed
one day i'm gonna turn
inside out and become some
other body or somebody else

starting with the dentures first
and the three thousand dollar
surgery that you flew out to florida
to get won't mean a thing
because i'm somebody new
not a living embarrassment

Don't believe the doctor
if they say no one can die
from a broken heart.

I will tell you why.

One day I fell in love,
I fell hard, so hard
I became blinded
by it's beautiful display,
it caught my attention
and my wandering eye.

But soon it caught me
by surprise, it was broken,
and no batteries were included.

It took all I had,
told me lies,
stole my heart and
damaged my life.

Though I was broken,
life always passes by,
time heals all
but scares are left behind.

I might be softer from ware,
but I am not going to be softer
the next time love catches my eye.

I know better.
For now I suffer from high blood pressure.
Doctor can't figure out why.

© 2017 Amanda Shelton

Tell me
   When
       Did the lines
          Between
             My nightmares
                 And
                    This reality
                          Blur
                               And
                                   *Break

You say I'm running from myself
I guess you're right
Maybe I am
All I know is that the reason
I hear my heartbeat so clearly
Is because my chest is hollow

I am made up of layers
Too many layers
As if my skin
Was preparing to survive
Out in dead winter at the South Pole

I'm annoying
  I'm distrustful

    I'm stubborn
       And I'm doubtful

           And secretive

Maybe downright manipulative

   But most of all I'm exhausted

Exhausted of the nothingness
   That I float around in
Exhausted of everything
  That comes and goes
    Ensuring chaos
Exhausted of everything and nothing
  And all things in between
         Exhausted of
                     **living

The soft blue glow of his smartphone screen
Attracts him like a lover.
He looks intently at the “feed”
and snap chats with the others.
He photographs his dinner plate and
shares it with the web.
He plays no sports, he stays inside
He plays VR instead.
His neck is permanently bent
from looking at the screen.
He’s not much for conversation.
He’s a solitary teen.
He’s getting fat and growing soft
from long stretches of inaction.
He needs an intervention-
He’s addicted to distraction.

Silly Rabbits

What the bad news was
He found me too late:

For us to start all over again,
Meant diving into dark waters
I offered no guarantee
Didn’t need sweeping off my feet

Everything was going according to God’s plan
Not man’s evil deed:

In the mist of everything, I knew trouble
Was up head: Rings would be taken off
Snap photo would be taken out of wallets
And nights of cold showers before going to bed
The refrigerator would be empty once again

Because he found us:
The man who flew to high
nights would be like a silencer

Facebook on liners would be his friends
And the house of Jericho would tumble down again

I choose freedom; he took a leap of faith
Don’t cry for me: cry for him, from love to disgrace,

It took thirty odd years for him to look good in the mirror
but it took a few second to look bad in her eyes

It took me one year and I  fix it.
Lost time pencil in:
True love of a good friend

Don’t cry for me; cry for him:
I offered no guarantee:
I offer no sideline referee

Didn’t need to be sweep off my feet
Man’s evil deed wasn’t meant for me
neither being a relationship referee.