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 Oct 2018 E B K
Nat Lipstadt
Why Men Cry in the Bathroom

For so many reasons.
I will tell you the why.
I think you know,
Or perhaps, you think you know.

Men are always O.K.,
Even when not.

We expect the worse,
Accept the worse,
Nonetheless,
We are forever unprepared.

Wearily, we cry,
In the bathroom, in private,
Lest sighs slip by,
We be unmasked,
Early warring, strife signs warning.

Copious, tho we weep
Before the mirror confessor,
It is relief untethered,
Unbinding of the feet,
An uncounting
Of beaded rosaries,
Of freshly fallen hail stones,
Of night times terrors
By dawn's early edition's light,
and welcomed.

But look for the mute tear,
The eye-cornered drop,
*** tat, that never drops,
But never ceases formation and
Reforming, over and over again,
In a state of perpetuity of reconstitution,

The tippy tear of an iceberg revealing,
And I see you peeping, wondering,
What is beneath


Look for:
the torn worm-eaten edges of spirit,
thrift shop bought, extra worn,
grieving lines neath the eyes,
where the salt has evaporated,
discolored the skin.
worry lines,
under and above,
browed mapped, furrowed boundaries.
the laugh line saga,
where better days are stored,
recalled, as well as recanted,
publicly, privately.

Why just men?

I don't know,
Perhaps,
it is all I know.


Jan 6, 2013
your effusive and lengthy comments are each a poem in their own right.  

Tinkered with June 22, 2013
With a push from Bala,
A serial peeper, thank God!
 Oct 2018 E B K
Tess
We are made up of stardust
Or so they say

I look down at my hands
And see they are glittering

Is it glitter?
But no, It' not coming off

Shining radiantly
Almost as if It's a dream

But It's not possible
My mind says so

But the voice in my head
Tells me

To stop for a while
And let my imagination run wild.
 Oct 2018 E B K
Survived
Untitled
 Oct 2018 E B K
Survived
Every night I write a poem for you

Hoping that someday you will find and read them
And then i know, you will hug me tightly just like you used to do
and then everything will get fine just like it used to be.
 Sep 2018 E B K
TheMystiqueTrail
The spider on the wall,
in the web of a fantasy,
spinning dreams of guile.
Spider is the black hole of my solar system –
a monstrous mass ready to warp me
in its delusion.

Light surpassed
darkened thoughts of deceit
like a flitting meteor.
On its many unseen wings
it sails faster than the meteor.

Light crashed into the spider
dozing in the web of hallucination.
Its barbed hairy legs
singed in the boiling bubble of light.

The light’s swift hands
pulled me out of the black hole,
diffused in me
it's springs of glory.
I became light’s soulmate
to birth more lights
to tame the black holes
of my solar system.
 Sep 2018 E B K
Path Humble
left my phone unlocked
on the taxi’s back seat,
won't be the last time

called it a few times
finally, the driver picked up

he had a fare immediately after mine,
and was now headed way downtown,
and would call later
when fate returned him nearer my office

and so it came to pass,
very shortly thereafter,

we met on the street,
he rolled down  the window
and with the greatest smile of pleasure,
as if he had won the lottery
beaming,
handed me my phone

I had two $20's to cover any expense he might have incurred,
neatly folded in my hand  
and offered it right up, right away;
but the driver repeatedly pushed my hand away
as I insisted,
saying:

"No sir, no no, not necessary!

Allah sent me a fare
that took me soon back close to you, so,
  no loss of time did I suffer,
so your offer is kindly unnecessary!"


to which I replied,

"exactly!
Allah sent you to me
so I could reward you!"


and with an equally, beaming smile I continued,

"our ride and meeting today,
together was pre-ordained it was


Inshallah!" ^

something he could not dispute...
or my knowledge thereof and it’s
proper pronouncement,
nor
his amazement,
to disguise!

  we parted ways
   each believing,
   each receiving,
a heavenly check plus,
each, credited with a mitzvah^^
on our
respective trip logs,
our humanly divine balance sheets,
kept by the
single
supreme taxi dispatcher
Arabic for ^"God/Allah willing" or "if God/Allah wills," frequently spoken by a Muslim


^^a meritorious or charitable act in the Jewish tradition

FYI,
NYC taxi cab drivers are suffering economically by the explosion of ride hailing app cars, many unable to pay their bills, earn a living, have committed suicide over the past few months
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sixth-new-york-city-cab-driver-dies-suicide-after-struggling-n883886

true story, poetry is there for the taking
 Sep 2018 E B K
MicMag
|      two       |          |   a nation   |
|      twin      |          |   built on   |
|    towers    |          | ideals and |
|    rising      |          |  grandest   |
|    so high   |          | immigrant |
|    up into   |          |    dreams    |
|    the sky   |          | (and yes...   |
|    repre-     |          |   on slave    |
|    senting   |          |   labor too)  |
|    soaring   |          |    a nation    |
|   ambition  |         |  of mighty   |
|   & wealth  |         |  paradoxes  |
-------------------------------------------------­-----------

                       and then
                      ...BOOM...
                  world changed


             all                              all        
        reduced     ­                broken    
      to heaping                 by hateful  
    piles of rubble          brainwashed
  and raw emotion     men drowned in
tears & fears & rage.tears & fears & rage
------------------------------------------------------------­


we rose from the ashes
united in mourning
national pride swelling
emotions still swirling

we warmly embraced
neighbors and friends
overwhelmed with grief
paralyzed by anguish

we explosively cursed
those enemies who'd hurt us
simmering in anger
engulfed in fiery rage

we boldly surged into war
to defend and protect
blinded by our deep-set fears
dead-set on vengeance

we let the years pass
we still remember
we still recover
we still rebuild

we still rise

from what is clear
but to where?

please let us be wise
Written quite a few years ago reflecting on the terrible, world-shaking events of 9/11.

Still left wondering the same questions.

How will we remember and honor those who died?

How (and to what) will we rise?
 Sep 2018 E B K
eileen
No rain
 Sep 2018 E B K
eileen
Can we be friends
Can't we just talk

So many clouds
no rain at all

I haven't seen the sun in days

My heart feels like plastic
I hate summer
I don't want it to end

She's angry
She's still talking happy

Asking about your plants
yes their still alive
I look over them
time to time

I hear the rain
miles away

I carry the wind
whispering inside

Run away
I'm not going to fight

Can we be friends

terrified
Of
opening my heart to you

Something might go wrong

It always does

trying to get closer to you

I'm waiting for the rain

I see the clouds

Not one
single drop
has fallen
 Sep 2018 E B K
eileen
In my dream world

I would express my feelings to those close to me

My friendships wouldn't end so quickly

I wouldn't be so shy and talk to people I admire

I could climb the ladder to my roof
without being afraid

My writing isn't messy

I have green colored eyes

I'm the one who everyone loves

In my dream world
I live in the dirt with the trees and grass

I asked him
What's in your dream world

/ / /\ / /

I hope he says
Me
 Sep 2018 E B K
eileen
Weather
 Sep 2018 E B K
eileen
Never did I imagine myself
living so lonely

That my friends have slowly become
my plants
stray cats
the stars

and the sky

I never imagined
this life
for us

Wherever it takes us
let us hear the rain
survive the heat
and cold

I won't promise
I don't hope

I just want to grow closer
over time

Make memories
for distant days
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