Holly Salvatore

Holly Salvatore Apr 2012

She fell
And she was on the floor
Calling
Forty minutes till I heard
She fell
And she was on the floor
Lying half an hour
Till I pulled her up
And tucked her into bed again
She fell
And she was on the floor
My arms weren’t strong enough
My legs went weak
From so much strain
My shirt was dripping
Making it rain
But
She fell
And she was on the floor
I’d have broken my back for her

Holly Salvatore Mar 2012

Apartment Life

I can hear my neighbors through the walls
And my roommate downstairs
Finding new ways to make salad unhealthy
The kitchen is filthy
Why does she do this?
Why am I here still?

260 is full of idiots
With their highschool girlfriends
258 is a broken laundry machine
And loose screens
And fake happiness for all the college kids
And fake nails
And fake ID’s

256 goes BANG! BANG!
Study harder
Get smarter
Gotta make that money
Gotta buy your own wonders
That’s what they’re all working towards
Nowadays

Anyways
254 is on the porch
I don’t want to live here anymore
254 is cold beer
Come over here
You wanna be my baby?

I think he’s righter than I’ll ever be

Holly Salvatore Mar 2012

Missing what I Never Had

I got longing in my heart
For age and money
Wisdom
Years and money
Being young is funny
Being anything is funny
Because always you’d rather be anything else

I got longing in my heart
For time and money
Being youngandstupid
Isn’t funny
It isn’t fun anymore
I will always be poor
Because youngandstupid is one word

I got longing in my heart
And I’d rather be anything else
Than what I am right now
Being youngandstupid starts to hurt
When you’re not so young anymore
But youngandstupid is one word

I got longing in my heart for the things I never learned
I got longing in my heart
I don’t want to be stupid anymore
I don’t want to be one word
I want to be anything else
I could be anything else
If I would just stop worrying and learn

I had a professor once who always used to tell us that young and stupid is one word. Sometimes I think he was right. Sometimes I think he was full of it.

Holly Salvatore Mar 2012

Butterflies and Bile

Belly churning

        Gurgling

               Roaring

      And they’re dying to get out

But the only door that’s open

            Is my mouth

And they come flying

      Flapping

                           Sloshing

               Soaking

                      Spewing

         Fighting their way out

In a steaming sunny pile

A heap of butterflies and bile

Since I met you all I can think about

             Is kissing you clean

Square on the mouth

With my molten butterfly breath

             All hot and bothered

My golden belly

Glowing empty

Growing full

Of hot air

Churned by frail wings

                                                     And I can’t help wishing

                           That they’d cause some tidal waves

               Natural disasters

        And ignite some panic

               In your stomach

                                                      Half a world away

     If my world is ending I hope yours is too

            In a torrent of butterflies

                   Vomited out

                        Perpetual stomach flu

I don't know.

Holly Salvatore Mar 2012

Noel

Is that I like your hats
They gave you away
I knew how you made your money
Before you opened your mouth
Was it because
We were in bed?
Where do you keep your stash?
Was it because
You’re an honest man?
You’d be the only one I’ve ever met
An honest man
With laundered cash
2. Is how do we act at work?
Not a word
For three months
Now not words are hard for us
3. Is a magic number
4. Is your middle name
You didn’t think I noticed
But I did
James
The same as his
Are you going to do what he did?
Or will everyday be Christmas?
5. Is that I’m the big spoon
And I like holding you
I’m the big spoon
And the drawer is all askew
I wish I was the man
With big strong arms
I wish you were the lady
With all her feminine charms
Because backwards is what we are
What we are
6. Is that I’m on eggshells
Pins and needles
Hot coals
And I’m barefoot
Getting burnt
And stabbed
And I’m naked
Getting kissed
And ******
And I’m nervous
Feeling guilty
7. Is the sweat beading on your chin
Pooling in
The spaces and
The valleys
Of your neck
You are making me a wreck
I don’t sleep
And I don’t eat
I don’t do anything
But you
Anymore
You’ve gotten under my skin
And I’m sweating you
I’m a fool
8. And I’m
In love
With you
9. But I’m done with you
Despite your middle name
You aren’t the same
10. I can’t be your doll
I’ve been James' for so long

Holly Salvatore Mar 2012

Family Mythology

Daddy was a boy scout
Moss grew on his skin
He was green
And I didn’t know him then
He was eating out of Frisbees
Building fires with his friends
He was young
He was not my daddy then

Soon he was an eagle scout
He grew up way too fast
Flew away
To desert sun
Hard at work
In Cimarron

Daddy was a park ranger
Before he met my mom
Hiking in his short shorts
All over Yellowstone

Daddy was a husband
Honeymoons and holding hands
And fighting over money
Build the house
Mow the lawn
Take the kids to soccer

Daddy was a doctor
Sorting pills and giving shots
And taking care of Mom
Daddy was a nurse
Wiping brows
And blowing noses
Sitting up all night

Then
Daddy was a grave digger
One cloudy day in May
At St. Paul’s
He hurt his shoulder
Playing in the dirt
At St. Paul’s
He hurt his shoulder
Putting Mom back in the earth

Because Papa Bear says I never write about him

Holly Salvatore Mar 2012

The Forge

Whistle blowing
Get up
Go out early
Before the sun starts showing
Before the rooster’s finished crowing
Get out into the outside
Go out into the world

Get up and stoke the fires of your life
They smolder in your sleep
They are smoking
They need fuel
And they need you
Get up and make them dance again
Get up and make them burn
Make them bright again
Go out into the world and keep on burning

Until you fall back into bed at night
Exhausted from the fanning
Burned up from the flames
Keep your days burning away
And everyday
Wake up
Whistle blowing
Get up early in the morning
Keep the fires going
Go out into the world and just keep burning
Burning
Burning

If you need some motivation...