ju: Favorites

Feb 2021 ju

truth

Feb 2021 ju

Prevost

truth

truth lays in the vein of the branch
and in the watery red eyes of the drunk
it lays in the hottest sweats of summer
and in that heartbeat that just reverberated through
your entire universe
it lays in the soft cry of an infant
and in the death rattle of the last soldier
in the last of all wars
truth lays in the caress of a lovers touch
and it lays in a widow’s graveside tear
it lays in the wind that carries the seed
and in the soil that hungers for fruition
it lays embedded in a heart betrayed
and it lays in both the pain and the forgiveness
it lays in at the center of all we know
it lays at the center of you
and I

Feb 2021 ju

Catching Stars

Feb 2021 ju

Prevost

Catching Stars

Her light travels into me
what gods arranged our intersection
I am the blood of myth
gathered tales that justify
more the seeking
than fruition
ignorant authors
casting our will into the heavens
we paint our stories in the skies
but as her light falls through my flesh
she whispers
“I can never be possessed”

Feb 2021 ju

Letter and Plea to E--

Feb 2021 ju

Evan Stephens

Letter and Plea to E--

Please, please, please
come down on our side.
I'll ditch this clovering snow,
& go anywhere with you.
Either way, our parade
will keep moving
down Main St.
I'm dying to tell you this,
but you're so far from me,
slipped into the black squares
of distance you requested.
I packed your things because
I couldn't take the museum:
your cherry lover's dress,
your little coffee mugs,
your Aleppo pepper.
Then I unpacked the pepper.
I love you without condition,
little tiramisu.
But I can't make you feel
the same way
without your help.
Please come down
on our side, honey.
In our ship, right now
you are the captain
with the wheel in your hand.
I am the lookout -
I think I see land,
but there might be rocks.

Feb 2021 ju

in another life

Feb 2021 ju

Tiger Striped

in another life

Everett, you're tired
of sleepless nights
aching lungs
girls who evaporate overnight.
You're tired of burnt Saturday evenings,
cars parked around dark corners,
staying out too late and
driving home on empty.
I would offer you a ride home,
but Everett, you make my mouth dry.
You smell like cigarettes and
look like all my mistakes.
I want to carry you, Everett,
and watch your scarred skin flush
at my touch, but I know
all too soon I’d be
carrying those same scars on my skin.
So I’ll cry with you
from the other side of the highway,
I’ll feel your albatross around my neck
and wish you the best,
but I won’t be there this time
when you decide to burn
everything that’s good to you.

Feb 2021 ju

If you drank burgundy

Feb 2021 ju

Tiger Striped

If you drank burgundy

If you drank burgundy we’d get along better
I think;
I’d like the way it would
stain your white collar
and laugh when you couldn’t get it out.
It would sit angry against your neck and
stare at me, and
I would smile because I'd
know how it feels.
You’d think it was you who
had painted me happy, so you’d
forget it was there and I’d
know how it feels.
I would take a napkin
and wipe the crimson tracks from the
corners of your mouth,
just so I could have some
burgundy of my own.
It would sit folded
neatly in my lap and
long for your spotted collar and
I’d almost cry because I
know how it feels.
It’s too bad, really,
you and your glass of clear.
No stains and no taste
and no idea how I feel.