i was hoping i'd say something
simple as a shy hello above the clouds
but it was dark and you were lost
in a book - red eye and wide awake
it was strange passing into a timezone
like blasting into the past

as the sun rose we descended
i glanced at you, to my surprise
my awkward tongue did not swell
and your lips turned to a polite curl
"we made it," you whisper
the clouds above us now and the skyline
below.

"we sure did," i whisper back. "high five."
you giggle, high five, i get my bag
from the luggage compartment
and vanished into the crowds
never to see the cute blondie in the zebra
skirt or her book again

I teeter totter
in my cowardice
ashamed in my shamelessness
forgive me
can't help but dance drunkenly
to my own beat
can't help but sink eyes
into your thighs

you confirmed all of my horrors
when you said you can't touch me sober

I will write for you
one more poem
I will sing for you
another love song.
If you like them
and think of me again,
then forget your pride, darling
Say goodbye to your pride!

I will smile at you
if I am hurt
I will sit next to you
and forget my sore
If you like it
and feel my heart
then forget your pride, darling
Say goodbye to your pride!

I will be the evening star.
I will be in your eyes.
I'll come in your dream
and brighten your face.
Even if you don't love me
then smile a little bit more
and forget your pride, darling
Say goodbye to your pride!

Cold January. Heated furnace.

And you, my dear, refuse to sleep.

I think of you.

And lights across the window sweep,

And droplets freeze upon its surface.

My eyes meet yours. We dim the lights.

And suddenly, as one, we’re breathing

My hands, around you, interweaving,

I recollect the gone by nights.

My heart is burning, raging wild.

You place, your hand upon my chest.

Confess, softly whisper, “child...”

Only the silence when I can’t deny it.

-


Lines border my eyes like new roads
to more distinguishing characteristics,
signifying for me many a morning frown.

I draw my face closer to the mirror to
examine them in more detail, mapping
pending destinies laid fresh like asphalt.

Traces of purple fans out from the exterior
corners, I think of them as ink spatter that
gets larger every time I endorse

a small check.

I cannot stop the runs but I can
hide the evidence with concealer
creams and foundation,

establishing a façade upon which
the viewer will find as pleasant
from just the right                          
                                       distance.

I stand back just so approximately
from the mirror to admire
an illusion of youth,

and then move forward once more
to fathom the texture
of experience—

"Maybe less this time" I think,
have I not earned the right ?


s jones
2011-2021

.

I'd rather witness one tiger deftly stalking their target than to watch two dozen of you drinking yourselves *******.

Words have their uses,
but they've been perverted to the point of being almost worthless.
Only the cool kids know where their power lies now.
Get out there and make some music.