I’m covered in the brink of tears
the link to a memory long passed
I’m covered in an inky mass of words
words that don’t last
I’m covered in the thought to act
the thought of change
that never comes
I’m covered in a promising past
a waiting present
an uncertain future
I’m covered in the misty belief
that one day my time will come
I’m covered in the sawdust of whittled mindsets
that leave me exposed
I’m covered in the brown and blue
of the heavy world that I put on my shoulders
I’m covered in the dusty thoughts
that I was so sure of but am no longer
I’m covered in decisions and lines
puzzles and equations
I’m covered in a flicker of light
sparking one eyelash at a time
until it reaches my dull brown eyes
I’m covered in a soul that has been scraped new
still raw from the peeling
but smooth and ripe
and ready to be covered in
love


© Zoe Johnson 2011

misunderstanding flows, like beer on tap
and as we drink it down, pint after pint,
all reason is spilled onto the table,
wiped up by the ***** bar mop
that stinks of yesterdays brew

the proprietor of this establishment
stands at counter, smiling his knowing smile

that sadness in his eyes which can only come
from seeing pantomimes like this one play out before him
on every night of his long, long career

i have planted my words
in the soil of your heart
my tears have showered
the land at my feet
my hands have pulled
the weeds in the furrows

now i must trust in
the mercy of the sun

what bounty will come
is not mine to know

time is not mine
to complete


--bruised orange

Bow down right where you are
on your knees
Oh I’ve gotten to the bottom of you
and it’s a cold hard place
but your lies are old
and I’ve learned them
old ugly dog
old tricks


No longer will I fall
into your eager clutches
and no longer will I be stolen from
I’ll twist your wrists like you’ve twisted mine
Where you’ve tried to steal the Truth,
I will steal your empty eyes


Thief
Spluttering whispers you have spoken
just when Truth is on my tongue
Just when I find my voice again
You’ve taken the fragments of my imagination
and stolen my worth
You’ve put your pointed fingers
into my questions
and mangled the answers
before they’re birthed


But no longer will you steal
what is rightfully mine
My child
put in my womb
the birth of my dreams
the birth of my desires
Look at me Thief,
if you dare look into my eyes
See this child Thief?
This child
Is mine




©Zoe Johnson 2011

I was going to write a sonnet, but I didn't have the gumption
First my pen ran out of ink, then my hand just wouldn't function
I could not start or stop to think
Things were happening in slow motion
I felt as though I'd surely sink
Into the coldest darkest deepest ocean.
I started off fine, my ambition was evident
But by the 10th line, I'm debauched and decadent.
I hate to write this, my fingers are hesitant,
Nothing else in life is, but failure is permanent.

The grain of salt I mistook you for
Still tasted bitter on my pallet

Forget that when
We buckled
We never broke
Just bent

Like the tense end of a ruler
Like childhood daring
Teasing the ends to touch
Before the snap
Sent you home for being disobedient

You sent me home
So many times
I got the path back memorized
The same way Ice skaters know
When to move

There is a special kind of cursive
Etched in the dusty back roads
Of my misbehavior

Spells out
Perfect
sometimes

Spells out
Forgive me

Spells out
Last ditch effort to make you like me

I barely know where I am going

Barely know where I've been

Just got this itch to move

I guess