MV Blake

MV Blake Aug 2023

"I'm sure I'll be fine"
And I meant it of course
At least at the time.
"I'm finding myself"
Amongst bottles of wine
And collapsing health
I can't see for what's mine
Surrounded by filth
In my marriage's shrine.

"You need to be angry" they said
As if I could blame someone else
When I made my own bed.
"It won't last forever"
And I suppose that's true
But when time seeps together
You can't see "someone new"
When all of my time
Is devoted to you.

"It's time to move on"
And that's probably true
But how do I do that
When I still love you.

#divorce #loss #love

MV Blake Apr 2023

(Not so) Patient

I don’t want to talk to angels,
Not for me, the bleeding priest.
I want my ****** doctor
So I can find some peace.

I want a ****** expert,
Not a hippie with some tea,
Charging excess for the karma,
And no money guarantee.

I can’t take ****** ginger,
It brings me out in hives,
And you can take the Echinacea
And stick it with the chives.

I want the ****** doctor,
Tired eyes and cynic smile,
Who’s seen it all before
And has my details on his file.

Pull out your cold machines,
Test me to the hilt;
Try to find what’s wrong with me,
Before I ****** wilt.

I don’t want to wait for callback,
I’m not interested in online;
It’ll only tell me that I’m dead,
Dying,
Or I’m fine.

#health #doctor #medicine

MV Blake Jul 2022

I've lost something

I’m moving through rooms,
Restless and roving
Searching for something
That I know I won’t find.
Not under the sofa,
Or under the rug.
Not in the vacuum,
Or tucked in the folds
Of my wife’s throw
In subdued forest green.
It remains unseen.

It’s not in her vanity
Or the basket wear our clothes
Would wind together like lovers;
Sweat-soaked and bitter-sweet.
It’s not in the cupboard with the dog’s treats
Maybe it fell from a kitchen drawer
To lie with the spiders
Hidden in the floor.
It’s not in our great wide bed
Where our sheets lay flat and wrinkle-free,
Future dust-sheets all.
Let’s face it, it’s not in the hall.

It’s not in the garden we planted
Or the shed we built.
It’s definitely not in the garage
Where she never went,
Not even for a minute,
Which I thought heaven-sent.
It’s not on the porch
Or the patio bench,
Where we spent many an evening
Trying to learn French.
It’s not in the car,
That’s my one you see.

Hers is not there...

The thing that I’ve lost
I won’t find today,
Tomorrow,
Next week or in June.
She may as well be on the moon.

#love #divorce #distance #loss #anxiety #mvblake

MV Blake Aug 2016

The River of Cozen

The river of ink flows dark cozened blue,
Flowing so smoothly from a source made of true.
It carves out a path with many a turn;
O! To see how those ill waters churn.

But the river drys up as the ink feels its age
And the lies begin to fill up the page;
Steeped in sepia, fading to sight
As the river of ink drys up in the light.

So we mourn for the river that told us the truth,
For the source we knew held the fountain of youth,
And we curl up our bones in the dust of our ink
And cry for the truths that taught us to think.

#poem #sad #death #sorrow #ink #old #age

Aug 2016

Stephan

Spare Me The Lecture

a collaborative piece created by Papaya and Stephan*

I know the story of an ugly old fellow
Who taunted and cursed and told many lies
But did you know that an ugly old fellow
Was merely the skin that held his disguise

"Spare me a quarter and I'll spare you the lecture"
Often he’d say to the young and the brave
Laughing they’d pass without barely a glance
Thrusting the man into temper and rage

When along stepped another into the commotion
Stopping to listen to all he did say
Shaking his head he reached in his pocket
Pulled out a quarter to proudly display

Then closed his hands into two equal fists
Held them up high as he said with a grin
"I’ll pay your offer so you will stop ranting
If only you can guess which hand it is in"

Stroking his beard the man gave a smile
"I do love a challenge, so let us begin
But once I have chosen and reveal your coin
You’ll stay to listen, and we both shall win"

The old man reached out, with hand on each fist
“Son, you cannot fool a man that’s my age”
Then pulled out from behind the younger man’s ear
The same coin that earlier the man had displayed

The look of surprise on his face was alarming
He glanced down at both of his two empty hands
Then thought to himself, now how did he do that,
I held it right there? but then said to the man

“A deal is a deal, so I guess I will listen
But I have a schedule, it’s my day to teach
Please hasten your words holding all of your wisdom
And here I shall stand till you finish your speech”

"I can say nothing you've not already learned
That each man has something special to give
To stop and to listen and open your eyes
This is how all men and women must live"

"Some will spare time, others spare a dime
Still others will play tricks as you see
You must be wise, separate truth from the lies
And always be the very best you can be"

MV Blake Aug 2016

O' Death be gone from here

O’ Death be gone from here;

I refuse thy sad affection.

Thy grave mouth offers no console,

Ne’er a cure for mine own affliction

Unless a cure means but an end;

For all thy promise a grant of life a lie

Thou hast no life to lend.

I name thee false friend,

And cast thee from mine side.

Find thee another fool to soothe,

For I am bound to life abide.

#poem #sad #life #illness #death #angry

MV Blake Aug 2016

The Moon

The scars on the moon were there for all to see,

Wounds cut deeper than any wound should be.

I don't need a lens to see her savaged form,

I see it in the way she looks at me.

#sad #moon #woman