She dreamt
That an artist would get his blue
From the deep Northern seas
Of her eyes

She dreamt
That his brush would catch fire
From the blazing flames
In her hair

She dreamt
That the poet lost his breath
From trying to find his words
Between her silent lips

Glorious!    Immortal!

Like runes

Your words
carved

Into my soul

A black hole
In timespace
A supermassive
Imploding thought
Paradox
Pulling
Realities in
And bending all rules
Of existence
Along a splendid
Event horizon.

A single atom
With mass
And gravitational pull
Equalling a large mountain
Devouring all light
Unless friction
of objects heated
From falling
And interaction
Sparks light
Perplexingly fantastic
Brighter than a thousand suns.

when
did cooking your own jam
from real strawberries
and sugar
become an act
of treason against
equality
between the sexes?

when
did turning off the tv, the laptop, the phone
to play with your children
offline
become an act
of valour and extreme
symbolism
in most families?

when
did reading glossy advertisements
and memorising them
for extra credits
become an act
of duty as a proper
citizen
in the modern world?

when
did choosing an alternative lifestyle
deliberately
and with no concern for wealth
become an act
of excentric
irresponsibility
in an enlightened society?

Sometimes he speaks softly
his forked tongue caressing
my being
the inside of my soul
sometimes his lies offer comfort
encouragement and passion
when reality beckons
but not for the merciless truth

Sometimes I invite him
I let his presence linger
in a corner of my soul
Sometimes I let him enter
take residence in my dream
And sometimes I pray
that I won't wake up

your plans of escape
YOLO, I know, but please, NO!!!
please! do not go there

Recited like truths
meticulously
with attention to detail
perfect intonation
like hymn verses
or poems
but unlike poems
everyone tells them
remembers them
those little designer lies

their creators are worshipped
with gatherings
massive donations
and prayer
No one questions
words so beautiful
so masterfully penned
they must be true
they have to be
we wish...

a window ajar
cold body likewise open
the devil creeps in

Slithering silently
entering
between blank spaces
of fragile fabric
of fiction
and real reacting
shivering
skin
it slips in
an idea
between dreams
daring
like an unseen hand
unanticipated
unstopped
And it floods
the mind
with irresistible
insisting
persistent
images
irrelevant to reality
but real
nonetheless

Tattooed across his handsome face
Was a life of unfortunate stars
On his forehead were many a trace
Of the fights he had picked in bars

But it wasn’t just fighting in bars
That had made him his ominous tattoo
As a child he had smashed neighbours’ cars
Ramming into them sky high on glue

Hanging out with this guy meant trouble
He would never obey any laws
All the stupidest dares he would double
Breaking bones, smashing teeth, cracking jaws

If you see this guy, please, look away!
If he’s noticed you, run for your life
Every line on his face leads astray
And you don’t want to mess with his wife

Your nouns are spread
On sheets
Of white impeccability
Attached complements provide
Detail
Description
Of beauty
Excellence
And we both inflect
Flex
Our verbs
With precision
In perfect concord
We take specific (pre)positions
Towards me
Around you
Inside
In out in out
Up
Upwards
Denying every possibility
Of negations
Conjunctions
Limitations in scope
And we end existence
In a loud
Exclamation!

First we build bridges
With Lego bricks
In primary colours
And we move on
To build bridges
From  words
With tought
In many languages
Because we have to
And we build bridges
In steel and concrete
Between islands and peninsulas
Between us and them
We prioritise bridges
With our money
On our money
To showcase magnificence
And to replace expired glories
And we cross bridges
In real life and cyberspace
To seek community
In alternate relations
Outside the confines
Of Hans Christian Andersen’s  quiet pond.

She had seen him there
At the party
Dark eyes watching her
From the corner
As she danced

He had not been there
When she left
Dark skies blanketed her
And stars lit the way
As she began her walk home

She had not taken this path before
To get home
A glowing field allured her
With nearly fluorescent flowers
So she took this shortcut

He had seen her approaching
Full of new memories
Then stopping
Hesitating to make the decision
To go left through the field

She had soon felt him
Among the treacherous flowers
His dark presence in the wind
His words soon blended in
As he moved in closer

He had not lingered
To see her awaken
On the grass outside the field
Red mixed in yellow
**** seed dust

I delved deep this time
Leaving a great pit
Inside
And I let insects and reptiles
Nest and hatch
To fill the void
And to harbour evolution
In a nutshell
But monsters grow fast
In darkness
And absence of words

You
Make me
Want to
Do
Really bad
Things
To me
And to you

You
Make me
Want to
feel
Pleasure
Pain
Lust
Passion
To breathe
Sensation
Through you

You
Make me
Want to
Do
bad things
To get
To you
Too

A shadow writes
Explorations of lust
And danger
Passionate endeavours
Into forbidden territory
And thus
Its civilised host
Is never compromised

I cannot write
My increasing vocabulary despite
I cannot capture what’s real
What I actually feel
I cannot capture
You

I can write about pain
I can write out my fears
Make you worry about me – again
I can write about strange addictions
And constructed fictions
But they cannot encompass
You

When you smile
You open my heart
And out pours my words like the Nile
It’s a strange contradiction
That from you streams my fiction
But my fictions are rarely about
you

When I write
I build castles of words
I let my demons fight
But those demons are safe on my page
They are locked in a virtual cage
This is keeping me sane for
You

When I dream
When I conjure up magical worlds
Things are not what they may seem
For they may be about finding vents
Using words as escape, making dents
But the rock upon which my castles are built
Is you
Always you

I drank the news
That night
Burned my palate

Sped through my veins
Like a malicious spirit
Volatile conscience
I evaporated
I raised my glass
That night
Asked for another round
Of darkness
To fill me up
Like an endless night
Into which I could run
I vanished

I lit it up
That night
Set my world ablaze
And jumped
Into the flames
So, like a phoenix
I might rise again
From the ashes

I draw tiny circles
In the air
Tiny circles to support my world
To prevent it from crumbling
Under pressure

I write little letters
In my mind
Little letters to prove
To convince me of my sanity
To keep me sane

I talk to long gone images
Beautiful images
From the past
Now disappeared
I talk to them
Beg them to come back

I discovered it
On a Sunday morning
During my normal morning routines.
It was still small and insignificant then. Dark like a small cave,
an entrance into my skin
But too small
For anything to enter.

A week passed
In quiet oblivion
There didn't seem to be
Anything to talk about,
And I almost forgot it was there.

Then on Sunday,
The mirror caught it
Again
I had not tried to look
But the mirror made me,
And there it was

It had grown.
Still looked like a cave
Now fit for a snake
Or a small rodent
But it was not hollow
There was no cavity.

I felt like
I had to tell someone
Only
I didn't know how
So
I covered the hole
And tried to forget it.

Forgetting proved hard.
Every time I passed the mirror
It reminded me of
Our secret
And one night
My husband surprised us.
He suddenly stood there
In the doorway
Watching me
Explore the darkness
Which had spread
And now resembled
A dark country on my back.

We didn't talk about it,
But my husband made an appointment
For me to see a specialist
In dark patches.
He knew
I would just go and hide
Inside it
If he told me
To do it myself.

So I went
To see the specialist.
Feeling rather nervous,
I let her inspect
My dark side.
The dark patch
Was now so big
I was half black
Half white
And I would flip
Like a coin
Showing either side
At random.

She wanted to operate.
I should be split in halves
And the dark half
Should be put away
Somewhere safe.

I left the room
Feeling liberated
And inspired.
A thousand words suddenly swarmed
My unrestrained mind
And demanded venting.
So I bought a notebook
On my way home
And I started writing
As soon as I got a moment
To spare.

During my Sunday routine
I suddenly looked in the mirror
And it occurred to me
That on my right shoulder
There was a patch
Of white
The size of a small
Rodent's nesting hole.

I  know you.
I have been watching you
For a while.
I know you want me to
And that you want me too
I can tell this from your smile.

You know me
I know you have seen me around
I am somehow always there.
Every thing you do, I have to see
I have to hear every sound
You see,  it is all because I care

I knew it all along
From the way you smiled in class
That I was meant to be your girl
Is this totally wrong?
I know you've checked out my ***
I just know that I'd rock your world.

But I have to lay low
A relation is not allowed yet
But soon,  when you graduate...
So I'm planning to take it slow
Savouring the moments we get
Until we're allowed to date.

...and yes, I am a teacher!

But those hands are cold
despite the glowing heat
from the proximal heart
next to them
and the comfort
of tangible happiness.
Extemities are irrelevant
until quakes
threaten the calm
and demand
immediate changes
and rescue response
Still, the body is quiet and warm...

They are marching
Stomping their feet to the beat
Of a mechanical heart
Trudging a bloodless road
Away from the trenches
The silent attacks on repeat
Ripping and tearing apart
A system on massive overload

They are marching
They're making a quiet retreat
To fall back and make a new start
On the other side of the road

Tiptoeing on velvet vines
silky and smooth to the touch
we dance in the twilight shades
of subtle poetic lines
trying never to say too much
thus preventing that anything fades

Imagining alternative scenes
in flexible collaboration
we dream in adjectives and verbs
as sentences rush through our veins
sweet figment of imagination
all our civilised structures perturbs

Dancing lightly across the keys
our fingers and souls thus create
quiet symphonies on backlit sheets
wishful journeys across the seas
of what we dare only comtemplate
as we immerse ourselves in these beats

With petals of crimson
fragility
it caught their curious eyes
standing amidst the sturdy
wholesome and healthy
straws
all swaying
to the whispers
of the gentle summer breeze

It stood there
a tall stranger
among them
not pretty like the rose
not timid like the violet
and without real purpose
but colour
and its ruffled capsule
of secrets

They spotted it
saw its colour
decided to pluck it
take it away
for its floral beauty
and put it on display
in a crystal vase
somewhere
until the petals fell

It died
without beauty
and with nobody's lament
within minutes
of leaving
the rugged field
within hours of finding
its purpose

I saw a flower
Burned by the summer sun
Withered by winter's cold
It had not felt spring
For years

Then it happened
A lightning cracked
And fire swept through
The garden
Rain followed
But the fire consumed
Everything
Left a pile of ashes
On the ground

But now it rises again
From ancient seeds
Which the fire didn't ruin
To greet the spring
In bloom

A crowded platform
chilling sunlight
family witing
for a train home
girls playing
Dad watching
Mum dreamily
gazing up the platform
past the strangers
into the empty air.
It's a cool, windy May afternoon.
Out of the blue
a heatwave
a rush
adrenalin to her heart
HIM slowly approaching
on the crowded platform
determined
dark
dangerous
deceptive
Young!
A dark figure
tall
elegant
graceful
hair like black flames
licking marble skin
eyes like mercury
poisonous
and HE stopped!
Chatted
for they knew HIM
and HE got on the train
with them
sat with them
toxic air
blurring her senses
and HE travelled with them
for a while
silently negotiating
a price for her soul.
And HE left them
as the train stopped
girls tired
Dad focused on a game
Mum slightly
distant...

I know I should stop criticising
Every minuscule error in revising
The grammar in here
I should not interfere
And I really should stop analysing

But I cannot erase what I see
And the teacher insists inside me
That I share what I know
About grammar and how
To revise before posting for the world to see

Your and you're are some major sinners
They make good poets look like beginners
Plus confusions in tense
Make them seem rather dense
And that's sad when they should look like winners

Sweetness
In
The soft flavour
Of vanilla
To savour
Generously administered
So pleasing and cool
To numb heated
Senses

Craving

Fire
In the violent rush
Of peppers
To accommodate
Necessary complexity
So raw and depraved
To set aflame
All buds

Misinterpreted
Man's aspiring arrogance
A crumbling Tower

There are days
When I am able to forget
We were there
Together
For years
Sharing all
Travelling the same road
I was there with you
Always
But we got separated
By life
lost
I lost touch
lost my way
Got lost from you
And I tried to find you
Reconnect with you
But you wouldn't
You said you lost me
Back there
So I lost you
Right there
I just wish
I could lose the pain
Of remembering
How I lost you
When the rest of my world
Has still got you
But there are days
When I am able to forget...

I used to hold dinner parties
Crammed inside my dorm room
And later in our small flat.
Food was served on cardboard plates
And wine in plastic mugs
With plenty of laughs for dessert

I have glasses now
Fragile and polished
And stacks of porcelain plates
All stowed away
Behind glass doors in our cupboard
Where we can admire them

Inevitably
We collided
Like particles
Creating matter
Out of light
And miniscule black holes
In our conscience
Into which
We were pulled
And thus split
Once again
In darkness

Tattoo

The universe
Captured
At the ends of fingertips
Like gentle tattooing needles
Synnapses firing
Chemical arrows
In sequences
Drawing patterns
tattoos
On receptive skin
Mapping new sensory
territory
memory
Tattooing eternity
In a dream

Therapy

She had been there before
Tried to reach him
Tried to knock
Be polite
No one answered
It didn't seem urgent

She knocked again
Louder
She had no key
And it was urgent
She had to get inside
To reach him

She bruised badly
But the door finally caved
To victory!
And she called him
But all was silent
Contradictory

She looked around
At regret
Countless sacrifices
Mindless mutilations
Upon a false altar
Rejected by God

He was nowhere
Only an echo
In the horrid remnants
Of his experiment
With love
She had to get out

... Or a black hole
In timespace
A supermassive
Imploding thought
Paradox
Pulling
Realities in
And bending all rules
Of existence
Along a splendid
Event horizon.

A single atom
With mass
And gravitational pull
Equalling a large mountain
Devouring all light
Unless friction
of objects heated
From falling
And interaction
Sparks light
Perplexingly fantastic
Brighter than a thousand suns.

Her place
was among the stacks of books
And paper
In the living room
But she saw
The bedroom door ajar
And she snuck in
To dream
Under the covers

She slept
And left unnoticed
But she left trace
Her fiery hair fell
Everywhere
On the sheets
And on his pillow
Revealing
Her trespass
Their secret

Chiroptera

They are born with hand like
Wings of membrane clad digits
they spread to fly
Aviated, navigated
For nocturnal hunts
In perfect darkness
Where others feign

They cry a pulse
Echolocating
Mates or competition
Images of prey
And images of space
The night returns their sound

They are quick
Delicate wings
Stretch to out maneuver
Enemy or prey
But membrane tissue tears easily
Sensitive skin with receptors
Like fingertips
Small tears regrow... regenerate

Sweet tickle of suspense

Nerves transmitting
f
lashes
of adrenaline

As I           enter
read         perceive

Words

Letters like opiates sent through

Ve
ins

Syllables become
words become
Sentences become
Unthinkable      to separate

Worlds

Impossible to leave
Suspense
seems jealousy driven

Fuels my
AD
DIC
TION

my creation
image
simulation
OF

improbable scenarios

Impropriety.    (     )     fantasies

Unfit for real life.

That one night I took a shortcut
Through the open and moonlit park
From my friends I had been lost but
I just wanted to get past the dark

The Devil He dwells in the shadows

That night I heard a sound
Of footsteps not far behind me
To look I turned around
But nothing did I see

The Devil He dwells in the shadows

That night I continued to walk
Ignoring the sound in the leaves
It was a gigantic shock
When hands on me wandered like thieves

The Devil He dwells in the shadows

That night I tried to push him away
When upon me temptation he cast
My senses got blurred,  thoughts went astray
Succumbing to His will and fast

The Devil He dwells in the shadows

That night I saw his terrible face
Furrowed and darkened by time
Still his countenance bore a trace
Of something appealing to mine

The Devil He dwells in the shadows

That night I gave mySelf to Him
Bedazzled by words so sweet
I followed His every whim
And let him have me bleed

The Devil He dwells in the shadows

That night I heard a church bell call
So distantly played its tune
And on my knees it made me fall
I had to leave under the treacherous moon

The Devil He dwells in the shadows

That night I  bade Him let me go
Under the treacherous moon
He laughed at me and let me know
He would keep me at least until noon

The Devil He dwells in the shadows

That night He tortured my body and soul
His words were like poisonous spears
His tongue paved His way to His devious goal
He unleashed and tamed my fears

The Devil He dwells in the shadows

That morning when the daylight broke
My spirit had fallen to Him
And as the people in town awoke
My hopes of escape grew dim

The Devil He dwells in the shadows

That day at noon when the sun was high
The devil let go of my hand
His mark He had left inside my thigh
It looked like a crimson band

The Devil He dwells in the shadows

That day I finally left the park
Martered and trembling from pain
Forever I would stay out of the dark
Afraid that He'd find me again

The Devil He dwells in the shadows...

Afterwards
                   Spread across sheets
Ripped
Burst

She is
Absolutely
                        Perfect

Dizzy and disoriented
I tumbled
Twisted
And whirled
And
Twisted
And tumbled
Then
Gently glided
Through the hole
I fell into
I stumbled
Recklessly
Tumbled
Hurled myself into
darkness
Dream
Disorder
Possible doom?
What would await me
Through this tunnel of temptation?
Would it be 9 rings of Hell?
I thought I felt the fires already
Burning from below
I thought I heard the tormented souls
screaming from the pits
Would there be spiders?
Venomous
Tricky with
Cobwebs binding me
In terror
Excitement
Or would I find Alice?
She did send me
The rabbit
And I could not bear
The temptation
I needed to go
Seek magic mountains
Enchanted forests
Wild beasts
And wonderful places
Even if
The journey would take me
Through hell.

Letters on a screen
Injected words rush through veins
Feed my addiction

I have been there
on the edge of nowhere and everywhere
where my senses were screaming
and the real was like dreaming
only faster and wilder
never wished it to be milder
just jumped on the wagon
and ruled the skies like a dragon

I was there for a second
and since then my soul has beckoned
take me back let me explore
take me back for I want more
and the dragon inside wants to fly
but I stay, I do not even try
those adventures I still get in flashes
and I try hard to steer clear of crashes

I have this fear                                                                                
                                                 Of Spiders
                                                 Of webs
                                                 Of entanglement.                                            
In threads of
Commitment                                                                            
to an everyday lack of
                                                Excitement,                                    
                                                Enchantment,                                                        
                                                Involvement
Of Spiders.                                              
Unpredictable Lurking
near their diamond spun circles

Of melifluous
entrapment

I would not want to escape
Consumption
Being wrapped                                                            
in silky smooth lies
Promoting *******                                        
of my self respect

The addiction
causing venom to spread
Already pumping                                                                                
Adrenaline
Endorphine rush

I have this fear of losing
myself
In this

Fire and brimstone
The gates of Hell are open
He awaits me there