A live object
Sentenced to die
The artwork itself
Makes a request
For help with an appeal
Which
If successful
could change
The outcome
Altogether

If not
The object will die
By the system
And by the artist
Become food
For goldfish
To complete
The work of art

He was just an internet friend
they are not real
they said half joking
to offer some comfort
when he left

He was just an internet friend
I never got to meet him
although we planned to
we were trying to make it real
before he left

He was just an internet friend
they shook their heads
when I spoke of him as if
we had been really close
until he left

He was just an internet friend
but I miss him just as much
now that he is not around
I still cannot believe
he just left

My feet hurt
I have been walking for weeks
Barefoot
Through ashes, eggshells and mud
Away from the cursed place.
I try not to look
At the stakes aligning the road

But I hear the dripping
Of blood from their mutilated limbs
Onto the ground
Like ink
I smell weapons piercing organs
Slashing veins
Quills puncturing eyeballs
And bloated egos
The sweet smell of iron
In my nostrils
I taste it, the blood
The deceit
Every breath makes me sick

But I continue my journey
Tattered wings dragging
Leaving ****** trails
On every leaf
Although exhausted
And ruined
I walk on
With him by my side
Knowing that what I did
Mattered

With letters equipped
And grammar as our harness
We set out to explore
Through linguistic playfulness

Intrepid explorers we are
In the realm of language
Seeking beauty and outlets for pain
Finding use for the worst kinds of baggage

On lofty expressions we climb
With masks of rhymes to lend air
And we endlessly seek new frontiers
Be they haiku or tanka we'll go there

For to dare venture into adventure
Using only your pen and your mind
Letting others read into your soul
Isn't that intrepid defined

a removal of
a woman's hair
always seems
so serious

A sudden spring
a rush
between slender stems
long dormant
awakened one morning
by droplets
of subtle fertile heat
A sudden spring
a glow
in late summer

Dizzy
Disoriented
We have to climb
Our destinies
Upwards always
For distributing
Disease
Devastation
Disaster

Before they burst
From our heads
The ascocarp
Like alien flowers
Growing for weeks
Before blooming
With spores
Of infectuous
Beauty
And their asci
Carrying collective
Doom

I seek darkness
and blood
for balance
I want to breathe in fluids
and
to drown myself
in beauty
so I need shades
for depth
perception
I seek out shadows
distorted versions
of light
without which I am frightened
and blind
to its shapes

I seek pain
in visions
vivid illuminations
of horror
of second hand experiences
to shoot through my system
for dopamine kicks
that allow me to cry
and long
for reality's release

flickering
flittering
thoughts like butterflies
tinkering
tampering
with my mental state
shimmering
slithering
serpentine dreams of
tippety
tapping
words on the page
like beautiful
bubbles of
thoughtful babble
rattle
rant
but I can't
thoughts are butterflies
and they fly
they defy
me
when I try
to catch them

fever is back
it never stays away long
it never truly lifts
it has found me
open

She uses the window
As a mirror
At night
When she prepares herself
For bed

She uses the window
As an audience
At night
When she slowly undresses
For bed

She uses the window
For showcasing
At night
When she knows you are there
Watching

She uses the window
To tease you
At night
When she moves before you
For her pleasure

She uses the window
To trap you
In the night
When she no longer requires
Your attention

Razorblade rain
Draws ****** pictures
On gasping skin
Canvas

and

Morning makes
Vaccum blue lips
And purple suffocated
Hearts

but

Pale moon fire
Pulls minds
Into waxing
Fates

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...

Something about
A cashmere coat
Over a skirt
Over knee stockings
To warm long legs
Lipstick blush
And hair like flames
All red
To capture attention
In daylight
Traffic

Right now
I regenerate
in time capsules
of Elizabeth Arden
Ceramides
and tomorrow
I shall look myself
again
like the picture
I keep in my head

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

Suspended by chains
The inner chamber is kept
Safe from prying eyes

This is where we begin
Our world does not exist
Until we make it
Create it anew

And it begins with a thread
We connect pegs
And weave
Funnels,  networks
Interlocking destinies
In light fantastic

All is light
And yarn - no scissors?
Sketching
A model room
For existence

At some point
Everything vanished
In two dimensions
Lives
Lines
Converged
And vanished

The past
The road travelled
Is still visible
But there is nothing
Beyond
Vanishing point

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

Recursion

logon failed
internal server error
session time out
too many failed attempts
access denied
contact dev
logon required
logon  failed...

As he fell into autumn
He marvelled
And smiled
Despite his fate
Her colours so stong
And her powers unreal
His hands
Still not cooled
After the fire he felt
When he reached out
To touch her hair
Under a perfect blue sky
He fell
And with the colours he faded
Into different shades
Of darkness

Volcano

As the pressure builds below
With rising levels of acidity
The waters around us show signs
Of impending doom
There are cracks at times
Sulphoric fumes too
But no one cares
as long as the plaster holds.
In time the magma builds
Like a boil the mantle explodes
In a Plinian eruption
Of petrifying pyroclastics
And lava flows
Raging and ravishing
Fertile lands
With misery and despair in its wake
As it calms down
And the lava cools
The reconstruction begins
Around the old mantle
The surface crusts again
Like a wound healing
But marked
Scarred
And the pressure builds once more
Another eruption is imminent
The mantle builds every time
Until it collapses
Into a magnificent caldera
The imploded chamber
Of an emptied magma chamber

This body does not make sense
in this skin
in this reality
it breathes in its superficiality
but only in the past tense
it does not sense
sensibility
sanity spins
is sensitive to sensory
scams
synapses shoot
send shivers down its spine
This mind is spineless, anyway
always finds time
for stupid irrelevant
irrational unpractical rhymes
through which it mimes
an existence
where at least the mind
makes sense
sometimes

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

In the beginning
There was no shame
There was impulse

In the beginning
There was curiosity
There was innocence

Then
There was boredom
There was frustration

Then
There was temptation
Guilt became excitement

In the beginning
There was a rush
Then
There was danger

In the end
There was anger
There was pain

In the end
There was guilt
And there was shame

Up there on the top shelf
Carelessly stowed away
Is a paper plane
Is has been sitting there for a while
Collecting dust
Connecting cobwebs

It has a pilot
Carefully depicted inside
He's waving at me
Telling me to hop along
Once more

We used to fly
Go on magic paper adventures
In that fragile paper plane
We would explore paper worlds
Playfully made up as we needed them
And we would return
With mysterious smiles
Secret memories
No one would understand

But secrets were one day exposed
A terrible storm blew up
Lightning torched the paper worlds
All flights got cancelled
And the paper pilot was sacked

...

As I gaze at it once more
I sense him waving at me again
I smile
My bags are packed
I'm ready to go

I wave back at him
And leave a paper note
Then I walk out of the door
The taxi is waiting
To take me to the airport

When all butterflies are frozen too deep
Lifeless and brittle in the snow
The touch of summer you gave me to keep
Still thaws and brings life like spring,  you know

The silence

of a thousand words

trapped

a concealed violence

in unspoken blows

And bruises

of a thousand blows

imagined

behind pending words

of obvious frustration

And I awoke
As if from a dream
Of perfect happy people
Living perfectly happy lives
In their perfect houses
With their perfectly tended gardens
And their perfect unmoving faces

I awoke in a strange
Yet familiar place
With lively and friendly people
Living crazy but funny lives
In their untidy houses
With their weedy and overgrown gardens
And their warm and welcoming faces

I awoke happy
To escape the horrible dream
Of that land where I didn't belong
Where I constantly slipped
On smooth surfaces
Cracking my own varnish
And thus letting the poison in

I awoke
in a place of merry forgetfulness
Where the crisis could not reach
Through the barricades of community
Hammered up with fluid nails
And jolly storytelling
Of a distant but beautiful land
With perfect and happy people

I awoke
feeling strangely at home
Though an alien, treated like family
No strings, no expectations
I awoke and was recognised
By strangers but friends of my soul
I awoke this morning
Never wanting to sleep again

a forbidden triangle
fantasy
skewered between them
in her mind

They wear masks
For beauty
Their faces painted white
With leaded powder
Lips and cheeks blushed
And watery eyes
They bleed
To become pale
Swallow arsenic
For that feverish blush
And they dance
In corsets
Laced up tight
So their ribs will bend
For beauty
Of cultivation

They wear masks
And they dance
To hide their nature
They wear patches
To cover up the cracks
The scars
The undesirable
real skin

My great great grand mother
used to hum
when she made coffee
or fixed lunch
in her kitchen

She used to hum
in the garden
and while knitting
in her chair
in her living room

She used to hum
when there were no other sounds
when nobody was talking
until she could no longer knit
and so the sounds of tv
took over

My daughter bears her name
and she hums
when she plays with her toys
and when  she draws
my daughter hums, too

I sat there
Dumbstruck
With awe
And Headless
Admiration
At the pool
A mercury mirror
I saw myself
In your reflection
Like a statue
Of lost youth
Motionless
Paralysed
Grounded
Like the flower
White and pure
Pretty and Poisonous

I sat there
Waiting
For the reflection
To come alive
For me to touch
Youth
And I sat there
Oblivious
Of the world
Around us
Until I could not feel
Anymore

I want to sleep
forever
and dream
of things
I do not dare to
make real

Oh! Let me sleep!
Let me drown
intoxicated and free
or let me crash
massively high
on sedative air


Oh! Let me sleep!
Let me dream
on seductive words
Or let me die
ingesting
your poisonous letters

I was a ******
before

I met your words
My words were innocent
Unspoiled
Insecure
Before

You forcefully
took me
***** me
With your lyrical might
Of words
Your confidence
In words
impropriety
Through
Words
I am no longer
Who I was

Before

Your words

There might have been two
exchanging kisses with tequila
on torsos and tongues
salty zing
and a friend mingling
mixing and masking slight
burns
and the tequila might have evaporated
only tongues and torsos left
thighs...might have touched
and a tongue tickled the two
others
in turns

I breathe fire
Inside your mountain
I
Brandish your soul

This memory
once
motivated by curiosity
and lack of judgment
smells
of blood
smells like
the taste
of skin
of ***** and blood
and Purple Rain
sensory delusion
dreams of romance
mixed with faeces and surprise
pain realisation
of naivety
still repeated
humiliation
now finally overcome

Every night we were astronauts
Shooting ourselves into orbit
Beneath the fluorescent moon
Until a magic empty

Every morning we crashed
Burst into flames
And died again
Upon entering
The atmosphere
Of the real

With everyone's attention fixed
on the bomb in town
killing eight important men
and women
the island was calm
like a safe haven
getting safer
for the passionate youth
assembly
as a policeman arrived
by boat

But he did not talk much
did not answer questions much
on the boat there
and as they arrived
he shot those who asked
and the coast was clear

Like in a violent game
there were shouts and screams
and he cheered
with every experience ****
and as exploding bullets tore
bodies
and sent frightened fugitives
to their deaths on the cliffs
or in the cold water
he laughed
and he killed more
than just the spirits
of 69 youths
that day

I want to climb
I want to climb your structure
And enter your system
Like a network of tunnels
Via your defenseless retina
And infect your brain
Your consciousness
Your dreams
With words
I want to climb
Your senses
Synapses
Step by step
Defeat them
Derail them
Like a train
Of thoughts
I want to climb
Your visions of wonders
Your virtual vividness
Of wild passion
I want to climb that
With nothing
But words
In mind

From accounts of the massacre
and the thoughts behind
written by the killer beforehand
and which I read last night
I have come to the shore today
to find balance
in watching life on the beach
the sky never this blue
and in listening
to my children laughing
to block the echoes
of what I have read;

How he had sought out the island
with the most passionate of youths
how he had gleefully shot them dead
believing that their views were wrong
how he hated them
and the people they refused to hate
and how they had to die
like I would
like my children would
if he had had his way.

I look up
the sky is still blue
and all I hear
is the sound of my girls
laughing

There's darkness
In the incandescence of the sun
Rising and setting
In two dimensions
Never reaching
But casting shadows from all

And there's death
In the leaves still hanging
On swaying branches
Happily dancing to tunes
Played by the Northern gale
But soon meant to fall

And there's silence
In the violent storm
Whipping and thrashing
The blooming gardens
And their window spectators
With the lights gone out
And nothing to say

And there's love
In the angry screams
And the frustrated pauses
Thickening the air
When we forget
That we are here
Together