Speak to me Laura: Favorites

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

Love note

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

Juan deloera

I wish your heart would melt like mine,
Cause it's hard with just a puddle for a beat,
But maybe with two, our veins could meet,
And be less lonely,
All my hopes gather and dance to your smile,
At a constant rhythm saluting me,
Greeting your future in a way discrete,
Memories are homely,
I find home in my predicted past,
Do I dare keep my conscious sleep?
Aspirations with bottom sincerity,
Memories meant more,
Will you be the hand I keep to my cheek?
Will you keep connection to warm my path?
The moon melts the snow, it's time to creep,
Tiptoe with time but stay from its grasp,
Don't tell me it's not written in the cosmos,
Sometimes it's better to keep the lights off

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

Carly.

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

Juan deloera

Carly.

I see your rosy stained cheeks and think of how they would've coated my lips.
How I would've known the warmth of your hand like I know the beat of my heart.
Care giver promises while her tongue played black and white film into my ears,
And while it played she handed me pieces of glass that reflected dreams of darkness,
Like a dye for the heart it stained discarded shoes,
But that's not all because it left lilacs in place of what we lose,
That smell comforts me when my hands meet to be disappointed,
Because they know their lack of size can be filled by another,
Two thumbs connected like the print bonded a perfect match,
But the print dimmed so quickly my eyes are still trying to catch up,
It's only the lack of tingle that my skin once had in abundance that bother me,
It spots are gone but what should I expect.

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

labels are for boxes

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

Silver Wolf

labels are for boxes

Try to put me in a box
Castrate me
The box you say
Defining everything
I was
I am
I could be
Would be
Will be
Stick a piece of tape
The label
On my head
Spells out the
Who
What
Why
How
That’s what you say
Anyway
And they
Follow me
Trace the path my footsteps take
Always close by
Never far behind
As they try
To categorize me
Put into the container
The name
As they see best fit
Believing it
Encompasses
Contains
Covers
Embraces
Comprises
Everything about
Me
But the problem
With labels
Is that
They are for boxes
Not people

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

self-doubt, a nightly ritual

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

R Saba

self-doubt, a nightly ritual

i’m here again, inches away
from the surface of the bathroom mirror
at an unhealthy angle
twisting my vision
back and forth
frowning, smiling, frowning again
watching craters turn back into pores
as i move away
then back again
scrutinizing
each and every hair, every line
every possible sign
that i might be human
the bathroom mirror
has me convinced that i am
and as i turn my head the other way
trying to see if my profile is any better
than it was yesterday
i can’t help but wonder
after seeing myself up close
how it is that you could stand to kiss me
but then again
i guess your eyes are closed

goodnight world, for real this time

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

Lola

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

R Saba

Lola

I bet her name is Lola.
After all, she fits the part,
all little girl, sweetheart,
bow in hair and storybook ringlets,
bouncing down the halls
on pretty shoes
that I would never wear.
I bet she places her small hand
on your arm when she flirts,
eyelashes ablaze
and head tilted,
inadvertently charming her way
into adulthood.
I bet her voice is sweet,
crackling with forced sexuality
as she melds childhood innocence
with the politics of growing up,
trying to get the best of both worlds
and almost succeeding.
I bet her wide smile falters
when she walks away,
as she realizes the impression she has made
and, too proud to turn back,
continues down the hall
feeling tall
and yet invisibly small,
little girl, sweetheart
in search of rebellion.
I watch her, and
I wonder what
her problem is.
I bet her name is Lola.

people-watching

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

the words

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

Keith May

the words

The words felt uncomfortable in my throat
like the pen I was chewing on
before the airbag went off.

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

water

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

Keith May

water

There are some nights
when I love the taste of water,
but I reach for whiskey instead.
I'll lay somewhat less awake in bed
until the morning when I know
I'll swallow enough in the shower.

It's nothing insurmountable,
like the cleanliness of an infant being baptized.
The congregation stares straight-mouthed
until the next baby is washed
and it stares blankly into the crowd
and the parents are proud.

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

Past Experiences Change Us

Nov 2013 Speak to me Laura

-

Past Experiences Change Us

tears are wasted often
on the people
who touch
and then
abandon

feelings are evil
only trouble
it leaves you
in a bubble
trapped inside
with no hopes of escape
it leaves you lost
and confused
about what love is
what it's meant to feel like
what it is meant to portray
what it is meant to create

we fall so many times
for the same trick
we feel so weak
emotions leave us
feeling hopeless

we cling to such bad habits
people whom are addictive
we get lost in our lives
it feels quite tragic

we try and see
the good
even in
the bad

it is sad
how we
fall victim
to the same ****
again and again

bad luck finds it's way
into your gentle veins
and poisons, weakens
it changes you
completely

it changes it all
the way you think
the way you touch
the way you kiss
the way you
separate yourself
from everyone else

not a nice way
of living
living in fear
all of the time
spending your days
in fear of being abandoned
and broken, torn, blinded
by the thoughts
and doubts
stopping you
from being free
and somewhat happy