Black metal staircase
escapes from the alley
where no light is
and into the night above
rises
creeping
to the opaque heavens
where invisible Angels live
white knuckle squeezing
those venerable bones
and that ancient staircase groans

Roosty

the only way i know how to touch the sky
is through the ribs of the dead.

We've been sad so long
that happiness scares us
We love to hate
We seek comfort in misery
We scream that the universe
does not want us happy
But we are glad
to be sad
Because joy is always so temporary
At least we can always count on misery
to be there
in the deepest corners
of our hearts.
-@IrisMaddenPoetry

I do not
have to tell you
not to notice me.
Your eyes rest,
and then skim right by
...my features barely holding
a place in your mind.
Sometimes
I like it that way...
...but sometimes
I wish to have
some sort of...
relevance
in your life
in your hopes
in your dreams...
Sometimes
I wish
I wasn't so irrelevant
to you...
-IrisMaddenPoetry

know this, my child:
the things that burn your eyes
will also burn your soul.

but it doesn't change the fact
that all you can give to the world
is an awkward wave to a girl
who may be dying.

there is a special place
hidden in the space
between
your fingers
and the stars
you couldn't
catch

i am not beauti-
ful but I am free and that
is so much better

Have you seen the crazy man
who shuffles when he speaks
Mumbles with a broken stride
and ties his shoeless feet?

Have you seen the broken woman
carting round her home?
Shopping in a garbage can
Garbage shopping cart alone

Have you seen the intellect
religious physics in his head
He understands the missing cat
and knows that it's not dead

Have you seen them all together
when they're all apart?
Bumbling old shoes
A newer cart home
Calculated prayers and art

I have seen them
I've seen all three
Folding my newspaper blanket
I have them all for tea

Roosty