Your poetry is like
Liquorice
Or
Pernod
Or
Absinthe
Believe me, I want it to be sweet
Get me drunk
Hallucinate
But that ****** bitter taste
Keeps coming up
All I can feel is nauseous
So, I put you back on the shelf
Waiting for the next
Charity shop run.

Colorful bubbles dissolve
into dreary mist.
Feral dragons soar,
rise from the bottomless pit.
Gargoyles and vultures
shroud the sepulchral sites.
As I yearn for memories
of lucid times.
Aluminum toy soldiers
stumble upon fractured moors.
The white lady's bellow
I rue once more.
Echoes of sirens
fade in a deserted valley.
Blank stares of yesteryear
perish at stardust alley.

©Martin D Angelus [2019]
Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico

That bore stare
at my condemned existence,
such vain entity, ghoulish puppet,
pathetic mannequin I have become.
No words can adequately describe
the vague sentiment,
the desolate nights,
the adulation that corrupts
my distraught soul.
There I seek comfort, such pity,
in my own infatuation.
What cruel lies have I told myself?
Where are those vanquished dreams
I had as a child?
The good samaritan has vanished,
left astray by vanity and pompous affairs.
A ghoul of an opening scene,
impeccably dressed for one last act.

©Martin D Angelus [2019]
Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico

polemics flies
and lands messily
on both sides

the drone of speech
and rhetoric
never worth the while

what use is this discord
when we refuse to shoulder

part of our weight in
pushing the titan's boulder?

Success never came without critique & hate
No matter friend or foe, they'll close down their gate.
The smile will turn into a smirk
The eyes will change into a lurk
Some may even walk on to the other side
But that's when you'll know you're doing it right
Your light maybe blinding to some
and some may even turn to ash
but don't give heed to the glare,
whispers and oh all the gnash.

Dance on your victory, you've made them so proud,
the ones who love you; so bring down the shroud;
of darkness and dullness & shout out to call,
your strength and beauty that some may appal.
Cause' you are a diamond that shines oh so bright,
but some may not see it,
so why don't you guide.
Cause' you've got it right
So stand tall with pride
Cause' you are the light
and you shine so bright.

A.S.

It can sting,
but at the right time,
nothing encourages growth more than a proper rebuke,
from a true friend, with proper intentions.