if you can't be the giver,
be the wisest one.

I’m cutting your string.
The ball can roll
like columbus round the world
looking for the edge.
And I’ll be left
with the short piece
ready to drop it in the trash
while you tangle with your mess.
Sticky fingers,
trapped in knots
wondering how I got away
without a catch.
That’s what happens
when you play with girls
who run with scissors.
I’m sharp as steel
and just as strong.
Be careful
it might be
your fingers bleeding.

Fescue fields in view
Electric neon butter *****
Scattered glowing beacons
Dot the greens and browns
Magnets for little hands
Tiny feet racing to keep up
Their laser focus
To pick and pick and pick
More and more and more
Fistfuls of joy
To tickle the nose
To share laughter
To put in a pocket
Then nap and forget


© 2019 MJL

I ****** the stage with silence so the audience anticipates the articulation of words that soon spill out of my mouth.

The show lights blind my eyes so all I can see are headless ghosts sitting in rows, neatly compact in a spiritual communion.

My mind stutters, body shudders, yet the line is plain to see as it was painted on my lips - ready to perform, ready to be spoken.

Narration courses through my lungs to produce cornered speech, creating an introductory-zone for the others to encroach behind me

And there we were, separated into our own character beams while I stood with shallow confidence at the forefront.

Though I'm not a main lead,
or a side character,
or a set piece,
I am the narrator.
I carry the weight of the story,
And I carry the ears of those who listen.

I lay on her lap
She began to play
With my hair

I looked up to the sky
Her eyes shone brightly in the night
And melted my inner ice
With her sweet, warm smile.

I have an idea,
A game we can play.
I’ll paint you a picture,
What does it say?

“Like charades?” you ask,
Yes, but with higher stakes.
I’m the riddle on the canvas,
Can you solve without mistakes?

⁃ Don’t Read Me Wrong

Shhh, don't tell anyone.
But,I'm not really here.
These aren't my words no, no.
Everything is a total no-show.

I'm only what I seem,
when I am not seen.
A shadow in the darkness,
in days of dis-ease.

Shhh, you're not you.
You never really were.
These words are not for you.
Just born from the void you grew.