is it all a game?
you're wanting to play?
to leave me on open?
to see what i'll say?

you know i'm upset.
you know how i get.
so how is it fair
to leave me on read?

Dogs have habits, you bet they do.
They run and play, then eat and poo.

They Sleep all day, zoom, zoom all night.
They bark and bark, at something in sight.

They wait at the window or wait by the door.
To say hello to their people with eyes we adore.

Let's go for walk, they seem to be saying.
Really, oh really, that's my kind of playing!

They love without boundaries, they give the same way.
They are really true family and never, never betray.

Without them we are lost, so much that it hurts.
Pay attention to their habits, life with them, JUST WORKS.

Brian Hill - 2019#42

I often forget
I am breaking in silence
I cannot hold it against him
For not knowing
How deeply I am aching
Maybe if I could tell him
I could never tell him
What difference would it make?
Speaking to ghosts in the starlight
Sitting on park benches with phantoms
Of a boy who is now the living dead
To me
He was everything
The boy who saw himself as nothing
Words I still hear ringing in my head
I still pray for him every night
No, not to be mine
But to be alright
To see himself as all I did
But he is only a ghost of who he was
Or maybe it’s me
The ghost
Is that why he looks right through me now
Or why when I call his name
I no longer get a response
Maybe that is why
He never kissed me
Scared I would pass straight through him
See straight through his insecurities
Call out the things he feared the most
I wonder if he ever thought less of me
For seeming so transparent
For wearing emotion like a badge of honor
I have so many unanswered questions
But what good would it do
To speak to a ghost on a playground
Under a diamond sky
The first place he ever held me
Like I meant something to him
What good would it do?

Black hole kisses
******* me out of myself.
Kisses wrapped in hugs.
Intimate moments at intimate times.
Memories to treasure
On a cold winter night.

We once played a New Year Game
In which you kissed a girl
Then swopped her with another:
Twenty or so kisses
To compare.

One kiss so wide
I could hardly stretch
To meet it.
Ending up
Trust me,
With the big fat unresponsive one
Too drunk
To even know
She was being kissed.

Recall one time being coolly kissed
Politely:
A kiss that said
In no uncertain terms –
If you want passion
You’d better go elsewhere
My dear.

For kisses are like handshakes:
Some firm and friendly;
Others too hard
Or too limp.
The young don’t always get it:
Lettuce limp
With their customary hands.
Physical expression
A dying art
Like conversation
In this digital age
Of mobile phones
Snapchats
And Insta-Images.

Time to rekindle the past,
Go back to playing out –
And away!
Get mud ****** mucky
All gloves off.
Back to Basics,
That’s The Way.

Paul Butters

© PB 5\2\2019.

Play, Please Play The Game

It's So Lonely Here

You've Joined The Game

You're My Only Friend

Please Don't Leave Me Here Again

If You Do

My Mind Will Break

My Sanity You Will Take

When You Leave Me Here Alone Again