Malalagkit na mga halik
Amoy ng alak at yosi,
kumakapit sa damit
Kaunting barya,
puri ang kapalit
Eto ang turo ni inay
"Kapalan mo ang lipstick anak,
hindi magtatagal ikaw di'y masasanay"
manipis na tela
ang bumalot sa murang katawan ni Teresa
"Sariwang-sariwa!"
hindi magkamayaw ang mga kalalakihan
Sa entablado kinalimutan
ang nagdurusang puso
binalatan nang dahandahan



-Tula XI, Margaret Austin Go

“By any means necessary”
Words of encouragement to my self-depreciated soul

Pure happiness coming at a premium
The outside world strips me; making me its *****

Strange lips and unfamiliar hands cradle me
Satisfaction in this sense is only temporary

Criticism coming from every direction
Questioning whether my lifestyle is necessary

I’ve never enjoyed my naked predicament
However, it’s my only productive option

Allowing simpletons to simply have their way
Faking pleasure, keeping my pain locked in

After so much abuse, I try to be a man
Clothing myself again, ******* up the tears

The world has other ideas
Unleashing every one of my fears

Again, cold and abandoned
I find myself back at square one

Becoming a slave to the world
Just another form of prostitution

Looking at hundreds of women
I come across you
No pleasure shown in your face
No moaning from your lips
No enthusiasm in your motion
You are not here to pay for college
Or to cover the bills
You have no choice
No choice at all
And here we are
In our cushy chairs
Spending our spare time
Getting off on you
I regret any pleasure I had
That came at your cost
Please forgive me
If you can find the will
In what's left of your heart
A sickness lives within us
If we carry this on

Pretty little Penny felt worthless on the streets
she got a petty penny when working backseat
but maybe this dime piece’s time is spent.
She thought as she got up off the park bench
Smashing a bottle upon the cobblestone
Time was coddled so she hobbled home
She said, “I’m sorry”, in monotone
“I need you two, I can’t hold my own.
I owe you both way more than I have given.
Find it in your heart, can I be forgiven?
Cause living in the streets
has brought out the worst in me
I’ve been forced to do things, I’ve begged on my knees
But if you take me back I can change, if you trust me.”
And so she finished up her plea in a broken mirror
in the back alley of the place that she ran from last year.

© Matthew Harlovic

They fall far , they fall hard
They leave stained and ***** feathers
Some soaked in tar

Their kisses form shallow
Their embraces colored weak

Their hearts are shredded
Their pulse timid
Barely a beat

Love has been cruel
A diversion in pain at best

Little did they know that
When they flew
From the nest

Now broken and battered
No longer good of wing

They perform as requested
Or chance another
Beating

All of their tomorrows lay in powdered dust
Nothing to hold onto

No children , photograps , ring  
Nothing
Except the next man's ******

Vaginas are all shapes & sizes
Not many vary from the fold
there are very few surprises
Seems nature's gone & set it's mould

But the ****** has such allure
A pull on man to lesbian alike
A calling so strong and pure
Enough to turn a straight girl ****

Is it the promise of warmth & touch
A memory of a time inside
The scent of our matriarch's crotch
Draws us to those legs held wide?

It was nature's way of ensuring
The human race continues on
So that our presence here's enduring
Never ceasing. On & on

Instinct has been subject to a ploy
To harbour this hypnotic power
Sell it back, a high class toy
Put to work this delicate flower

Control the basic urge of man
The essential need to drink & eat
Once you create the ultimate fan
Then the surplus you do deplete

Until it feels that a simple look
Purchased, from a few feet away
Is as good as one hard ****
Copulation they do delay

And so vaginas became a mystery
Sold back to all who do desire
Remember to look back in history
The vaginas are for more than hire

Take a number, please. Don't cut in line.
We've got plenty of time, to pay, for our crimes.
Our dues are owed. To the "man" we sold to, and, yea;
we've got plenty of time to pay for our crimes.
You had better stand right here next to me, and;
don't let me know where we are.
I just want to know how far I have gone
Then take me home.
Leave me alone.
I don't want to go.
I don't want to know.
Anything.
Anything at all.
I don't want to be here, running away.
I don't even know your ******* name.
I don't want to go home, just make it all go away.
I don't want to be here, just want to run away.
I'm so sorry.
Please, go away.
just go away.......
I'm so sorry and go away.

These men,
They don't mind sharing us.
They just don't want to know with who.

I've seen pain, so much pain.

I've seen him stagger out of a bar
and have absolutely nothing in his eyes.

I've seen her run down the streets in
6 inch heels, screaming with fear.

I've seen the little girl squeeze her eyes
shut when she hears her mom and dad
curse each other.

I've seen the old man worn down by
battle scars with nothing to cover
himself but a painstakingly worn down jacket.

But mostly I've seen this whole world
slowly then quickly diminish from
all the negativity and hurt that surrounds it.

And it's inevitable that I will be responsible.