Hush Hush...
the mushroom
an ascetic
gives no room
for the thoughts
to mushroom.
Shall we be quiet!
But to meditate together
alone
intensely
under it's
umbrella's shade,
Matsutake Soup
And Mushroom skew,
Hush Hush.  Together,
we reshaped and danced
after reformed flavours

I am a single daisy
lingering in a blue vase
and I hold

the room

We're at a hospital emergency room - no emergency for us, my mom's a doctor and she's consulting about something. It's 4 pm on a Wednesday - after school. I'm in the waiting room - playing chess on my iPhone. I hate standing around in hospital areas with my parents (both doctors) listening to endless medical-trade jargon.

The ER room is almost empty. A wino-******-looking guy comes in and sits across from me about two seats down to the left. I'm ignoring him, for the most part, but he's all shaky and his fidgeting draws my eye now and then.

After a couple of minutes, I think he's watching me.
Yep, he's pretty much staring at me, shaking, tapping his right heal like he’s sending Morris code to the aliens and wiping his mouth with a ball of toilet paper.

And NOW we've made eye contact - he smiles - two or three of his front teeth are missing. I return my eyes to my phone and try to concentrate on my game.

But he's staring at me, I can feel it.
I put my phone in my lap and look at him for a moment. What sad humanity.
His head is sort of nodding - like "I see you seeing me" with a slight grin.

"Why do you do it?" I ask, in a quiet voice, sitting up a little straighter.
His head bobs backwards in surprise - "Do what?" he slurs innocently.
I roll my eyes, to say, ok, never mind and start to bring up my phone.
"I just like it", he says, with a little wheeze and a touch of attitude. "Better than anything else"
I nod, to say "OK" Then after a second I go back to my game.

My mom comes out a couple of minutes later and naturally, I get up to leave with her. I pause and look back at the.. ***??
"Good luck", I say,
He sort of half waves
My mom holds up her hand a little to encourage me to come on with her.
As we go through the automatic glass doors she gives me the side-eye.
"He IS a person", I say defensively.
Three beats later, we both say, at the exact same time, "A ******* UP person!"
"Jinx!!" I say a millisecond before her. I give a savage fist-pump-of-victory.
"I want Ice cream" I say.
We both grin as the car unlocks.

Laughter from Another Room
by Michael R. Burch

Laughter from another room
mocks the anguish that I feel;
as I sit alone and brood,
only you and I are real.

Only you and I are real.
Only you and I exist.
Only burns that blister heal.
Only dreams denied persist.

Only dreams denied persist.
Only hope that lingers dies.
Only love that lessens lives.
Only lovers ever cry.

Only lovers ever cry.
Only sinners ever pray.
Only saints are crucified.
The crucified are always saints.

The crucified are always saints.
The maddest men control the world.
The dumb man knows what he would say;
the poet never finds the words.

The poet never finds the words.
The minstrel never hits the notes.
The minister would love to curse.
The warrior longs to spare his foe.

The warrior longs to spare his foe.
The scholar never learns the truth.
The actors never see the show.
The hangman longs to feel the noose.

The hangman longs to feel the noose.
The artist longs to feel the flame.
The proudest men are not aloof;
the guiltiest are not to blame.

The guiltiest are not to blame.
The merriest are prone to brood.
If we go outside, it rains.
If we stay inside, it floods.

If we stay inside, it floods.
If we dare to love, we fear.
Blind men never see the sun;
other men observe through tears.

Other men observe through tears
the passage of these days of doom;
now I listen and I hear
laughter from another room.

Laughter from another room
mocks the anguish that I feel.
As I sit alone and brood,
only you and I are real.

Keywords/Tags: laughter, mockery, ridicule, another, room, anguish, brood, real, reality, dreams, persist, lovers, sinners, saints, madmen, poets, artists, minstrels, ministers, warriors, scholars, actors, proud, guilty, merry, blind, tears

There are spiders in the corners of my room
They hide in comfort from their impending doom
They have as much right as me
To stay here too
For I hide here when I cant see the moon
I don't think they will be here long
They seem to come and go
They leave their webs
They leave their homes
We are not that different
Maybe that they know
In time I will be gone too

Lying in my room
   wondering what's missing,

   those brown eyes that matches the color of my coffee,
  my soft blanket that felt like your embrace
  or the alarm clock where I'm pretty sure it was your voice that
         woke me up 30 minutes ago

Sometimes "I miss you"
means
     every item in my room
remembers a piece of you
   waiting for you
to come back

I have one window in my room
It’s the worst window you could ask for.
When you look out, all you see is ,my neighbor's house,
No green, No sun, No rain.

Oh but let me tell you, my bed is at a perfect angle where car lights passing by at midnight hit my face.
The window is right in front of where I practice.
Hours a day in front of a missed opportunity, lack of beauty, and a failure of potential.

I can't blame my window for ******* at its one job though
I’ve never noticed, but my room is boring in itself
White walls, white door, messy floor, messy mind

On my walls are scraps of paper lightly pushing me to be “better than yesterday” and to  “have fun when we practice”
The floor having a dozen books half read that I will eventually get to.
A desk with everything to do work with, like pencils, pens, rulers, and a giant framed picture that takes 80% of my work space.

I blame my window for having a horrible view
but my window is having the same issue looking back at me.

i want to feel the warmth of that room again
where i used to never be scared to lay my head
until the night everything changed
and it changed us
the room was no longer warm
i couldn't bare to even close my eyes
they took the warmth from me
and they took it from you
as the food burned
along did a piece of us both
they say as time goes by it gets easier
but they forgot to mention a part of you will hold onto that night forever