#xo
(Pentagon E-ring office—executive officer knocks & enters—General motions him in)
XO,
Explain
examinees...
Examinee
X-11,
Xander
Xanakis
Experience?
Explosives
expert.
Ex-Army.
Executive
experience
Exam?
Exceptional
Excellent!
Excessive
Exessive?
Explain
Extreme
xenophobe
(expletive)
Exclude
Examinee
X-12...
Xavier
Xanthopoulos...
Experience?
Expert—
extraction,
exfiltration.
Ex-Navy,
Executive
Experience
Exam?
Excelled
Extracuricular
extras...
Explain
Expat,
X-games,
xylophone...
Expat?
Xalapa
(chuckling)
X-games,
xylophone—
(laughs)
X-Factor!
(XO nods his head, smiling)
Xenophobic?
(shaking head)
Xenodochial.
Exeptionally
xenophilic!
Expectations?
Exceeds
Expectations
Excellent!
XO,
exclude
examinee
X-11...
Excluding
Xander
Xanakis
Expedite
Xavier
Xanthopoulos
Expediting
examinee
X-12
XO,
excused
(XO exits)
© 2020 by Mark Toney. All rights reserved.
Apr 25, 2020
Apr 25, 2020 at 2:54 PM UTC
#
*And when she had
e x p e r i e n c e d each part
of herself--
in each part-
a healing
each part-
its newfound expression
each part-
finally comfortable
with the other parts
of who she is--
when the sum of the whole
in itself became whole
then she became whole.
And I
no longer needed
to go so many d i f f e r e n t
places
or press my face
to so many different
faces
just so that I
might find her.*
#
Oct 31, 2019
Oct 31, 2019 at 10:22 PM UTC
if it wasn't your soul...
or the flawless symmetry of your face,
or even that stainless yet smokey smile
then it was the statue that they built of you
in the city
and how even the birds knew your name.
between laughter-like sounds,
i can still hear them calling you.
you made your mark.
not on my heart
but on the other
side
in an unexpected space
on my rib cage
a tiny "xo"
marks my skin forever
in black ink.
©
Feb 27, 2017
Feb 27, 2017 at 5:39 PM UTC
There is a love I wish I'd never known;
Its bitter taste still burning on my tongue
Like steaming coffee sipped in haste.
I held my air tight to my chest, but you
Ripped it from my lungs with no warning,
Replacing it with your breath, old cigarettes,
And fumes from gasoline-soaked memories.
**** I was eighteen and had nothing left,
But you lit me on fire. You took more of me
Than I had to give, then left me alone
To create someone new out of my ashes.
Little did you know, I'd fill my cracks with gold,
Forge a new heart, then let the old one melt.
Babe, if love feeds on pain, devour someone else.
Oct 6, 2015
Oct 6, 2015 at 12:58 AM UTC
I love you like a shooting star.
I love you like I love a day where everything goes right.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved.
It’s a secret, between the shadow and the soul
As if you were your own galaxy in itself
The moon lives in the lining of your skin
I love your lips.
Our awkward stares
I love your passion
Even though you probably fail to see it
I know it’s there because…
Just like shooting stars, not everyone gets to see one in a lifetime
But that makes them no less real, or any less magnificent.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or why, or where
Where do these feelings come from?
I love you without insecurities or pride
I love you like I love the thrill of pure infatuation
I love you like R-J loved Kim K for 42 minutes and 12 seconds
I love you like XO
I love you from the grip of my soul
I love you like a shooting star
But I don’t love you like I loved you yesterday
Jun 18, 2015
Jun 18, 2015 at 10:55 PM UTC
I want you here
Your hand in mine
To feel you close
Oblivious to time
I want you here
My lips on yours
In your arms
I'd feel secure
I want you here
want to feel
Your breath on my neck
Tangible and real
I can't say how much
I want you here
For you to Pull me in
Laugh in my ear
My dear
I want you here
I love you
No matter where
Oct 10, 2014
Oct 10, 2014 at 6:00 AM UTC
I feel so bloated
When I think of you
Like I've swallowed a hundred pills
To forget your silhouette
Against the moonlight
And the perfect edge
Of your sculpted jawline
And the contours of your chest
That move with your ragged breath
And your very strong hands
That are oddly so gentle.
It's almost like I can hear you
Whispering my name
Or feel your arm
Gripping my waist.
These images are so vivid
Why aren’t you here
Jul 27, 2014
Jul 27, 2014 at 10:39 PM UTC