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Terri Faloney Feb 2011
Pink ribbons fade into Grey at the sight of an old man;
They slither on the breath of the wind,
Tapped on by subtle drops of rain,
Shriveling and cold.
They slowly begin to unravel from the pointed tips to the soft inner core;
Ragged strings float down onto the earth's surface,
Laying quietly.
Only waiting to be stepped on by muddy, yellow, rain boots.

An old man sits on the bench,
His back curling into itself,
A fish hook image of sharp uncomfortable pain.
His face holds pictures of trenches and craters;
His cane leaning slightly at his side,
His only companion.
Each breath like forcing air out of a pinhole in a balloon.
His hands quiver with each blink
His eyes becoming heavier with each gasping breath.

He has known a life
Lived a life
Saved a life
Taken a life
Witnessed life
Broken a life

Yet in the end he will have no life.
With one last breath his life will end, and be forgotten.
With one last blink he will no longer see the life in front of him

An old man dies in a park
A pink ribbon fades into mud
A life of worth dissipates into nothingness.
Terri Faloney Feb 2011
The pages of a book keep secrets unknown to those who
Just skin through or glance at the cover.
My lips are a book with no title
No words
No feelings
They lie on my face as dead and cold as stone
Stories
To the world, my lips are numb—
Just a book hidden within the library of the world
My secrets sewn into its pages.
Terri Faloney Feb 2011
Broken thoughts seep through my skin
Another misery to begin
My eyes swollen shut with frozen tears
I’ve been holding back for so many years
Echoes of your voice linger in the walls
I swear these demons with never fall
They mock my words with blackened teeth
Biting my neck in disbelief
At my selfishness, they begin a feast
Eating my pain, my inner beast
Holding my breath I take a leap
A promise I hope you’ll forever keep
To escape their lies
I plunge into your silver-green eyes
I fall now forever, you won’t save me
You tried, now failed, no one can see
The me I want to show remains a secret
Buried within the walls
Because no one can keep it.
Terri Faloney Feb 2011
The drapes of fabric cloak his form
Rips and tares catch on splintered edges
Each step, a stumble
Each breath, a hack
Each blink, a burden
The days of light have dissipated
Into a tomb of perpetual shadows
A man will march to rest
A choice
A life not worth living
Terri Faloney Feb 2011
A yellow demon caresses his body
Gnawing
Scratching
Eating
Laying eggs in crevices
Broken scraps of tissue
Sprouting children walk the surface
Feeding on the Corpse
Raising their torches to the sphere above
Flaming
Burning
Boiling
They ride the licorice veils of the moon
Charging
Stampeding
Each breath he takes
A war
They suffocate his lungs
Strangling
Stomping
Laughing
A yellow demon caresses his corpse
The next victim
Unaware
Terri Faloney Feb 2011
Chocolate drizzled down my chin
A little taste of sin

Each drop I swallow
Makes me hollow

I cannot stop
Just one more drop

Give me more
My lips feel sore

Drain my soul
From this gaping hole

Can’t spit it out
I start to doubt

My little taste of sin
Ends like it begins
Terri Faloney Feb 2011
Fully—
Broken—
A million pieces
Scattered
On the floor
Im done now—
Ive lost—
Every ounce of care
Every inch of love
Every spec of me crumbled
As useful as a grain of sand
Lost at sea.
Faded—
Red—
Sand—
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