Love can be a:
Roller coaster
Hall of mirrors
Helter-skelter
Ferris wheel
Fun house
House of horrors
Dodgem track
Or ghost train

But

You can't tell 'til the ride's begun
And you can't leave 'til you've had your fun

So roll up, roll up...

A sensuous serpent –
That’s your sort.
Perfectly adapted
to deliver
petits morts.

For those bite marks
you bestow
are purely for show – just
a little distraction
from the main attraction;
Awaiting its debut below.

There your fat engorged fang –
Rich and ripe with the tang
Of your toxins,
That drip down
from its tip, and
blister and burn my skin –
There this fleshy dagger will
pierce me within as you fill
my soul with
your sin.

**** happens; it’s true.
And no matter what you do,
****’ll happen to you.

It’s nothing personal; it’s just life.
And life don’t differentiate
between wrong and right.

So the best thing to do is have fun,
And laugh as **** happens,
‘Cause when all’s said and done –

This **** that happens ain’t a curse,
So when it sees you feeling good,
Then perhaps what’ll happen,
Is this **** that’s happening
will feel worse.

Cooking clay to make pottery
Smelting thoughts to get poetry
Melting words into punnery -
Kiln in the name of...

Pure blue simile sky,
Like a licked-clean plate
At a summer fete;
Or a fantasy scene
Where a giant has been
Gobbling up fast
(As he wanders past) clumps
Of cloud candyfloss cake,
So all that lies in his wake
Is a pure blue simile sky.

It's strange,
Sublime and
Surprising
But
Since becoming me,
All the things I truly believed
I
Wasn't allowed to do
Wasn't allowed to feel
Wasn't allowed to be,
Are now the things
I
Proudly put on view
Pure and unconcealed
For all the world to see.

My mind is like a griddle
on which inspiration sizzles;
I let it gently fry and
turn it over
so neither side
will get burnt.

I’ve gotta cook it slow and steady –
and better wait until it’s ready
cause there’s a lesson I’ve learnt
from times before;
from when it looked all cooked and tasty
but its insides were still raw
so the inspiration was wasted
leaving my imagination insatiated,
somewhat unsatisfied and sore.

So this time I let it fry,
on the griddle of my mind
Until it’s done right to the middle
So I know that when I whittle down
into its many drooling layers
the plentiful things waiting there
will be the rich juices of words, rhythm and rhyme.

Let me sink into your skin –
I want to feel you deep within
my soul,
so make me lose control –
’cause you know that I won’t swim,
so let your lust overflow as
I sink into our sin.

I know who I am now.
I discovered my identity,
Grew strong enough to find my feet –
Now I’m no longer lost beneath
someone else’s shadow.

Standing on the edge
is such a privileged position
to be in.

There’s no knowing what comes next,
So just take a deep breath and
keep breathing
keep believing
and keep receiving
all the blessings that this universe possesses.

And when you’re ready, may I suggest
you do just
what everyone says
you’re not supposed to do…
And look down;

Look down and all around you
at the wonder that surrounds you
and truly see the profound beauty of your life –
the opportunities it’s waiting to supply.

Then you will realize the emptiness you see,
Is like a midnight sky spread out beneath your feet
lying pure and still
and surely filled
with billions of bright possibilities.

So the only thing left
for you to do,
Is just to take a breath
then take that step
into whatever future is waiting there for you.

Cold as the leather of a leftover glove;
Infertile fields where we once lay our love.
Cruel is the clasp of winter's embrace,
Chilling the skin of Earth's famished face.

But hope springs eternal, and spring brings new growth,
Spreading life through the land and love through us both,
'Til Earth's face is blooming like never before
And our love is flourishing forever more.

Stirring the depths,
Trying to find
a sign of light
a line of sight
a guiding light
to raise me from this mess,
But sometimes it simply feels like
I’m just stirring the deaths,
The empty breaths
and losing sight
of life.

I was prepared to share
my dreams with you -
but that alone
wouldn't do,
You had to own me through and through;
You had to have it all...

So instead you crept
into my head;
Day-by-day stole
my thoughts away,
Til there was nothing left of me
but a hollow, sorrowful shell.

The day slowly dies;
Scars bleed across the sky as
sunset stains the sea

Just a drop of you
was all it took
to drown me
in the shallow brook
that was all
I was allowed
of your love.

Just one look from you
and I was hooked
(line and sinker)
crooked around
your little finger;
the iron will
to fill my
velvet glove.

Petal lips blossom
Around a red rosebud -
A flushed flower unfurling,
Dewy with desire,
Intoxicating the air
With the sweetness of its scent

Silence has a sound –
And if you just listen closely
you can hear it floating ’round you.

It’s up to you what you hear
but let me make one thing clear;
There’s no such thing as nothing –

Even emptiness is able
to bring something to the table for

before everything else came around,
The universe produced one hell of a sound –

in fact, you can still hear it in space
humming and drumming all over the place,

It’s a nuisance that never dies down;
It just keeps on going
without us knowing

Cause the Big Bang still hangs around;
banging on and on
with the same old song
all eternity long
in the background…

Hear the calming sound of distant traffic,
The morning yawn of this slumbering town,
There, the early birds fly fast and frantic,
Here, the songbirds strive to rouse the crowds.

Soon voices merge with this morning chorus,
As fledglings fly free from their parent's nests,
Filled with the thrill of the day before them,
Wild screams and laughter burst out from their *******.

The clanging of gates cuts short the chorus,
The parents depart to tend to their nests,
Then little birds flit through playground forests,
'Til afternoon comes, then fly home to rest.

Hear the calming sound of distant traffic,
The twilight sigh of this tired-out town,
Night owls with bright eyes swoop through the darkness,
As songbirds sing lullabies all around.

Misery loves Company
But the feeling isn’t mutual;
For Company wants just to be
With concepts which are social.

So Company spurns Misery
Which suits Misery just fine;
As Misery has cause to be
Friends with Anguish all the time.

We cannot cure
each others pain;
But with purest love
we can ensure
they have enough
help and support
to thwart the bane which tortures them,
And heal themselves
again.

Pay the ferryman his dues, before you
take a punt
on the river of death;
'Cause if you don't
he might take offense
and that'll leave you in a right old mess,
For the ferryman
is not a merry man but
a mean and spiteful...

The empty heavens.
A scattering of salt-crystal stars
On a twilight tablecloth;
All that is left
Now the horizon
Has finished feasting
On the day.

On the longest day
The sun barely blinks, then sets
Her sights on Winter

Sweep away the dead leaves,
Tear down
The brittle vines of misery,
Bring forth light
Into forgotten corners,
And let the fountain of your thoughts
Play its merry melody once more.

Restore and repair
All the broken panes of your
Hothouse imagination;
Fill it full of lush concepts
And juicy, bright ideas.

Tend to your mind’s garden daily;
Feed it with curiosity,
Water it with inspiration,
Warm it with love,
Then you will feel it
Grow and flourish
Forevermore.

A collection of curves…
An assortment of angles…
An alliteration of lines…

How do we each perceive
the universe?

How do our minds define
what we believe we see?

Do our conflicting views
intolerably entangle themselves?

Or could it be
our conceptions converge
more harmoniously?

The tide of time has lined your skin
with high laughter marks
indenting the parts
that were once washed smooth
by the Spring tide of youth
yet are now left unhindered
by the low tide of Winter;
So they lie 'round your eyes
sunbathing in the light
that years of experience bring.

Silken Sable Sheets
Flecked with the dust of heaven
Sheltering the earth
(Inspired by @DimpleVerse Prompt 'Dusk Light')


Golden sunflower
Rising from the dew-drenched Earth
Scattering cherry-blossom clouds
Across the lavender sky.
(Inspired by #PoemPeriod prompt 'Blossom')

Plump blood orange sun
Juices spill across the sky
Then seep into dusk
(Inspired by #TLPoetry Prompt 'Juicy')

Scuttling their way
sideways through space –
Like they always know
where they’re going.

So if we do likewise
(but move sideways through time)
Do you think we might find
where time’s going?

No thought tsunamis -
One idea at a time, please
don't drown me in words

I must unleash
My poetry beast;
I've kept her caged all night.

Her fangs must feast
On juicy beats
And gorge on raw insight...

I must unleash
My poetry beast;
I've kept her caged all night.

Her fangs must feast
On juicy beats
And gorge on raw insight...

I strip my soul bare, then
Stretch my essence into space.
Conscious of the cosmos,
I let my thoughts grow paper thin, until
Slowly, my ego evaporates,
Opening up a perfect place
For poetry to begin;

I let inspiration
Flood in.

Venus in chains -
Stolen away from the sun, now she's numb
and lost in space;
Kept as Mars' pet,
In his shadow
and yet
she'll soon escape;
To return to her place
beside Earth,
who truly appreciates
her worth,
And knows
never to stand in her way.

You fresh flesh
Lying in long layers beside me
In the gloom.

You're a mess of lithe limbs,
Knotted hair and
Pretty skin.

You're a beautiful buffet,
Deeply delicious, and
Inviting, and

You're a lush display of
Raw, warm meat
That's good enough
To eat.

Life through a lens.
Watching other people’s revelry
through the filter of a dead TV.
Perfect picture
perfect pitch
and an incredible intensity –
But it’s not life.
This vicarious festivity
neutered and numbed
by a precision of pixels,
This slum depiction of synthetics ideals
Is not life…

What happened to the crows?
All the other birds are singing,
Yet this family seems unwilling
to lend their voices
to this summer chorus.

Perhaps they have a reason;
Perhaps they feel it’s not the season
for their melancholy caws,
And so they pause,

And they wait…

For summer to pass, and
then the world at last
will be stripped of all colourful things,
Becoming as black as the crow’s wings –
A similarly stark and dark state.

Perhaps then the crows won’t hesitate
to crowd together,
And take their place
among their fellow, feathered brethren;
Perhaps then they’ll find the strength to sing.

Tightly-wrapped thoughts only fester away
So unravel your mind’s bindings ’til they all fall away,
Open your soul to this curious world,
Let its beauty infuse you, as your body unfurls.

Let your eyes hear every sound your ears see,
Let your skin taste the sweetness of infinity,
Spread your perception out far and wide, then
Take a deep breath, and draw the universe inside.

You drink the sunlight that falls from the sky,
You breathe the air that gives everything life,
Your blood flows like rivers, and your flesh soft as earth
Your form and its functions all give your soul worth.

For nothing exists in all time and space
Without having reason, and purpose, and place, as
You are important, like all that you do –
For you are the universe, and
The universe
Is
You.

In hindsight, her veneers
Were not the best idea,
And nor did Botox help;
It turned her howls to yelps.

Her pretty, patterned claws
Looked weird on canine paws,
Just like her enhanced *******  
Beneath her furry chest.

Too late, she realized
Her need to be disguised
Was pointless all along;
She knew now she'd been wrong...

Each mistake I make
I accept, so I may live
life without regret

Letters placed upon a page
like kisses across your skin;
A succession of little notes quickly spoken
just to set your flesh a-flush and quivering.
The music comes as I move my tongue,
As it licks and rolls and strokes and strums
over every word
I’ve lovingly laid down,
So when each sensuous sound
is lifted from the page, and played,
A symphony of syllables make the words whirl around
you, and the melody of my love song
can be heard.

Let’s lick the light from the sky,
Taste time together
You and I;
Gargle on green rolling free-flowing fields,
Then lap up a leaf left by Yggdrasil.

Let’s milk midnight from our eyes,
Weave the world a red
lullaby;
Turn somersaults in Summer’s vault of sunburnt malt
and mumbled salt that tumbled through
thunder’s thoughts of ***, raw whiskey and rye.

Let’s make the moon craters cry,
Give up our graces
You and I;
Sweep the stars into bell-bottom jars
as we tweak the meek **** of Mars and creep
through the spaces of cotton lace bars
faster than a racing eight-faced die.

Let’s lick the light from the sky,
Taste time together
You and I;
Share our souls with this suspicious old world
So it knows the reason why
we are
You and I.

Remember when...
Our young skin shone diamond bright
In dark caverns of black light;
Out of space and riding time,
Fast break beats but faster minds,
Chasing, racing laser light...

Remember when...
Bass lines boomed like mushroom clouds
Radiating through the crowds,
Hands held out to neon suns,
You were me as we come one,
And beside us we stood proud...

Remember when...
We were such sublime sights,
Flesh and muscle, firm and tight
Fearless, feral hearts beating
And loose, limber limbs weaving
On and on into the night...