Andrew Rueter: Favorites

Mar 2021 Andrew Rueter

Bogdan Dragos

At 22:00 she would come out looking
for him
Would call out his name
and eventually find him by the
sandbox or the slide
and would dust him off a bit
and take him home
and feed him

As she’d put him to bed
she’d kiss his face, sometimes
his mouth
and he’d ask, “Why did you do that?”

and she’d reply, “I don’t know.
But did you like it?”

And he’d either nod or say
yes, knowing that it’ll make her smile
and then she’d cuddle with him
until he’d fall asleep
and whisper in his ear that she always
wanted to have a little boy
just like him
and that he was making her unbelievably
happy just by existing in the same
room with her

She was the best neighbor he could
have dreamed of

She gave him all the attention
his mother gave to her bottles and
her guy friends

and everyone was very happy

https://bogdandragos.com/2021/03/20/a-very-happy-neighborhood/

Mar 2021 Andrew Rueter

Tangled Mess

Mar 2021 Andrew Rueter

J

Tangled Mess

my hair will not spit sparks if you brush it
it will cling onto your hands
the brush
your shirt and shorts
the ones that ride up against your thigh
my hair will not curl lovingly around your fingers
it will grab onto anything put through it
it will keep you here
a part of me forever, the way it should be
my hair will not remind you of flames
but maybe of a lion
though easily tamed is it when
it's sprawled across your lap
your nails gingerly scratching my scalp
no
my hair will not cascade down my back
ever so gracefully masking the scars from my past
teasing you in its waves
it will claw against my spine, it will dare you to draw near
my hair will not remind you of an ocean
spread out so perfectly as I run,
molding against a perfect sunset
it will be a beast, sneering at you
luring you closer, begging to be chased
it will make you its prey
no
my hair will not be brushed out
my favorite knot will be entertainment,
lack of motivation in its calligraphy,
you see it as a cry for help,
it is my declaration of power.
my hair will not spit sparks when you brush it.
it will be the forest and flames all in one,
and when you're choking on the smoke,
you'll remember that hair is power.
to touch it is to drain it.
so
I empty all
into your talons
because my hair will remind you of a monster
and your breath will be its leash.

hm.

#hair #lion #fire #tangled #mess #depression #help #power #draining #sydney

Feb 2021 Andrew Rueter

Stopped

Feb 2021 Andrew Rueter

s1mpl3po3t

Stopped

Stop drinking alcohol
And see what transpires,
Use it instead
For the leaf burning piles,
In the middle of the driveway
In those yesterday years,
Back then we used kerosene
And still the smoke produced tears.

Stop eating chocolate?
Not if I have a choice,
I have it every day
And feel like a Rolls Royce,
Luxuriously comfortable
And with power to spare,
I'd rather give up water
Or purified air.

Moderation is key
You know we've all heard that,
Whoever said it first
Deserves a thump with a bat,
An instructional proverb
Across centuries and cultures,
If you paid for that therapy?
Well, thou hast met vultures.

Feb 2021 Andrew Rueter

Poptart Crumbs and Empty Beer Bottles

Feb 2021 Andrew Rueter

Claire Billings

Poptart Crumbs and Empty Beer Bottles

As my father lay,
passed out in his chair
with whiskey nursing his dead heart
and healing his origami wrists

My sister and I's stomaches ache with hunger
I sacrifice my last piece of poptart to her
and pray to make it till my mother comes home

She crashes into the door
An alarm for my father harmonizes in a disastrous symphony
He dashes out the door for the next shift
Leaving my mother, crying after seeing the mess and her children passed out by the empty fridge

Her grease burnt arms scrub the wine covered coffee table
Until red stains turn pink and empty cigarette packs fill the trash

She picks up a glass and fills it with wine
and drinks away the memories until everything is warm

Thus continues the cycle

Money sparse, bills unpaid, cupboards nearly bare
Two parents whose love had been infested with addiction and depression
stemming from broken, abusive homes and even more abusive past relatioships

Leaving two children in the destruction of constant fighting which led to divorce

The eldest following her mother's footsteps of constant abuse and taking on her father's pain with origami wrists to match

The youngest never bounced back, a brick wall built from years of silence left her permanently mute. Every day she drifts further and further away from reality and lives in her fantasy world.

#addiction #trauma #brokenhome #divorce

Dec 2020 Andrew Rueter

Picasso

Dec 2020 Andrew Rueter

William J Donovan

Picasso

My eyes are ****** sideways
staring on a twisted face blue
and grey not round a triangle
ears like trumpets listening
kiss my lips if you find them
hang my heart on butcher hook.

Dec 2020 Andrew Rueter

Haiku

Dec 2020 Andrew Rueter

Mitch Prax

Haiku

Why is it that the
promises we cannot keep
sound the prettiest?

10:19 PM
5/12/20

#thought #thoughts #haiku #love #romance #romantic #promise #promises #trust #lovers