John Destalo

John Destalo Jun 2020

monkees

they were mine
in my time

a gimmick
perhaps

but not to me
in my time

I was too
young to

know what
that meant

they made
me laugh

they made
me sing

that was
enough for

me

I was a
believer

John Destalo Jun 2020

janis

can a rock
be smooth

and raw

I feel her
voice like

it belongs
in me

every edge
meant to

cut me

every line
meant to

heal me
her story

is short
but her

power is
eternal

she makes
me want

more
every time

I hear her

Listening to Janis J and loving it

John Destalo Jun 2020

the alchemist

the sun laughed
when I asked

to be set free

so I concocted
a potion

creating a powder
and blew it

into the air
it spread like

an ocean of dandelions

creating massive clouds
that never moved

caging the bright beast

freeing me from
the heat that

pained me

John Destalo Jun 2020

project soul

in recovery
from faith

but still
haunted by

voices of
the others

left behind

the echoes
of lies

a cavern
where we

gathered
when we

believed

there is
always a

pull to fall
back to the

same place
we started

our search
as if progress

is a circle

John Destalo Jun 2020

lovers love loving

silver lips speak
electric they

touch in the rain
and explode

into particles
of light

changing colors
like the finale

of a fireworks
display

there is no
body part

or bodies

there is only
body

there is only
god saying

I am

John Destalo Jun 2020

aging

when the bendy
parts don’t bend

and every day is
the discovery of

a new ache and
the worry

of a fall and
a sudden break

and the parts
won’t remember

their place

John Destalo Jun 2020

I listen

mouth shut
mind open

for a day
I let go of

what I know
empty all

the chambers
that are always

loaded and
ready to explode

I let you speak
until you say

you are done
and I only

speak to ask
not to tell

and then
once again

I listen