John Destalo

John Destalo Oct 2020

I knew the sounds
had meaning

but I did not know
what they meant

their beauty was
evident

in their sounds
and their spaces

but is it the beauty
of pleasure or pain

is it the beauty of love
or loneliness

I could not tell

I just knew I felt
something pure

and I had to
find a way

to say thank you

John Destalo Oct 2020

words and their meanings

what I meant
was hidden

in between
the words I said

it was not
intentional

I don’t always
know what I mean

until I see
what I said

so please
don’t always

take me at
my word

sometimes

I need to
learn about

myself before
I can share

it with you

John Destalo Oct 2020

the science of my smile

remember those
two times I smiled

once in the morning
when we found

that sunflower
filled with seeds

once late at night
when we found

that wild field
filled with fireflies

mostly I feel
too many things

to feel anything

sometimes I feel
a lot of one thing

then I smile

John Destalo Oct 2020

presence

shall I be dark
and spread
myself thin
so I cover
every inch
and almost
go unnoticed
a mist you
instinctually
detect as
something
amiss but
that you
cannot name
so you get
used to my
presence
and inhale me
in the morning
and let me
stay inside you

John Destalo Oct 2020

enough said

for a few years
I had a mom

I wish it was
a few years

more

John Destalo Oct 2020

baby scars

my mind is
soft and simple

it leaks and

is easily lost
in details

approach it
with care

it scares easily
and may

attack when
cornered

but it means
no harm

it just doesn’t
want to be

harmed again
it has baby scars

that still
need to heal

John Destalo Oct 2020

the curse of memory

if we are open

each day is
a new world

nothing is
predictable

everything is
discoverable

waiting for
our experiments

to tease out
their little secrets

that make us
giggle with

surprise

if we are
not careful

we close our minds

so we only
see what

we saw