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Jun 2022 · 906
Captured
MJL Jun 2022
Dead people on my walls
Each moment framed
It’s so depressing
Looking at them
Almost there
Wishing

Penny for a replay
Love to all I’ve shared time.
Nov 2021 · 1.0k
By The Sea
MJL Nov 2021
Bedtime comes early for Jean
A last splash
Bubbles tickle her painted toes
One sandy wiggle
And then the final dip
It's good
Everything is good
Thanks for that
Watch the stars dance and play for her
As she floats on her back
She drifts a palm kiss up to the heavens
A good day. The story adds a final page to mother Jean.
Oct 2021 · 1.3k
Angels Shed Tears
MJL Oct 2021
It's not your fault
You were created
Made for the rain
Given the hammer
That brings the gold
Use it for the dream
Days will turn to fire
You are burning now
Will you feel the heat
Before it it's too late?


© MJL 2021
Sep 2021 · 1.4k
Polar
MJL Sep 2021
You're too much
I can't take it
Wait that's me
Never mind


© MJL 2021
Heh. It's a journey. Hopefully, we learn to live with what we've been given. :)
Sep 2021 · 811
Live
MJL Sep 2021
We try things
Some work
Some don't
Gift yourself
Move



© MJL 2021
Minutes turn to years. Make choices. Live with them. Be the real you.
Mar 2021 · 1.8k
Lonely
MJL Mar 2021
Some flowers don’t get picked
They stand alone
At the edge of the field
Shaded politely for too long
Waiting for the rain


© MJL 2021
Mar 2021 · 470
Chimes
MJL Mar 2021
They ring
Do you hear them?
They are for you


© MJL 2021
Peace.
Mar 2021 · 1.0k
Complain
MJL Mar 2021
Over and over
Your mother
Your job
The system
The cheats
The liars
Your excuses
Eventually most meet truth
For a minute
Feel the power
Ownership
This couch feels good


© Mike Levine 2021
Did you read this in the 1st or 2nd person? Ha.
Whether the dialogue is with yourself or a friend, ownership can be hard, and judging can be too easy... Meditation is great. And a good couch sometimes even better!
Feb 2020 · 104
Go Fish Man
MJL Feb 2020
There are fish in my pond, man
They skip from pad to pad
They climb ladders and chew gum, chick
And blow big bubbles for Chad

They wear high healed pumps
All sequined pink with dew
Kaleidoscope's wide thumps
Girl's exceptionally Drew

Yet they’re splashed and they’re dashed
Trashed by dog's *******'
Scared pixie eyes splash
Asphalt mascara bleeds crimson

Those fish in that pond, man
Walk from fool to fool
Vamped but not tramped, parading for you
All clutching dreams to swim with the school


© 2020 MJL
Dance.
Apr 2019 · 5.9k
Valley of the Blue Moon
MJL Apr 2019
Tibetan Brimstone butterflies wave wings madly at their paradise valley
In the beginning, before the beginning, and in the beginning
Their shaken snow globe makes them flutter in wild exuberance
As they reveal a mountain, then no mountain, then Kunlun again
Peace, followed by chaos, and then by peace
Mother Luna's kaleidoscope of enlightenment
Protected by the hooded one
Holds all worlds and shakes the four seasons
Nothingness, creation, abiding, destruction
The wheel of time
Moves the wind as it’s blown by vast circles of water
Aqua marine is washed again by golden earth
And in the center, the great opal mountain song of La
Nature's peace
Beyond white leopard snows, icy winds, and empty husks of death
Butterflies are born again
Shambhala’s mindful beat opens passage for light through darkness
Poets squint and ride on wings toward the hidden sunset kingdom
Watching another world's Avalon alive beneath a blue moon
Insulated chrysalis of love for all seasons
A fisherman, a carpenter, a shepherd, a merchant, a caterpillar
Discover a lush, isolated, peach grove
Nosing thickly scented nectar and purple primrose honey
In the jade valley of the kings, queens, and beggars
They meditate under the Bodhi Tree
Deep brown ****** lines are carved into their soft olive skin
Smooth hands are made rough, and then smooth again
Young, then old, and then young once more
Wisdom setting beside Queen Spirit Mother of the West
Sharing a bowl of her rice milk in harmony
Being in the realm between man and nature as Kalachakra turns
For six years the caterpillar eats of fig
And then the wheel breaks for flight one last time
Radiating light as she sheds her glorious wings
Here, the snow globe explodes flying petals of wild exuberance
Revealing a mountain, then no mountain, then Kunlun again
Transcending all, turning tears into the suns joyful rays
As they rise, then set, and then rise again
Nirvana
Beyond our Lost Horizon


© 2019 MJL
I loved the 1939 movie, Lost Horizon, and it's story of Shangri-La. It drove some interest in reading about Buddhism... Could we be butterflies reborn? How wonderful that would be... Young then old, then young again. All at once nature and man, one with our universe. Those who seek wisdom find salvation... The caterpillar here is a beggar who finds ascension. Cycles represent the wings flapping. There are also references to universal religious themes.
Apr 2019 · 5.0k
Heyday for Orange Man
MJL Apr 2019
Each generation’s majority makes choices that usher change
Lost pined for simple peace
Depression lived for human survival
Silence spoke for equality in a civil voice
Hippies fought war with flowers
Boomers drove for mad knowledge of self
Grunge nodded honesty from suburban garages
Y baptized Science as god
Mobs then anointed Orange Man as king
Down at the crossroads as means to their ends
For taxes, for borders, for babies, for guns, for Right
Trading truth, communal values and united dreams for their causes
How will we be remembered
As we watch this Heyday bloom
What will be this generation’s rallying cry
Will there be one
A culmination of past generation's trusted change
Lost, depressed, silent, free, self-aware, honest, doubting
Us
Here now
Strong
Watching the flames
Will we quietly turn away
As our world burns
Or will we tap a new strength
To face the fire
Together


© 2019 MJL
Generational strength. Come together. Unity. Love. Standing at Trumps crossroads...
Apr 2019 · 1.2k
Diagnosed
MJL Apr 2019
It is confirmed
You have a highly aggressive form of ***


© 2019 MJL
Mar 2019 · 2.9k
River Man
MJL Mar 2019
Nick was a lost boy
With a whispering heart
He held proper Victorian sadness
Until his public strength bowed
As it does with the artistic type
His soul beating modal
And his mask of gilded paper mache
With glue dripping and drying to fragile dreams
He needed to get back to the pastures of Tanworth
Yet London had other ideas
And his stiff upper lip cracked
He was a poet, you see
Who danced with trees...
And everyone knows
Butterflies don't ride bikes
Though that would be beautiful
To see one on a banana seat
Sailing down a country lane...
Alas, butterflies can simply fly away if a bike objects
And feel no pain
But Nick was hurt as he fell to the ground
His sickly hunched posture told of a great weight
Shoulders struggled to shepherd the world
With only Flower his power
And Pen his staff
Sadness met the River Man
And the River Man broke down
Poor, the fame of falling poets
Rich, the earth’s garden of toiled words
Caked under soiled writers nails
A headstone,
"Now we rise
And we are everywhere"
His tailwind to us
Go and look at what our fellow poets eyes do see
And bid hello to another artist’s soul on parade
For, as with you, they too are simply lost
And desperate for a garden to share and grow


© 2019 MJL
For Nick Drake, and to poets everywhere. Thanks for sharing. Thanks for your rich souls. London here represents what the world wants us to be. Butterflies, the crack from reality.... May we all meet the River Man on our own terms, with a smile, on route to our own pastures of Tanworth.
Mar 2019 · 1.8k
Sun Pond
MJL Mar 2019
Dawn casts her long line for spring
Days linger to catch the angel irises bloom
Enveloped by early chirping chitter-chatter
Lightly crusted sleep argues for lids to remain closed
Black perking wake-me oil makes a strong cups case for compromise
A nudge to join the living
- On negotiated terms -
Somewhere between another dream and lavender bubbles
The contract will begin
Foggy feet shuffle onto the wheel
Spying steps creak tattle-tale floorboards alerting all on the way
Pleading thoughtfulness
You beg for silence as the Ra room comes into view
Brightly checkered yellow-brown mustard window patterns
Cut diagonal boxes across maple hardwood
Stained glass dots of emerald, violet, and red raspberry
Dance on lemon washed walls as they turn and wink for a smile
Your morning chair sets at the edge of the warming sun pond inviting you
Join them
You listen to the ripples of space
Your cushioned dock perfectly positioned for a loving embrace
You sit
And slowly dip legs into the glowing pool
Drenched limbs cocoon in the heavy webbing of golden rays
Bathing
The chickadees celebration is known
Immersed
Lids succumb to the orange haze
The Girl from Ipanema sings
Young and lovely
You feel wonderful
No risk of drowning here...
Only in happiness
One radiating breath
Before the Samba plays again


© 2019 MJL
Sunrise. Before the day begins. Time in the window. Like a cat.
Mar 2019 · 3.0k
Everything
MJL Mar 2019
With the right voice
Everything is poetry


© 2019 MJL
To Jackson, Dean, Cash, Lightfoot, Hurt, Brooks, Thomas, Elliot, and my lovely bride.
Mar 2019 · 3.4k
Upstate
MJL Mar 2019
Rows of starched green and yellow paisley feather stalks
Marching in ordered lines along the road to 57 Eldon Way
Hot dogs and char burgers charge the air with yesterday's homecoming
Buds of moxie memories tipping long ears to big blue
Listening to the chickadees vocal pecking at kernels from the past
Morsels fall to the dirt signal life again for those willing to root
Pulled magpies to lines spy intimate joy-scattered seed below
Promising fortunes creased by hourglasses settled sand
White washed porches with rose printed borders
Nestle a "his and her" swing vantage over familiar fields
Imagined better-time scenes from selfie soaked movies
More real than all the forgotten stones ever stepped upon
Sweet tea sugar fills tall glasses of yarn spun dreams
Glory red and navy rippling a windy beat
To the clang of their steal pole clasp
Dance
Swing with them and recall a time of slower horizons
Of richer baskets
Of brighter springs
Of longer summers
Take a dip in the swimming hole
Naked, together, and happy


© 2019 MJL
Eldon is the Iowa town brought to life in Grant Wood's American Gothic painting. 57 is my favorite ketchup and everything best about being human... The poem reflects a memory of returning to a simpler time with improved perspective, remembering what we want. Magpies symbolize good luck, optimism and also deception.
Mar 2019 · 2.5k
Still Life
MJL Mar 2019
Sitting in a bowl of fruit
I hold a flower
Paint me with vivid colors
Make me look pretty
Or possibly as a reverent clown
With big floppy feet
In a contemporary return to classics
For the world to look and ask
"What did the artist mean with that banana, and why is that clown sitting on peaches holding a tulip?"


© 2019 MJL
Just a play on the definition of still life and contemporary art.... More than what people paint us to be.
Mar 2019 · 15.6k
Moon Star Traveler
MJL Mar 2019
We're here!
No party?
Ha!
Who’s ugly?
Leave your pity
I'm not afraid
Everything’s primitive
New Mother's old
Father's cold
A universe of historic shame
Casting shade
The assertion of intolerance
Blocking righteousness
Grabbing ignorance by the pores
Let infant nails dig for evolution
The bold face of madness
Biting to be truly free
Sanity expands
-ism’s explode
Pushing hearts
Forward
Moon Star Traveler
Be you
Be here - with me
Against hate
One with the human faith
One for love
Each generation hopefully brings us a step forward to ending intolerance.
Mar 2019 · 4.4k
The Miller’s Pause
MJL Mar 2019
Dawn
The routine
Awake to a standing pause
Before the wheel turns again
Beans break the seal
The fresh start of a new day
Slowly grinding into movement
This disturbance is accepted
Its purpose is measured
Against the quiet peace
Deep berry-breathing oils the wheel
Pale orange rays soothe the stiffness
Inhale everything
Milled dewdrops drip comfort
Share the moment with an old friend
You
No words needed
Just a nod between turns


© 2019 MJL
I love the quiet coffee time early, before the day begins. Either alone with with my love, just a pause before the new day begins. Time for introspection.
Mar 2019 · 5.1k
Dandelions
MJL Mar 2019
Fescue fields in view
Electric neon butter *****
Scattered glowing beacons
Dot the greens and browns
Magnets for little hands
Tiny feet racing to keep up
Their laser focus
To pick and pick and pick
More and more and more
Fistfuls of joy
To tickle the nose
To share laughter
To put in a pocket
Then nap and forget


© 2019 MJL
Feb 2019 · 2.0k
Tears Of Winter Joy
MJL Feb 2019
Snow flakes settle on your lashes
Melt to cool tears
Rolling gently over your cherry cheeks
To kiss the corners of your warm smile
Bedazzling winter bling
Icy joy brought from heaven
Simply beautiful


© 2019 MJL
For my love.
Feb 2019 · 3.9k
Troll
MJL Feb 2019
Diseased turnip
Rooting in the dirt
Rotting fodder
Unpicked
Untapped
Gnarled and bitter
Lying under your bridge
When you are gone
No-one will miss your rancid rag


© 2019 MJL
Feb 2019 · 752
Missed Beyond Measure
MJL Feb 2019
It didn’t turn out like she wanted
Like she expected
She gave her life to him
To make him happy
To make him better
He cheated on her
He gave her little back
But sadness
She had hope until it was too late
She woke up old
Common
In pain
Wanting to die to gain relief
From lost youth
From lost dreams
From time’s lament
Another life
Missed beyond measure


© 2019 MJL
For Grandmother.

Live
Feb 2019 · 5.7k
Pedestrian Dance
MJL Feb 2019
Milling masses
Elbows grinding
Sidewalk shuffling
Wake walking
Crack jumping
Necks craning
Shark, bait, and coral reefing
Hunting, hiding, gauking
Go, go, go
Foamy human froth
Eddies to and back again
Twill, tweed, leather, denim, skin
Petrol, perfume, sweat, tar, bread
Everything honking
Glass, brick, stone, and steel
Awesome color
Vertical sway Samba style
Boom-boom tide
Rush hour
Rolling in
Magnificent
The city lives


© 2019 MJL
The throb of the city can be exuberant.
Feb 2019 · 647
Get Out Of The Pool
MJL Feb 2019
Horrible words
Just one more lap
Just one more dive
Just one more minute
Just watch this cannonball
Please
Pretty please
Just a little while longer
I’m not hungry
My lips are NOT blue
Just one more second
Please
Can we come back later
... Move very slowly
Being young and both happy and sad at the simple things common to all. Wonderful.
Feb 2019 · 2.1k
Escalator
MJL Feb 2019
Joy ride spotted
Keep cool
Don’t run
Concentrate
Here we go...
Riding
Beaming
Ear to ear
Five and flying
Total joy
Up or down
Every time
Every f-ing time
Thank you Charles Seeberger


© 2019 MJL
Feb 2019 · 4.7k
Donk
MJL Feb 2019
Everyones chillin’
Groovy tunes rollin’
Lowriders cruisin’
Then your loud *** comes along
Takin’ up space
Yours and mine
Wreckin’ smooth
Pushin’ your own groove
"Donk in charge"
No votes necessary
Everythin’ sighs
Bubble on the mic
Doin’ your business
All over the room
Box store cut-*** mule
Nothin’ but unwoke noise
Blow Bull Horn


© 2019 MJL
Car lovers. Lowrider lingo. Rude people are rude.
Feb 2019 · 1.1k
Our By Our
MJL Feb 2019
Our cupped whispers
Our blanket fort
Our candy bracelets
Our secret shh
Our tiny giggles
Our childish valentine
Our love grows
Time agnostic


© 2019 MJL
Feb 2019 · 7.1k
Museum of Waste
MJL Feb 2019
Obsessed
You build again
Another shrine
Consuming thoughts now
They exist because you will them
You create importance
You inspect daily
You dream
Alone
You stress
Manic moments hanging in frames you create
Your time lives on nobody’s walls
Taking the place of everything
Your life will be gone
Your minutes
Your museum
Walking temple steps to nothing
There will never be a sign that reads,
“Please donate to maintain this shrine when I am gone.”
You will be forgotten
Live


© 2019 MJL
Your stress belongs to you and takes hours from the glass.
Feb 2019 · 3.6k
Martyr
MJL Feb 2019
Fist in pocket
Rot from within
Rage immortal
Unknown for a cause
Alone in fear
Alone in satisfaction
Perish for peace
Sacrifice


© 2019 MJL
Feb 2019 · 731
In Between - Violet
MJL Feb 2019
I’ll meet you in the place where pink and purple meet
Where the glow from life’s fire touches the cold
Where the wind pauses to share a moment with still
In between a heart and nothing else that matters
And all that is holding you
In between is everything
I’ll meet you in the place where pink and purple meet
Where our skin blushes to become one
Where words have just been spoken and meaning lingers
Where strange becomes special and all is unwritten
Where life transcends and “away” and “to” find a home
And all that matters is holding you
In between everything
I’ll meet you in the place where pink and purple meet
Where tears run dry and silence opens
Violet


© 2019 MJL
For Dreamgirl.

— The End —