Darling
Even a single rose can
Portray a beautiful picture
As you do.

I cant find joy anymore.
I have looked under every rock,
And behind every tree.
Ive searched through fields.

I dont know when she left,
I just remember waking up one morning feeling a little emptier
And a little more lost.

Its been cloudy every day since.

Build your House of Snoot
Gnawed ant rafters, rotting rain sills
Bent blue blood nails, chipped chalky paint
Your moldy hoarder junk piles hidden
Drunk on keeping old tropes
Riding your sun bleached white horse around our shabby town
Looking down your crooked and warted nose
Dumping on lawns and barking at all the mangy dogs you see
Yes, we're imperfect
Yes, we smell
You judge to justify your flaws
You warm your buttocks on your pillows of raven feathers
Old and not yet wise enough to embrace your place with the herd
Flawed like the rest of the insects
Who are proud of being human
Proud of being ugly
And oh so beautiful
Left justified


© 2019 MJL

It’s easy to lure sailors in

with a siren’s song

it’s what I’ve always done

it’s easy to reel them in

with the Machiavellian melody of 
red lipstick and Robert Frost quotes 
the cadence of raspy vibrato 
the aroma of blue roses
Every nail painted 
Every word calculated 
It’s always so easy

and we dance for a while 
they twirl me around 
enchanted by my pirouettes 
And we drink the wine 
and we watch old films
and it’s beautiful

for a time

But alas 
nothing gold can stay

and I take the road less traveled

I become too much

too hard to reach

too deep

too far under the sea

buried in Davy Jone’s Locker

And they sail away

to the other side of the world

and drop the memory of me off the edge of it 
I’m alone

again 
because the sun always sets on the Jersey Shore
 
Some women fear that they’re not enough
I fear that I’m too much

But not for him

He wandered over all by himself 
I didn’t have to sing a single note

there were no more cadences to whisper 
he made me want to speak the truth

there was no upper hand

so I grabbed onto his

I started living in my body

instead of in my shadow

He stormed by beach

and took away my suffering

He never left

no matter how hard it got
He stayed when I lost my voice

and he helped me get it back

When I got dragged down too deep

he dove to the bottom of the sea to find me 
He helped guide me to the surface

He helped me remember how to swim. 
 
- Mythology of Loneliness

You Walked Lightly You walked lightly into my life Captivating and lovely to my mind,
At first,
I never cared who you were Now I don’t know who I am without you,
You kissed me I felt my world change, You held me I heard my heart awaken, You loved me And my soul was born anew You walked lightly into my life
Now my heart knows who you are And with every breath And every step I take down lonely roads,
Your hand is my staff Your voice is my guide Your strength my shelter You’re passion my awakening.
You walked lightly into my life,
And all my pain You took as your own, And all my fears You cast into the sea, All my doubt Lost in your eyes, You walked lightly into my life And no matter if you choose to stay or go,
My life is forever changed,
Just because you loved me For a moment in time.
And because I choose To love you For the rest of mine.
I love u

she was the moon
radiating the night sky
and dancing among the stars

you were the darkness
the shadow that waxed and waned
through the phases of her life

she grew to believe
that your presence
is what made her whole

but like the full moon
she shone brightest
without you


x.

(Based on a true story published in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, March, 2004)

“Help me with my numbers, Mom,”
The little fellow said.
How could his mother ever know
In seconds, he’d be dead.

She did her best to keep him safe,
To shelter him from harm.
But guns and drugs in the neighborhood
Were cause for  much alarm.

She heard the shots ring out that night,
But this was nothing new...
Until her son fell to the floor
And to his side she flew.

As blood gushed from his mouth and nose,
She fought to keep him still.
And there upon the bedroom floor
His precious life did spill.

It’s hard to understand how bad
The city has become,
But should you ever doubt it,
Just go ask Jawara’s mom.