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She stands before the bathroom mirror
Creating several different faces
Tryng to find the one that doesn’t
Make her look so tired and old.

Some of them make her look ill
A couple more look silly.
The one she finally settles on:
A wan and disappointed smile -

Accepted as least ugly of the bunch
It’s not the face she’d hoped to wear
In this the Autumn of her life.
She expected some small trace
Of former beauty to remain.

She tried to make a little sparkle
To liven up her somber eyes
And find the muscle in her cheek
That lifts her lips into a grin.

A sorry rictus of despair
Was all that effort brought her
So she gave up and threw the switch
And slipped away in darkness
ljm
I remember seeing my mother standing in front of the mirror trying different ways of smiling and holding her face.;She wasn't happy about growing older. Hey...neither am I.
 Sep 2022 Chuck Kean
Mancy
Firefly
 Sep 2022 Chuck Kean
Mancy
You may not be
The moon or
A star or
The sun
Beaming vision to the world.

But to me
You are
The cute little
Firefly
Casting hope in me.
 Sep 2022 Chuck Kean
Chris Saitta
Even when
All is said and done,
And I have become
A guardian angel
Over my past self,
Even then,
I have failed.
a heart
rip to shreds
split it apart
leaving it hanging
outside of its breast
with a gaping hole
in the middle of the chest
in the cold night air
till frost covers it
and the pieces look like
bacon bits
you spread on a salad
even broken -
it's still valid
A simple life is a noble thought.
 Sep 2022 Chuck Kean
Sara Brummer
EMOTIONAL TSUNAMI

It strikes without warning
savage and primeval --
the menacing obscurity,
the turbulent obsession,
the rubble of confusion
leaving bays of impasse
in the aftermath of fallen trees.

It overwhelms, it devastates,
rising in a crescendo of moods.
It scatters broken dreams,
lost in the search for belonging.

Is there a way out of darkness?
The cadence of the soul seeks
a surface of calm renewal,
freed from captivity.

It sweeps away the broken pieces,
clearing the sky of clouds,
expanding the colors
of returning peace.
Slightly ****** and drunk
  we enter into far out reaches
  of the universe to microscopic,
  subatomic worlds. We wonder if
  life's a dream, then argue whose.
  Is time travel possible? Maybe
  we're all from the future or past.
  If we changed an event from the
  past would we exist in the now?
  3am we all dream of tomorrow.
 Sep 2022 Chuck Kean
Anais Vionet
Oh, shrill lark, just breathe. You rage too well.
Seek no comfort in wretchedness.

Renounce the gossamer moon, curse starlight
with a breathless voice - if you must - but let love be.

As the saddest tale fades after telling,
undistinguishable kisses fade like dewdrops.

Seasons alter, you will love again and love better
laughing unabashed, at the memory of this gentle injury.
BLT Marriam Webster word of the day challenge: Unabashed: undisguised and unapologetic.
I lost my shadow
in the hills of pain
and wandered in darkness
chasing in vain

I lost my shadow
the sun took flight
morning left waiting
adrift in the night

I lost my shadow
wolves distant howl
tracking my torment
whose grief I prowl

I lost my shadow
and then my name
connection severed
—myself to blame

(The New Room: September, 2022)
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