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"deceptively" poems
Oh it's all hanging threads, Hanging ligaments with drops of red: Vines without poles - flesh without bones. Events roll out in scarlatine flashes: Eyes in crowd flap down their eyelashes And in silence the suspense grows strong; The bricks are set, the façade is over, But from within, the house still lacks a structure: One penetrates rooms without walls. A memory from the depth is brought up, A storyline used to link so many dispersed dots: Leaves are flying free as the childhood tree rots... Oh it's all hanging threads Hanging sources, hanging roots: Scars over the sun revolving in loops. And the conduit narrows down, Leaks a single bolt of light to glow: An empty room as throne and crown And a thorn, pain escaping death, A frown of estrangement in the face Of all that's known - what's most unknown. Spectators stare deceptively While promises of relief are spared; They too are suspended in the air... Oh it's all hanging threads Hanging loose, hanging dead; Waiting for the artisan to ease the noose.
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Sep 6, 2018
Sep 6, 2018 at 11:21 PM UTC
Hanging Threads (2017)
I miss you, West Texas, You more than most. I miss people And things But I’ve never missed more, Than I’ve missed you. One day, I’ll return to you, And we’ll be together until I die, My dear West Texas. Some say your deserts are unbearably hot, And I say, It’s easier to make shade Than a fire. Picturesque cacti, Blooming in the spring, Sunsets that put oil paintings to shame, And wild mustangs escaping man’s unyielding possession, Just like me. I can see them running along the dusty banks Of a wide river in canyon carved by the Great Artist Himself, West Texas, I want to drive a rusty old truck through hot afternoons till frigid nights, Miles and miles of sweet loneliness, Until it’s just you and I, And I can watch your brilliant display of stars move Across the endless horizon. Desert owls, A serpent’s rattling warning, Creatures that crave solitude, As I do, Emerge in the night, Like the neon lights of lonely bars in the middle of nowhere, Sweet prickly pear in perfect harmony with Jose Cuervo in my glass, A tribute to my lonely West Texas, Singing me a tune of cicada chirps and desert winds, And the jingle of spurs on concrete floors, As the men, As old and covered in sand as the bar itself, Make their way in from isolated jobs miles away, To listen to Tejano, And sip on that cactus nectar, Distilled by the Great Bartender For a night like this, In my West Texas, Perfectly lonely, Perfectly perfect. I just want it to be me and you And your hot red sand, I want to see those yellow blossoms bursting from the deceptively spiny hands of desert life, I want to hang a dusty, wide brimmed hat above dusty leather boots when I come home, I want the sky to explode with color, As a reward for enduring a long day of the heat, And when the rare jewels from heaven fall, and nourish your cracked ground, And peace is sworn between all animals, Predators and prey, For that moment, So that all may celebrate the loving dew sent by our Great Caretaker, I want to dance on your planes, Twirl in the rain, And let the drops fall between my lips like the crevices of your canyons, Brought to life when you are, Slumber when you do, Live each day as you live, My sweet West Texas.
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Oct 30, 2017
Oct 30, 2017 at 10:32 PM UTC
West Texas
I miss you, West Texas, You more than most. I miss people And things But I’ve never missed more, Than I’ve missed you. One day, I’ll return to you, And we’ll be together until I die, My dear West Texas. Some say your deserts are unbearably hot, And I say, It’s easier to make shade Than a fire. Picturesque cacti, Blooming in the spring, Sunsets that put oil paintings to shame, And wild mustangs escaping man’s unyielding possession, Just like me. I can see them running along the dusty banks Of a wide river in canyon carved by the Great Artist Himself, West Texas, I want to drive a rusty old truck through hot afternoons till frigid nights, Miles and miles of sweet loneliness, Until it’s just you and I, And I can watch your brilliant display of stars move Across the endless horizon. Desert owls, A serpent’s rattling warning, Creatures that crave solitude, As I do, Emerge in the night, Like the neon lights of lonely bars in the middle of nowhere, Sweet prickly pear in perfect harmony with Jose Cuervo in my glass, A tribute to my lonely West Texas, Singing me a tune of cicada chirps and desert winds, And the jingle of spurs on concrete floors, As the men, As old and covered in sand as the bar itself, Make their way in from isolated jobs miles away, To listen to Tejano, And sip on that cactus nectar, Distilled by the Great Bartender For a night like this, In my West Texas, Perfectly lonely, Perfectly perfect. I just want it to be me and you And your hot red sand, I want to see those yellow blossoms bursting from the deceptively spiny hands of desert life, I want to hang a dusty, wide brimmed hat above dusty leather boots when I come home, I want the sky to explode with color, As a reward for enduring a long day of the heat, And when the rare jewels from heaven fall, and nourish your cracked ground, And peace is sworn between all animals, Predators and prey, For that moment, So that all may celebrate the loving dew sent by our Great Caretaker, I want to dance on your planes, Twirl in the rain, And let the drops fall between my lips like the crevices of your canyons, Brought to life when you are, Slumber when you do, Live each day as you live, My sweet West Texas.
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65
Tissue Paper Snowflakes like tissue paper snowflakes i break easily i get caught up in notions of things like love and days like tomorrow and promises like tattoos dyed into the skin of lovers stuck in memories like first dates and love notes and make up *** like tissue paper snowflakes you are unique you are one of a kind. in kindergarten they told me no two snowflakes are the same even though probabilistically speaking you are almost guaranteed to have a twin. like tissue paper snowflakes you want to be cold you want to be but don’t have the strength. you could not support the weight that is frozen water that is imperviousness to nonphysical things like longing and sorrow and elation and things unlike make up *** like tissue paper snowflakes i am deceptively fragile i tear from things that are crushing like dreams and lies and arms wrapped tightly. i weaken from over use, i ignite from things that overheat like cigarettes and us. like tissue paper snowflakes we are from one sheet we once bled together our crooked edges match to form straight lines. like tissue paper snowflakes we found beauty in ordinary roots we created texture from flatness and complexity from things that were not complex and like tissue paper snowflakes we are weakened only by our own accord.
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Apr 30, 2012
Apr 30, 2012 at 10:34 AM UTC
Tissue Paper Snowflakes
rain love fell a dream tonight you were not there, but felt close seeing nothing in mist of trouble walking cloud of forgotten shrouds no one, dank street, cruel houses no dry place no cats about wearing red and yellow slickers long while cats hidden entire wandering one wet world slick pavement sky so asphalt empty windows gaped calling out deceptively catch the unwary windows, concrete, no trees mother's voice laughs soundlessly no signposts, no streetlights oddly forlorn, my hometown unmarked, without direction darker than hell's moonless night this is my town, my place one learns, find a way feel the way, march in tyme crawl slowly out the pier knowing bay so full tonight use poet radar you will not fail
0
May 13, 2018
May 13, 2018 at 8:25 PM UTC
rain shrouds
I thought you cared for me Because, your words had always conveyed that to me I was supposed to be your best friend However, our relationship, you decided to end You said you were my sister But you left me feeling rather bitter Because you cared only about yourself And left me hating myself For something as minor as a Facebook comment Never did you have any good intent! I thought you cared for me But it was never "we" It was all "you" Our friendship had no value Because you were obsessed about yourself You and your anaconda sized ego Which you could never let go You and your precious Mumbai Indians Were the only **** sapiens Who truly mattered to you Apart from your "bestest friend" You, would he blindly defend As though you were a Nobel Prize winner While you were actually a sore loser With an extremely domineering personality Masked by a deceptively sweet tongue I thought you cared for me But you never let me be Because, all that mattered, was your precious image Often, would you take umbrage Over relatively insignificant matters Such as me not marking you present When you were LITERALLY absent No wonder, did you have your haters Because, YOU came before everyone else Never did you take a pause And empathise with anyone In fact, YOU were everyone!! I thought you cared for me But you never truly cared for anyone You thought you were a special someone Who deserved all the attention in the world On the other hand, often did you fold At the slightest hint of pressure Though you were so sure That you were always right Oh boy, never were you a pretty sight!! I thought you cared for me But you never took the trouble to understand me You called me your best friend But I was nothing more than a means to an end Because you were a narcissist And as a friend, one of the worst Seriously, accepting your offer of friendship Was nothing short of a mishap!! Anyway, you will get what's coming to you Your friends will eventually leave you And then it will be just YOU Left to fend for yourself As you deserve to be Because you are so obsessed with yourself However, the world is for all It's time you learned that Once and for all!!
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Mar 3, 2024
Mar 3, 2024 at 11:30 AM UTC
I Thought You Cared For Me
I thought you cared for me Because, your words had always conveyed that to me I was supposed to be your best friend However, our relationship, you decided to end You said you were my sister But you left me feeling rather bitter Because you cared only about yourself And left me hating myself For something as minor as a Facebook comment Never did you have any good intent! I thought you cared for me But it was never "we" It was all "you" Our friendship had no value Because you were obsessed about yourself You and your anaconda sized ego Which you could never let go You and your precious Mumbai Indians Were the only **** sapiens Who truly mattered to you Apart from your "bestest friend" You, would he blindly defend As though you were a Nobel Prize winner While you were actually a sore loser With an extremely domineering personality Masked by a deceptively sweet tongue I thought you cared for me But you never let me be Because, all that mattered, was your precious image Often, would you take umbrage Over relatively insignificant matters Such as me not marking you present When you were LITERALLY absent No wonder, did you have your haters Because, YOU came before everyone else Never did you take a pause And empathise with anyone In fact, YOU were everyone!! I thought you cared for me But you never truly cared for anyone You thought you were a special someone Who deserved all the attention in the world On the other hand, often did you fold At the slightest hint of pressure Though you were so sure That you were always right Oh boy, never were you a pretty sight!! I thought you cared for me But you never took the trouble to understand me You called me your best friend But I was nothing more than a means to an end Because you were a narcissist And as a friend, one of the worst Seriously, accepting your offer of friendship Was nothing short of a mishap!! Anyway, you will get what's coming to you Your friends will eventually leave you And then it will be just YOU Left to fend for yourself As you deserve to be Because you are so obsessed with yourself However, the world is for all It's time you learned that Once and for all!!
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64
Transparency of your soul looks me in the eye and I can see the weight of the world breathing possessively as you whisper why. I can read your thoughts better than I can read your lips and there is no question as to what the words mean delivered......... with your each and every sigh. I believe someone told you the world wears a veiled smile and attempts to cling deceptively to your every breath like a warrior breaks all stillness. Yet, I see that you are not afraid to sit and think about how great men can fall in a moment when preyed upon........... by life's unwillingness. Come with me when your heart aches from standing in the shadows of those thoughts that have been tucked away in the air you breathe. Always remember that our time waits in a path of sunlight lying beyond the stillness that will never fade from all......... that we can feel and see. Yes, the fingertips of happiness strum my words setting fires ablaze so you can see me looking into the transparency of your soul. Everything is well-defined even if it seems out of your control and there is no need to apologize when the weight of the world keeps you..... from feeling whole.
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Apr 23, 2012
Apr 23, 2012 at 3:33 PM UTC
Looking Into the Transparency of Your Soul
Little unforgivable creature now. Grime of the Scottsdale mellow. I never belonged here; not in this magnificent, foreign place where they grew; not in the calm and relaxation their family, wealth, and happiness offered. Not me. Family history: poor and dysfunctional. Personal background: self-destructive and anxious. Still I was offered an opportunity to become someone better, a step up from the wasteland I knew, and most importantly, a new home without memories. I clung to this safe haven and hid myself away. thinking I was clean, I built walls in my pretty new refuge to keep the tarnish away. I wasn't clean then. I'm not now. I brought this filth with me, under my nails and in my clothes, in my memories and between my toes. It festered and multiplied, perfecting this chaos in time. Now again, I seek escape, from all these mistakes that were made along the way, to any foreign world... or sanctum without a cage. I thought I was better than this! ...And yet like a snail, I have left a trail of slime all while mistakenly thinking I was leaving it behind. .
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Apr 17, 2013
Apr 17, 2013 at 7:18 PM UTC
Snails Can be Deceptively Beautiful.
In the silence and misunderstandings that separate us I need to believe there is a place where we can meet a place of mottled light where the only shadows are painted by ancient firs who conspiratorially lean open, welcoming hands down to greet us. It is a place where all thoughts of judgment and jealousy are simply too petty for consideration love being implicit in the moisture of the air words are unnecessary for our eyes reveal everything we ever want to say. Fear and resentment are unknown here we refuse to recognize them if they slither into this haven while we are sleeping restful, innocent, unworried history does not exist, the moment held is enough. If this vision were dispelled, my soul could not sustain reality’s weight. I would be battered, fragile as a spiraled whelk on deceptively smooth rocks splintered by hate and unwillingness to be as the sea, fluid and graceful, all encompassing. Will you come with me here? Or is the hour too late? We can meet in this hollow sacred space and begin again, let loose misconceptions clouding the life we share. The path is faint trust your weary heart it will lead us to each other.
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Nov 11, 2015
Nov 11, 2015 at 9:08 AM UTC
Sacred Space
I dipped my extraordinary toe into the cool waters. It was colder than I had expected it to be. And as I glowered at myself in a mirror of sorts, I discovered I wasn’t alone. Deceptively perfect and perfectly sculpted. A body of total glory. A glistening aura, with freshly chopped wave. A glistening fauna, amongst all the flora. Irreverently so, she fit no humanly mold. A creature to truly behold. I behold the true embodiment of the truth and the good. And I certainly remember the tales of the crude. *Tatter becomingly of thy soul. Please don’t develop an interlude. Ive been laying while dying underneath old coal. Please woman. Call my name.*
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Dec 1, 2013
Dec 1, 2013 at 7:00 AM UTC
Mermaids Honor
Colors spin and whirl around Lines begin to blur In the distance and Something pushes Against me Pounding incessantly I’ve had enough and It won’t stop Up ahead sadness washes over And carries away colors Diminishing Leaving grey streaks Bleeding And blistering In the evening rain Darkening the sky Painting it the color Of your heart Remember when Happiness was reality Not a memory from storybooks Deceptively simple Seemingly easy Just out of reach Out of range Out of sight Elusive Intangible And the harder I grab on The more I want
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Nov 18, 2013
Nov 18, 2013 at 8:05 PM UTC
deception
True love. Is it normal, is it serious, is it practical? What does the world get from two people who exist in a world of their own? Placed on the same pedestal for no good reason, drawn randomly from millions, but convinced it had to happen this way — in reward for what? For nothing. The light descends from nowhere. Why on these two and not on others? Doesn't this outrage justice? Yes it does. Doesn't it disrupt our painstakingly erected principles, and cast the moral from the peak? Yes on both accounts. Look at the happy couple. Couldn't they at least try to hide it, fake a little depression for their friends' sake! Listen to them laughing — it's an insult. The language they use — deceptively clear. And their little celebrations, rituals, the elaborate mutual routines — it's obviously a plot behind the human race's back! It's hard even to guess how far things might go if people start to follow their example. What could religion and poetry count on? What would be remembered? what renounced? Who'd want to stay within bounds? True love. Is it really necessary? Tact and common sense tell us to pass over it in silence, like a scandal in Life's highest circles. Perfectly good children are born without its help. It couldn't populate the planet in a million years, it comes along so rarely. Let the people who never find true love keep saying that there's no such thing. Their faith will make it easier for them to live and die. Wisława Szymborska, translated from the Polish by Stanisław Barańczak
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Mar 24, 2014
Mar 24, 2014 at 8:17 AM UTC
TRUE LOVE
True love. Is it normal, is it serious, is it practical? What does the world get from two people who exist in a world of their own? Placed on the same pedestal for no good reason, drawn randomly from millions, but convinced it had to happen this way — in reward for what? For nothing. The light descends from nowhere. Why on these two and not on others? Doesn't this outrage justice? Yes it does. Doesn't it disrupt our painstakingly erected principles, and cast the moral from the peak? Yes on both accounts. Look at the happy couple. Couldn't they at least try to hide it, fake a little depression for their friends' sake! Listen to them laughing — it's an insult. The language they use — deceptively clear. And their little celebrations, rituals, the elaborate mutual routines — it's obviously a plot behind the human race's back! It's hard even to guess how far things might go if people start to follow their example. What could religion and poetry count on? What would be remembered? what renounced? Who'd want to stay within bounds? True love. Is it really necessary? Tact and common sense tell us to pass over it in silence, like a scandal in Life's highest circles. Perfectly good children are born without its help. It couldn't populate the planet in a million years, it comes along so rarely. Let the people who never find true love keep saying that there's no such thing. Their faith will make it easier for them to live and die. Wisława Szymborska, translated from the Polish by Stanisław Barańczak
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35
Tired I can't explain it any other way Not sure what's going on around me I'm in a cloud today Frustrated That's what I am I can't seem to do anything right And I don't like where I stand Deceptively calm That's how I seem But if you pushed me too far I might start to act mean Angry at myself That's all I'll ever be Nothing that I feel inside Can affect anyone but me. Exhausted My raging emotions do this I just can't see why I run When it's for peace I truly wish Tired I'm back where I began I'm sick of trying to do it all right So from my knees I will stand.
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Apr 7, 2014
Apr 7, 2014 at 4:23 PM UTC
Circles
Traveling (with Frost) down the lightly trodden path, with shoed soles sauntering over thawed earth, twisting down the narrow trail, away from the prying eyes of tour guides— Encompassed by flowery heads who mirror the sun, who burst forth with fluorescent green necks craning from the dirt, delineating our path in cascades of springing splendor. Sensing the ostinato of ambulant waters crescendo, we soon break from the budding foliage— To be greeted by gentle winds and the lapping of placid waves who break onto the languid shore onto shoed and socked feet, who sense holy ground and immediately kick off their bindings— To sink into the earth, and gritty sand reaching up between toes; the water deceptively inviting, is greeted with delightful shrieks in its refreshing chill. Secluded in our cove, we gaze over the waters where to our right rests a breathing reconstruction of the Dove; we stand awed before these waters both the settler and the native. What gods were praised on these lands, and in these woods, and in these skies, and in these waters? And on March 25, 1634, in the promising onset of spring, what had they to sing in the calm airs as the settlers crossed the threshold of the Potomac? She whispers, “Funny how the water appears green on the shore, and clear on the river.” --St. Mary's City, March 10, 2016.
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Mar 10, 2016
Mar 10, 2016 at 11:48 PM UTC
Daffodil Gulch
Step in and rest wearily Your troubles here are the best Every image your fear does possess Such pretty illusions Poses and all sweet scents Where too are all the roses And the thorns they don't bite When you're safe from all your doubts In this room comfort seeps deceptively Till your dead From the inside Out is but a grave In the comfort zone Artificially boxed restrained Air short getting shorter waning All the once pretty flowers Their colours run down dreary Till sludge is climbing up your legs No lock no key but deception Has claimed another chapter Of what life may still claim Time for motion of ones will What does willingness will for With some distressing emotion A heartful of determination Shall give rise to some clever Quick thoughts in desperation Beware of your next step That such is beyond the Zone... Of deathly comfort!!!
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Aug 27, 2013
Aug 27, 2013 at 9:44 AM UTC
Meek in the Comfort Zone
Every story I write has a quiet boy who loves words and a girl he doesn’t quite understand. She has a laugh that ricochets and she makes the quiet boy smile. She looks like algebra but is more like calculus. She is deceptively hard to solve. You don’t see her fault lines until you think you already know her, but her plate tectonics only cause aftershocks, never full earthquakes. I always thought she was me, always thought I wanted to be that kind of captivating. Enough to make the quiet boy happy. But then I met you and your quarter moon smile. I always thought the girl was from some coast but the first time I saw you in a bikini I realized you don’t have to be from California to have drops of seawater glow like individual suns on your skin. I want you to drip dry on my clothesline arms. I’ll hold you up to the sunlight, let your bare legs dangle in the wind. I want to straddle your fault lines and hold you through the tremors. I always thought I wanted the spotlight but I’m content being the quiet one beside you. I thought I loved the boy who loved words and I wanted to be enough to inspire him to write but you make me want to get published just to share you with the world because something so beautiful should not be kept secret. You said you wanted to make the history books and you will, but for now I hope my poems are enough. You are rainy day inspiration. I thought I was the girl but it turns out I’m just a quiet boy who needed someone to inspire me.
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May 11, 2011
May 11, 2011 at 1:06 AM UTC
Every story I write...
Every story I write has a quiet boy who loves words and a girl he doesn’t quite understand. She has a laugh that ricochets and she makes the quiet boy smile. She looks like algebra but is more like calculus. She is deceptively hard to solve. You don’t see her fault lines until you think you already know her, but her plate tectonics only cause aftershocks, never full earthquakes. I always thought she was me, always thought I wanted to be that kind of captivating. Enough to make the quiet boy happy. But then I met you and your quarter moon smile. I always thought the girl was from some coast but the first time I saw you in a bikini I realized you don’t have to be from California to have drops of seawater glow like individual suns on your skin. I want you to drip dry on my clothesline arms. I’ll hold you up to the sunlight, let your bare legs dangle in the wind. I want to straddle your fault lines and hold you through the tremors. I always thought I wanted the spotlight but I’m content being the quiet one beside you. I thought I loved the boy who loved words and I wanted to be enough to inspire him to write but you make me want to get published just to share you with the world because something so beautiful should not be kept secret. You said you wanted to make the history books and you will, but for now I hope my poems are enough. You are rainy day inspiration. I thought I was the girl but it turns out I’m just a quiet boy who needed someone to inspire me.
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42
Sometimes it’s hard to breathe. Sometimes the world closes in on your lungs like the mountains need your breath and the ocean wants your soul. Moonbeams of indefinite prosperity gleam down upon your skin like a bridge made of children’s dreams. They dance along your goosebumps, trying to calm your racing heart. You cannot see, you cannot hear. All you know is the deceptively comforting pale, white walls of your world, but you do not live in a world, you live in a cage. You have never closed your eyes and let yourself be guided by the wind, an everlasting pool of transparent anger trying to rule the world, but never getting farther than vice president. You will never know the deep blue waves crashing methodically onto the shore, howling and groaning their way through a job that they will never finish. Oceans can be selfish, you know. They own 70% of the world and they’re still not satisfied. Their deep blue rivers of fear snake their way under our skin and into our veins, never content until we define ourselves by anxiety and pain. Cages may hide us from the waves, but they also shield us from our own hidden hearts, wallowing in the loneliness of pale, white walls with a transparent roof that yields only to prosperity that is no longer indefinite.
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Dec 15, 2013
Dec 15, 2013 at 7:21 PM UTC
oceans
He fumbles with the **** and clicks the door half-open, blinking silently at us as we pile out of the van, his owlish eyes peering. He struggles to find words after so many long days-- good words for his grand-nephews, words of strength for his grand-nieces-- and Chinese words stumble out. He stands silent for seconds, halted in the midst of a sentence, searching for the English. So we try to fill the still house with life and noise. It is grey and large, with blank, staring windows and empty beds. Our laughter does not echo well in its long hallways, muted by the weightless, suspended air. We eat at the kitchen table, and I watch him. He seems so strong sitting there, deceptively powerful, corded arm muscles and heavily veined hands and silver hair, carefully combed in a wave that was dashing forty years ago. Then he stirs, stands and shuffles slowly to the sink. The illusion of strength falls away. He is a worn old man-- tired and sad. Quietly I wait behind him as he washes his hands, then pauses, confused, wrinkled eyes querulous and vague, and slowly washes them again. The rhythmic movements of his once sure fingers rub in an unchanging pattern from when he was young. I remember many years ago, --when I was even younger than now-- I remember him looking at me, I remember seeing my dark and warped reflection in his wise, laughing eyes. I thought surely he was the most dignified of men: alive and slow and gentle, quietly commanding respect, his amiable face in permanent creases from too much kind smiling. Now those wrinkles have faded. The faint lines no longer trace across his face, and his house is quiet. My great-uncle is alone. Alone with the countless photos of her. They are fading slowly in the streaming sunlight-- together.
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Apr 23, 2013
Apr 23, 2013 at 9:07 PM UTC
Four Years After the Death of my Great-Aunt
He fumbles with the **** and clicks the door half-open, blinking silently at us as we pile out of the van, his owlish eyes peering. He struggles to find words after so many long days-- good words for his grand-nephews, words of strength for his grand-nieces-- and Chinese words stumble out. He stands silent for seconds, halted in the midst of a sentence, searching for the English. So we try to fill the still house with life and noise. It is grey and large, with blank, staring windows and empty beds. Our laughter does not echo well in its long hallways, muted by the weightless, suspended air. We eat at the kitchen table, and I watch him. He seems so strong sitting there, deceptively powerful, corded arm muscles and heavily veined hands and silver hair, carefully combed in a wave that was dashing forty years ago. Then he stirs, stands and shuffles slowly to the sink. The illusion of strength falls away. He is a worn old man-- tired and sad. Quietly I wait behind him as he washes his hands, then pauses, confused, wrinkled eyes querulous and vague, and slowly washes them again. The rhythmic movements of his once sure fingers rub in an unchanging pattern from when he was young. I remember many years ago, --when I was even younger than now-- I remember him looking at me, I remember seeing my dark and warped reflection in his wise, laughing eyes. I thought surely he was the most dignified of men: alive and slow and gentle, quietly commanding respect, his amiable face in permanent creases from too much kind smiling. Now those wrinkles have faded. The faint lines no longer trace across his face, and his house is quiet. My great-uncle is alone. Alone with the countless photos of her. They are fading slowly in the streaming sunlight-- together.
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50
He had wandered far in his truth quest. A man by law, with 19 years he can attest and ended up stuck in the west. With limited cash in his name, as he had abjured his family's fame. Since his beliefs differed in his chest. The family ideals were deceptively lenient. Kindness was taught but he had never seen it. His views were seen as unnaturally scenic. A family that preached their branded acceptance, made the man sing their praises and dance with their rhythmic rants. Maybe he is just a rebel; A phase where instead he sings treble, because the bass is in a bubble. His head shakes and dusts rains, falling just like earthly remains. The ideas caused by yesterday's pains. Heartful man, take care in the west Listen as lives differ with the rest. Make a pledge and mind the dread Keep a level head. Keep a level head.
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Sep 14, 2018
Sep 14, 2018 at 1:44 PM UTC
Forgotten Vow(el)s: No 'O'
I had pictured that I would be strong enough to leave without remorse, as I had to "challenge my prospects of life", like everyone would say, I needed to smoke out who I really was, and not find myself crawling back to you, but it was after I had packed up my life into small obsolete card-board boxes, that I realized how trivial and small I really was. I felt so alone. I longed to feel the familiar shape of your body pressed up against mine, to wake to your bright hazel eyes, to the smell of your mango shampoo engolfing my senses, to hear your breath harmonize with mine, and to intertwine our legs into a maze that neither of us could escape from. I missed you. But you disconnected from me, and when I rolled towards the middle of the bed, and found it empty and alone, experiencing for the first time that the receptivity of our hearts had grown apart, like the un-uniformity of a puppeteer getting tired of old dolls, and cutting the strings of the marionette, at the perfect spot, in order for me to feel the pain and deceptively obvious sadness, of not wanting you to leave. With you gone, I feel as though my world stopped. Cliché as how I always thought that I would be the one to leave you, but I was wrong.
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Aug 16, 2013
Aug 16, 2013 at 12:40 AM UTC
Marionette
Satin runs from dried stains in torn reminders of convenience Morning tastes of stale sweat and disappointment... again Displaced retribution is a punishable offense sentenced in hangover flashbacks fusing pain in lust heavy deviance coddling complacency, impaling the nuisance of a persistent past That serrated double edge glistens with humility and humiliation licked clean by ravenous canine flinging leftover apathy on unwitting pawns Feeding on the deceptively needy blinded by intoxicated cliches mistaking release for emotion Condemnation bartered in stolen commodities Toilet water hydration reconstitutes enough to bleed behind neuropathic armor and addiction to the nether
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Feb 9, 2017
Feb 9, 2017 at 1:24 PM UTC
Commodes, Commodities, and Classical Conditioning
I've learned you're good at poker, but you're no player, this, the second time I've seen you;  sizing you up, I like you. Competent, aware, smart, unassuming. You're fit, tanned; obvious you take care of yourself. Don't spend too long in these smoky sunless rooms fishing for money, sitting for hours with pale coughing gamblers and their deceptively friendly banter. There is only one other woman, her arm inked with a script tattoo Bad Jamie One guy asks just how bad are you? She replies, I'm so bad I drink milk straight from the carton, and the table chuckles. But all joking aside, you're the chip leader and I'm only interested in you. I raised from the Big Blind, I'm serious with pocket Aces, and everyone else folded.   You on the little blind stayed in; you could have anything, with a practically free ante.   I don't know why you've stayed even this long; something tells me you want to see what I have.    The flop comes and the table tries to contain a collective gasp, three 8 s roll out. All the potential of infinity between us, and I'm holding Wild Bill Hickock's dead man's hand, black with bad luck. Wow, how to manage this. I've had no success of anyone staying with me before. If I slow play it, hiding my cards close to my chest and check it down to the river, he would fold at any hint of what I have, and I’d be left just wishing with nothing in the *** If I come on strong, and he thinks he didn't catch anything or he's not even drawn to the river; he would fold, and I’d be left just wishing with nothing in the *** I study you, ascertaining me with a look on your face like you just may have found something good. So I do something totally unexpected, just say the truth outright I've got a house full of dealbreakers. You're looking at me as if no one else is in the room, and with a smile in your eyes you say Lets not call them Deal Breakers, lets call them Deal Makers. ...... and I'm All In, You call, but then ask *chop the *** be equals?*  revealing once-in-my-life quad eights, all that infinity in your hands, and the Queen of Hearts. You say, hey, lets go...  and as we're walking out into unspoiled sunshine, you reach into your pocket, show me a few sparkling diamonds in your palm and ask, you want these?
0
Jan 12, 2013
Jan 12, 2013 at 3:55 PM UTC
the Poker's a metaphor, but what we said and felt was true
I've learned you're good at poker, but you're no player, this, the second time I've seen you;  sizing you up, I like you. Competent, aware, smart, unassuming. You're fit, tanned; obvious you take care of yourself. Don't spend too long in these smoky sunless rooms fishing for money, sitting for hours with pale coughing gamblers and their deceptively friendly banter. There is only one other woman, her arm inked with a script tattoo Bad Jamie One guy asks just how bad are you? She replies, I'm so bad I drink milk straight from the carton, and the table chuckles. But all joking aside, you're the chip leader and I'm only interested in you. I raised from the Big Blind, I'm serious with pocket Aces, and everyone else folded.   You on the little blind stayed in; you could have anything, with a practically free ante.   I don't know why you've stayed even this long; something tells me you want to see what I have.    The flop comes and the table tries to contain a collective gasp, three 8 s roll out. All the potential of infinity between us, and I'm holding Wild Bill Hickock's dead man's hand, black with bad luck. Wow, how to manage this. I've had no success of anyone staying with me before. If I slow play it, hiding my cards close to my chest and check it down to the river, he would fold at any hint of what I have, and I’d be left just wishing with nothing in the *** If I come on strong, and he thinks he didn't catch anything or he's not even drawn to the river; he would fold, and I’d be left just wishing with nothing in the *** I study you, ascertaining me with a look on your face like you just may have found something good. So I do something totally unexpected, just say the truth outright I've got a house full of dealbreakers. You're looking at me as if no one else is in the room, and with a smile in your eyes you say Lets not call them Deal Breakers, lets call them Deal Makers. ...... and I'm All In, You call, but then ask *chop the *** be equals?*  revealing once-in-my-life quad eights, all that infinity in your hands, and the Queen of Hearts. You say, hey, lets go...  and as we're walking out into unspoiled sunshine, you reach into your pocket, show me a few sparkling diamonds in your palm and ask, you want these?
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36
the Ethiopian woman shunned for pulling rope from between her legs in a manner suggesting the rope has a beginning… whose dead newborn has the attention span of the sadness we register as patience in the guerrilla museums of health we are apt to attend on the backs of men who smoke during so they can chat after the cesarean.
0
Jan 2, 2014
Jan 2, 2014 at 9:47 PM UTC
deceptively simple abominations (i)
“We’re cleared for takeoff,” the pilot announced, “settle in, our flight time to Atlanta will be 9 hours.” The Gulfstream roared down the runway and in a moment the tops of trees flashed by. We climbed quickly, and banked. Paris dwindled, the Seine became a string of blue, the world a patchwork of colors before we punched through a layer of hair-like cirrus clouds. My roommates and friends were all a-chatter as we lined up on the runway but as we ascended, they grew quiet. Thoughts of Peter ran through me and gripped me like a serpent. The last time I saw him he was dressed in a summer outfit I bought him - a short-sleeve, pale-pastel-plaid seersucker shirt, kentucky-derby breaker shorts, pop color flip flops and a straw fedora. His sweet-face was all grin, he looked like a deck gillespie. Meow. When I think about Peter, my skin tickles, my pulse accelerates, I’m confuddled. I think about the disturbance that moved through the air between us when we met. We were strangers, but a magnetic flux seemed to roll off him and break against me. I didn’t let it show. I drew in, looked away and became quiet. What else could I do? Later, when I described it to Sunny, our meeting seemed like nothing. When I described it to Lisa, it sounded like too much. Of course, my choices must be consistent with my ambitions, but I want Peter to come to Athens, so badly. He was a human placebo, for me, in otherwise stressful times. Now I want to be with him without school pressures - to see what that’s like - and get closer, a lot closer. I don’t want commitment, but I’m saturated with desire. All I want is a fun July or August - with him. I seldom reveal the businesslike hardness I have buried inside. I want this and I’m ready for derp. Peter worries - about money, about gender roles, social positions and what’s apposite. I don’t care about any of that. I want to give him a free month, like an amazing gift. He’s so male, so deceptively complicated, fragile and intoxicating. I really need to think about this, and work it out - HA! - like I can think of anything else.
0
Jul 3, 2022
Jul 3, 2022 at 8:58 AM UTC
cleared for takeoff
“We’re cleared for takeoff,” the pilot announced, “settle in, our flight time to Atlanta will be 9 hours.” The Gulfstream roared down the runway and in a moment the tops of trees flashed by. We climbed quickly, and banked. Paris dwindled, the Seine became a string of blue, the world a patchwork of colors before we punched through a layer of hair-like cirrus clouds. My roommates and friends were all a-chatter as we lined up on the runway but as we ascended, they grew quiet. Thoughts of Peter ran through me and gripped me like a serpent. The last time I saw him he was dressed in a summer outfit I bought him - a short-sleeve, pale-pastel-plaid seersucker shirt, kentucky-derby breaker shorts, pop color flip flops and a straw fedora. His sweet-face was all grin, he looked like a deck gillespie. Meow. When I think about Peter, my skin tickles, my pulse accelerates, I’m confuddled. I think about the disturbance that moved through the air between us when we met. We were strangers, but a magnetic flux seemed to roll off him and break against me. I didn’t let it show. I drew in, looked away and became quiet. What else could I do? Later, when I described it to Sunny, our meeting seemed like nothing. When I described it to Lisa, it sounded like too much. Of course, my choices must be consistent with my ambitions, but I want Peter to come to Athens, so badly. He was a human placebo, for me, in otherwise stressful times. Now I want to be with him without school pressures - to see what that’s like - and get closer, a lot closer. I don’t want commitment, but I’m saturated with desire. All I want is a fun July or August - with him. I seldom reveal the businesslike hardness I have buried inside. I want this and I’m ready for derp. Peter worries - about money, about gender roles, social positions and what’s apposite. I don’t care about any of that. I want to give him a free month, like an amazing gift. He’s so male, so deceptively complicated, fragile and intoxicating. I really need to think about this, and work it out - HA! - like I can think of anything else.
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10
There lies a bitter truth beneath the rose Which one is not always able to see As their eyes cannot see past, the beauty of the face hiding the stinging truth that lies beneath The deepest passion radiates from eyes that glow and shine Into those of quickly pursuing souls Warming their hearts but not warning their minds Of the piercing thorns that lie beneath the rose Their hands so swiftly reach to touch the loveliness they see their eyes are blinded to the thorns that lie beneath She has captured many, holding wisdom great and true Yet only thorns into their hearts did she bequeath Take caution when you reach for the sweetest rose With petals as soft as the morning dew This loveliness you see, deceptively hides what is beneath The sharpest thorns, may lie in wait there, just for you
0
Jun 13, 2010
Jun 13, 2010 at 6:47 AM UTC
The Truth Beneath the Rose