Hello Poetry
Submit your work and get some sparkles! Create free account
"oeuvres" poems
So it has come to this insomnia at 3:15 A.M., the clock tolling its engine like a frog following a sundial yet having an electric seizure at the quarter hour. The business of words keeps me awake. I am drinking cocoa, that warm brown mama. I would like a simple life yet all night I am laying poems away in a long box. It is my immortality box, my lay-away plan, my coffin. All night dark wings flopping in my heart. Each an ambition bird. The bird wants to be dropped from a high place like Tallahatchie Bridge. He wants to light a kitchen match and immolate himself. He wants to fly into the hand of Michelangelo and dome out painted on a ceiling. He wants to pierce the hornet's nest and come out with a long godhead. He wants to take bread and wine and bring forth a man happily floating in the Caribbean. He wants to be pressed out like a key so he can unlock the Magi. He wants to take leave among strangers passing out bits of his heart like hors d'oeuvres. He wants to die changing his clothes and bolt for the sun like a diamond. He wants, I want. Dear God, wouldn't it be good enough to just drink cocoa? I must get a new bird and a new immortality box. There is folly enough inside this one.
0
5.6k
The Ambition Bird
amidst Jeffersonian opulence the Prez broke bread with his GOP poker face friends to solve government gridlock and sequester predicament trends citizens of the republic hopeful for nonsense to cease sat at the table asking “would you pass the biscuits please?” Obama perused the wine list boldly choosing a luscious Merlot senators ordered the finest hors d'oeuvres the guests were all aglow numerous delectable dishes were liberally splayed on the table revelers sipped flowing vintages wine a surefire icebreaker sparkling crystal Lennox flutes tinkled with convivial release while America’s disenfranchised voices ask “would you pass the biscuits please?” chutney meat, curried hens and sweet walnut rainbow trout the table a horn a plenty the guests gorged on fine cuisine a blessed nations bounty the feast consumed the Senators sated said it was some of the finest ever served but the taxpayers only got a peak of the banquet a whiff of senators nerve and asked “would you pass the biscuits please?” the dessert cart was rolled in with custards, cakes, creme brulee cordials, cognac and VSOP tastes rounded out the wholesome feast when the check was presented for payment all guests headed for the door with haste they told the waiter the bill of fare was covered by the guy asking... “would you pass the biscuits please?” Music Selection: Andre Williams: Pass The Biscuits Please jbm Oakland 3/7/13
0
Mar 9, 2013
Mar 9, 2013 at 6:14 PM UTC
Pass the Biscuits Please
Over the airplane hor d'oeuvres war of nerves your blue eyes no disguise It could have lasted forever words so clever left on red lips dreaming of hips I will never know your name play your game the terminal a lonely girl
0
Jul 14, 2011
Jul 14, 2011 at 9:47 PM UTC
Airplane hor d'oeuvres
We proposed for Witches Abroad on Broadway, a costume. As a lure to students, orange and black candy. Dancing at the prom, cell phones caught the ghouls. This stretch of road was full of cool cats. Unlucky ones were left on the side as skeletons. We swept them clear with our broomsticks. Our guns were not as brutal as broomsticks. Bristles hid the ******* end, as if in costume, No flesh, just skeleton. Like bags of orange and black candy, They were left, full of calico cat. Our familiars, our friends, dinner for a ghoul. They pulled at the ghoul, In the hands of a witch, danger came by broomstick, When ghouls snacked on cat, In their orange and black fur costume, Tasting sweet, like candy. They beat them up and down, but they find another skeleton. Them ghouls come faster, giving birth to others, another skeleton. Vocalizing desire for black and white, red and yellow make orange, a ghoul, Howls for student flavored candy. A witch lays out one, then another with her broomstick, Removing the face mask and costume. Them that can, holler their outrage in cat. Your *** was revealed in orange and black on a calico cat. Females cooled themselves of *** unwilling mates to a skeleton. Once alive, copulating loudly, now in a death costume. Walking upright, a neighborhood was destroyed by a ghoul. Neighbors watched, a witch patrolled on a broomstick. Your students were seen as human candy. One wife beater had a juicy rind, sweet and soured candy. At the dance, hors d’oeuvres were made of cat. Shot forward, it can create a hole, can a broomstick. Where stomachs used to be, a skeleton, Death conquers all, no more ghoul. One, now many properly attired for the Danse Macabre in costume. I found an orange, as broomsticks cleaned Broadway of cat candy. In my student costume and human face mask, my path is crossed by a cat. It disappeared as if it never was, visible only to Death, a skeleton made by ghoul.
0
Jul 14, 2015
Jul 14, 2015 at 7:43 PM UTC
I Found an Orange on Broadway Avenue
We proposed for Witches Abroad on Broadway, a costume. As a lure to students, orange and black candy. Dancing at the prom, cell phones caught the ghouls. This stretch of road was full of cool cats. Unlucky ones were left on the side as skeletons. We swept them clear with our broomsticks. Our guns were not as brutal as broomsticks. Bristles hid the ******* end, as if in costume, No flesh, just skeleton. Like bags of orange and black candy, They were left, full of calico cat. Our familiars, our friends, dinner for a ghoul. They pulled at the ghoul, In the hands of a witch, danger came by broomstick, When ghouls snacked on cat, In their orange and black fur costume, Tasting sweet, like candy. They beat them up and down, but they find another skeleton. Them ghouls come faster, giving birth to others, another skeleton. Vocalizing desire for black and white, red and yellow make orange, a ghoul, Howls for student flavored candy. A witch lays out one, then another with her broomstick, Removing the face mask and costume. Them that can, holler their outrage in cat. Your *** was revealed in orange and black on a calico cat. Females cooled themselves of *** unwilling mates to a skeleton. Once alive, copulating loudly, now in a death costume. Walking upright, a neighborhood was destroyed by a ghoul. Neighbors watched, a witch patrolled on a broomstick. Your students were seen as human candy. One wife beater had a juicy rind, sweet and soured candy. At the dance, hors d’oeuvres were made of cat. Shot forward, it can create a hole, can a broomstick. Where stomachs used to be, a skeleton, Death conquers all, no more ghoul. One, now many properly attired for the Danse Macabre in costume. I found an orange, as broomsticks cleaned Broadway of cat candy. In my student costume and human face mask, my path is crossed by a cat. It disappeared as if it never was, visible only to Death, a skeleton made by ghoul.
Continue reading...
39
just because you're dead doesn't mean we aren't dating anymore does it? i am haunted hearing you read a poem in my head, dead so we must have chemistry or am i interminably obsessed like a ghostly house while your poems have there way with me rumbling down my phantom thigh breathing on the layaway plan  ghastly pumpkin in the oven languishing gracefully your generosity in death a carnival ride of fascination like a broken bird to tormented to hold your preference   hors d’oeuvres of rat poison and verse for the thin air road a smudged face poets last word in crumbs of burnt onions and charred meat  your so pretty in penny loafers bare legs dangling In this homeless corridor sunken in your blackened idol of release and that stupid stare your weight no longer measured in grief i was born to late to die with you to save a pretty nymph in a downward spiral precious fertilizer of poetry fields i'm fixated on your suicide pose but you're too busy being dead to give a **** my sweet eyed snob of smiling hooks i'm obsessively obsessive for what could never be and is am i not your fan, your creep? if i pulled you from the oven and rattled life no doubt, you'd be all **** and vinegar  i'd be your despicable hero a vampire like a straight jacket of love you hate your dead now poet of twilight and i'm left here reading your poems telling you softly they are the best poems ever and making believe you love me
0
Dec 11, 2018
Dec 11, 2018 at 3:17 PM UTC
My Sylvia Thing
How Sweet yet Sorted your Flavours that Are Branding each ****** where Lust is the Key Keeping their Thoughts stalled in Wonder that far Beheld the Heart's Choice you picked out to be Now in my Learning from Elders since Time That People regardless are not Hors d'Oeuvres Nipping that Spread to where Souls are defined And acknowledge the Praise they so deserve These are your Customers; Satisfy them Yet still keep your Person well and maintained None do they ask for much Sterlings and Sense Just that Spark to which your Truth is retained. That Day will come when no Fish will swim by, Stressed on their Fins with the Bubbles you cry.
0
Mar 10, 2013
Mar 10, 2013 at 8:16 PM UTC
SONNET TRIBUTE SUNDRY - FIVE - TOM DALEY
TABLE D'HôTE Appetizer Wrong Tons With Me Soup cooked worry seared in a teary onion broth Hors D'oeuvres Slow Roasted Fear fresh over-analyzing crushed with loneliness Main Course Stress Salad tossed with insomnia marinated in a vertigo dressing General Trouble Chicken battered uncertainty gloomed to perfection sitting on steamed danger stir fried in an overwhelm sour sauce Dessert Choked Volcanic Eruption mountain of OCD topped with whipped depression glazed with self-loathing Expresso prepared with frothy guilt (C) Jl 2016
0
Mar 5, 2016
Mar 5, 2016 at 9:24 AM UTC
Anxiety Menu
Is humanism Utopian? You really have to think about it. Or is it rather more dystopian? No, then I think you’d never doubt it. It seems that disbelief is best. Humanism owes a debt to thinkers of the Enlightenment, although I haven’t paid it yet, I think of it as my entitlement to settle it at some behest. I very early cleared my mind of Kant, experiencing a vast relief, approaching his chef d’oeuvres extant; removing knowledge to allow belief; the opposite of what he had expressed. It occurred to me I ought to dig up (or should I say instead ex-hume?) what constitutes at least an egg-cup- full of wisdom that I might consume with non-platonic zest. But wondering how on earth to do so and thinking he might hold the key, I fixed my sights on Jean Jacques Rousseau and set sail for my destiny, while trying not to feel depressed. Voltaire’s voices loudly rang in deaf ears as did the Persian Letters of Montesquieu and failed to still my latent fears. And thus I felt no need to rescue Adam Smith (morality-obsessed). To put Descartes before the Horse- men of the Apocalypse War, famine, pestilence and worse. Who could guess it would eclipse my thought, wherefore I was oppressed. Or take the case of Denis Diderot a friend of Hume and others seedier. and one you might consider so rash as to produce an encyclopedia to get his knowledge off his chest. That precious quality of truth was Mary Ann’s# description of it. It would not take a Sherlock sleuth to simply thus produce a conviction of it: an elementary request. I cut my questing teeth on Russell. His secular logic had a profound effect and seemed to stir each red corpuscle inhabiting this fervid non-sect- arian but doubting breast. I later turned my eye on Dawkins, and his concern with my divine delusion. A sceptic whose inspiring squawkings validate my disillusion and emphasise an ill-starred quest. And so I felt the pointlessness of it. Progress is the best end for a man to see And belief simply produced less profit for reality’s dispelling of my fantasy. So, in the end, I acquiesced. #Mary Ann Evans, aka George Eliot, in Adam Bede
0
Nov 16, 2014
Nov 16, 2014 at 10:21 AM UTC
NUMINOSITY (OR HUMANISM OWES A DEBT TO THE ENLIGHTENMENT)
Is humanism Utopian? You really have to think about it. Or is it rather more dystopian? No, then I think you’d never doubt it. It seems that disbelief is best. Humanism owes a debt to thinkers of the Enlightenment, although I haven’t paid it yet, I think of it as my entitlement to settle it at some behest. I very early cleared my mind of Kant, experiencing a vast relief, approaching his chef d’oeuvres extant; removing knowledge to allow belief; the opposite of what he had expressed. It occurred to me I ought to dig up (or should I say instead ex-hume?) what constitutes at least an egg-cup- full of wisdom that I might consume with non-platonic zest. But wondering how on earth to do so and thinking he might hold the key, I fixed my sights on Jean Jacques Rousseau and set sail for my destiny, while trying not to feel depressed. Voltaire’s voices loudly rang in deaf ears as did the Persian Letters of Montesquieu and failed to still my latent fears. And thus I felt no need to rescue Adam Smith (morality-obsessed). To put Descartes before the Horse- men of the Apocalypse War, famine, pestilence and worse. Who could guess it would eclipse my thought, wherefore I was oppressed. Or take the case of Denis Diderot a friend of Hume and others seedier. and one you might consider so rash as to produce an encyclopedia to get his knowledge off his chest. That precious quality of truth was Mary Ann’s# description of it. It would not take a Sherlock sleuth to simply thus produce a conviction of it: an elementary request. I cut my questing teeth on Russell. His secular logic had a profound effect and seemed to stir each red corpuscle inhabiting this fervid non-sect- arian but doubting breast. I later turned my eye on Dawkins, and his concern with my divine delusion. A sceptic whose inspiring squawkings validate my disillusion and emphasise an ill-starred quest. And so I felt the pointlessness of it. Progress is the best end for a man to see And belief simply produced less profit for reality’s dispelling of my fantasy. So, in the end, I acquiesced. #Mary Ann Evans, aka George Eliot, in Adam Bede
Continue reading...
61
There was tension between the families from the start My best friend's wedding was certainly one for the record books I tried to bring sensible mediation to the dance floor As his Grandpa Helmar raised his walking cane and struck the Brides Father in the neck Each of the families allegiance spurned combative retribution and all Hell broke loose I took one for the team with a sac of Jordan Almonds to the right eye Then slipped on the wedding gift of excrement left by the ring bearer, the family poodle I came to consciousness wet with champagne thrown in my face, I thanked my wife for caring. Aunt Sarrah, in her drunken zeal, thought it wise to toss all her cookies in the Reverend's face The Bride's mother slapped an unsuspecting cousin with her overly expensive oversized hat And the Groom's sister's dress was ripped to shreds by the Bride's teenage niece Yes. the same dress that my wife said was hideous and did nothing for her. The two parties had not much to say to each other in the waiting room of the ER bandages and gauze were passed around like Hors d'oeuvres, but not the Bayer Aspirin We all watched in shameful disgust, the videographer's collection of memories The next day as the Bride and Groom opened their gifts And I, sporting a keen black patch, a pirate only his wife could love... Reminded my dear friend of the possible outcome of having two reception menus One honoring him and his family and one honoring his Bride and her family Highlighted by Königsberger Klopse, and respectively, Gefilte Fish with carrots Their love endures! -----ChawzzyScript
0
Apr 9, 2013
Apr 9, 2013 at 11:50 PM UTC
Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting
There was tension between the families from the start My best friend's wedding was certainly one for the record books I tried to bring sensible mediation to the dance floor As his Grandpa Helmar raised his walking cane and struck the Brides Father in the neck Each of the families allegiance spurned combative retribution and all Hell broke loose I took one for the team with a sac of Jordan Almonds to the right eye Then slipped on the wedding gift of excrement left by the ring bearer, the family poodle I came to consciousness wet with champagne thrown in my face, I thanked my wife for caring. Aunt Sarrah, in her drunken zeal, thought it wise to toss all her cookies in the Reverend's face The Bride's mother slapped an unsuspecting cousin with her overly expensive oversized hat And the Groom's sister's dress was ripped to shreds by the Bride's teenage niece Yes. the same dress that my wife said was hideous and did nothing for her. The two parties had not much to say to each other in the waiting room of the ER bandages and gauze were passed around like Hors d'oeuvres, but not the Bayer Aspirin We all watched in shameful disgust, the videographer's collection of memories The next day as the Bride and Groom opened their gifts And I, sporting a keen black patch, a pirate only his wife could love... Reminded my dear friend of the possible outcome of having two reception menus One honoring him and his family and one honoring his Bride and her family Highlighted by Königsberger Klopse, and respectively, Gefilte Fish with carrots Their love endures! -----ChawzzyScript
Continue reading...
22
The d'oeuvres are no longer being served, and the spaghetti' with clam sauce not so fetching, over my white tuxedo. The service is  inexplicably hurrying   at the Cafe Rouge; this gushing turnaround, but with a  Gewurztraminer in the waiting, has somehow has moved  me, more than the curt  waitress Jeanne, thankfully her imaginary grudges receding.
0
May 13, 2013
May 13, 2013 at 2:42 PM UTC
To another place
What would I do without my fondest delirium? he stalks my outside musings he surprises my sharpest joy within the dullest treading tumult. I love the embrace of his watchful eye he peruses my dreams, a chef sampling caviar laced Hors d'oeuvres. I speak to him through every reflection the blank stare of vending machine glass, the audacity of bathroom mirrored lashes, the subtle wink of windows, skylights, vistas every portal into another expanse blasts me into the remainder of his silhouette. What would I do without my fondest delirium? he is the simplest clarity upon my devoted retinas
0
Oct 10, 2013
Oct 10, 2013 at 2:36 AM UTC
What Would I Do Without My Fondest Delirium?
Woah, I think there's a roller coaster in my mind, Bunches of Sporadic thoughts With one congruent disguise. Pop pop poppin up all over my head And they're pop pop poppin, shootin us dead. My ideas, they're killin us, They're surface feeders. Eating the truth Like tasty hour d'oeuvres
0
Apr 9, 2015
Apr 9, 2015 at 1:08 PM UTC
A Moment in the Life of a Cancer
Looking at pain From the inside out Stepping off steep Into an unknown, falling Loose and tightly wound At once In one Spinning straight-line lies Wanting them to be true From here to there exists No mess between No life No humanity No mess Only simple Straight-line lives Like the heartbeats of our politicians Got no room for deviation into mountains Down to earth Got no time for beats and bravery Floating on in mediocracy No, democracy My mistake Found a word and made it look Like cool Made it sound like hope Made it work like **** To cover up the sins of what was truth Not pure or real But what was on Got hammering down Got seeping in Got on with getting on Dig pocks in Devon and call it progress Take chunks of the mama and look surprised As she spits us all out from her centre You, me and everyone who had no idea Who sat behind their 5 mile screen and said **** happens When it was about the starvation And said More’s the pity When it was about monstrosity And said Gotta be thankful When it was about the tanks and the bombs and the guns In some other guys garden And screamed What the **** is going on here With tears and snot and terror all over their tan-stained brows When the phone broke And the plane was late And the dog shat And the restaurant ran out of hors de ******* oeuvres. It’s a ******* sin, that’s what it is To call yourself a restaurant and not have what’s on the ******* menu. A ******* sin. The world’s gone to ******* ruin. Buy me Barrack Obama and let’s call it evens.
0
Nov 15, 2012
Nov 15, 2012 at 1:11 PM UTC
It's a ******* sin
Looking at pain From the inside out Stepping off steep Into an unknown, falling Loose and tightly wound At once In one Spinning straight-line lies Wanting them to be true From here to there exists No mess between No life No humanity No mess Only simple Straight-line lives Like the heartbeats of our politicians Got no room for deviation into mountains Down to earth Got no time for beats and bravery Floating on in mediocracy No, democracy My mistake Found a word and made it look Like cool Made it sound like hope Made it work like **** To cover up the sins of what was truth Not pure or real But what was on Got hammering down Got seeping in Got on with getting on Dig pocks in Devon and call it progress Take chunks of the mama and look surprised As she spits us all out from her centre You, me and everyone who had no idea Who sat behind their 5 mile screen and said **** happens When it was about the starvation And said More’s the pity When it was about monstrosity And said Gotta be thankful When it was about the tanks and the bombs and the guns In some other guys garden And screamed What the **** is going on here With tears and snot and terror all over their tan-stained brows When the phone broke And the plane was late And the dog shat And the restaurant ran out of hors de ******* oeuvres. It’s a ******* sin, that’s what it is To call yourself a restaurant and not have what’s on the ******* menu. A ******* sin. The world’s gone to ******* ruin. Buy me Barrack Obama and let’s call it evens.
Continue reading...
59
Rebellion – for too long the status quo, is, in our day, a predictable show. Antichrist irony, absurdity shockingly daring incongruity no longer shock the bourgeois, you know… Alone in the temple of glass with a rock, you’re out of traditional symbols to mock. Surrealists did it much better than you – and it meant a lot more in ’32. You chew your cud on the cattle-wagon overused shock-tactics (moo ! ) now draggin’ (or herding) aboard the iconoclast train (b)lowing through boxcars your bovine refrain: “to, um – make people think…” Oh Lord, how uncouth. Nihilist narcissus – tell me, what’s Truth? Must creative always be subversive? I discern, in your frenzied discursive, a dull and predictable lack of life. While you brandish that plastic butter knife I seem to note, in your constant ****** dearth of artistic ability. Must bohemian acolytes (some yawning) ever be deer in the headlights, fawning before the ironic gesture? It’s sad; the bitter is sweet but the art is bad… They circle hors d’oeuvres on opening night like moths around white wine in candlelight, cerebrating in a modernist void: contemporary aesthetes, overjoyed to know once more that life has no meaning; the planet is doomed; that kings are queening; that chic just arrived, escorting philosophy (Forgive us, Duchamp, for all this monstrosity). I long for Hudson River School sunsets Old Dutch Masters, religious art, portraits, Red, green, or black propaganda-art? NO ! The view does not merit the price of the show. I’m dada-ed to death, beyond the surreal. Conceptual gimmicks have failed to conceal your want of ability, values, and faith In the book you despise it is written: “thus saith the fool in his heart: that there is no God…” You: Postmodern Art – to the firing squad!
0
Sep 10, 2015
Sep 10, 2015 at 9:57 PM UTC
Dada Dethroned
Rebellion – for too long the status quo, is, in our day, a predictable show. Antichrist irony, absurdity shockingly daring incongruity no longer shock the bourgeois, you know… Alone in the temple of glass with a rock, you’re out of traditional symbols to mock. Surrealists did it much better than you – and it meant a lot more in ’32. You chew your cud on the cattle-wagon overused shock-tactics (moo ! ) now draggin’ (or herding) aboard the iconoclast train (b)lowing through boxcars your bovine refrain: “to, um – make people think…” Oh Lord, how uncouth. Nihilist narcissus – tell me, what’s Truth? Must creative always be subversive? I discern, in your frenzied discursive, a dull and predictable lack of life. While you brandish that plastic butter knife I seem to note, in your constant ****** dearth of artistic ability. Must bohemian acolytes (some yawning) ever be deer in the headlights, fawning before the ironic gesture? It’s sad; the bitter is sweet but the art is bad… They circle hors d’oeuvres on opening night like moths around white wine in candlelight, cerebrating in a modernist void: contemporary aesthetes, overjoyed to know once more that life has no meaning; the planet is doomed; that kings are queening; that chic just arrived, escorting philosophy (Forgive us, Duchamp, for all this monstrosity). I long for Hudson River School sunsets Old Dutch Masters, religious art, portraits, Red, green, or black propaganda-art? NO ! The view does not merit the price of the show. I’m dada-ed to death, beyond the surreal. Conceptual gimmicks have failed to conceal your want of ability, values, and faith In the book you despise it is written: “thus saith the fool in his heart: that there is no God…” You: Postmodern Art – to the firing squad!
Continue reading...
43
Weekly masses gather in cracked tabernacles nurturing feeble souls cursed w/woes and foes, only to be fooled again. Their pickled skins reek of sorrows and sins. ...let the worship begin... There, they expound on the cunning substance. Their thoughts and words clatter, spewing it onto a gleaming platter. Some may feed upon on what is said, others exile and roam with the stark spirits of the dead.
0
Jan 25, 2013
Jan 25, 2013 at 5:22 PM UTC
Fabricated hors d'oeuvres
. My label was showing, flipping out from behind the collar of my non-U.S.A. made shirt Sri Lanka I think, but I can’t see the back of my neck from here Perhaps that is why they stare or maybe it is why they don’t? Well, that's okay, I’m new here, first time on this floor (I pushed the wrong elevator button) Fancy suits and low cut gowns, hors d'oeuvres, champagne, noses held high, some are long ones to look down or up at “Bat in the cave! Oh, did I say that out loud? Sorry lady, no I wouldn’t like any avocado" Whispers, murmurs or just low talking, there must be a hundred of them I thread myself through the crowd making my way to the podium where I speak, “Hello I am a poet and I’d like to read you something” A strong gust of wind races against my face, not air from any open window, but the breeze created by their mass exodus as they head for the outdoor terrace for a smoke or to spit on those below them Then I saw her, standing in the middle of the room all alone, staring up at me Deep brown eyes, dark glistening hair and a smile that out-beamed the overhead recessed light “I’d like to hear your poem,” she said in a euphoric voice I gazed upon her mesmerized, feeling my throat tighten, sweat appeared on my forehead as I lifted a slip of paper from my back pocket I looked it over and looked over at her…again Then, taking a deep breath muttered, “I must apologize, for it has become obvious to me there is no more beautiful poem than the one standing before me at this very time To read these words which I have penned would only pale to this I find” “Thank you, that is very sweet of you, would you like to go for a walk in the park? I’d much rather be outside than inside and maybe you can read me some of your wonderful poetry there?” “I’d love to, but what about them?” I asked motioning toward the crowd on the terrace She picked up the tray of sliced avocado, some champagne and slipped them out the door, then giggled, “Those insiders will be just fine outside for a while” As we headed down on the elevator she leaned up and kissed me and it was at that very moment, as my heart was nearly beating out on my chest I knew, (I had pushed the correct elevator button)
0
Jul 20, 2016
Jul 20, 2016 at 6:48 PM UTC
Insiders outside for a while
. My label was showing, flipping out from behind the collar of my non-U.S.A. made shirt Sri Lanka I think, but I can’t see the back of my neck from here Perhaps that is why they stare or maybe it is why they don’t? Well, that's okay, I’m new here, first time on this floor (I pushed the wrong elevator button) Fancy suits and low cut gowns, hors d'oeuvres, champagne, noses held high, some are long ones to look down or up at “Bat in the cave! Oh, did I say that out loud? Sorry lady, no I wouldn’t like any avocado" Whispers, murmurs or just low talking, there must be a hundred of them I thread myself through the crowd making my way to the podium where I speak, “Hello I am a poet and I’d like to read you something” A strong gust of wind races against my face, not air from any open window, but the breeze created by their mass exodus as they head for the outdoor terrace for a smoke or to spit on those below them Then I saw her, standing in the middle of the room all alone, staring up at me Deep brown eyes, dark glistening hair and a smile that out-beamed the overhead recessed light “I’d like to hear your poem,” she said in a euphoric voice I gazed upon her mesmerized, feeling my throat tighten, sweat appeared on my forehead as I lifted a slip of paper from my back pocket I looked it over and looked over at her…again Then, taking a deep breath muttered, “I must apologize, for it has become obvious to me there is no more beautiful poem than the one standing before me at this very time To read these words which I have penned would only pale to this I find” “Thank you, that is very sweet of you, would you like to go for a walk in the park? I’d much rather be outside than inside and maybe you can read me some of your wonderful poetry there?” “I’d love to, but what about them?” I asked motioning toward the crowd on the terrace She picked up the tray of sliced avocado, some champagne and slipped them out the door, then giggled, “Those insiders will be just fine outside for a while” As we headed down on the elevator she leaned up and kissed me and it was at that very moment, as my heart was nearly beating out on my chest I knew, (I had pushed the correct elevator button)
Continue reading...
56
Inventing shooting stars to keep you here and hopeful while I finagle with my courage and inch closer to your smile on a bridge that runs over no river. The shade and the light, a yin yang movie theater, concealing our back-row distractions under the din and darkness of a film we're both missing. Afternoon sunlight chopped up by the blinds and served through them, like hors d'oeuvres, onto our warm bodies lying together above the covers. Echoes of our shouting in the quiet of an impasse that will grow into a chasm that runs under no bridge if I reach over and hold you. Which I always do. Closing your bedroom door, aching to turn around and silence your sobbing that follows me all the way through your apartment and out of your future.
0
Jun 7, 2014
Jun 7, 2014 at 4:01 AM UTC
Five Moments
I’ve never liked wine anyway. I imagined the glass slipping out of my hand and drifting down onto the white carpet to shatter, the pieces of silver flying and dancing passionately away from the deep red stain. What would it be like if I just slipped my hand… I would be terribly, oh so sorry, of course. I would apologize profusely and announce my utter clumsiness to the entire party, begging for pardon from my dear hostess. I could see myself now- mopping up the spill with my napkin, secretly knowing that it would be there forever as an infinite reminder of my poor table manners. Well, she shouldn’t have invited me. She knows better-She is a lady of grace and elegance and has no reason to invite me to such a party of such class. We discussed ethical treatment of minorities to a great extent, focusing on the various subjects of moral decay that is sprouting up in this country like spring flowers. Lovely little flowers, they were, indeed. I dreamt of picking them up, each one, and pulling off each petal and eventually crushing the stems into the warm dirt below. Mmm, I should thank Miss Lovely for such a Lovely time tonight. I do believe that I have had a delightful time this evening; I started dinner off with some fine hor-d’oeuvres, ripping the curtains down and slamming them on the table, a light salade, crashing my plate against the ground and throwing my silverware about, some delightful coq a vin, followed by the screaming of profanities, and finishing with Fonseca and my glass, half drunken, on the floor. A delightful party, my dear, my dear. So pleased to have you. I could spend every moment here, laying on the floor at this lovely dinner party, naked and rolling in my own feces, scowling at the act of men rubbing thighs and adjusting their glasses. I would love to just rip everything away and scream and hurry and spill all of this onto itself and leave miss lovely’s lovely white carpet all stained with everyone’s SHIT! I SAID IT- I said it because somebody had to say it! I am sure that I won’t be the only one killing myself at the end of the night- after the goodbyes and kisses on the cheeks. No no no, I am certainly not the only one! In fact, I should think that we will all step into the bathtub at the same time, skillful skillful skillful to cut the strings at the exact right moment. We really all are lovely little flowers aren’t we?
0
Mar 26, 2012
Mar 26, 2012 at 10:43 PM UTC
Quite Right
I’ve never liked wine anyway. I imagined the glass slipping out of my hand and drifting down onto the white carpet to shatter, the pieces of silver flying and dancing passionately away from the deep red stain. What would it be like if I just slipped my hand… I would be terribly, oh so sorry, of course. I would apologize profusely and announce my utter clumsiness to the entire party, begging for pardon from my dear hostess. I could see myself now- mopping up the spill with my napkin, secretly knowing that it would be there forever as an infinite reminder of my poor table manners. Well, she shouldn’t have invited me. She knows better-She is a lady of grace and elegance and has no reason to invite me to such a party of such class. We discussed ethical treatment of minorities to a great extent, focusing on the various subjects of moral decay that is sprouting up in this country like spring flowers. Lovely little flowers, they were, indeed. I dreamt of picking them up, each one, and pulling off each petal and eventually crushing the stems into the warm dirt below. Mmm, I should thank Miss Lovely for such a Lovely time tonight. I do believe that I have had a delightful time this evening; I started dinner off with some fine hor-d’oeuvres, ripping the curtains down and slamming them on the table, a light salade, crashing my plate against the ground and throwing my silverware about, some delightful coq a vin, followed by the screaming of profanities, and finishing with Fonseca and my glass, half drunken, on the floor. A delightful party, my dear, my dear. So pleased to have you. I could spend every moment here, laying on the floor at this lovely dinner party, naked and rolling in my own feces, scowling at the act of men rubbing thighs and adjusting their glasses. I would love to just rip everything away and scream and hurry and spill all of this onto itself and leave miss lovely’s lovely white carpet all stained with everyone’s SHIT! I SAID IT- I said it because somebody had to say it! I am sure that I won’t be the only one killing myself at the end of the night- after the goodbyes and kisses on the cheeks. No no no, I am certainly not the only one! In fact, I should think that we will all step into the bathtub at the same time, skillful skillful skillful to cut the strings at the exact right moment. We really all are lovely little flowers aren’t we?
Continue reading...
1
If at first I had seen you as a still-life Of passing interest, in one of those restaurants With heightened pretensions of the eclectic: culture in a can You would have remained void of deepness, to me: A face half-hidden behind a menu, buzzing neon lights behind your head Faintly visible enigmatic eyes, above the hors-d'oeuvres list Some inaudible small talk with another person, A casual tabloid easily forgotten. If I had noticed you while you were working You would have seemed another skilled contractor or employee; The answer key to the solution I was seeking, though I might have paused Long enough to suppose you wise, well educated: noble In the struggle, perhaps wondered if you were always this serious Even if not on someone's time-clock or your own pay roll Maybe I would have thought you had a quizzical expression, or questioned If I had imagined that wariness which seemed to hide behind an easy smile. Instead, you've drawn me closer in, only toward you- Pulled me in with no touch, not a glance, nor hushed voice With only your words, your wit and keen intuition, against which I've no sort of defense, no sophisticated angle of attack And words can promise all, or nothing; or simply imply a supposed future Towards which we might have been running backwards All this time, while caught up in thinking that eventually We would be arriving at some place completely different.
0
Mar 24, 2010
Mar 24, 2010 at 8:02 PM UTC
If at First I Had Seen You
We were born in the forest, Living in the shadows, Clinging to our loved ones In the dark, under the trees. Life was good then, We had picked fruit from branches And swung on them for joy. And there was no greed Or jealousy. Over millions of years, We lived in harmony, Until the forest changed; The garden shriveled and Faded away as we watched. Our lives were rearranged. Some among us ventured out. Giving in to our sin: curiosity. We turned the grasslands into pavement and stone And we endured pain to walk Down in the street, surrounded by canyons of concrete and steel. The powerful gather now and hoard what was once shared. Hors d’oeuvres are served, Placating the hunger of the omnipotent, that is never stated; They will keep taking from us As long as we allow it. Even as they wallow in wealth, They plot to plunder riches and destroy the world, scraping the land and scouring the sea. But one day, some loner, a rebel May emerge from the shadows, Dark-clad, filled with inchoate rage. He will find like-minded souls Who use the new machinations To topple the oligarchs, Empty their accounts And give them to the world. Chaos may follow, But out of it a new humanity Might arise.
0
Jan 5, 2025
Jan 5, 2025 at 2:57 PM UTC
In the Shadows
One woman said Clean yourself up with a cocktail napkin, so here I am in the bathroom. Sounds of the party. Sounds of one man pretending he gets the joke. Oh, he gets the joke. He just didn’t think it was very funny. I can understand that man. The bones of Tom’s hands made a fist and told my nose a joke, which is to say he hit me. The resulting laughter was quiet, but well-sustained. People decorate their bathrooms like I would rather be at the beach than in this bathroom. I’d rather be watching swans mate for life. Well, not actually mating. Okay, actually mating; you can hardly tell what’s going on. Unlike *********** or unlike a wedding ceremony. Or, no. The wedding ceremony is more like swans. I thought I was just watching two people hold hands in front of a candle. The people deciding to wear flowers in the winter, disrespectful of what the world, bigger than us, said we could wear or eat, like the asparagus hoers d’oeuvres insisted it was a good time to feel like it was summer. At the wedding I was quiet. At the party I was quiet until Tom found me offensive. The homeowners long ago had decided I’d rather be somewhere golden than in this bathroom. Outside the sounds of people making promises, or rather, hushing a room to condone the most public of promises made in front of a candle. When I’m cleaned up I’ll find, if he was invited, the man who played the ***** or the priest who wears soft shoes so he doesn’t disturb the holy spirits resting in the rafters when he walks through the resting cathedral, stooping at times to pick up flowers. By Hannah Gamble
0
Jul 28, 2013
Jul 28, 2013 at 1:53 PM UTC
Somewhere Golden
One woman said Clean yourself up with a cocktail napkin, so here I am in the bathroom. Sounds of the party. Sounds of one man pretending he gets the joke. Oh, he gets the joke. He just didn’t think it was very funny. I can understand that man. The bones of Tom’s hands made a fist and told my nose a joke, which is to say he hit me. The resulting laughter was quiet, but well-sustained. People decorate their bathrooms like I would rather be at the beach than in this bathroom. I’d rather be watching swans mate for life. Well, not actually mating. Okay, actually mating; you can hardly tell what’s going on. Unlike *********** or unlike a wedding ceremony. Or, no. The wedding ceremony is more like swans. I thought I was just watching two people hold hands in front of a candle. The people deciding to wear flowers in the winter, disrespectful of what the world, bigger than us, said we could wear or eat, like the asparagus hoers d’oeuvres insisted it was a good time to feel like it was summer. At the wedding I was quiet. At the party I was quiet until Tom found me offensive. The homeowners long ago had decided I’d rather be somewhere golden than in this bathroom. Outside the sounds of people making promises, or rather, hushing a room to condone the most public of promises made in front of a candle. When I’m cleaned up I’ll find, if he was invited, the man who played the ***** or the priest who wears soft shoes so he doesn’t disturb the holy spirits resting in the rafters when he walks through the resting cathedral, stooping at times to pick up flowers. By Hannah Gamble
Continue reading...
65
*emotions bottled up emotions about to explode or implode, i dont know which one is worse emotions empty out emotions fill up the room they are sitting on the couch picking at the hors d'oeuvres emotions laugh emotions make you cry you scream your brains out or maybe your heart, i dont know emotionless emptiness emotionless emptiness*
0
Nov 27, 2014
Nov 27, 2014 at 10:03 PM UTC
emptiness
I once dove into your heart. I carried you with me through the sea and time gobbled us up like h’ors d’oeuvres at a dinner party. We are carnivorous creatures, wading out into high grass to find the meatiness of the best **** **** them with your cling and your clenching hands) If you could swallow my love whole, it would take you alive and turn you inside out before me. If time and space did not stand between us like a dividend from the karma corporation for all those nasty things we’ve done, I would place my hand on your dimpled skin and tell you that your flesh gives me breath and your shoulder touching my cheek keeps me alive.
0
Sep 5, 2013
Sep 5, 2013 at 9:53 PM UTC
Rosali
I served My heart's feelings Hors d'oeuvres Upon a platter And she sampled Until it was all gone, And I thought That was The end of that, But she Wanted more Filet mignon and caviar Vintage wines and cheeses, And I Couldn't didn't want to provide All that she aspired to, So she walked out And I Made more Hors d'oeuvres For the next But they can't see That these feelings I serve to one and all, Are just what I yearn For myself; And I do not Wish to indulge them Without equal measure In return, This taste of excellence Gateway to Nirvana... APAD13 - 067 © okpoet
0
Mar 11, 2013
Mar 11, 2013 at 4:17 PM UTC
Hors d'oeuvres...