"shortening" poems
A scarlet confection
Made to tasty perfection
For your mouth’s inspection
The tip of the toppings
The vanilla flavored frosting
Is so tempting to you
The taste bud’s elation
In what you are facing
Is something like devil’s food cake
The tiled floor kitchen
In the hours bewitching
Leaves your pulse a twitching
From the caloric intake
And the hours you shorten
By licking the shortening
They are a mistake
But they are your poisonous pleasure
Made to bake and yours’ to take
It’s a sweet treat we call cake
Jun 7, 2015
Jun 7, 2015 at 3:45 AM UTC
When things seem difficult miserable
Life is turning away from you
Intimidated and worn out you remain
In darkness at a corner you examine
Watching the sky as it disappears
Reminding the lost beloved ones
How beautiful and caring they were
Vanishing without saying goodbye
Shortening your long life span
And leaving you destitute and lonely
Deeply you wonder
How life can really be unfair
To honest and good people like you
But all you let go off
And focus to mend your life
And strengthen your heart
With good and caring friends on your side
Opening the picture of brightness
Knowing GOD holds your hand
Leading you to your success
Stars embracing the whole sky
And you know your journey has started
In pursuit of your purpose
Slowly matching from dusk to dawn
With smiles and determination
In whispers you read your heart
ALWAYS STAND STRONG
May 24, 2014
May 24, 2014 at 1:25 PM UTC
Congratulations!
It’s finally over!
You’ve climbed the mountains and trekked the canyons
Now it’s time to meet the future.
The past four yeas
Have been challenging and rough,
But we’ve chosen our careers
And high school’s not enough.
University’s on the way.
There are many more paths to tread
And more adventures to slay
All widespread.
We’ll be all across the world
Some here and some there
Not knowing the next place we’ll be hurled
But we’ll be well prepared.
We’ve all known each other for a while
Some longer than other
But through the years our lifestyle
Will keep up close together.
Our travels and experiences
Will unite us
Across the long distances,
Shortening the crevice.
Congratulations!
It’s finally over!
You’ve climbed the mountains and trekked the canyons
Now it’s time to meet the future.
May 21, 2013
May 21, 2013 at 2:42 AM UTC
I used to stand in awe and watch Grandma making biscuits.
She’d take her wooden bowl, then dip the floor and sift it.
As snowy flour would drift to form a mound of just so much;
She’d form a crater lake of buttermilk and shortening with her loving touch.
She would smile and watch our faces as she squeezed the flour to goop
And transform the mess she made into dough that she would scoop.
A pinch she’d take and make a ball to flatten in her palm.
Then with her thumb she’d press it down, so gently and so calm.
With care she next would take the dough and place it on a pan;
A thumb print etched in dough as she continued with her plan,
To place the pats side by side until the pan was filled
By perfect rows all laid out with hands so quick and skilled.
That cozy pan she placed into an oven warmed just right
And closed the door to seal them in and cook them out of sight.
In timely care she’d pull them free, delicious golden browns
Setting fresh hot biscuits on the table, to banish morning frowns.
Now I stand in awe and think of all the biscuits she has made,
Of all the time her thumb has pressed, as her heart has prayed.
Life finds us now, her children, in life’s wooden bowls
And we feel her loving touch as she leaves her thumbprint on our souls.
For Grandma Mary Grace Kindley Davis
On the occasion of her 105th birthday, February 9, 2007
Presented to her at her Birthday Party the next day.
©2007 Michael S. Davis
Feb 18, 2013
Feb 18, 2013 at 12:28 PM UTC
You blame her for my struggles,
yet you were the one who made me suffer.
Always busy earning money,
never doing anything funny.
You made me question my own worth,
shortening my time on this earth.
I was 15 when I first took the blade,
creating something that will never fade.
It’s sad how blind you were,
thinking you were a good father to me.
Couldn’t see the tears and the pains,
being treated by losing blood from my veins.
Needing pills to stay alive,
couldn’t even know how much longer I can survive.
Yet you still think you aren’t the one to blame,
thanks to you my life will never be the same.
I will never forget what you have said,
nor the memories which I can’t get out of my head.
I never wanna see you again,
and you should respect that if you are a man.
Nov 16, 2022
Nov 16, 2022 at 2:04 PM UTC
crickets serenading the crows to sleep
trees send out calls to one another on the wind
rustling branches
what a masterpiece the stars make
nestled in the spun navy blue of the night sky
fawns and deer scream to one another
grunt warnings and snort dry grass
baby bunnies chirp to distant moms
being chased by auburn tailed foxes
the frogs try and calm their throats of the
incessant pockets of air that erupt from their
stomachs
the moon's veil casts lacy shadows on the leaves
filling the gaps in the branches
white moonwashed asphalt sparks with diamonds
the sun trying to break the barrier of darkness
pushing and bulging over the horizon with a pop
hazy pink lemonade spills over the edges of
distance mountain ranges
orange Starbursts melt on the tips of the crows' claws
lavender wax seeps around the sleeping bunnies
still chirping in their shortening sleep
the stardust that fell during the night
sparkles like dew on the blades of grass
and floats like fairies through the
apple juice air
thick and warm cinnamon roll clouds
roll by in the liquid gold sky
the scent of cherry pie and toast every morning
in the summer
and the scent of honeydew melon
with bamboo extract right before
dusk.
Mar 19, 2014
Mar 19, 2014 at 11:56 AM UTC
Soaking wet
With tears of joy
You embrace my face
How we both have waited for this
Threw all the nights alone
For all the pain felt
For all the letters that came
and for the ones that didn't
The tightening of our soul's
The shortening of our life span
Even after all this
We held on
Now the war is over
and the journey can begin
A family stuck in gridlock
Can now be whole again
Oct 4, 2014
Oct 4, 2014 at 12:35 PM UTC
That season again; familiar fragrances:
of flowers and of emotions.
On shortening evenings
graying skies paint the earth in shades of
anticipation; Snapshots,
joyous memories, of
distant years roll out of catherine wheels
and sparkle-pots, rare
treats and new clothes
for the year; rolling wheels of time, how
loves change, people's
priorities change, events
drive everyone further and farther away.
But memories awaken
from vaults in the heart;
Familiar fragrances, blessed resurrections
always chase
all the doubters away
Yes, this season again; blessed fragrances.
Nov 10, 2012
Nov 10, 2012 at 1:06 PM UTC
Watch me as I fall from here
I do not wish to speak of such misfortunes
unfortunately other options have quickly began shortening
their obvious attempt for what can be logical decision
such incision with a knife also a master of the fiddle
fear me not the sky is lightened
now the dark began to set
How I wish it were to echo,
as the moon was put to bed
Yet my life has become ill gotten,
a thorn of crown upon my head,
yet my troubles seem so meager
then those of mice unlike us men
Gently weep into the silence
go forth brother hear your cry
may the sightly wind be with you
guide it deep into the sky
cause of thunder and then lighting
limit those who fear the sound
hear them weeping at the door step
as if the cat had made a sound
Jul 1, 2013
Jul 1, 2013 at 4:06 AM UTC
Thou blossom bright with autumn dew,
And colored with the heaven's own blue,
That openest when the quiet light
Succeeds the keen and frosty night.
Thou comest not when violets lean
O'er wandering brooks and springs unseen,
Or columbines, in purple dressed,
Nod o'er the ground-bird's hidden nest.
Thou waitest late and com'st alone,
When woods are bare and birds are flown,
And frosts and shortening days portend
The aged year is near his end.
Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye
Look through its fringes to the sky,
Blue--blue--as if that sky let fall
A flower from its cerulean wall.
I would that thus, when I shall see
The hour of death draw near to me,
Hope, blossoming within my heart,
May look to heaven as I depart.
2.5k
Four white walls adorned with posters.
Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and an odd cluster
of animals and dinosaurs.
and a strange man relaxing his pores.
I could learn something from this
The wall space around Van Gogh
is lined with empty cigarette boxes.
A constant reminder of life shortening though
they encircle the skull like rabid foxes.
I've lost count of how many I've smoked
The carpet is littered with stains.
A reminder of past strains.
Even industrial shampoo
will not fade the marks scarred into.
I've been here too long
The drawers are a symbol of a cluttered mind.
Nothing is organized. but anything is an easy find.
Random thoughts make the air stale.
Only freshened by the 3pm arrival.
Its just junk and coupons
Its difficult to balance all these things out
without a feminine touch to soothe.
A soft laughter to rile the doubts.
Another pair to line with my shoes.
I'll be with you one day Caroline
Nov 26, 2012
Nov 26, 2012 at 4:58 AM UTC
cyclic lingering
disconnected rambling
the same words rearanged
breathes shortening
impotent bargaining
the same pattern misbehaves
Ive always walked this way
hormonal litter cursed by anatomy
hyesteria
weepy futility
uncharacteristic of one so bold
the words of tongues
drag mud through wounds
a voided heart : not so
deep breaths
stand strong in misery
mindfulness, like a drug
disconnect and call it religion
pacing pacing pacing
thoughts;
I bleed for the words of others
For both praise and scheming lies
I wish to leave this haunted soul
but I
But I
but I ...what?
need to run?
to hide?
to hold my ground?
we'll see as it comes
a controlling women's worst nightmare
Oct 17, 2012
Oct 17, 2012 at 4:51 PM UTC
Down in the depths of the hole, there's no sound but the beat of my heart
And my dark charred thoughts
That drip like black oil
That everything it touch's, it stains and soils
Thoughts of death and gruesome memories
From them there is no where to flee
So I lay in the bed curled into a tight ball
Just waiting to hit the bottom of the fall
There is no one to talk to, no one to call
No one knows how this inky darkness flows
How it consumes the soul and continues to grow
I'm imprisoned in theses bones, this skin
Is this how the end begins
I've prayed for love and light
But I've only been given glimpses of that site
Any happiness I have fought for is snatched away
In just a short few days
So now I pray
For death and a shortening of my years
To live a long agonize life is my fears
Not one month goes by that tragedy doesn't strike
It's like trying to get through life on a trike
You pedal really really hard but get no where
To tell the truth I just don't care
I want to become totally unaware
Feb 29, 2016
Feb 29, 2016 at 12:35 PM UTC
"Smile and others around
Will too"
That's why I smile
Don't I?
I do.
I did.
I tried
Even though
I might've well
Have died
Endure...
Frozen over
Legs numbing
Feet burning
Neck straining
Just five more minutes..
Five more..
Endure
Limbs aching
Temper shortening
Time running
Eyes closing
Annoyance building
Endure..
Gut sinking
Stuffiness building
Lung capacity shrinking
Body trembling
Insides quivering
Look around...
Remember?
Remember what you said?
Remember what you
Promised?
Endure...
Jul 30, 2013
Jul 30, 2013 at 10:49 AM UTC
disillusionment.
deconstruction.
liberation.
the breaking of bones.
a knife
stabbed me in the back,
and i cried, **** you!"
a boot
kicked me behind the knees,
then pushed my face
into the dirt,
and i thrashed
until i could thrash no more.
i became sullen.
hopeless.
bitter.
so i climbed into a spaceship
and shot
through the earth's atmosphere.
w e i g h t l e s s
liberated
i felt beautiful.
i could see the whole,
and it made sense.
i felt the relativity
of unfocused thoughts
the importance of calm
of simple togetherness
pleasure
the pressure of time
the shortening of days
and then i fell,
plunging to the earth
to break my bones.
movement made slow
just when the sun shone
standing uncomfortable
in fear, in pain.
loneliness,
but wanting no one
(please just leave me alone)
i'll live in my fictions
i'll grit my teeth through the pain
and keep moving
i won't allow tears
until at least one foot is out the door
i'll play songs on repeat,
and subsist on cocoa krispies if i want to
i'll draw cells
and i'll write and i'll write
liberated and disillusioned
liberated and lonely
liberated and in pain
liberated and in fear
liberated and frustrated
liberated in chocolate
liberated in red wine.
May 22, 2013
May 22, 2013 at 5:53 PM UTC
anger pie ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and frozen
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, in small pieces, frozen
8 tablespoons very cold cream cheese, in small pieces
1/3 cup ice-cold water
3 skinned kittens (preferably still kind of alive)
1 cup dead Armenian tears
1/4 cup potato starch
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon butter, in small pieces
1 seven year old, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
directions:
1.Take ingredients
2. Stare at the until the scorn bursts them into flames
3. Force feed it to a dying cancer patient
Sep 29, 2010
Sep 29, 2010 at 8:50 PM UTC
I seek your sounds in the crickets of the woods
and I hear . . .
I look for your eyes in the call behind the sky tier
and I see . . .
I yearn so for the mystery clip of your being
and I receive . . .
I miss you so.
And the spaces between us
Oh, they . . . g a p e . . . so wide.
Saudade.
I can touch the air swirls around the timelessness of you
Can you feel the tingle as those lines are emboldened by shortening time stretches?
Approaching you . . . approaching only you . . . rare moments dawn when we just don't look.
Saudade, saudade . . .
Oct 24, 2013
Oct 24, 2013 at 3:15 PM UTC
I'm afraid of dying alone.
I'm afraid of how I'm always the one
Who reaches out to loved ones first.
Like they're more comfortable apart from me
Than I am from them.
And it becomes a chore, a conscious decision
To not obsess over how long it's been since we've spoken,
And if it means they don't like me or they're just busy.
I'm terrified of everything shortening my life span
Or the quality of the time I have left.
How severely I'm impacted by my own wilting body
And how many goals it means will be left unticked.
Sometimes when it's night, and the world is covered in silence,
I wish to myself that I'd never existed.
Such a waste to be given life and to spend it all
On illness, misery and loneliness.
I'm scared of dying alone,
But I'm more scared of living alone.
And I am living alone.
Jan 20, 2017
Jan 20, 2017 at 10:49 AM UTC
I tried crushing each memory like a shortening cigarette, but it's easier to allow yourself to die than to forget.
I stood in front of the mirror-the wall behind me scribbled in green-and I watched myself shave the weathered, brunette hairs off my cheeks, chin, lips, and jawline that you found so attractive and wrapped your lips around like a future reunion of, "Hi. I'm sorry for goodbye. I'm glad I met you again before I thought I would die."
And, in my head, I watched you approach my lips with yours.
And, in my head, I took a step back and started to tear up.
You asked me to kiss you, in my head.
And I shook my head, in my head.
You said you were sorry and got help, in my head.
You were better, in my head.
You were healthy, in my head.
But I'm aware some things may only live and die and say goodbye in my head.
I sat on the edge of my bed, no longer in my head, watching "Good Morning, Vietnam", and I remembered where I was when I learned that Robin Williams died. I remembered poking your thigh, in Starbucks, and wondering how long it'd take you to feel my finger or if you'd try to ignore the feeling, like most feelings. Your lips were red and your pants were black and on white, were black cats. And you were afraid to ask for your coffee. And once you sipped on your coffee, you left a red stain and it still appears in my head. And I relive every thing while being dissacioiated with my current life. And every kiss is a red stain in my head. Oh, great, we're back in my head. I guess we never left.
And I remembered when I knew you were dying and leaving and when I knew you had died and left. But I drowned those memories in ***** and suffocated them with smoke, until my body collapsed and until my lungs learned the cursive in every exhale.
In my head.
In my head.
In my head.
In my head.
Here I sit in the dark, watching 80's films. Because thirty years ago, there was no you and there was no me. I imagine it was a simpler time for the both of us.
A time where we never met.
But I'm glad I met you.
A time where we never kissed.
But I'm glad I kissed you.
A time where I didn't say,
"It's okay.
It's okay and it's always going to be okay
because I love you too."
It's not okay. It's not okay. Itsnotokay.itsnotokayitsnotokayitsnotokayitsnotokay
Tomorrow I will wake up, put on a t-shirt, boxers, socks, jeans, worn out Nikes, and a beat up flannel. I'll check my pulse, as I do my vitals, and I'll take my medications. I'll look at my bank account and determine how much money it'll take to forget you and how much more I wish I had so I could help you.
Is there a simpler way of saying I love you, or should I continue writing this album?
Oct 23, 2014
Oct 23, 2014 at 2:29 AM UTC
A late summer sun, sinking in the west,
Shimmering, ablaze with fiery colour,
Appearing suspended above the trees,
Greens transformed to reds and golds,
Summer’s daughter, borne on a breeze.
As I wander amongst treasured places,
Copses, glades; peace of a woodland path,
Breathing subtle scents, pollen filled haze,
Nature’s unstinting magic edging change,
Accepting the shortening of summer days.
Barely escaping before lengthening shadows,
Race to the door of my countryside home,
Animal calls echoing, preceding night’s rest,
Autumn shakes out her gown; smiles to see,
A late summer sun, sinking in the west.
Sep 16, 2010
Sep 16, 2010 at 10:41 AM UTC
Come to me woman
as creatures of light often do
float into my arms,
dig your talons into my chest
exposing what lie beneath
my muscle bound flesh.
Lay kisses upon me;
in such succession
that they burn my skin
like lightening
and make my heart pound
like thunder.
Undo these buttons
with nimble fingers,
remove from my body
this disguise I wear for others
and see me,
I ask that you see me
as I refuse to see myself.
Touch me with soft hands
until I am a statue in your grasp,
bite my neck, as your palms caress.
Each stroke shortening
my every breath.
I will take you like this,
disrobe you, see through you
and your eyes will come alive
shinning upon me like great stars.
I bury myself so deep
that the lines between
what is yours and mine
become one in the same.
Now my darling
as my hands clinch your hips
And you ****** your body upon me
like Cato Minor upon the sword;
call out to me, cry my name.
Mar 27, 2015
Mar 27, 2015 at 10:04 AM UTC
this love is like red wine
spilt before it's drunk
your white balloon hovers
in my head over Bristol
an ashtray full of burnt-out hopes
I've smoked as another day
without you ends
insomnia will give me a heart attack
one day
all my sleepless nights
I dedicate to you
fire & brimstone
be ******
though this will never work
& I'm running out of poems
to write about you
& all this
& each night
is shortening my life
& tired
Sep 16, 2015
Sep 16, 2015 at 11:15 PM UTC
There was a time I believed
The moments I have truly lived
Everything has now fallen apart
Only left is a stone heart
Sometimes when the past recalls
A white soul lurking in the walls
Renaissance of night has start
Only left is a stone heart
The tears were the strength
Shortening the melancholy length
Through the vein the ashes dart
Only left is a stone heart
The shadow, the rain, the thunder
Once made me to gaze in wonder
The storm has long being depart
Only left is a stone heart
The brightening pages were empty
To fill it with dreams aplenty
They are all gone off the chart
Only left is a stone heart…
May 26, 2012
May 26, 2012 at 3:21 PM UTC
As I wander down, twisting paths,
Low leaden skies, threatening rain,
Leaves drift down like confetti,
As winter awakens, once again.
Trees, their branches almost bare,
Rake and claw, at a heavy sky,
Thrashing impotently to be free,
As searching winds, rustle on by.
Bracken, faded yellow and brown,
So cloying with the scent of death,
A decaying, withering, tangled mass,
Autumn steals a last, silent breath.
Frost creeps in, coating the ground,
Painting trees and hedgerows white.
Woodland life, skulks and hides,
Avoiding the snap of winter’s bite.
Shortening days: lengthening nights,
Are forcing temperatures to fall,
A babbling brook becomes silenced,
The Ice-queen spreads her shawl.
Rain soon becomes transmogrified,
Within raging blizzards of snow,
Winter heralding an early arrival,
With a cool, breath-taking show.
Oh so cold, but I won’t complain,
For merciless winter simply laughs,
My breath pants in foggy plumes,
As I wander down, twisting paths.
Oct 27, 2010
Oct 27, 2010 at 6:48 AM UTC
what's my agenda
what's your agenda
do we just pretend ta
forget to remember
freedom love and peace
or one of them at least
-----------------------------
freedom is a gift
making choices does exist
but by selling you their wish
they're shortening the list
if you've got cash
you'll walk free today
but when you can't pay
you'll be locked away
to stay and to suffer
we should care for each other
we're all sisters and brothers
regardless of the colors
our beliefs teach us compassion
reach out and take action
or we'll lose more than a fraction
of our freedom
-----------------------------
what's my agenda
what's your agenda
do we just pretend ta
forget to remember
freedom love and peace
or one of them at least
-----------------------------
love is what connects
us to the divine
some say all you need is love
and you'll be just fine
but they try to counterfeit
sell you pleasure till you're sick
your moral compass lost
scrambled by their brain wash
to love is to hurt
to sacrifice cause it's worth it
covering the earth
till you find the one perfect
so regain what is real
cause a broken heart will heal
and it's the sweetest thing to feel
when you find love
-----------------------------
so what's my agenda
what's your agenda
do we just pretend ta
forget to remember
freedom love and peace
or one of them at least
-----------------------------
peace is what makes
your mind sit still
but they don't want you to chill
they want you to ****
consume feed and fill your pockets
you know the drill
and if your not happy everyday
they'll sell you a pill
but forget that
lets take our minds back
find contentment and ease
to do as you please
in the soil we can toil
in the sun and the breeze
enjoy fruits of our labour
so we can find peace
-----------------------------
what's my agenda
what's your agenda
do we just pretend ta
forget to remember
freedom love and peace
or one of them at least
-----------------------------
so it's all up to you
what you accept and what you do
and what agenda you pursue
-----------------------------
freedom love and peace
or one of them at least
Lyrics to my song Agenda
Agenda can be downloaded at:
http://bigdaveoverload.podomatic.com/enclosure/2011-06-20T07_55_02-07_00.mp3
Sep 19, 2012
Sep 19, 2012 at 2:37 PM UTC