Camisole Stroll

Photo by Jessica Szopinski


covered like a camisole
the day hung on light and loosely

I walked through with you
our hearts decomposing

and composting a path
on which to lay our souls

steps light as aire
lent us bent on humid

baselines from edge to edge
and life lifted and burned



Submitted to One Shot Poetry....

Untitled

These frozen brain waves

catching tides crystalline edges

a hard death

cold enough to absorb sweat

and tears

and years

will melt with the remembering

synapses and synopsis’ of love

on cold fronts

frontal lobes

laden with icicles

that hang like suspended drops

of undone things

which brings

us cold on cold

together

on thoughts

of melting

layers

Sociopaths and Narcissists

 

Lewis made mention of the exceptions to those who strive to adhere to the laws of human nature.

“Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.”

or

Do unto others as they do to you.

or

There ain’t no others, there is only you.

With a house full of kids, the beginning of Lewis’ chapter caught my attention.   Those verbal exchanges happen every day in the kitchen, “living” room, bathroom, etc.  Citations are given out daily from mother and father for infractions ad infinitum.  My wife and I adopted children to add to our biological crew.  The bios understand the laws of human nature and conscience is called up when they violate these natural laws.  The adopted children, however, have undergone mom’s boot camp instruction for years now and have “talks” on a daily basis on how to do the right thing by others.

We, as parents, understand where these children come from…the abuse, neglect, abandonment…we know their stories.   It seems at times that their DNA is “every man for themselves”.   Even after years of the same discussion about the same issues they still often default into sociopathic or narcissistic tendencies.  Fetal Alcohol Syndrome often gives us real life examples of a world without natural law as Lewis puts it. 

Some have FAS but others only have attachment issues from neglect and abandonment which present in very interesting ways.   A liar would lie to get another liar in trouble.  Both are characterized by lying so the case is thrown out by consequences for both…which isn’t “fair” but telling the truth to own up to one own quilt and saving the other from loss of freedom is out of the question.

My wife could tell detailed events of perplexity.  Often when I return home she is emotionally exhausted from trying to instill the laws of human nature into our children.  Lewis indeed rang true in his opening chapter. 

This was submitted to Between The Lineshttp://bit.ly/fqIJZ4 book reading.  Mere Christianity is the current read. Comments are for chapter one.

If a Bird Speaks

I like your sleeves,
they're puffy.
Your hat has the
Wright idea.
I am not looking
down on you.
Are bee hives
a pain in the neck?
If only times were
different, the sparrows
would build a nest
in your beard.
Don't worry,
I just came to
stretch a bit and
leave you a little
something.
My friends told
me about you
how you were
a watershed of
religious history.
You are like the
peak of the church
we usually perch
on,
and now you
stand here and preach
on.
What's your name again?

This is submitted for One Stop Poetry's One Shoot Sunday.
Photoghraphy of James Rainsford.

Why Did I Do You Like That?

My life in BOLD face

about face

in disgrace.

Weak willed and

succumbed to

a stiletto wind.

Every heel sometimes

breaks off ingrate.

No initial pain

of a sliver slice

and blood hesitates

to flow.

Before I know it

a valentine trail

drips leaving evidence

to find my way home.

Platelet  crumbs of your heart.

Staying Kind of Love

trifecta of blue smoke
gets in her blue eyes
"if only" borne blue skies

the sugeon general
commands her attention
but she has no retention

her daughters inhaled
into the social system
match lit by father him

love is a joke now
a juggling of death sticks
her prayers of lives quits

i lied when i laughed
i wanted to yank them out
"it's not over" is what it's about

you can still freedom choose
gray face and gray sky
a warm front comes on by

bruises aren't to add color
we both know a beaten wife
is swollen from a cheated life

the sticks bobble and
gravity shakes em down
hope "wraps you like a gown"

let's get you inside
do you see that it's never over
pain comes when you're sober

nerve endings of the soul
they are friends enough
to guide you through the rough

i'll walk with you too
out of pulses of the gray
love will have a place to stay


This is for One Shoot Sunday highlighting the photography of Fee Easton.

Trolling under the Fridge

I moved the fridge out.

It’s been a couple of months.

Dust bunnies, like fog

blanket the odd lots.





Cat toys,

Milk jug rings,

Number 2 pencils,

Hairy dog kibbles,

Dead bodies (army men),

Magnets huddled together,

Cap’n crunch berries,

Matchbox cars,

Legos,

Cheezits,

Pretzels,

Ornaments,

Cookie sheet?,

AND tile flooring!


This poem was a facebook inquiry yesterday...the answers to what one would find under the fridge are included above.  Except those who only go under there when they buy a new refrigerator or wonder why anyone would clean under there.  I am sure there are many other things you might have found under there...Well, sweep them into the comment section below.
Happy Friday everyone!

Or WHAT!?

Chop sticks

or

chap stick?

Both touch the lips.

Tube socks

or

tube steaks?

Both retain water.

Saxophone

or

phone sex?

Both captive…ate.

Bow Flex

or

flexing beau?

Both impress.

Violin

or

Lynn is vile?

Both can squawk.

Superman

or

rubber band?

Both are a stretch.

Gypsy queens

or

Burger kings?

Both are loosely royal.

Curtain call

or

certain fall

Both are taking bows.

Poetic justice

or

just a poet

Both are needful.

That's Wurd

Really, and spell check

underlined it.

Which, by the way is

the intent of the misspelling.

When, in the streets of

the common, if it’s wurd,

it’s an underlined truth.

There are hand gestures

that synchronize…

In sign language it’s a

double “I love you”

tilted toward ones belly.

It is not a digestion of

meaning like:

“Give me a word, any word,

and I will give you the Greek

root word.”

No, it’s simply “wurd”

and when pulled from it’s

holster it pulls the trigger

on anything held in conversational

court in the streets.

It’s approval in the jury of one’s peers.

Anything you say can and will

be held to affirm your

statement of personal opinion. 

So just say the Wurd.

I’m down with that.

Take Five

Stop staring, stop acting
and get out there and make it real!
Don't you see the curtain's up on your life!

"All men die, few men truly live."

"What we do today will echo in eternity."

"To thine own self be true."

Go on, sell yourself, it won't cause death.

We both know we ran this place into the ground
and lost our souls...now all were left with is
identity confusion.

Go wait tables some where and remember
your roots.  Find the someone you were before
all the make-up and masks.  I will too.

In the mean time Shakespeare
will blow some wind
through here and reset the place.

I'll see you back here in five years.
Maybe then we won't have to use
this place like a controlled substance.
Maybe then when we take off the makeup
and the masks there will be an actor
that looks like he took five.

Photo by Jacob F. Lucas.  It's One Shoot Sunday at One Stop.  Picture this.

Shhh...listen.

The rain tapping on our van

The cat strolling down the laminate

The ice veneer on limbs cracking in the wind

The dot dashing of chalk on a board

The train howling over there somewhere

Robins talk in the maple

A line of geese returning on the distance

Whispers through the pines at attention

Snow crunches its spirits up like fog

The train wails in mourning as time passes

The furnace starts breathing again

A child turns over in bed

The garbage can flips its lid

Wheels on asphalt roll their sound

The train waits at the station

with nothing to say

but hums

as it is loading

memory

It will teach my children

to listen more attentively

when I am gone they

will recognize

the important

memorial calls

Schwarmerei

a hand out to

dance hip-hop

in a German pub

with old men at their

stations leaning

into a very dark beer

and smoke started

its movement  with ours

I flipped a guy’s hat off

while bumping my

frualine into a chair

we flipped the air

and all the old men

did was stare

This week on my word of the day e-mails was German words ...here's another.

Stop by Mr. Knowitalls blog and try a 55. 

Modifier Reductionism

Juggler

balls

Cook

onions

Policeman

ticket

Cow

moons

Rice

cake

Finger

nail

Parcel

post

Bride

groom

Tit

mice

Cowboy

hat

Taxi

cab

………………..

Nouns

Sitzfleisch

Technically going round and round

and sitting down.

Systematically deconstructing

and squeezing the mystery

out of a gnat.

Oh, it’s all been said before

so they say to say it slant then.

Juggle some solid ideas

and let one fall

now and again.

Maybe it will bounce.

Maybe it will break.

It’s tiring and boring

to keep it all in the air anyway.

De evolution ize.

Re revolution eyes.

See?  That wasn’t so bad.