poetry
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I wish I never let goUnder the flicker of fluorescentsHalf-drunk coffee, stillborn dreams tucked into my desktop blotter On another deskBright ink-filled journalsCircular stories traipse into the etherJust out of reach Always a hands breadth awayOr a lifetime behindWhat would I beIf I never let go
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Days are a blinkthe weeks Tilt A Whirl faster and fasterand with a thundering of hooves the months dash by Frentic years click awayeach accelerant decade races uicker than the one beforemy life burns in a comet’s tail Time thickens whenfaced with a handful of sandy loamlaced between thick glossy leaves pulling warm taffy breathsstillness
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The mouth says nothingInsipid, tame creatureSmiling apologies all day The ears are uselessSuperfluous ornamentsThey can’t even shield No we are every emotionEvery intrusive thought under lids like the flicking of a cat’s tail, peaceful or livid, look and learn We are a blink from cryingThe windows to this soulstare into us then glance away We
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So I waitfor the bell to ringfor the door to knock They come at nightmaskedin gaggles of three or four So I waitnot with lovely homemade browniesor mini tubes of toothpasteI’ve learned the hard truth of shiny red apples They come this rainy nightIn gloomy garish garbsWith sunshiny faces under umbrellas so I waitIn my
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FireRed and russet brownBright as black letters against white Twirling towards blacktopCascading from an autumn burnt boughTiny as this stanza Carry me in your palmLike a phrase that catches alightIn your memory Press me between beloved versesAnd I promise to flutter outOne afternoon Brittle yet still fire redA poem to Fall
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Tell me you’re soberThat you’ll come home tonightTell me I don’t have to worryAnd everything is getting better Deep and raw edgedBelow my sternumTo right above my navelLies a hole Inside I will place your cardboard reassurancesNext to the photo of the life I’d thought you’d have Of course you’re cleanTell me not to worryas
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The grey strip of asphalt slips beneath meA satin edged endless blanketSide to sideMy tires sway gentle as pillows And I am a punch drunk sailorSailing into the familiar unfamiliarWarm to woozyRumple wide alert tumble fast asleep Repeat in a rock-the-cradle rhythmSlow weaving buffeted by metal chariotsSpeed to slumberDream streaming home
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Dead at the centerA cigar box grand edificeChrome shined relic drownedBy zeros and ones I walk these burnt umber tilesUnder the blueness of fluorescentsThrough jungles of dumb canesTip-toeing around ghosts of Orange Julius From big boxes half emptyPast shadow boxes of retail pastSide stepping kiosk eruptions,Searching (no I don’t want a shoe shine)Questing (gummy grapefruit
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Hold my handSnake your armWarm and firmAround my middleTuck your finger under my chinLifting up my head when it is downNever believe me when I say I’m fineBecause you know I’m fine meansI’m finally broken and empty and so very veryTired of being never enoughLook deep into my eyes again, againUntil I see me reflectedAnd
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A thin ribbon spooling out of the growing darknessWatching him from the corner of my eyeIn the passenger seat I’m afraid for himAfraid of everythingGlittering his eyes picking up the street lights Afraid if he’ll go to collegeAfraid if he doesn’tAfraid of his friends, his choices Rows trees speed past usI turn to speakAs the
circular staircase 