Buried Deep

image source

Winter's whispers gather in the oaks

Summer's secrets buried now in snow

Trees that once blazed with the fires of fall

Ash-like grey pierced with the black of crow

Limbs that sported pumpkin colored suns

Colorless as water's own reflection

Can not hearts have seasons of their own?

Love withstands the chill of disaffection

Though I try to speak of this to you

Snow lays its cold blanket over voice

Membrane between me and what I want

Hope you understand I have no choice.

submitted for Poetry Jam, Deep

We Write Poems, Word Pairs

Gooseberry Garden, Poetry Picnic 15, Winter

Wowz!!!

Love In Vermilion

photo: Christine Donnier-Valentin

You loved me once

I held you in my arms

You lay your head against me 

and dreamt

Now I'm trash

fit for the alley rats and junkies

an embarrassment

You used to revel in my riot of red

We danced so hard, boy

the springs broke

and you laughed

Does she let you do those things

to her?

When did your life turn beige?

Look out your window

Can you hear me singing?

It's raining

and my vermilion is washing into the street

Please bring me back inside.

submitted for Magpie Tales, 93

and Theme Thursday, Inside

When We Were Wild

Memories of Youth by AlGrega

When we were wild

we owned the world

 we laughed too loud

we knew it all

hung with our crowd

When we were wild

we smoked some pot

we drank too much

and all we saw

was ours to touch

When we were wild

we broke the rules

we could not bend

we vowed our love

betrayed our friends

When we were wild

we grew apart

then we grew mild

so long ago

when we were wild.

Another Day

image source

White roses symbolize those who have passed

Five hundred stems prepared and wait amassed

Each mourner enters and receives a bloom

The ache within the air is more than vast

Her rose caressed as if it were her groom

and she the bride, perchance life to resume

Her eyes blink wide, awakened by a thorn

Returning to her lot in this sad room

Unwanted children, burning tears are born

She chides herself and shakes her head with scorn

Another year, another rose to press

Another day, another day to mourn.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Sunday Mini Challenge, Rubaiyat

Where The Wild Things Are Not

image source

I went for a walk in the woods the other day

and found a large, white paper band across the trees

"Sanitized for your protection" it read

The trails had been swept free of mud and leaves

and were paved with astroturf

Insects had been eliminated and replaced

with cute googly eyed clay replicas

The trees were all trimmed and

the animals had been bathed and deodorized

Apparently too many lawsuits

over poison ivy rashes, animal bites, and twisted ankles

had nearly bankrupted the National Park Service

This way was much safer for everyone

I started to cry

and an animatronic chipmunk offered me a Kleenex

then pointed its tail toward a green trashcan
and hand sanitizer

Laughing, I tossed the Kleenex on the astroturf and left.

submitted for dVerse Poets Pub, dVerse Poetics, Wild

Once Upon a Time

Lost Paradise by Judith

Evie was a lackluster student at Magnolia High

worked part time at the Garden of Eden Flower Shop

then babysat her little brother

while her mother worked the night shift

at the Fairhaven Peach canning factory

She was an average but bored girl

a dangerous combination

Evie found him a bit beastly

but thought his snakeskin boots were really cool

and wanted to feel the leather seats

in his red Dodge Viper

so she asked him for a ride

home from school

Of course, he smiled

and answered "Yesss"

Her mother became fretful

and somewhat envious

Evie sported that look that girls get

when they're in love

supreme happiness mixed with supreme stupidity

Mama knew her baby was headed for a fall

but she couldn't stop it

any more than she could stop

her starry eyed fool of a husband

from buying roses for Valentine's Day

when carnations were cheaper

and lasted twice as long

And so the night came

when he whispered "Let's go

your Mama's at work-she'll never know."

She had never broken her mother's rules before

but he was so tempting

and his lips tasted so good

so she went with him

and spent the night in the Paradise Motel

which it was not

He dropped her off at school next morning

she never saw him again

but did notice

birds stopped coming to her yard

and a black snake appeared in her apple tree

and would not leave.

submitted for Poetry Jam, Paradise Lost

Gobble

Kiss Kiss

one of our dogs, Puck

Like a pink party blower

uncoiled in a puff of warm air

his tongue escapes its cage

of little white barbs

Unfurling against my face

it rubs my skin

again

and

again

until wet becomes

a fine sandpaper

A dog's kiss

pure sloppy guileless

submitted for Open Link Night, Week 19, at dVerse Poets Pub

and The Poetry Pantry #76 at Poets United

The Crows

photo by Dorothea Lange

juicy berries ripe for the picking

hungry hands fidget in pockets

pilfered produce

scouted, squeezed, bruised, tasted, devoured

when did you learn to turn away

pretend not to see?

look at your garden

the fences won't keep out the crows

they circle as you sleep

submitted for Poetry Jam, A Time to Ponder

Bloom

image source

I still can't believe you chose me

I am a frenzy of wildflowers

yet you treat me like an heirloom rose

You nurture my mad incongruities

coaxing the buds to bloom

in all their gaudy colors

and wearing them proudly

against your heart

as if they were a white boutonniere

on a groom's lapel

submitted for Poetic Bloomings, #29 Love

Dreams

image from rubyblossom

Reaching back in memory

to when I was a child

the border between wakefulness and dreams

was a gauzy curtain

and I often peeked through

spying on one side

from the other.

I could conjure my favorite dream world

and leave when it threatened to turn nightmarish

but I could never bring back

my dream treasures.

Vague and hazy now

I remember brightly colored toys

cuddly stuffed animals

a sweet, delicate music

and a profound happiness

that I yearned to bring with me

to wakefulness

yet

I always awakened

with empty fists

and arms hugged around nothing

but myself.

When I cried

my mother would ask if I'd had a nightmare

I could never explain

that I was crying

for a happy dream

that I had to leave behind.

submitted for Theme Thursday, Treasure

and Gooseberry Garden, Childhood, Dreams

Little Ghost

image from Magpie Tales, Google images

She was the kind of girl

everyone talked about and

no one talked to

There were rumors 'bout 

what her daddy'd done

but no one really knew

In the mirrors at the Cut N Curl

the women clucked her name

said she was a pretty thing

it really was a shame

The menfolk of the town

they shook their heads and

mumbled low

through clouds of smoke 

with whiskey graveled breath

don't want to know

She had a haunted look about her

seemed to hurt to smile

she was just a little ghost

dying all the while

Then one day she was gone

in her place an empty chair

no one knew what happened to her

and no one seemed to care.

submitted for Magpie Tales, 91

Still Life

 Put the flowers in the vase

     they will never wilt

Set the dishes on the table

     they will never get dirty

Place the cake in the middle

     no one will ever eat it

A doll's house

     still life in miniature

     tiny perfection

no dog pee

 on the little carpets

no leaky shower

 in the little bath

 just antique footed 1:12 tub

no phone calls

no complaining

no demands
battering diminutive plastic ears

no noise

just

.

.

.

small quiet

still life

stilled life

still life?

submitted for Poetry Jam, Still Life

photos by lolamouse of my dollhouse

The Family Reunion

At first I was happy to go on the trip
I was going to visit my kin
but Momma and Daddy got talkin' and then
I had to start thinkin' again.


They said that my Uncle Tim's store was a mess
that he was real deep in the red
He wouldn' stop counting his money and that
they thought he had just lost his head!



My poor sweet Cousin Barbara
was really just much too naive
She never would find a husband, they claimed
wearing her heart on her sleeve!






And Granny is having a case of the nerves
along with her dizzy spells
The family is trying not to upset her
and walking around on egg shells!




My cousin is dumb as a bag of rocks
so they say, bless his heart
and I really wanted to play with him
so much for my Cousin Bart!




I thought I might have a laugh or two
with my favorite Uncle Eugene
but Ma and Pa say that since his promotion
he's making the family green!



Now I really don't want to go visiting
Can't Momma and Daddy see that?
I'll sit in the car real quietly and
keep my tongue far away from the cat!

submitted for d'Verse Poets Pub, Poetics, Idioms

Winter Poem

Winter by whooa

The cold has slowed the noise of restless Fall

and hoarfrost coats the grass beneath our feet

From Autumn's warmth descends December's pall

The cold has slowed the noise of restless Fall

Eath's shoulders draped within a white prayer shawl

We contemplate another year complete

The cold has slowed the noise of restless Fall

and hoarfrost coats the grass beneath our feet.

submitted for Thursday Think Tank at Poets United

Alice in Migraine Land

image source

The Queen of Hearts

has baked some tarts

but they had MSG

now Alice has a migraine

and can't hold down her tea.

Her head feels like a blimp now

her legs are made of lead

There's pounding in her ears and

Alice wants to go to bed!

The caterpillar's smoking

is making Alice queasy

If pain vanished like Cheshire Cats

then life would be so easy!

One potion makes her larger

One potion makes her small

but Alice knows the awful truth-

There is no cure at all.

submitted for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads, Unfairy Tales

Phoenix

Phoenix by Timo-san

Tired

from a long day of

nothing

but mental masturbation

and self-flagellation

Brain packed with eider down

fuzzed filled

forgetful

The clock

the enemy

ticking away the day

time to rally 

move the leaden limbs

accomplish something

anything

maybe tomorrow

I've been shot down

in flames

and I want to believe

in rebirth

but I'm still waiting

burnt feathers

and charred carrion.

submitted for One Single Impression, Birdie
Gooseberry Garden, Poetry Picnic, Feathers

I Wish

image courtesy of Magpie Tales

Serenity

Suffering is no more

Surrounded by much love

Soaring free from fetters

Suffused with a new hope

seen with eyes become clear

Such pain you have carried

Such strength lies in your grace

submitted for Sunday Mini Challenge, Pleiades Poem, at Imaginary Garden with Toads

Free Fall

Along the Window Sill by Artistic-Feet

In her mind

window ledge tiptoes

hypnotic

earth's sweet scent

free fall swan dive reverie

She wipes clean smudged glass

submitted for Poetry Jam, Windows

Poetic Bloomings, In Form, Shadorma

Black Isn't the Color of Death

Black isn't the color of death

Sometimes

Death is red

blood splatters and pools

carpet stains

an entire industry spawned to clean up afterwards

Sometimes

Death is  blue

Mama's little baby

footsie pajamas and smelling of milk

goes to sleep one night and doesn't

wake up WAKE UP WAKE UP!

Death is sometimes yellow

eyes and skin

toxic brew of destruction and denial

dragon's breath burning

anyone caring or stupid enough 

to get close

Sometimes

Death is white

hospital walls

sheets bleached threadbare

faces of families

numb, dumb, blank canvasses

of misery and confusion

Black isn't the color of death

not the only one

Death takes all colors

and makes them hers.

submitted for dVerse Poetics, Playing with Color at dVerse Poets Pub

Dona Nobis Pacem (What's So Funny?)

Blog For Peace!

 

We ask for peace

but are at war in our own households

We tell soldiers to abandon their weapons

while we sleep with guns

under our mattresses

We expect countries to share borders

and we can not share our own children

without tearing them apart from inside

 How can there be peace

when our hearts pulse with anger and hate?

Who will teach love

to the child whose mother was murdered

by her father?

Who will bring peace

to the child who sleeps with

his brother's ashes in a coffee can?

A classic from Elvis (no, not Presley!)




submitted for Imaginary Garden with Real Toads, Peace
and BlogBlast for Peace 2011

You

How dare you?

You slipped under my shell like water

when I didn't even know

I was thirsty

I wasn't looking for a friend

I thought I was complete

but you showed me what was missing

introduced me to passions

asleep for so long

I had forgotten their names

Now I drink your words like wine

I need you like a drug

Damn you

I never wanted this

but you live in the contours

of my mind

you echo through the spaces

in my heart

You are within me for always now

like a virus.

Come Sunset

image source

Come sunset

hallucinations

crazy time

sundowning

reality twists and turns

not a damn haiku


submitted for One Single Impression, Sunset
Poetic Bloomings, In Form, Shadorma

Surrender

image source

Come to me, she beckons

dark curves seducing me back

to this place of ambivalence

Desire, destruction hopscotch across her body

She smiles

keys cracked and black stained

rotten teeth

meth mouth

gaping hole waiting to be filled

with my words

she mocks my impotence

I wave the white flag

submitted for Magpie Tales 89