Category: Poetry

It is a tension you can’t see. It’s there for you and me. No matter how you slice it. No matter how you dice it. The tightening of the rope will occur. Getting lost in the black ooze. Give out a full bottle of booze. Running fast doesn’t help. Getting lost in the black kelp.…

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In Memory of My Classmate Who Recently Passed Away He was at the lowest of the lowest lows, never reaching the bottom rung of the lowest high. Trying not to let the pain be overwhelming, and choking down the dark thoughts at the bottom of his deep well, he saw what no one was able…

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I’m getting off this Merry-Go-Round. it’s spinning too fast, Too many rotations, I will jump if it doesn’t stop. I’ll land in the dirt. Scrape a little skin on the way, bloody knees and bruised elbows, I’ve experienced worse. There’s enough gauze, Stops the tears, I’m better than all this, there’s more peace. I’m getting…

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A copycat of conventional wisdom, On the surface below the dimming light, A sage unlike yourself, Growing tall in the sidewalk weeds. Ask a question of right and wrong, A lasting impression of your face, We are like the others, you say, Nothing is unique about us. What rhythms have you found Under the belly…

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Stepped up to the podium all adult like, no child leftover, and with orange on her shirt, it shouldn’t have been there, but her mouth had two holes and nothing to fill in the second gap. They all knew what was going to happen, and could not stop it. The pain of knowing the end…

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The message was clear. You’re damned if you do. You’re more damned if you don’t. You sit down like the others. The place where thick girls go. The seats give a little extra. They push you in a certain direction. They yell follow me to the end. I ask the end of what? of where?…

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We are rounding the bases tonight. I am sweating from head to feet. This isn’t baseball. It isn’t softball. No one is the winner or loser. This is a different game. One without any disagreements. You are not allowed to waste time. Your hand cuts a deal. Adequate bandages cling firm. Our eyes not caring.…

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a bucketful of sin in a smaller bucket of torture and in both sits regret. stirred up all nice like, and no one noticed how easily it was to pile up the sin. the willpower to deny the urges is fierce but not fierce enough. the slippery slope, up and down, creating new moves, searching…

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Creating something new was the suggestion. The problem was I didn’t know where to start. Paint the image from twenty years ago, don’t hide your experience, make sure there is truth in every brushstroke. Imagine if it was hung in a gallery, some of the freshness now dulled, needing to brighten the lights more to…

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I couldn’t possibly know. I’ve been hiding too long. Under a rock, absolutely not. I pulled a tree from the ground. Watered its roots from my own tears. Fed it with my own bile. He spoke in the dark of night. Clasping his religious hands. For you and me, he said. He had such great…

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When will you show yourself, Mr. Couff? I have waited so long, to hear your words of kindness. My mama wouldn’t want to know I’ve been acting this way. I’m quite embarrassed by my thoughts. The gossip was part false. Should I ignore how I feel? Should I pretend the situation didn’t exist? Should I…

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The raindrops have not fallen on my head. The reason I’m in bed. The purple haze has not stopped me from seeing. The reason being I’m not believing. The way to move is rolling down a mudslide. The reason for this, denied. Trying to collect the right title. The reason this part was never a…

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I will imagine the soul is inside out, like life is. I desire to be the dust of all dust, the earth of plenty. I might imagine every minute is worthy, the seconds never complaining. I forge through the shadows, knowing the thorns will bleed. I desire to be the green of abundance, the layers…

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