Mirrored

when I looked back
I saw her 

there

crooked
smiles

spreading 

happiness

everywhere

... except her eyes --

I kinda liked her ...

 I realized then

... I kinda liked her

-- except her eyes ...

everywhere

happiness

spreading

smiles

crooked

there

I saw her

when I looked back

Ordering In

stupid fortune reads

"never eat the yellow snow;

uncooked prawn okay"

Shapes Like Stars

Across the universe...

...in this galaxy...

...these little pieces burn

shooting light
that blinds the road

and takes away our view

...if we could only see

this thing we are

and chart this course
above

we'd plot our path...

...to guide us home...

...avoiding edges

cutting paths

in sharply twisted turns

Downpour

The drops shatter silence,
     and maybe even glass,
     pounding against the pane.
As she walks,
     unhurried as it falls,
     in puddle-soaked glistening soles.
Rivulets shiver
     and trickle away
     from the patterns relieved by her heels.
And somewhere amidst
     the myriad drops,
     one solitary tear gains weight.

On My Terms

I took
the longest
most difficult
most painful
way to get
here.

You better believe
I'll fight
for the right
to stay.

And Sometimes It Works...

Every once in a while I hit a block. Something where I need to write. I feel the burn of something deep inside, begging for the light of the computer screen. And sometimes I don't know where to start. 

So there's a game I created (or stole from somewhere ~ I truly couldn't tell you which), where I gather random words and phrases from people all over Twitter and Facebook and put them into some crazy semblance of a poem. Sometimes, it's utterly ridiculous. And sometimes it actually comes out with something remotely... semi-profound? You can decide which and tell me in the comments, if you wanna. 

I have linked the random words or phrases I've gathered to their originators, just for the sake of your curiosity and my faulty memory when I come back to this later and read it. Thanks to all who participated. It's fun and helps get the creativity flowing again.

Antidisestablishmentarianism

as he stepped through 

the hole in the air 

he was Death

watching my dreams 

replay against a pitch 

black sky

of psychobabble

I prop me up 

beside the juke box,

and begin to stare him down

pondering the enchantment

of a not-so-sexy fart

caused, 

of course,

by this morning's breakfast:

one free-range egg,

rye toast

and bacon ~

crisp

my perception altered

on the splendiferous altar

of scrumschulescent ennui

he shakes his head,

knowing he's beaten by

the nonchalance 

I wield

it covers me,

begins to satisfy, 

as I wake again

to fight 

another day

Puzzled

she reconnects
as she's done before
possibly millions of times

each time pieces fit again
exactly the way
they always have

it's her world now
where she stands alone
redundantly seeking a match

I sit and watch
this profound simplicity
the certainty in the same

then a sudden remembrance
of the one left behind
a flick of a hand over shoulder

not even stopping
or turning around
a simple and quiet, "Hi, Mom."

Caught in the Middle

here i stay

behind and before

awakening your soul for this crime

of what they call intuitive passions

in anger, pain, desires, intrigue

as we learn to see loves through

together two make one

lovers now from friends

don’t know why, or even how

you ever won this right

to entwine your soul in mine

Fourteen Ten Ten

deathly acts result in life
   unbidden
      uncontrolled
blossoming in uncertain promises
      delicate
   delayed

to touch the sheers
   to fraying threads
      comes dread
indecision
      resolution
   hesitation

of what brings forgetting
      of all you are
  and hatred fills the heart

resignation pales the flow
   as darkness drips like tears
      to drown in kindness
 merciful silence
    a new beginning's end

but again it begins
  this cycle we know
      where life results in death

Smile After Play

Apparently, my love of words is contagious and I tend to call out the inner poets in others. As a passionate writer, poet, and editor (and former writing teacher), my friends occasionally find themselves caught up in the poetic frenzy in which I live and feel the need to try it out for themselves. When this happens, and the words spill onto the page (or computer screen), I encourage and share as I'm given freedom to do so. Please make comments and share the love for our fellow guest poets!

Today's guest poet is Sara Eiser. I met Sara through Twitter, and we have become good friends. She considers herself to be a non-fiction writer, but has recently been flirting with fiction and playing with poetry. Her passion for writing normally lies in the areas of social justice and equality. Her blog, The Covered Wagon, talks about her experiences being Jewish in a largely Christian area and her journey into becoming a doula, midwife, and "lactivist" out of her passion for women's health and her own pregnancy/birth experiences.

(Untitled 1)

they smile after playing

take what they need

want less

have coffee

and grow from the past

is it not why we love?

(Untitled 2)

I am not surrendering to my brain

I have nothing to give

when I can only see blackness

my head full of horrible focus

today let me fail you

let my fire get cold as death

inhale the ocean

suffocate on the future

and vanish

~~~~~~~

I'm more than happy to share beauty and passion with the world. If you are interested in sharing poetry or short fiction here, please comment below. (All comments are monitored before posting, so your request will be privately emailed to me.)

Melting

walls ...
the color of tears
melt slowly to nothing
like ice
cream drips
on a hot summer day

from one touch of the tongue
to that sweet burning gaze
unfreezing
these walls
dissolved into tears

making me savor
frozen need
you create
sparkling in eyes
that behind these walls
… wait

Stranger

She knew their secrets
could name each one
as they laughed
and made their "jokes"
not once realizing
that truth would astound
and the things they held close
and hid under the skin
weren't fiction
or so far away

Mosaic

What you see

is the intricate

the thousands of details

the tiny stones within

you engage in the trivia

of type, origin and history

cut, color, and value

and the reason that all of it matters

What we see

is abstract

and what brings it together

the beauty this picture creates

through interplay of parts

and of pieces entwined
into one unified whole

but without each other

your view would be pointless

rendering single stones meaningless

and ours left incomplete

with holes in the whole

of the unfinished art
that we see

so understanding
acceptance
and the allowance of us
draw essentials together
to help us become
perfect balance of

yin and yang

http://www.truthseekerart.com/catalog/i46.html

Spare Change

like pennies in a jar
I cherish you in my life

for when you go
this still belongs
something you gave
something that's mine

to those outside us
seen as little more
than copper in the street
underfoot unnoticed
ignored in change

but this is mine
these golden sparks
seen and chosen
consciously held
collected and kept

and if you leave
you still add to me
increasing the worth
my life collects
as I lose only
an equal part to you
something so small to me
yet worth millions to you

Flirting

It’s little more than a breeze
a moment on the skin
It’s only a minute
before the flutter sets in

It’s something you know
a simple look, a glance
Where you finally feel
you can take a chance

It feels so simple
in the moment you feel
like all that you wanted
becomes less than surreal

It’s one simple word
a meaningful nod
where eyes burn like fire
to melt the facades

There’s little about it
that’s less than cliche
but it never seems to matter
because it takes us away.

Bonus: Guest Holiday Poem

My little poet has been at it again. I thought about saving his work for next Wednesday's poetry, but it's about Chanukah, so it'd be sorta pointless by then. (It's already a bit late, but that's my fault for procrastinating on posting and not his.)

My 7yo had a school assignment to write a haiku. We had spent the weekend with friends celebrating Chanukah, so he had the holiday on his mind. Late though it is, here is his offering:

Chanukah Joy

playing dreidel's fun

having latkes is fun too

I love Chanukah!

No matter what holiday you celebrate this month, we hope it's a happy time filled with love.

Finding You

Each petal opens
awakes to the sun
as the new drops fall
making them glow

marking beauty within

blossoming to the world
as this flower unfolds
excruciatingly slow
some things can't be rushed
and pulling them apart
will just leave them crushed

Neverending Nonchalance

see eternity entranced

by a million mumbled moments

stolen under sordid sweet

where the wraith of weakened winter

wakes the weary water

lying love in languid loss

as moonlit music moans

and recall robs the reverie

of the spring in summer stilled

reflecting ruined reflex
and pondering poetic pools

of a thousand essential whys

Remember Your Thank You

It's waiting for Snoopy

to float down the street

or watching him deal plates

out like cards

making up name cards

with feathers and buckles

carefully penned in brown

It's hearing the tenor

of Scarborough Faire

watching my father

do his Thanksgiving dance

with the smells

of parsley,

of sage,

of rosemary,

of thyme.

as cranberries and orange peels

fall apart in the grinder

golden marshmallows melt

into cinnamon

and nutmeg

It's being too full

of turkey and family

and dealing the final cards

shrugging off questions

from Lake Wobegon

while flurries swirl outside

Unassuming

glass fragility

sun-weakened under shadows

cracking unnoticed

fused together here

in darkness bathed in moonlight

slowly eroding

always protected

stored safely here forgotten

fading nonetheless