Summer is an aching scream

Summer is an aching scream,So agonized and distended,That it comes out only as a whimper,Consumed by the cicada song.

Stalking Pray

I'm afraid of touching you,Not that you're fragile,(indeed, you're tougher than I)But you always flee,As though you're afraid of me,"I'm protecting you,"Feels like a hollowed-out phrase,When those words draw blood,Tearing away at my heart,Leaving me to think,"I'm not the prince, after all;Was I the villain?"

I Caught a Dream

I caught a dream smoking my last cigarette,Knees tucked against her chest,A small frown upon her lips,Looking for all the world like an angel,All the more alluring because she's the devil,Promising nothing; because dreams must end.

Remember When We Were

I believe that I have developed an odd sensibility about men and women, at least as I depict them in my poetry. I suppose I could track this arrested notion to my interactions with my mother, but I would rather not open myself up to Oedipal comparisons, so let's assume this mild distortion was formulated …

Once Beloved

I lie awake, yet unable to move,Pinned down by your cold embrace.Between your cooing encouragements,I choke on my atrophied memories,Unable to recall the fragmented thoughts,Of every kiss you laid upon my chest,Burning holes down to my soul,Like so many cigarette burns,But I need that,I want that so much,That even as you tear me apart,Flesh, thoughts, …

Conversations Online

I struggle to understand people, that’s not poetry, it’s a simple fact, My actions are built upon a framework, steps to accomplish a given task, I’m not a robot, I’m just focused, But when others act without purpose, I confess to feeling robotic and my understanding less than earnest. For example, I have an old …

Pax Leucotomy

I think that I will go mad,This, my conclusion,So that I can stop thinking.And the kind doctor,Will relieve from me pressure,The weight of living,(And worse, remembering life)By simply saying:"Poor thing, take your medicine,"And though I'll complain,What relief shall flow through me,To know that my faults,Are not really mine to bear.So I shall smile then,Just before …

Immortal Lessons

There is a hermit atop the mountain,Who is said to have attained Truth,And is willing to share their findings,To those who struggle to follow them,But when I scrambled to the summit,Bloody, winded, and utterly spent,Their corpse greeted me with a smile,And whispered only silence.

The Cave Wall

She placed her heart in the granite wall, For it became too heavy to bear, And she walked away, light as a feather. He looked to fill the hole in his soul, With something that did not evaporate, As vapors clinging on summer dew. So the two passed themselves, Unburdened, untethered, Strange shadows cast on …

O my bloodless heart

O my bloodless heart,Nailed to the mirror,How did you fare,Exposing your self so,Shattered at a glance,Bled dry over time?I'll remove the nail,But the hole remains,And though you're whole,By the mirror's judgment,I'll still be broken. Prompt: from the kind writers over at the pub, dVerse, “Heart” as part of their Quadrille Series #134.