I’m about to post a bunch of poems from the various half-finished poetry challenges I’ve started for 2015. Enjoy.
Promptly in January
For My Girl April 2015
Dec 22, 2014
There was a fullness to our love
like that mango just within your reach
unblemished and warm
falling straight into your palm
eaten under the shade of the tree
juice dripping down your elbow
temporary in its bliss,
but perfect in that moment.
at night i ask
when will i relearn to love myself
in the quiet hours
(22 July 2014)
Things that start with
“maybe if I”
and end with
“then I will feel better’
rarely ever work.
Happiness will not come from someone else’s touch
there is nothing and noone
you can put in your mouth
or on your body
that can bring you joy.
self-loathing:
i find myself
relieved when vile men can
still find this expanse of flesh
appetizing
you are
not a graceful
sleeper but i have learned
to love your sprawled sighs when
i can’t
sleep.
(july 2013)
Step one of growing older in the presence of the elderly: observe how the giants of your childhood wither into frailty
Step two: begin to second guess every eccentricity
Is this what they meant by signs to look for?
When did she get so small?
How could she have ever forgotten my birthday?
Step three: dance around her with the nervousness reserved for the ill.
She will look at you with the resentment that can only come from those whom illness has only left shame and regret.
Step four: begin to hold her hand again.
It is one to thing to care for the senescent
And another to do it in the house they raised you in.
(oct. 2013)
Part of me longs for richness
With wealth comes the freedom
To make your home in whatever place you like.
Tell me that true wealth comes from loving
And I will tell you that love goes far
But cannot feed empty bellies
You cannot pay bills on love alone
And too much of this life comes with a price.
Tell me I cannot eat money
But tell me what I can eat without it.
Tell me that true wealth comes from the people you hold in you heart
And I will tell you that there are people
Who want
-more than all these poor friends they seem to have-
To just stop feeling so worthless for a little while
Tell me again how your parents seemed completely certain
That sacrificing everything so their children could sample a bit of the lower middle class life was the right decision
Try telling them there is more to life than money
Tell me to rid myself of these ties to money
And I will tell you that you cannot unlearn generations of feeling that the money you earn is your only worth in one lifetime
And I still haven’t learned to stretch poverty into a life lesson.