Poetry
Ode to COVID: Revenge of the Introverts (a poem)
Latterday patriarchs melting members saw their masculinity attacked Obelisks in erectile dysfunction The all-seeing eye viewing from atop its pyramid of superiority their numbers drawn, their times counted For out of balance the balancing sheet revealed Slithering from the depths of a navel impaled the spiked punch came from a long-planned itinerary of doom Punching […]
You’re welcome (a poem)
pits of fear nuts and rocks scramble intestine anxiety yet determined bleeding, raped, maimed, silenced by terror compassion hacked out of vocabulary cruelty rebels against power for power fleeing for hope the forest of green arms an opening in the shadows but the forest shrinks and swallows hunger, envy, fear no abundance when no one […]
Darkness seeks light for friendship, more if affinities (a poem)
the likeness of a parrot repeats, choking on bone in my throat mirroring rehearsals of a blind genocide the patterns of intention seemingly proud, conscious, and placing one foot in front of the other patterns of disaster yet so hopeful, with a tenderness that defies reality you saw how frustration built that mob anger […]
Freedom of the homeless (a poem)
In the glass castle we judged them for the flaky freedom of their questionable parenting skills Funny not to see until now the freedom of the homeless It’s fun to be homeless no responsibilities no worries My mind turned as the coin with two sides shadowy life choice revealing inherent sunbeams as fresh as the […]
Paying guesses (a poem)
A crooked lady lived in a crooked house in a crooked land among those hills lay towns where good money was paid for the graces, ticking days, living flesh of inmates in this land, the dead were sold for profit and the souls of the poor and neglected did not matter disposable crooked almost zombies […]
I sprained my ambition ( a poem)
the day the neurosis became a puzzle piece enlightened the driving force fueling that endless thirst for love and acceptance revealed lost its power Do I wish it was still a darkly felted mystery sullen, concealed velvety with desires unfulfilled and so years later the clarity of the single track long ago demolished ambition and […]
Procrastination Man (a poem)
in pursuit of perfection a sprained hope born in the heart of a small beggar for love treading on the precarious shells of parents not holding up the fort of responsibility those eager little minds so diligent and hungry have you heard from workaholic? do you know overachiever? the blob family gives birth to incompleteness […]
Sacred Blank (a poem)
Hacked off ancients’ crowned heads the basilica now humming sacred whispers below a hip hop rhythm animates restless adults j’suis pas charlie pas que les mômes no meaning no purpose skin burns with underlying need social security not enough to pacify a hungry soul if words were to flow like blood restore high water a […]
Darkly nutritious fruits (a poem)
driving by the new high school forever frozen in time a moment of heart-break sat a little girl, five or six years old narrow face, hair neatly braided in rows slender legs splayed on the grass of the sidewalk strip. baby in carrier, mother out of car flashing blue lights, handcuffs on the man who […]
Cramped skin or the web of love (a poem)
if skin were an envelope, a divider would it separate us from one another or allow us to better touch each other? sensitive nothingness cells drawing attention spirals around the luminous flux that is personality wrapped in bone human brains wrapping life and relationship into convenient patterns ruling out the vibrancy the freedom rainbow of pure […]
Dear S. (letter to a reader) A poem
Dear S., I read your prose poem about fear four times each word fiercely aching and vibrating with the misery of a pure and tender heart shredded, fractured then armored with countless layers of terror, guilt loyal pump of life cellophaned to suffocation yet each word so precise so crisply observed so passionate It seems you gave […]
a place where people live (a poem)
planting rock and tender succulents into the reluctant blood clay stooping to tidy this oasis of weeds, leaves heart swells proud to home warming the brick with the coziness of pink and red plant flesh pungent rosemary and basil and yet, where is the heart where the other souls are building their nests heaps of rejected furniture […]
Squirrel (a poem)
This morning at the wheel I urged, cringed, mentally moved a hesitant squirrel his trajectory suspended on the median golden parallels. Could not bear the surging SUV hunching my shoulders hunkering down to imagine bodily protection for an insouciant rodent Gasping as he moved forward as the vehicle neared lithe body not speeding as if the […]
Bonding (a poem)
A beating heart made to cling comfort warm silky, if but that proverbial hanger enclosed by some fluff a sock or synthetic fabric a ribbon she wore in her hair could fill the deep well carved by nature never replenished by nurture what happens to a child who has never been embraced inside a parent’s heart or […]
Score (a poem)
carved into flesh embossing hereditary spider vessels line up underscore the years of standing up for myself in spite a lone ranging from few to fewer support people or groups to stand up to say I love you, I need you in spite a teary heart cracked open nth fissures in her soul steaming lava […]
Merbdelia: In Memory of (a poem)
All fur and bone, a tiny love energy of life almost spent yet enough left over to rest her tiny head on the crook of my arm Her entire last night at my side my eyes mist with the fullness of tears gratitude for the mystery; a gift of love from the smallest of creatures […]
Krill: A Short Story
The beach was littered with glass eyes. Not the kind that fit into the orbits of human skulls, but rather the type that look like buttons adorning the faces of ragdolls. Seagulls homed in on the sandy strip, lunging for tender tidbits of raw flesh, hoping to satisfy their cavernous appetites. The air was calm […]
The Limit of the Sky (a poem)
Whenever you tell me I can stay, I want to go with you Never will a banana peel remind me so much of you as of missed opportunities Slip sliding on the stream jade green of an urban river Emerges from memory gleaming a naked young German rising from the grass forever elegant, composed slipping on […]
Tenderness of Unknown Hearts (a poem)
digital photo slurs an approximation of your face selfie’s awkward shoulder undisguised fluorescence bluing the outline of your shadow butcher knife dedicatedly fileting chicken breast sunshine glinting on unmanned motorcycle a candid presentation, self-conscious advertisement of your desire to be known draft words launced a boat in a bottle necking stretched out a hopeful respectfully […]
Recipes from Disaster: A Post-Apocalyptic Cookbook (a poem)
Saber-toothed media prickling tender skin under the arm, a young girl loses confidence in the importance of her innocence Brandish an electric toothbrush Taste the leftover pesto between the interstices of your teeth When ready to floss garnish the landscape of your dreams with hints of radical truths. Reserve excessive nudity and lack of reserve; […]
adamevenevenadam 