Fragile

Because I was fragile
And nobody wanted to know
Not even me
Especially not me

Who wants to talk about
Being broken?
Lay out their shattered pieces
For display and rearrangement?

Because nobody wants your
Sad, sad songs or woe is me’s
Your darkness and shadows
Your thoughts of razor blades and sleeping pills

Because I thought you could see it
And when you didn’t ask
I thought I needed to hide it
I didn’t want to ruin the fun
Your fun, their fun, everybody’s fun

Because I was fragile
And nobody wanted to know
Not even me
Especially not me

Copyright 2015

Calm

my calm comes from

my words

that crowd the page

tumble from nowhere

live inside

find their way

out

my piece of peace

sleeps there

nestled in warm

seclusion

fed while dreams

dance by

triggered by

random images

loaded for bear

copyright 2013

Maverick

I’ve always been maverick
a wild horse seeking higher quieter ground
watching the world from private precipice
with wary eye and distrustful gut

My inner tinkerbell
ever searching egress to escape
and when she does slip through
an unattended window and acquaints herself
with freedom
the laughing and dancing goes on for days
sometimes weeks

But she is always caught
and returned to her bottle
Unable to understand
the dangers out there
the beasts who intend her
harm

Only seeing butterflies
and sunshine
she cries behind closed doors
begging for blue sky
and unfettered freedom

I cry a little too
but I am dedicated to her safety
vigilant in her protection
no white knight
looks after her heart
or shields her from murderous fools
hungry for her soul

copyright 2010

Perfection

Perfection does not live
here
But I do
Mistakes are not
strangers
but constant companions
Words trip and fluster
at furious speed
Flaws
too many to name
Stammers and stutters
make their own tunes
Regrets wait in the wings
and anxiously.
The past simmers in a pot
on the stove
its aroma taunts and
begs me
to taste

copyright 2009

Number 877

 

Sometimes it’s just
about me
Not you
or her
or him
or anyone else
just me

Just this
ten car pile-up
I call my life
Just the acid
eating away at my stomach
Just my fear
of what shit
will come tomorrow

Who said what
to whom
about what they said
to so and so
and the outfit they
wore while doing it
doesn’t hit my radar

Healthcare plans
evil politicians
The neighbor’s new
car
What I had
for dinner last night…
I got nothin’

World events
weather conditions
mating rituals of
exotic, endangered species
Not paying attention.

Because
sometimes it’s just
about me

copyright 2009

Sarah Through the Looking Glass – Part II

She fell into
tempted sleep where
her dreams took turns
spinning images
swirling and twirling
“I will not get dizzy,”
she insisted

And the room write-ted
Itself

A book thunked Sarah
on the head and
she sat in Alice’s teacup
bobbing on a slice of lemon
Voices wafted
and she peered over the edge
to listen in

But the book in her lap
insisted, Read me!
Sarah looked at
the cover
whose title did a lovely
pas de deux, bowed and touted
The Secret of Clues

Sarah opened the volume
finding its pages
empty of words
but so deep in wisdom
that a Hand
reached in
and pulled
Sarah from
herSelf
so she could see
Outside

Babbles bounced away
like so many
butterflies
And the Silence welcomed
her back
“It’s been a long time,”
Sarah thought as she
dug in her garden
So many flowers
un-noticed
“Hello, my lovelies,”
she waved.
“So good to
see you again”
And just as
the Sun
reached down in
its morning embrace…

copyright 2008

Green Kaleidoscope

I sheltered true
from the storm
of CHILDHOOD
and pirouetted through
dangerous waters
Deep and all consuming
Hiding well my
pride &
self knowledge
beneath
plaid clam diggers
and curly pigtails

Eyes, green and
kalieoscope
never missing
a trick or a snick
or a snat
Taking notes
Mama didn’t
know
she still doesn’t