24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
The Queen of Hearts never wanted children
but when she met Alice,
she knew.
She had spent a lifetime making mistakes,
cheating on her husband, and eating too much,
but what was she to do during those spells of emptiness?
The Queen had to find entertainment somehow,
So why not chop off a head or two?
Afterall, blood tastes better with fear.
In neon chromatic I skim in a machine that purrs.
The wheel smooth as it responds in hairpin curves,
Lazy winding on glass smooth blacktop
And roaring engines that snarl hungry plumes
To a cityscape blur.
I’m slipping, sliding, gears slick and tuned
Flowing as you dare to crowd the road,
Watch me glide.
There’s no lap to the future, there’s no end,
Just the revolve, the next turn, and the blur
Of your life speeding closer to infinity.
Flashing vignettes of post-war, post-regime countryside
From a grey city of hidden color that bleeds history
To timeless tranquility beneath Oaks, two world wars strong,
Within a valley strewn with flowers
Whose scent chases me back into the city
There is no darkness
only light
i see coral oranges and teal blues
i see anger…I see rocking chairs
I feel questions
I hear pain
this is my book of genesis
I have no illusions on how I came to be
i moved into a womb
of a stubbornly loving mother
and a cancerous father
he negotiated his blueprint
to another
my mother had not ceased to exist to him
she was solely the woman he wanted at convenience
his disconnect seeped into her womb
and I wondered in the wake of this family fire
how love existed on this side
I had seen our lives disconnected
defied by my father’s own selfish crusade
he was imperfect, as every man I have encountered
And he bailed, as every man I have encountered
he taught me first
that i mattered only after his own needs were taken care of
my existence to him is only after
that is how my world came to be…
i have no doubts about any of it….
and I still love him despite it all
I sit in the backseat
Earbuds in covering the sounds of the road
I bop my head and watch sometimes
Flat and woody to hills and valleys
Finally making it to cornfields far as I can see
The scene changes quick when you stop watching
When you look up from wizards and dragons
I am home and I start the quest
I look up and I see the new scene
In time with the rise of action
And I’m back into the quest saving the kingdom
I look up heros done and happy
I have arrived
My family will try to make it to some extended family’s place once a year. But we drive and it is a nice nine hour car ride. We do go through all these scenes on our trip. (it’s weird sometimes going from state to state seeing how each has a different type of main landscape)
Eyes red,
dry from over-use.
brain foggy,
stuffed with clouds
from lack of rest
head hurting from
too many hours in the sun.
Walking through the city
Silence pervades each corner
Everything is somewhat gritty
Caution as we move south
A glint of silver, a flash of red
Murder in the daylight
Your turn to take her head
Pocketing the valuables
Quickly, the world is watching
Round the corner, down the alley
Stealth and silence are catching
An empty courtyard, bleak and grey
Pretty, petty, artificial,
Almost garish in the light of day.
HALT!
The guards arise
From the pavement and the shadow.
Commanding and present, unavoidable.
Faster now, the roof will work somehow
Up the steps, no hesitation
Snagging gold statue decorations
Aha! At last, the signal boosting,
A rock, arcane, the key it’s plain
A snap, a spark, an empty roof
Returned from whence you came
Safe at last, murder success
And thanks to the statues
Rich as the emperess
Love landed
squarely so
In my lap
my heart did grow
as tall as sunflower
as wide as the sea
There was no containing
You plus me.
C. Churchill
Why did it come so easily to mind,
the decision to change my life?
Just a spark, a passing notion one
lazy summer day. That zing set me on a
new adventure.
In theory it’s exciting, not scary at all.
A new purpose, bringing with it
determination and a throng of new friends.
One week before classes begin.
I’m going to be a college student,
finally, only five years late.
The impending change is suddenly daunting.
How will life continue? When will it all
become too much? Can I do this?
Assignments daily, deadlines constant,
I’ve used my education to propel
me into a dreamer once again.
I look forward to graduating, to becoming
a writer, a teacher, a professional,
but more than that I find joy
in using my mind again.
I memorize, I read, I criticize and heed
the criticism offered to me. I dive
headfirst into a world of literature and science
that my thoughts have long since abandoned.
I “feel smart” for the first time since
graduating high school.
I’m using my mind in a whole new way
and reaching for my brand new dreams
all at the same time.
It feels amazing to have my life so in focus,
yet so precarious.
This is living.