10am

10am

In a topsy turvy world
Where every man is for himself
At the expense of
Becoming foe to friends
Justified by the ends
Of personal happiness –
Each hand and head becomes a rung
On the ladder to success
Whatever that may be.
In a world where every man is for himself,
Every man destroys himself
And those beside him.

Friends, most precious,
Until
We see that which we prize
And believe will be our completion,
Though we mourn that our clawing at happiness hurts our friends
We brush it aside
Justified,
The means by the ends.

When will we learn to be human again?
To just live and forget the myth of success
To know that in love,
That most difficult task,
Is our happiness?
Our happiness.
Not mine.
Not yours.
Ours.

Princess

The girl she was a princess

She was one of two

Little miss danseuse

And little miss goody two shoes

One touched the sky

One held the earth

Together they made a rainbow

Together they churned the rain

When one flew the stars

One gathers flowers

Together they fill the brook

With shine

And a lark

Two little princess

Living so far

One little string

Holding the hearts.

Inevitable

Inevitable

Like the Montague’s and the Capulet’s

A forbidden love is what has risen.

Pointed fingers take turns

At reciting the laws that were given.

To sneak away for the night is a risk taken

Our love could never be mistaken

A battle between worlds would drive us apart

A secret love is what we hide in our heart.

When the evening comes we shall hold

Only darkness can tell whats to unfold

I look to the moon and you utter goodnight

You watch over me and tell me its alright.

Against the laws of nature that u should kiss my very lips.

It is a sin that we should make love due to our status.

It’ll be frowned upon if u mouth the words I love you.

Is it a crime to want you and u to want me too.

Confusion if we wandered to close in the day

Soon it will be love- and from love we can’t walk away.

Deaf to the conscience and blind to fact

The love that is growing you can never take back.

It could never be regrettable — our love

When you face the inevitable — my love.

Can’t they find the joy in

Our love that has been poisoned?

By Khalifah Luciano

My Dear One

Companion, dear one, always by my side

Enthusiastic greetings on my return

Escorting each piano student to the bench

Relaxing under the piano to listen to their progress

Praise and kisses every week, even with wrong notes

Black hair on white carpet, head upon my knee

Ear rub until he melts to the floor like hot fudge

In his sleep, running out to play fetch the tennis ball

Chasing rabbits, his hind legs twitching

Now in perfect form and health

Waiting at the rainbow bridge ahead of me, Angus,

We will know each other when we meet, never to separate again.

Little Miss Sunshine

Little miss sunshine went to the zoo
On a day when the sky was a clear blue
She saw Mr. Elephant and Ms. Giraffe
And a Mr. Monkey with a funny laugh
She saw birds and a big snake
Then ate her lunch by the lake
She went to the fish house on the far side
After she met Mr. Bear and sat on a ride
Then she took photos of a garden full of roses…
And of other animals giving good poses
Then she got tired, went home and slept
While planning to see the rest of the zoo which was left.

Poem 4

Chapter 4: Marked Body

 

Basement, poorly lit

Candles flicker

One unfamiliar torch

A cloaked figure come bearing gifts –

Banishment and branding,

But not death, not hanging

From the highest tower.

 

 

Awakening, in pain

Heat crackles, smoke burns

Flames creep

 

Sister, marked – brand blooms across her lips,

A terrible flower, decorative knot,

So intricate.

She’ll prophesy no more.

 

 

I, I am marked too.

 

Splinter of wood

Crackle of fire.

Out, out, out.

Hide, hide, hide.

 

Wind and other things

Howl

Through woods

We sleep and lie awake

Lost in a hunting cabin

Moonlight slides through slats of wood.

 

Protect us.

Forget us.

Let us live.

 

Wandering

She was just a girl that lost her way

And couldn’t seem to get back on track

A misfit

Misunderstood and misdirected

Leaving pieces of herself with every step

Wondering

If she will ever escape the part of her past that she leaves unspoken to many.

If placing complete trust in another flesh such as her own is only true in the fairytale stories that we read to children

Wondering

If she could ever get back to where she was meant to be

Shamed

Get dressed or we’ll take you like that

hostile she was, eager to shame,

a nightgown she wore,

they wrote down her name.

In handcuffs she’s placed,

as her son arrives

she can’t feel a thing

so inside she dies.

In her mind she does

she managed to dress,

afraid of them all,

they made her feel small.

She made a mistake

now bullied by them,

could she bounce back?

She’ll never know when.

A Girl

There was a girl,

a beautifully

broken

damaged girl

Whose heart was torn from her chest

the moment you walked out

and left her collapsed on the floor

Years spent, shut away, shut out, never loving, forgetting

that she could run, she could fly, she could flee

Writing the note, while taking the pills

she remembered she could run

and when did, she was already long gone, long gone