24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
Angry dude has a vendetta against an aquatic mammal
That allegedly took off his leg because it’s CRAZY
But inasmuch as maligned whales are concerned,
What about the arrogance of man, and the hate-on for
Nature
And other things outside of the control of patriarchy
A need to punish, neglecting that an eye-for-an-eye
Leaves the whole world without the ability to
See beauty
In the park,
under the street light
Same time, every week
we’ve met
We both know that
we shouldn’t be here
this is wrong
And I can’t keep leading
you on
my heart isn’t in this
relationship anymore
I know you think you love me
but you don’t
there’s nothing more I want-
then to be with you.
but there’s two others to
consider
She doesn’t deserve this
if you don’t love her anymore-
set her free.
if you do still love her-
go back to her and forget me
He’s been good to me
kept me warm and safe and dry
I don’t want to hurt him anymore
than I already have-
Please don’t make this
any harder than it already is.
I’ve tried to make you love me
and I know that you don’t
the secrecy is what made me
want you and I fell for you
No-
she doesn’t deserve to have
her life shattered
ripped open for everyone to
gawk at.
I’d have been good to you too
I can’t make you love me
I can’t make you stay
and I have to be ok
with that
farewell my love
when we leave
you’ll never see me again
you won’t remember me-
I’ll just be some guy
you used to know
Note to Self: I’m finally ahead. Synesthesia like Imposter syndrome is real. So are dream readers and empaths. Intuitive, healers and the like. When you face your fears you conquer all those tiny micro-movements that propel you and pull you back into webs of disappear, however fragile and imaginary. Let the music heal you and may you find your voice sweet poetess… You deserve an abundance in excess.
Four birds of a feather
Delicately dance together
Now my morning routine
To recall all those moves
And still keep up the groove
Gets harder with each passing year
But try I must and not hesitate
In order to keep myself in shape.
if you’ve seen the Kids in the Hall show Death Comes to Town
you will know that death is an aging rock star on a Harley
who only eats cold pizza stuck to the lid of the box
…not so scary, really.
r. l. elke
The White Stripes blasting in my ears,
palms slapping a relentless tattoo,
fingers strumming an invisible guitar,
the music builds to a crescendo,
and I am a go…
“Excuse me, you are next,” she taps my elbow.
I turn sharply and see this vision, this russet-flamed goddess.
with round glasses that accentuate her cerulean eyes,
the tiniest of wrinkles that relay her joie de vivre,
and her little smile as she humours my slack-jawed reaction.
“Er, um, thanks, sorry, thanks,” I mutter and stutter in embarrassment.
I step forward to greet the grinning barista.
I convey my order, God knows what it was.
I am ever conscious of her beguiling presence.
This invisible force that compels me to look, once more.
I do, and she is not there.
I swivel and scan.
I locate her belatedly.
She is already out the door, phone on ear,
laughing gaily, a lilt in her voice
going forth into the unknown.
She leaves my life.
And I, bereft, return to mine.
© 2021 S Phua
Huddled together
The cygnets dance
Across the lake
Careful, unaware,
That they swim right in
To the maw of death
A cavern of teeth snap shut
Leaving only feathers
And a single duckling,
Saved from the crocodilian reaper
By cygnet’s disdain for his yellow feathers
Asking ghosts to reveal
Who provided an essential
Ingredient that put me here
Implored the unseen on
The other side hoping
Perhaps they could help
A biblical seven days
And there he was
A someone who might know
Wrote a letter to this
Maybe new brother to
Suggest and ask
Calling with a curious
Voice we talked not knowing
How I happened
After a DNA said yes
The pictures arrived of
This handsome soldier
I like him I muse
Wondering what he thinks
Of me over there
“In the early morning,
As I walked into my balcony,
I was met, by a cold gust of wind,
And a thousand different sounds:
Birds chirping, crows cawing, dogs barking,
And as I sat on my bamboo swing set,
My eyes were met, by a cold, grey sky,
But my heart yearned for the sun,
And as time went on,
I could see the grey sky melt into blue;
As the Sun rose slowly, and majestically,
I could already feel, the warmth of the day rush into me,
Along with hope and excitement for the day.
The ice forms so effortlessly here
bringing winter into the view
seasons changing with each day
helping shape tomorrow
never backing down
staying so true
magical
honest
free.