Bare Necessities

a world drowning

under despair’s deluge

constant cynical commentary

flooding psyche’s plains

requires a hike

beyond stagnant swamp

in dogged pursuit

of pristine purlieu

a clearing of mind

unearthed

in a mountain glade

pearls of pacification

elusory

among the madding crowd

bloom hardy

forget-me-nots

violet invocations

of their name

Thoreau’s prose

expounded virtues

self-same

woke

from bromide-induced

torpor

millennial poets

reverse course

revert versification

apprehend

timeless

verdant veracities

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On the Folly of Gods

leaden skies open

unleash furious torrents

Neptune rages wars

Resurrection

she did her time

in a concrete tomb

etched in stone tablets

of damnation’s tome

lorded over

by dungeon masters

antebellum gnomes

she withered

skin dry and papery

anima Grinch-like

shrinking

shriveled

as an exsiccated raisin

hard and insubstantial

anhydrated bones

skeletal key

belatedly turned

she exhumes

maggoty dragging

leprous remains

thwarting the fate

befallen Rappaccini’s daughter

she sponges feculence

from splintered self

bathes her pulverized

being

in determination’s

glue

fused in the fire

radiating

soul beams

sparking from her eyes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Marjoram Messages

garden issues

aromatic notes

thistle-free epistle

no need to parse

the parsley parcel

absorb spritely sprigs

sueded sage advice

remember rosemary’d reminders

subtle leaved layers

linger lyrically lavender

on tarragon tempted tongues

dill dictates a dispatch

zesty with hints of zen

a mindful mint memo

imbued with fennel findings

writ in oil of oregano

on basil infused bulletin

punctuated with tangy

cilantro and cayenne

exclamations

piquant tidings peak

stand the test of thyme

Natural Consequences

she was taken for granted

her pliable nature

ravaged

resources pillaged

plundered

in blasphemous homage

to instant gratification

her gagged silence

misconstrued

as obsequious acquiescence

her mantle crumpled

under devastating onslaught

accommodating and resilient

she bends

except for the intermittent

breakages

where she unleashes

her pent up fury

vents the wrath

fomented over eons

boiled over

blinded by scalding steam

she wreaks havoc

uncontrolled

passions roiling

there is no

malevolence

 

devastation wrought

in the inevitable

lashing out

 

 

 

Hauntings

I’ve been rummaging

through our graveyard

stirring up dusty ghosts

as I forage

for crumbs of a life

amongst the splintered

bones

they don’t lie still

our bones

they poke me

in my sleep

with their

compound

fracturings

the jumble

of their burying

jabs me

impaling

my hard fought peace

upon shards

of yesterdays

littered with the sooty detritus

of futures

that would have been

should have been

if only

I hadn’t immolated us

I root

disheveled and thirsty

amongst Golgotha’s leavings

hell-bent

on order

promising our remains

they can rest eternally

given a proper burial

I scour the charnel

splitting my fingernails

on the stones

scrabbling a bloodied

inscription

I cleanse our skeletons

with endless tears

press them gently

autumnal leaves

vaseline’d in an encyclopedia

capturing all the scarlets

I slither from the necropolis

snakely

on my traitorous belly

groveling to Mictecacihuatl

sniveling entreaties

for redemption

our bones

snap

pierce the heaving soil

and my gut

 

 

Turtling

self-protection

your forte

withdrawing

into yourself

in the face

of predators

real or shadow-boxers

concealing

vulnerable flesh

under rock-hard

outer shell

you have

perfected your

hidden aptitude

structuring yourself

the archetypal

reference point

for all who may

shrink, sheltering

 

my heart expands

with the stretch

of your wrinkly limbs

accordioned neck

uplifting

basking in warmth

exposing your face

kissed by sun’s

intransigence

caressed

with loving persistence

by drifting tufts

of the summer breeze

Martin, Meditative

stroll with me

this muggy eve

you with whom

I disagree

on matters near

and dear to me

amble among

trees and tourists

you with whom

I also see

eye to eye

fair frequently

inhale burbles

bubbling peace

wrung splashing

from suffocating

dense humidity

peruse with me

strangers and friends

chips of soul

granite engraved

bestowing forward

solid equanimity

gather with me

between mosquitoes and stars

bites of wisdom

raised under our skin

twinkling audacity

lighting

lightening

life weighted hearts

carry with me

you whom I touch

and those forever

beyond my reach

dust of ages

sweat hewn

carelessly strewn

accumulated acumen

pulpit proclaimed

nib-scratched in letter

from Birmingham jail

Mine to Tell

imagine

your most shameful moments

those chapters of your life

you don’t re-read

even under the covers

late at night

with the flashlight

you were admonished

to extinguish

hours ago

before your eyelids

dredged the shore for sand

those grainy scenes

captured by a drunken

videographer

tripping backward through the mist

overlaid discordant

dissonant minor chords

if you chance upon

a split-second replay

your skin crawls

bowels churn

hair stands on end

 

now imagine

the sensationalized trailer

clipped disjointed

melodramatic

picture the tabloid cover

lurid misrepresentation

where you dined

cannibalistic taloned

simultaneously vicious

predator

stereotypically weak female

 

I eschew

plagiarism

of my autobiography

renounce

counterfeiting

of portraits

for which I never posed

 

I have swallowed the bile

cleansed grit from my eyes

with the flow of copious tears

flattened hairs

under vigorous

warm my own arms

rubbing

I claim the rights

file the copyright

to my own tales

 

I am a warrior, yes

I have been wounded yet

I shed no blood

I courageously wield

my tremulous words

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Driven Dilemma

interstate flows

an inky ribbon

beneath autopiloted

mesmerization

frenetic flashing

errant roadside beam

severs reverie

presages apparition

agitated personage

haunted eyes in skivvies

demonic dancing

dart into devastation

cacophonous cerebral

collision

wails in red rotations

interventional necessity

crashes against concrete berm

imagined catastrophic debacle

tires devour miles

synapses fire choices

in trepidatious plight

she chooses action

over in-

dials 911

importuning the universe

she summons assistance

doesn’t call down

catastrophe