Special (poem)

Poetry

Your needs aren’t typical,
Your thoughts, unconventional.
Eyes, they say, distorted,
They call you a freak.

Your buses are shorter,
The masses, they jeer.
You’re locked in a cage,
While they all go free.

Try to be like them,
Resented regardless.
Go it alone,
Viciously attacked.

No allies for the special,
Charity case at best.
They know what you are,
So why don’t you?

Tell yourself lies,
Conforming is best.
Sick in a sick world,
It’s how it has to be.

Until you find your tribe,
Queerdos just like you.
Driven into hiding,
But seeking you all along.

Lashes (poem)

Poetry

Teardrops falling,
Whips keep chasing.
Weights attached,
Legs keep pumping.

Bruised flesh,
Ripped skin.
Fused with the burden,
Anchor in the chest.

Fluttering eyelids,
Keep out the dust.
Sandstorms brewing,
Squint through the clouds.

With a single blink,
You’ll feel the force.
My pain rains down,
Slice through this mess.

Start (poem)

Poetry

New beginnings,
Old hurts.
Penelope’s suitors,
Demanding her attention.

Kitten by your ankles,
Following you home.
How to tell her in meows,
Landlord forbids pets.

Pushed out love,
Draw it back in.
Residing in the heart,
Recuperate from exposure.

Chilled but not frozen,
Cherished by her body.
Courage coming home,
Foreign lands inhospitable.

Tears drip steady,
Empty that cup.
Clean glass,
Starting again.

Hide (poem)

Poetry

Misunderstood,
Know it yourself.
This world is cruel,
Unforgiving of fate.

Judgments rendered,
Predictive force.
Anticipating rejection,
Internalizing wounds.

Scabs formed,
Over festering flesh.
Ointments applied,
To rotting skin.

Safety nonexistent,
Create space for death.
Graveyards dug,
For countless corpses.

Nothing good,
Awaiting at the entrance.
Hostile intentions,
Fangs bared against you.

Your presence denied,
Enemies too powerful.
Allies nonexistent,
Hide yourself away.

Portrait (poem)

Poetry

Brushstrokes layered,
Canvas still white.
Rough outlines emerge,
Essence elusive.

Sitting model fidgets,
Restless and bored.
Constantly shifting,
Blurring the image.

Set off for a moment,
Never to return.
Incomplete portrait staring,
Blank spaces to fill.

Interpreting visions,
Fairy whispers of truth.
Legacy everlasting,
Ugly pictures of you.

Drama (poem)

Poetry

When things get still,
They start remembering.
No space for those thoughts,
Chaos in means chaos out.

Problems in means problems out,
Externalize the internal.
Something out here is victimizing,
Betrayed by the mind.

Many selves, all traitors,
Unable to accept.
Find others to blame,
For imagined persecutions.

Emotional intolerance,
Expunge all the hurt.
Social mores impose consequences,
Beat up the closest and the voiceless.

“It’s not abuse”,
Force them to love you.
If they accept any treatment,
Then they deserve it.

Give an inch,
Take a life.
World’s a stage,
You the only actor.

Factory (poem)

Poetry

Production of emotions,
Overabundant supply.
Drowning in inventory,
No market to exploit.

Can’t stop the presses,
Assembly line keeps running.
Smeared and blank pages,
Packed up for recycling.

Business without customers,
Artist with no audience.
Writing but no readers,
Heartstrings out of reach.

Flow of feelings,
Seeking common threads.
Bypass the current,
Soul rocks hidden in the river bed.

Riot (poem)

Poetry

History written,
Heart made heavy.
Loyalists to a despot,
Celebrate with violence.

Armed insurrection,
Coup d’état.
Blow up the Capitol,
Hallowed chambers rendered hollow.

Assault on democracy,
Will of the people.
Violate and desecrate,
Overthrow the sky.

Gunshot rings out,
Lincoln’s theater reminded.
Supremacy of racists,
Assassinate our virtues.