Free Candy

I want to follow the Milky Way
to the Almond Joy of my life.
I'll shake my Tootsie Rolls
at your Payday any day.
Make me scream "Oh, Henry!"
even if you are Baby Ruth.

Dare

Silence is deafening
just before the rain.
Tune into your brain;
hear your clamor of life.
Meditate to an island
of white noise.

Stir the conscience
to healthy beliefs.
Convince yourself
of your faith.
Find it satisfying
to be alive.

Listen to the rain
play tunes of purity.
Cleanse the body,
mind, and soul.
Dare to question
a greater power.

Dare to be yourself.

Hollow

it leaves me hollow
fills me with profound darkness
while the sun shines bright

such contrast deludes
such brightness wasted

Untouched (Another Challenge)

She was suckled
at the breast of want,
left unfulfilled and unloved.
Greed ruled her world
and darkness denied
her happiness.

Men were discarded
haphazardly,
left with raw tempers
and throbbing members.
She took what she wanted
and left them dry.

She sought only
what was rightly hers,
all else...rubbish.
She never realized
no one would love
what she couldn't.

Woodpecker

A woodpecker made himself
at home last night. He found
that spot right at the hairline,
next to the part, so as to hide
his persistent handiwork.

Tenderness remains
even if I don’t remember
the transgressions
of my feathered friend. Had I been
cognizant of his visit, he would
have found an early grave.

Challenge

I awoke a bit doddled
and pressed my hand
mouthward to suppress
the scream wedged
firmly in my throat.

Caught between the rock
of reality and the roll
of ocean waves, my stomach
heaved ho and struggled
to pull me under.

I scribbled my last wish
on the closest available
scrap of parchment, a book,
and squished all thoughts
of normalcy today.

Daydreams

I stare out my window,
transport myself elsewhere.
My mind transcends miles
while my body remains still
and mimicks work.

Scentless blossoms
fill the forest
as long grasses dance
in slow-motion breezes.
My allergies are at rest.

Music is piped through
branches full of nature’s
harmony. Melodies form
when bees buzz in time
to the creek’s ripple.

As I wander, aimless,
the wind and sun
play peek-a-boo in my hair
as they take turns
kissing my neck.

The world ceases
to exist. There is only
blue, green and me.
Time passes slowly,
almost unnoticeably.

Idyllic peace
settles upon me
until the insistent
jangle of the phone
brings me back.

Dust Settles

Dust settles.
I survey the neglect
selfishly inflicted.
Surfaces are coated
with a fickle blanket
designed not to protect
but to disguise.

My fingers run
through the deception.
I know I failed.
My furniture cries
to be cleaned.
The pleas fall
on deaf eyes
and blind ears.

There was a time
when I cared
that my plants die
and floors cringe.
Today is not
that day, tomorrow
won’t be either.

People

People come and where they go
as they bleed to my consciousness.
I remember friendships,
foggy with forgotten faces,
that lasted a fleeting forever.

'Tis difficult to conceive a move
to something better when my opinion
of myself soars. The eagle flies through
the eye of the needle and pierces my heart.
Your presence is misted over time.

People come and where they go
remains a mystery, a Pandora's box.
The road to nowhere beckons bright
to those who believe there is greener
grass on the other side of midnight.

Round Robin, 2

My "daughter"
is getting married today.
I do not know this beautiful creature
dressed in virginal white
with come hither eyes,
but she claims I birthed her
and labored for 18 hours.
As if I could possibly forget
that kind of pain and agony!
And the twenty-nine plus years
between then and today,
I don’t think so.

Everyone wants to know
how I managed such a dream
as a single, successful
woman of business.
I simply shrug . I don’t know
how to answer that question.
I suggest maybe they know
"how it is" and really wish
they’d tell me.
The fog hasn’t lifted yet
even though I’ve several glasses
of "memory juice."

Is my money paying for this?

Reap For Me

Be very careful.
Mr. Reaper waits with open arms
to smother his victim with glee.
He is not particular.
Blood and guts preferred,
but not required.

Sacrifice me on the cross
so your sins might be repented.
Drive nails through extremities
as well as my heart and yours.
I embrace the world rigidly
in my impalement.

Death comes unexpected
in so many transgressions.
The deceased is often released
but family and friends are left
to suffer uncertainties
and travesties together.

If we become gluttons and enjoy life,
we poison our bodies in our folly.
Should we avoid an anomaly for negatives,
we find it essential to our health as well.
We are damned to die either way,
shall we meet halfway in enjoyment?

Steal Away

You

visit

steal away

without a word

why not tell me what you’re thinking tonight?

Silence

Silence, once golden,
burns red in my mind.
Avoidance is salt
rubbed into an open wound.
It stings until tears cool
the gash and washes the memory
of the recent past to ash.

The cream curdles
in the morning coffee
and leaves a lingering aftertaste
on my once-pink tongue.
It is black now with pain,
tarnished by your actions
or maybe by mine.

The hurt has faded
and is replaced
by a Novocaine numbness.
Not quite without feeling,
but a silly, swelling facade
devoid of sensation except
for an occasional tingle,

more of an awareness.

Tell Me Something

Tell me something to make me feel
more than just a breathing being.
Let me know I'm worth the effort.
Help make the silence palatable.

Your touch, long ago, radiated through my skin
and spread delicious sensations southward.
Now, we're rarely close; there doesn't seem
to be the time nor the inclination to do so.

We used to spend hours with lips entwined
as we drank from a bottomless well.
Our kisses are more perfunctory, obligatory--
the fireworks have died in midair.

As I stare at what could have been,
I realize we omit the little things.
Those three little words disappeared
along with thank you and please.

We took for granted that things stagnate
and reduced our own efforts accordingly.
I miss what we used to be--the excitement,
the playfulness, the togetherness. I miss you.

Erin's Irises

Genetically engineered and ugly,
the sturdy iris defies weaker denizens.
It takes strength from my anger.
Old blood colors its blossoms.

I have an instinctive distaste
for this repugnant flower.
My mind and behavior,
predictably unpredictable,
react to my beautiful garden
smeared in its murderous rage.

It drains my emotions,
sparks an ember deep within
that threatens to ignite
without notice and torch
the monstrosity.

Come Dance With Me

Place your hands lightly upon my waist
and carry me away with the music.
Sweep me slowly through the galaxy
to the other side of the universe
and leave me wanting, needing more.

Whisper sweet sensations across my ear
and chase them with a brush of your lips.
Kiss my hair softly and tell me that you care.
Show me your promises by restraint of action
and leave me tingling in longful anticipation.

Dare to be gentle; permit me to be bold--
foreplay can last for hours in courtship.
Remember, there are curious eyes everywhere--
be mindful of your manners and me.
We'll make our excuses soon enough...

...come dance with me.