2013 NaPoWriMo Day 24

Books Are Real

“If you will practice being fictional for a while you will
understand that fictional characters are sometimes more
real than people with bodies and heartbeats.”
- Richard Bach, “The Messiah Handbook”

Please leave me be, please get out now.
I wish to be left with my books -
in my head the characters bow.
Please leave me be! Please get out now!
They are great back-up in a row
when fighting illiterate crooks.
Please leave me be, please get out now.
I wish to be left with my books.

I wish to be left with my books.
By staggering piles surrounded,
all stuffed in the crannies and nooks -
I wish to be left with my books.
Characters circling above – hooks
on their backs – I’m astounded.
I wish to be left with my books,
by staggering piles surrounded.

By staggering piles surrounded
at peace with the world I will feel.
My love for books is unbounded
by staggering piles surrounded
and all I meet are confounded
when I choose fiction over real.
By staggering piles surrounded
at peace with the world I will feel.

2013 NaPoWriMO Day 23

Feast

Little crowlings on their first hunt -
fast they must be to find their feast.
Flying after the sheep flock’s runt,
little crowlings on their first hunt.
Without fear the lamb they confront...
Gloating they feed – dead is the beast.
Little crowlings on their first hunt,
fast they must be to find their feast.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 22

I’m Over You

You left me in my darkest hour to rediscover yourself you said
as you climbed in your car and drove away
I was lost without you – I saw you everywhere I went
in the spines of books as I wondered the library late into the night
in the songs on the radio as I drove to work every day
in the sudsy soap as I washed dishes from a meal for one
in the howling of the neighbour’s dog as I remembered the nights spent under the stars

You wrote me letters – one a week
I never opened them not even one
they lived unopened in a box under the bed

The pain you caused healed slowly
the jagged scars on my heart began to fade
I saw you less frequently now – my brain and heart vaguely remembering
the words
of love
of promises
of forever
that you whispered to me as we lay in our bed

One day I received a letter, confused I opened it,
realising only then that I had stopped thinking about you.
I had forgotten you; you were no longer part of my life.

Your letter said that
you missed me,
loved me,
realised that your home had always been me,
that you were coming back.

For a moment my heart beat with joy as I remembered
how I once loved you – but then I remembered as well
how you had left me and the pain that followed.
But more importantly
I realised I didn’t care anymore.
I had moved on – forgotten you – washed you out of my life.
I sighed, thinking to myself.
It is now your turn to feel the pain of heartbreak.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 21

Gaia

She birthed us in all
her glory – we give her a
slow and painful death.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 20

Again

In the black void
that was once my chest,
there used to beat a heart of flesh
but now
my heart is cold and silent –
a heart of icy steel.
It has been
battered,
broken,
abused –
hurt too often to heal.
Please don’t try to wake it
from the icy tomb where it sleeps.
Please don’t force down the walls
surrounding my heart.
I cannot glue the piece back together
again –
when you leave me
again.
Please don’t try to love me
again.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 19

Love Me?

The rain follows me,
showing the world all the hurt
I carry inside.
Falling drops of pain engulf.
Did you mean those words of love?

You said you loved me.
I want to believe you but –
this rain cloud of hurt
follows me, growing my doubts.
Will you always be around?

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 18

Seasons of You

Sunlight in the Spring,
cherry blossoms in the wind
reminds me of you.

Fun time in the sun,
Summer’s heat brings back sad thoughts
of the love we had.

Fall comes much too soon,
falling leaves of fire reminds
me of broken hearts.

Winter snow covers
memories of your body
lying in the snow.

2012 NaPoWriMo Day 17

Count the Stars

Staring at the sky,
thinking of you and me to-
gether joined by love
but are forever apart.
Do you also count the stars?

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 16

Of Women and Foxes

You followed me through the woods,
watching me dance and play –
hair of fire flowing in the breeze.

You followed me into the burrow,
trying to tame my wild spirit –
hair and blood seeping into the earth.

You forced me into your home,
chaining me to the wall –
fur of fire lying on the floor.

You forced me to shift my form,
changing into my inner beast –
fur and blood mingling on the trail.

_________________________________________________________________
Inspired by Kitsune (fox spirit) of Japanese mythology

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 15

We Are Drowning

“We all carry these things inside us
that no one else can see.
They hold us down like anchors.
They drown us out at sea.”

-          Bring Me The Horizon, “Chelsea Smile”

We are drowning,
all of us –
drowning in this great sea of chaos.
We hide from each other,
sinking under the water
from the burden of our emotions.
We refuse to seek out life rafts,
instead choosing to cling helplessly
to our wreckage.
We are damaged, broken,
living in denial.
They weigh us down,
leaving gaping black voids
in our chests –
too scared to share
our vulnerability.
Too scared
that even when surrounded
by the people that love us,
we always feel alone.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 14

A Walk

Sunlight shines through wet leaves,
dappled shadows on the ground;
rain puddles gleaming,
dragonflies skimming along the water.

Fallen leaves muffle the sound
of my heavy footsteps,
I watched you dance under the trees,
arms spread and spinning –

carefree and happy –
laughing as squirrels played around your feet.
You flopped on your back,
eyes watching a soft blue sky.

You sighed, whispering my worst nightmare.
You whispered
that you love, not me,
but someone else.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 13

Hungry

In the growing dark of dusk,
the table is laid for five –
plate piled high with food,
except for one.
The empty plate sits at the head of the table.
She sits at the head,
hands wrinkled and folded.
She waits for her guests,
hoping there is enough to appease them.
They arrive in dribs and drabs –
silent and ethereal.
First, is her childhood friend,
tongue lolling and tail wagging.
Second, the child she aborted,
half developed limbs flailing.
Third, her college roommate,
judgmental eyes watching.
And last, her broken husband,
love into hatred turning.
They come to feast
on her guilt, her shame and her anger –
draining her dry of life,
feeding off of her
until she is like them –
ghostly and dead.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 12

Flawed

My fortress crumbles
around my feet. You have seen
my anger, my shame,
my past insecurities.
Truly, are you not flawed too?

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 11

Dark Day

The sun rises – westward
facing – driving the night a-
way – black into blue.
And I wonder what darkness
of the soul the day will bring.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 10

Storms

You and I are storms,
circling each other
in this vast sea of chaos.

We drift,
backwards and forwards,
a constant cycle
of ebb and flow.
Your cold heart
threatens my warm one.
I push you away,
distancing myself
but you cannot stay away –
forever chasing after me
in constant pursuit.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 9

Blues

The bluesy sound of the saxophone,

accompanied by the mellow thomp of the cello
winds gently through the air.
A pallid cloud of grey cigarette smoke
hangs precariously in the air
as a burble of voices drifts endlessly around the club.
I perch on a barstool,
my glass of neat bourbon sitting beside me.

Silence descends,

the club holds its breath
as they wait for the singer
who steps on stage – all swagger and charm.
Plugging in his guitar,
electric distortions moaning as he tunes.
He plucks the strings – hard and free.
The band kicking in, following his beat.
He sings – voice gravel and deep –
a song of blues,
about how his woman done left him
“cos he forget how to write”.

I smile, swaying to the music.

The guitar rift sending ripples along my skin.
Damn, this song is good, I think to myself.
Finishing my drink, I stand to leave –
smiling at the singer once more over my shoulder,
I walk to the door.
I should have left him months ago.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 8

Moonlight Dance

The moonlight shines upon the pond –
ice aglow as the fairies dance,
joined by the spirits from beyond.
The moonlight shines upon the pond
as wood nymphs skate around the bend,
everyone laughing as they prance.
The moonlight shines upon the pond –
ice aglow as the fairies dance.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 7

Green Is Gone

I am the eagle that flew over grassy hills.
I am the bear that slumbered in mossy caves.
I am the stag that stood majestic in green woods.
I am the wolf that hunted through white forests.
I am the crow that feasted on the bloody plains.
We are the animals that have lost our green.
Where now is the green earth?

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 6

Crow

Watching
wild beasts feasting,
feathers dance in the wind.
For his turn to feast on the dead –
waiting.

Sharp beak –
pecking, cawing,
wanting to be noticed.
Letting all know that Death has come
again.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 5

Lonely Moon

Full moon –
pale, bright and round
alone amongst the stars,
fading in the red light of dawn.
Lost moon.

Lost moon –
hidden moonlight
unseen until night falls,
many stars surround one pale light.
Lone moon.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 4

Irregular Apocalypse

It didn’t start out like we thought it would –
no nuclear war
or a deadening plague
or a giant asteroid
or an alien invasion –
no big bang
signalling the end of civilisation.
It began like any normal day,
the sun was shining in a bright blue sky,
the birds were singing in the leafy trees,
and everyone went about their day.
It started with a good deed
that grew and spread,
enveloping the world.
The world changed drastically
like ice melting in a fire –
no more was there
greed – poverty – war – cruelty.
The world flourished,
becoming the paradise it was always meant to be.
But we forgot,
forgot our knowledge and instinct
on how to be predators,
on how to fight for what was ours.
Our Irregular Apocalypse of peace and love
was our ultimate downfall.
We had no weapons or the will to fight
when the aliens attacked.
Our planet was incinerated
for a new intergalactic diner
aptly named after us.
“Paradise Lost”

________________________________________________________________________________
Not my best or my usual.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 3

The Invisible

Throughout the world
large pockets of us
gather in cities –
invisible and forgotten.
We sit on bus benches,
stalk in darkened libraries,
hover in the frozen food aisle.
We watch as you run around
to the Laundromat,
to your workplace –
we watch you
have affairs,
make mistakes –
we watch you
find and lose love –
wishing we had your lives.
We watch you live
before returning to our unwanted homes
of urns or morgues or graveyards.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 2

Slow Destruction

She watches
the changes slowly taking place –
black leather draped over curves no longer there,
shadowed eyes gazing longingly at week old track marks,
painted ink over marble skin –

written stories both intimate and fearsome.

She watches
the slow destruction,
the descent into madness –
haunted eyes stare of the mirror
at the stranger looking in.
The once bright soul –
feeling like an outsider
in her own body –
watches through the windows of her eyes
at the slow destruction of her body
as the darkness slowly closes in.

2013 NaPoWriMo Day 1

Lessons From Time

“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may”

-          Robert Herrick, “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time”

Grey face stare out of the black and the white
photos of the past
whispering life lessons
learned from the dead and gone
screaming at the young
to seize the day
to be better men
to live and love
to sometimes follow your duty
yelling at the young
to be yourself and not a sheep
to be your best
to be happy
to be full of life

Grey face stare out of the black and the white
photos of the past
grim, serious and sad faces

whispering life lessons
for us to learn from their mistakes
for us to take life as it comes
and live