Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
 
247 · Oct 2020
wants
Anais Vionet Oct 2020
You know what you want, get it. Make sure it responds to your needs - remote-control it, sub-routine it and on-demand it - wring it out.

But once you have it - something changes, doesn’t it? It loses some luster - it isn’t PERFECT, **** it. It wears out or becomes obsolete and the lust is reborn, refocused.

Do you want me? I think you want me - you seem to want to possess me - but do you actually want ME?

What if my DNA could be used to create a perfect, cloned replica - right down to the pheromones - a perfect doppelganger.

Only this - me-two - would be a commandable pleasure doll shipped, Amazon Prime - and perhaps made with a rich, warm polymer skin that wouldn’t age - wouldn’t that be even better? I think it would be better.

But forget about me - with THAT kind of technology. Think about the licensing fee Rudy Pankow could get, or gasp Chase Stokes! - ***!!! dancing around the room

yelling out “Mom!!, MomMMMMMM!!, I KNOW what I want for Christmas!!”
nothing is ever perfect - but it might be perfectly useable
247 · Oct 2020
Intermission
Anais Vionet Oct 2020
I was dazzled - in
a summer spell - did we both
name it as special?

Was it the summer
freedom - the sparkling lake
that summoned magic?

The constant sun sent
a subliminal message
with its rise and fall.

It won’t last, it said,
there's an expiration
date approaching fast.

The short-lived summer
proved a brief, insubstantial
memory making.
Summer spells are sweet but fleeting
246 · Aug 2020
a stormy haiku story
Anais Vionet Aug 2020
thunderstorming skies...
my tongue reaches to catch the
important raindrops

the lightning's flash
causes me to flinch in surprise
then an after boom!

A squeak of fear
static electricity
makes my hair rise up

maybe inside is a
a much better place to be
in a thunderstorm
daily thunderstorms sweep Georgia - I LOVE them
244 · Nov 2020
what the heck...
Anais Vionet Nov 2020
You know, I used to be happy all of the time.
What the heck happened? I used to go weeks
without crying, I used to love going to school.

In fairness, I liked real school - not the sad,
sterile, anti-social, virtual experience.

When I'm mad I get silly, then mean. I don't
always know why - angry is the answer, but
I don’t always get the subconscious analysis
behind it. That's a bad day - I'm truly sorry.

If I could step back, in those moments,
and think - clearly - I'm about the luckiest person.

I'm a hundred pounds of privilege
- if we rounding up - but pressurized,
stressed like a movie submarine in deep dive.

I think I miss people - like in an assembly
- before it starts - where a hundred conversations
clash like the random patter of rain. That’s one
of the sounds of joy.

The civilized brain is soaked in the opinions,
and shared experiences with others. These virtual,
interactive shadows on flat screens can't fill the void.
pandemic pressures squeeze us all - even if you think you're immune.
244 · Oct 2020
Yin
Anais Vionet Oct 2020
Yin
I see them in reflections - the orange juice glass at breakfast or my iPhone where they can pop, like notifications - I keep my phone face down.

They usually want to tell you something - how it was for them - their history. I discount these emotional messages - they come with the jester's assumption that I care - that I need the performance and will get involved.

“What are you doing?” My mom asks, as I’m taking all the shiny, mirror-like ornaments off the Christmas tree.
“The glare gives me a headache” I say, without stopping.
“Your Grandma does that too”, she says, wiping her hands on a Santa-themed dish-towel.
“Really?” I say, but I know that and I know why.

I started having nightmares, when I was in first grade. My mom thought I had an overactive imagination but when she described it to my grandma, she soon showed up for a visit.

Over the next few weeks my Grandma told me about our “gift”. About how we were both born on the same day, under a waning third moon, in Autumn. That we're both “Yins,” doxies (sweethearts) of the dead and that we could, at times, see and hear people who were between stops on their way to their after-lives.

That’s why the dead parachute into my unused moments from reflective surfaces. They can be anxious or in despair - when their death is cruel or sudden but I'm an adolescent - I'm in school - what can I do??

The presence of water discourages them - which is perfect - can you imagine seeing spirits in the reflections of your bath? EEUUUWWW!  You’ll hardly ever see me without a water bottle or polarized sunglasses - which seem to break-up the images. I'll not be smothered in other people's afterlives.
Growing up, I lived in China, my Huàn gōng (au pair) would entertain us with tales from Chinese folklore like wandering ghosts (You *** ye gui) and the Yins who could communicate with them.
243 · Aug 2020
introductions
Anais Vionet Aug 2020
Let me introduce
David Dennison - wealthy,
*****-minded man.

Credit card in hand
and his pornographic plans,
for *** on demand.

Little girls attract
him - his daughter's body
teases and distracts him.

Of course Jeff Epstein
knew the way of it - the pay
& get away with it.

David’s lawyers
smoothed the way - and he’s the
President today.

*David Dennison is Donald Trump's alias in non-disclosure agreements with prostitutes
Let's elect the stupidest, most immoral man we can find.
241 · Dec 2020
the closet
Anais Vionet Dec 2020
They say they run in packs
with the mighty unicorn.
The stories bridge the boundary
between faith and Internet ****.

Oh, the elusive boyfriend.

I thought I’d hidden one in the closet,
but I rummaged top to bottom
then remembered - argh! -
I lost him last August!
Not only are boyfriends hard to find - in a pandemic - but what are you going to with one anyway??
239 · Jul 2020
please care
Anais Vionet Jul 2020
Please care.
Love's slants and spins have me dizzy.
Thy laughter's the star I navigate to
Thy voice a song I listen for
Thy touch I long for

Please care.
I make heated love's impious oaths.
Thy sigh is my pleasure as well
Thy smile is worth gold
Thy look my is my sun
a small, free verse, love poem
239 · Oct 2020
empty nights
Anais Vionet Oct 2020
My palette is empty
after over-busy school
and tense homework.

By the time dark night
staggers onstage, sleep is my
longed-for, **** muse.

I’m greedy for sweet,
numb sleep or perhaps to dream
love-flushed fantasies.
tedious days and boring nights - how lucky can one person get?
236 · Oct 2020
Ode
Anais Vionet Oct 2020
Ode
I feel like we could
sing one of those righteous
civil rights anthems.

“We shall overcome”
goes to the pandemic point,
and we could hold hands.

Our kinship is dear, and earned,
with simple sacrifices.
Our struggle isn’t over.
we're going through something - together - but we aren't being drawn together
232 · Sep 2020
dark shows..
Anais Vionet Sep 2020
No, I'm not ok.
It's amazing what a
smile can hide.

Monsters aren't under
your bed - they're in your head
And hard to ignore.

No one really knows
you until you show them your
internal, dark side.
sometimes the worlds dark side overwhelms
231 · Aug 2020
the grass path
Anais Vionet Aug 2020
(a story in Senryus)

Dew gently pools on
the rich green Bermuda blades
of suburban lawns.

Walking across grass
soaks your shoes like a splashing
child in a puddle.

Your passage diagrammed,
by wet, green tracks that trace your
path like ****** snow.

Proof you were here, real,
a charming gift watched through chaste
glass - that made me cry.
isolation *sigh*
230 · Oct 2020
forever
Anais Vionet Oct 2020
Theoretical physicists say that there’s really no such thing as “time.” That our perception of time is just how our minds work but that, in reality, everything is happening at once.

Somewhere, Harry James’ trumpet is crying out to lovers. Do you hear it?

Romeo is about to take stage for the first time - Kennedy is climbing into the convertible - and I’m about to meet my true love - will I know, did I know? Argh!

Time passes by or stays, unseen. Contrails forever linger, flowers never die and kisses don’t end.

This school day certainly feels like it’s lasting forever.
ice cream lasts forever, coffee on endless refill.. or endlessly empty cups??
230 · Jul 7
dizzy laughs
Anais Vionet Jul 7
I had a dream.
I don’t remember most dreams.

I was cleaning the floors of heaven.
It seemed a mixed blessing,
I was in heaven, after all
but I was cleaning the floors.

It was a part time job,
I knew that intuitively.
I don’t mind house cleaning, heaven cleaning.
It’s calm work, kind of Zen.
Are we supposed to think of religions in heaven?

At first I scrubbed on my hands and knees.
The floors are soft in heaven, like golden gym mats.
Then I thought of it, and suddenly I had a swiffer-wet mop,
just like that - and the pad never wore out.

After a while, I had an iPod, and AirPods too.
Then a daiquiri - a banana daiquiri with a pastel rainbow umbrella.
They make rapturous daiquiris in the hereafter - they never run out.
‘Heavenly,’ I thought, snorting out a dizzy laugh.
.
.
Songs for this:
The River of Dreams Billy Joel
If the Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side by Elvis Presley
229 · Dec 2020
lights
Anais Vionet Dec 2020
Christmas lights are starting to bloom,
showering multicolored holiday grace across
increasingly bare, late fall suburban landscapes.
I love, I need, the perfectly placed, perfectly timed, whimsy.
people seem to be going all out this year - I know we are - and I LOVE it.
228 · Aug 2020
unwise advances
Anais Vionet Aug 2020
(these are senryus)

Distrusted compliments
- screech like fingernails across
a schoolroom chalkboard.

No marked card - dealt from
the bottom of the deck - will
ever unlock my heart.

Avoid the overt
- sly Valmont, the skittish game
is wise to advances.
I distrust complements - especially from guys - I hate flattery
226 · Jun 18
inner and outer
Anais Vionet Jun 18
We all have inner and outer lives.
They’re messy, hopelessly intertwined, and more
than mere mannequins to hang our word-art upon.

I’m supported, in my unwritten life, by a structure
of moods, both affine and counter-expressive. I’m,
in turns, a tightly wound vagabond, an over-busy,
fretful, unhappy liar (for what I will not share) and
a happy, truthful mess (for what I may overshare).

My outer-life is largely academic, and turned with
complete absorption to task, I plow thru the
needed assignments, like a caffeine fueled machine,

You might rightly call outer-me boring. I get it, for
nothing much happens beyond study and life’s
usual maintenances.

But my inner-life is full of action, if desires,
dreams, and internally ranting against the injustices of youthful separations can be rightly called actions.

Of my boyfriend, the world contains not one parallel.
He overshadows the few others I’ve ever known.
His masculine elements turn me all the way up,

He knows my petty vanities and most of my weaknesses. If he doesn’t know my every phase of feeling, or every desire of my love starved soul, it’s because our love is peripatetic.

Most of the year, we’re a long distance, digital, practical nothingness, A near autofictional anticipation. We are separated by a sea and more. If I may simply put it, I have a fine young body that is going to waste.

When I complained to my older sister, a surgeon who long delayed her own personal life for her career, she shruggingly and unsympathetically said, “You only have to suffer a few more years.”  
“Oh, mon Dieu!” I replied.
.
.
positions by Ariana Grande [E]
34+35 (Remix) by [feat. Doja Cat & Megan Thee Stallion] [E]
226 · Jun 7
have you ever..
Anais Vionet Jun 7
"Have you ever tried choking?" He asked nonchalantly.
“No,” she said. with a wrinkled nose of disapproval

“Want to try it?” His approach couldn't hide his excitement
“Ok,” she said, absent-mindedly running her index finger over his lips.

“you  can  choke  me,” she added slowly,
“if I can stab you repeatedly
with the 7 inch stainless steel
nail-file I keep under my pillow.”
.
.
Songs for this:
Me and the Devil by Soap&Skin
Better By Myself by Hey Violet
226 · Aug 2020
Brice
Anais Vionet Aug 2020
(a flash fiction piece)

My brother (Brice) left university, 6 months ago, like millions of other students, to shelter from COVID. After years away Mr. Annoying was back in MY world, bickeringly close and way too frequently in my business - like some half-assed adult (he just turned 22).

As school planning recently started though, I awoke one night, unnerved at the thought that he might be leaving. It was a shocking awakening to how much I need him, draw strength from him and shelter in his lee. The heart-wrenching realization of how much I would miss him was breathtaking, like that Disney ride where they suddenly drop you seven stories. I bit off half my fingernails before I finally fell asleep. =/

In the clear light of morning, it's obvious that he’ll leave again at some point and I'm dreading it now that it's flagged my awareness - and I face him with a whole new, creepy appreciation.

Yesterday afternoon...
Brice is on the sectional, with a bowl of pretzels, watching some BORING documentary.
I sneak up behind him and take his drink off the side table.
I plop down next to him - very close, I squeeze next to him, hard, like there’s no other room on the huge sectional. He gives me the side eye.
Me: “What??”
After a few minutes he reaches for his drink to find it missing - he looks around, then at me.
Me: With a mouth full of pretzels, “What??”
He gets up to find his drink (which I put in the kitchen) and that takes about 20 seconds.
While he’s gone, I change the channel to “Miraculous Ladybug”, my favorite cartoon.
When he comes back we wrestle for the remote - it takes him a couple of minutes but he’s too strong and as he begins winning, I yell, “MOM!!, Brice is hurting me!” (which was cruelly ignored).
He finally gets the remote and back to his show - I straighten my hair, out of breath, and wonder how long it will take him to realize the pretzels are missing.
brothers - annoying but loveable
224 · Nov 2020
open ears
Anais Vionet Nov 2020
The open ear of youth doth always listen” - Shakespeare

I want to listen, when adults give me advice but it's not easy. The wind-up, the slow methodical narrative to the point drives me insane.

I know you’re trying to build a bridge - not a wall - so spit it out - I’m right here, behind these blue eyes. Whatever hurtful idea you’ve latched onto - let me hear it - STAT.

Maybe you’ll find your message returned - unopened - but you’re like earth - I’m stuck in your gravity - so for the love of whatever deity you worship - spill it.

Upgrade my life with your insight and I'll be forever changed and improved.
Life, at the low end of the totem-pole seems to require constant comment.
223 · Aug 2020
disappointed angel
Anais Vionet Aug 2020
I’ve disappointed heaven
and I can tell you why -
I angered a silver angel
who came down from the sky.

She said, “I'm just a messenger
sent to share the word.”

I stood stone-still and waited
and this is what I heard:

“The coming Judgement will fulfil
- the rightful verdict of the Lord.”

“OK…” I answered, shyly -
in an effort to prompt for more.

But the seraphim started fading away
as if the message finished her chore..

I said, “Wait! I need a message I understand
- you have to give me more.”

The angel's face turned angry
and her tone became unkind -
she flipped her hair like a mean
girl and muttered “NEVERMIND”.

So if you’re messaged by an angel,
I hope you fare better than me
- I couldn’t decipher the message
- and she flew off angrily.
"Angels" have tried to help me but I far too frequently miss the point.
222 · Jul 2020
what's up?
Anais Vionet Jul 2020
I’ve been working on my website - it’s been neglected far too long.
I’ve been wearing out Spotify - I may have listened to every song.
I walk five miles a day - because you’ve got to get outside
and I can easily spend an hour a day on “Just Dance” exercise.
I’ve been taking free on-line courses at “open university”
They have a thousand choices - an almost endless diversity.
Have you ever heard of “Headspace” - it can help you to relax
If you haven’t tried meditation for stress - I think it’s unsurpassed.
I’m learning about meal planning and cooking things with ease
I’ve been Zooming with a friend in China, to freshen up my Cantonese.
Even with a thousand distractions - this lockdown is driving me crazy
But it isn’t because I have nothing to do, and it isn’t because I’m lazy.
People just need people - so that we can laugh, love and compete,
or simply be together - that’s how humans feel complete.
for all that we can do - the things we can't do drive me crazy
Anais Vionet Jul 2020
I love that Internet voodoo
that pile of wires and things
that lets us stay connected
and keeps us entertained.

It ties the world together
like economies these days
it's magic either good or bad
information cuts both ways.

It went down the other day
and it wasn't out that long
the maintenance guy
was at the outside box
and he did something wrong.

I watched him like a tiger
from inside my gilded cage
I was pacing my perimeter
like a predator engaged.

I screamed helpful, timely updates
he seemed a clueless clown
and I was ready to go block
his truck if he tried to leave
while we were still down.

He finally got the thingy fixed
my sweet prince of restoration
I laughed out loud to see the lights
then I gave him a standing ovation.

Without the Internet I'd go crazy
and it wouldn't take that long
after months of dull isolation
it's helped us all stay strong.
A tribute to that Internet thingy.
Anais Vionet Sep 2020
Things that you would love
to say to your crush - if you
only had the nerve:

“quick, put your lips on
mine. I’m a spy and it’s
an emergency!”

Hey, I shaved my legs
this morning - they’re so smooth
- here, just feel 'em!

Kiss me if I'm wrong,
but the dinosaurs are still
around, aren’t they?
Some things I'd love to say to MY crush  =]
218 · Nov 2020
almost
Anais Vionet Nov 2020
Thanksgiving is almost here,
annoying school bells have stopped ringing.
Turkeys are huddling, out of sight,
and the garbage men are singing.

We’re beginning to prep side dishes,
slicing, dicing, mashing, peeling,
and I’m smiling ‘cause I feel myself
swept up in holiday feelings.

I hope that Macys is ready
for their seasonal parade.
We’ll be watching as we start to cook
the banquet that we’ve made.

I’m wishing everyone plenty,
as we shelter in our homes.
On this tame 2020 holiday,
that we’re spending home alone.
We're in the Holidays now! Woot!
217 · Jul 2020
skool alert
Anais Vionet Jul 2020
skool alert (a short poem)
school starts in 13 days.
A thousand kinds of torture
in a million different ways.
You work and have a boss
who's awful hard to please
In school, have 6 bosses -
you think that that's a breeze?
Virtual school's the worst
like school without the fun.
No flirting, dates, or parties
It's good training for a nun.

Corona virus pickup lines...
Hey baby, I'm still employed.
What's a girl like you doing anyplace? Seriously, ***? Go home!
You're hotter than medically recommended.

thoughts..
Don't fall so in love with sad poems that you become one.
Today is both the oldest you've ever been and the youngest you'll ever be

I'm sure waterboarding is all they say it is but try and take a rubber band out of your hair you used for a quick ponytail.

That old monster school is rearing its ugly head.
School (11th grade: virtual) starts in 13 days. sigh
School doesn't teach life skills - but I can solve a parametric equation.
Age doesn't define maturity any more than grades define intelligence.

Friends joke with one another:
‘Hey, your dad’s dead.
’Hey you’re poor.’
That’s just what friends do.

Watching my mom on the computer and thinking
Why did you do THAT?
Why are you using Internet Explorer?
Your caps lock is on.
*** you're so SLOW.
You don't need to double click THAT  sigh
Is this is going to take ALL DAY.
MOVE AWAY - LET ME DO IT.
virtual school, is coming.. aaarrrggghhh
215 · Jul 2020
the mistake
Anais Vionet Jul 2020
On Twitter, late at night, you’re a big tough guy
calling people out and spitting in their eyes.

But in the real world - you blubber and you blunder,
like inside your head there’s a fire in the dumpster.

Your call to drink Lysol was a typical, deadly, Trump proffer -
your handling of the pandemic an incompetent slaughter.

In the face of unrest you pour fuel on the fire -
a dead BLACK man? You're a trouble amplifier.

Texting on Twitter you’re a liar and a punk -
when trouble breaks out, you hunker in a bunker.

You’re America’s undertaker, our commander-and-thief -
a living, breathing catastrophe - leading America disastrously.
A Trump, twitter and coronavirus poem
215 · Oct 2020
october daffodils
Anais Vionet Oct 2020
Eight months since the virus shut the door on the world.
It’s October and it’s like we’re hiding from the law.
You called me yesterday - but it quickly wore off.
Sometimes crushing hungers, for our old normal, blossom
but wither, like confused daffodils, denied sustenance,
in the reality of “second waves” and body counts.
This renewed viral spiral has me all wrung out.
let's all do the viral spiral
213 · Nov 2020
Reassuring smiles
Anais Vionet Nov 2020
Smiling at old folks
to reassure them you're
not a teenage ****.

Even though I'm in
my school uniform and look
like Mary Poppins.

I don't like talking
in front of a group of teens
- they're so judgmental.
we can't be sure of the impression we're making - we can only do our best
210 · Jul 2020
the reading 😻
Anais Vionet Jul 2020
I've got a reading!
And the venue's all sold out.
It's an old phone booth
that some company threw out.

Standing room only
you can get in by arrangement
I'll just hop out
for the term of your engagement.

If you show up
you won't even need a mask
'cause you'll be standing
on the far side of the glass.

My voice sounds muffled
in the sound-proof enclosure
so my poetry won't really
be getting much exposure.

For my fan base
it's the ideal place to show.
See, I can do the reading
and no one else will know.
A humorous look at poetry exposure
209 · Aug 2020
pressures
Anais Vionet Aug 2020
force, punish, burden,
insistent coercion, and threat,
compulsion, tension.

Stressful stranglehold,
urge, force per unit area,
fuss, influence, duress.
have you ever felt that you were under a tremendous amount of pressure?
209 · Sep 2020
Breakup Senryus
Anais Vionet Sep 2020
The question arises - in high school - "how do I break up with...."
So, as a public service - may I present:

Handy break-up Senryus.
Pick one to quickly, cut that old
relationship cord


I'm sorry, What'd you say?
I can't hear you confused look
- we’re breaking up.

You’re the guy that
every school girl seems to want...
- today's their lucky day.

It's time we took
our relationship to the
previous level.

I still cherish the
initial misconceptions
I had about you.
The question arises - in high school - "how do I break up with...."
209 · Jul 21
pizza parley
Anais Vionet Jul 21
(In answer to Mister Truth's poem:
"https://hellopoetry.com/poem/5117352/my-poetic-slice-for-anais-is-she-really-a-true-lover-of-the-tasty­-italian-triangle/"  because he mused me.
)

I'm not just going to analyze pizza,
Or simply strategize about pizza.
I'll romanticize, evangelize and tantalize with pizza.
Because, honestly, I actually fantasize about pizza.

Papa Johns, Pizza Hut, Dominoes
Euuw, please, none of those

Garlic Crust? That’s a must.
Parmesan? Bring it on.
Anchovies? None for me.

What about cheese in the crust?
The whole idea leaves me nonplussed.

Ham and pineapple - that's just satire.

I say, “spare garlic and spoil the vampire.”
If that makes me hard to kiss - tight juju - I embrace my bliss.

Sausage or pepperoni, That's your question?
Put 'em together! That's my suggestion.

A simple cheese pizza has a timeless cachet,
but sometimes I take my pizza all the way.

And yes, I’ll still respect them the next day.
What? You put it in the microwave?
“Ok, you - be on your way!”

ring ring What, you’ve got pizza leftovers?
Ooo, baby, unlock the door, I’ll be right over!
.
.
matters of the heart by lovlaine
Overthinking IT by WILLOW
BLT Merriam Webster word of the day challenge 07/15/25:
Tantalize = to cause interest and excitement

Slang:
tight = tough
juju  = luck
208 · Jun 26
just shoes
Anais Vionet Jun 26
Have you ever seen a pair of Nine West Folowe Pumps in Red Blooms Floral - or ever held a feathery pair? They offer the pure pleasure of perfection.

You can see them popping up lately, in streetwear silhouette, matched with Dolce & Gabbana’s floral-print leggings, making a duet of blooms—petal upon petal, like a garden in motion, or paired with the new, high-waisted barrel leg jeans, lending a flash of elegance, a bright flourish against dull denim.

They’re visions, wrought as if by the hand of Michelangelo, who once from marble freed David’s pose, or da Vinci, whose brush summoned the Mona Lisa’s secret smile.

In form, they’re d’Orsay cut, sporting curves as deliberate as the Sistine vaults arch. The stiletto heels rise with the ambition of a cathedral’s spire - neither too proud nor too meek, but balanced, like the symmetry of a butterfly’s painted wings.

Upon their surface, blood red blooms unfurl - petals as vivid as spring’s first flush - each blossom a testament to an artist’s hand, in riots of color and romance that dance with the same spirit as a flowerbed at dawn.

No flaws mar their making: the stitchings are true, the fits precise—as if tailored by the muses themselves. Each pair offers its own unique foliations, bespeaking the freedom of a craftsman’s careful art.

Lastly, of course, they’re marvels of harmonious function, lightly cradling and lifting each step - comfort and glamour aren’t adversaries here, but partners in making each step a sonnet and each stride an artist's brushstroke.

Now, maybe you aren’t into fashion - perhaps you’re a male - oh, poor you, I’m sorry, but maybe, just maybe, in times of chaos, you long for the pleasure of inexpensive perfection.
.
.
Songs for this:
Glamour Girl by Louie Austen
This is what falling in love feels like by JVKE
BLT Merriam Webster word of the day challenge 06/26/25:
Sumptuous = something luxurious, magnificent and probably very expensive.
206 · Jun 2020
wacky
Anais Vionet Jun 2020
I can tell that the stars are unhappy
and I know why the moon's acting crabby
‘cause they know you won't call
And it's bothering us all
I'm sorry that I behaved badly

The day won't go on without you
The clouds have been crying all day
I've expressed my regrets
please forgive and forget
‘cause even Alexa's gone whacky
a poem about a relationship's rough waters  =]
205 · Jul 2020
jet
Anais Vionet Jul 2020
jet
Like Mozart’s Cherubino, I know nothing of love
but I am waiting on the runway, idling like a jet
I am burning my composure
I am inviting trouble
I have hidden gifts
and a steely will
oh, loveless lockdown
202 · Jun 13
obsessions
Anais Vionet Jun 13
I can be obsessive. For instance, last night I needed a command hook.
My mind couldn’t focus on “Principles of Biostatistics,” as fascinating as that book is, because I needed this $3 command hook to hang my keys by the door.

There’s a table by the door, I could easily put my keys there, but no. That’s where books go (am I too picky?). What’s funny is, I’d just been reading about ‘bias mitigation,' ya know, science is everywhere.

Still, I searched the boxes that I hadn’t unpacked
I looked around them too, did one fall in a crack?
Did I have one to begin with? I couldn’t keep track.

I texted Charles (across the hall), “do you have a command hook?”
“A what?” he replied. So I texted his wife, who went to look.
When she didn’t have one, I went back to my book.

The chapter was about ‘probability distributions as tools for managing uncertainty.’ How topical, here I was, uncertain about when I’d get that command hook. Never mind an indifferent God, science is obviously listening.

It was nearly midnight. I wondered, how late Door-Dash delivered?
Would they bring my hook or were there other services I should consider?
What about Amazon, Target or WalMart—could one of those be a winner?

In the end I had to do without—I gave up at 1am.
The miracle of capitalism had failed me—****.

I could study with the hook off my mind. So, I set an Alexa reminder,
an alarm on my watch and alerts on my iPhone and MacBook finder,
then I wrote a pink post-it note, and put that on my epidemiology binder.

I have a standing, pre-dawn jog with Charles, and an idea forming.
If we passed an open convenience store, I could buy one in the morning!
.
.
Songs for this:
I Want You by Bob Dylan
I need you by Jon Batiste
199 · Aug 2020
saving the planet
Anais Vionet Aug 2020
This story happened last year, last fall right before school began

Summer talk has stopped sigh - free and easy days, parties and beach trips are over. Now attention turns to the fall and the start of school and the “2019 Social Season.”

Fall begins tonight with a social (a very formal dress party) and the night ahead looms long - these are the events that, for some reason, my siblings live for shaking head - I hate them.

The British would've held this party in a garden - when they ruled the world - but we're modern man - we get the St Regis.

My two best friends aren't here tonight so I'm stuck with my "peers" - the extravagant children of rich houses - those seekers of happy times drunk with an absence of accountability - as they enjoy their metrical friendships and wander lost among forests of bad choices.

Have you ever seen people high on their own surface reflections? It's not a good look.

I see a new purse worth an economy car - honors at the feet of conceit - presented like erotica - let's all just drown in special privilege - "That'll cure racism" - I crack - to cow-like indifference.

Don't worry, my generation will save the planet - we got this.
it's easy to blame the shamble of a world on others - will MY generation be any better?
199 · Sep 2020
school bodied
Anais Vionet Sep 2020
School's started up. sigh
I moved up a notch, of course
but virtual school *****.

We should be walking
- no, swaggering - ivied halls
with new dominance.

Seniors rule, true,
but with one foot out the door
- Juniors set the tone.

One more viral theft,
that renders long traditions
unapproachable.

This virus changes lives
- bodied within its limits
- what future will rise?
How many opportunities have been lost to this viral thief.
199 · Nov 2020
the speech
Anais Vionet Nov 2020
Everything was dull,
you know? Another dark and
dull pandemic week.

But now: OH, MY GOD,
I'M SO EXCITED!! - I can
hardly eat or sleep!!

Gloomy clouds of doom
dissipated when I heard
our President's speech!

The pandemic's past
it's peak he said, it'll be over
by the election!

Two Days!! There will be
DATING SOON - I can scarcely
curb my elation!

I ran to find my
mom - she'll appreciate this
new revelation.

See - I'll need an all
new wardrobe - we've a shopping
list to complete!"

"I need EVERYTHING
in two weeks - MY GOD, is there
even time to sleep???"

"Trump can't just make that
call" she said, (she knows, she's a
doctor after all)

"The President would
never miss-lead us, there are
peoples LIVES at stake!"

"And the people would
would remember, it's on the
news for heaven's sake!"

"Besides, if he
lies and people die - it's a
crime not a mistake!"
I can't vote, but I'm excited - and scared - Just think, and end to Trump lies may be in sight and no more tweets  =]
199 · Aug 2020
morning mind
Anais Vionet Aug 2020
(3 senryus)

I am enjoying
this dull time - this decayed life
of extinguished hopes

Each sublime sunrise
finds my morning mind childishly
wishing for freedom

If wishes had power
If young tears were a vaccine
If our thoughts mattered
another isolated morning - it's only been 6 months - it seems longer
198 · Sep 2020
More Breakup lines
Anais Vionet Sep 2020
More break-up Senryus
to quickly, subtly cut that
relationship cord:

You’re a guy, I’m
a girl... it turns out we’re
just too different!

Look, It’s not you – it’s
me - turns out I don’t like
you much anymore.

You smile at him,
and then say: "You've helped
realize I'm gay."

Allegory time!
You're a turkey, ok? And
I'm going on a diet.
sometimes you have to pull that relationship rip cord.
197 · Dec 2020
happiness
Anais Vionet Dec 2020
Money can’t buy happiness,
but it buys fast Internet
and that comes so close.
A tech Senryu poem of galactic truth...
***, I KNOW it's a 7-7-5
call me a rebel  *shrug*
197 · Dec 2020
the dark potential
Anais Vionet Dec 2020
(a Senryu string poem)

High school girls are just
thoughtless and vague - too ****
dumb to be afraid.

Trusting too quickly
- believing things that are said
- unaware of risk.

Small and powerless,
chickens cooped from feral foxes
- peaches for picking.

So accompany
me on walks, to the store and
guard me like a penny.

Look - we're women
- junior grade - and conscious
of dark potential.

Breasted Americans
face a dark rainbow of threats
- we are mortal.

But ANY of us can
encounter unscheduled evil
like nightmares from hell.

Yes, that means you rough
tough males who glide through life as
if untouchable.
someday this isolation will end and freedom will mean going places (thank God).
196 · Oct 2020
the wheel of doubt
Anais Vionet Oct 2020
I drive me crazy
- there's no hiding or help
for dark self distrust.

Frightening whispers
are like a levied tax of
doubt about my choices.

Anticipations
dulled on anxieties rough shore
- best to keep them deep.
self doubt is an internal cloud on a sunny day
196 · Jul 2020
stumbling towards desire
Anais Vionet Jul 2020
I stumble pajamaed, half asleep toward the object of my desire.
in memory, it calls to me, of passionate pleasures experienced prior.
The morning's night is the consummate time for secret rondeaus discrete.
With ninjaly sneak I arrive at the door - my illicit joy within reach.
But to my horror I find the pizza gone - again, my trust is breached!
a humous look at lust... and pizza
194 · Jul 5
poolside
Anais Vionet Jul 5
I love a long holiday and as a general rule
you’ll find me out by a turquoise pool
cause it’s hot outside and I’m nobody's fool.

Closing my eyes I lazily daydream
listening to my favorite musical streams
umbrella shaded from harsh sunbeams.

I’ve put away polemic school assignments
for leisure and tastier desultory refinements
like buffalo wings, pizza and ***** martinis
and the barely there cool of a string bikini.
.
.
Songs for this:
Digging your scene by Ivy
The Big Sky (Special Single Mix) by Kate Bush
Can't Be Like This Forever by The Moving Stills
BLT Merriam Webster word of the day challenge 07/07/25:
Desultory = lacking in a plan or purpose
193 · Jun 22
thinking
Anais Vionet Jun 22
go to bed  •think bemusingly of you
loop (cond) { tomorrow }
I rise in the morning (5am),
jog an 8K  •thinking of you, wash up
drink some flavored, black coffee
watch the morning sun balloon
eat toast while reading a set amount
write my unique and uninteresting analysis
work on half a dozen, odd assignments
walk .8 miles to campus  •thinking of you
team up, with some older, uninteresting guys
interview a focus group, present dataset interpretations
walk .8 miles back to my flat  •thinking of you
eat while reading a set amount
go to bed  •think bemusingly of you
loop (cond) { tomorrow }
I rise in the morning (5am)…
.
.
Songs for this:
Falling Down a Well by Jack J
Overtime (pt 1) by Mk.gee  [E]
BLT Merriam Webster word of the day challenge 06/22/25:
bemused = confusion, bewildered and somewhat amused.

8k is just 5 miles - they always measure runs in kilometers,
I don't know why.
192 · Nov 2020
thinking is overrated
Anais Vionet Nov 2020
It's not your looks, I
like but what you are INSIDE
talking to my fridge

Sometimes I pretend
that I’m dying to see if
my cat would save me.
too much thinking can lead to things
190 · Oct 2020
an undeserving prayer
Anais Vionet Oct 2020
Thank you lord for giving me two-hundred-and-fifty loveless nights,
for rerunning dull experiences so I can revisit past delights.

Thank you for isolation, for removing all temptations.
For drawing out this punishment far beyond my expectations.

Reward our solemn and astringent lives by helping - if you please.
As you form galaxies from dust and your moon lifts lazy seas.

If you created life in your universe to give it all some meaning
- then look on us with charity please, we’re in need of love and healing.
prayers go forth with the speed of hope
Next page