March 23, 2018, has been marked by marches by the common people.  These events inspired me to write the poem “Tearing Down”.

The poem “I Returned” was written after attending a party at which I was able to more deeply be myself than usual.

The poem “For My Kind” was a free-form experiment as I didn’t have a theme for the day.   I saw a music video related to “Houses of the Holy”.   Stuff then happened.  I can almost see the poem being spoken / sung as a Black Sabbath song.

“Life Explodes” is a very short poem inspired by meme that had the words: “Keep Me Together / Do Not Abandon Me / Hold My Bones Together”

The poem “I Wrote This Poem” is about the opportunity of the poet to explore themselves AND consider the shared aspects of a larger world.

I’m at a point in my life where I’ve got to let go of STUFF.  The poem “Loss Portend” is about this shift.

The poem “Paused a Day” is about the roller-coaster of self-medication and the pain that is the root cause.

The poem “The Unbound” is about desires to step away and the dissolving ties that bind.

“Lovely Straps” was inspired by a fetching photo of a black dress with straps.

The poem “Only a Kiss” is a ranging examination of the act of kissing.

The poem “The Sweetest Fruit” was written at the prompt of a drawing.  A vivacious Snow White held court over a group of corrupted dwarfs.  She had retained her young beauty, though it appeared to be tainted by a cold evil cast.    The poem has a word count of 134 and used the Prompt One picture.

The poem “If I Could Wake” was inspired by thoughts about knowing who you are, your identity, even as the world may doubt the same.

The poem “Rejecting Claims” is about personal measures of beauty relative to the opinions of the larger group.

The poem “Leave the Hurt” was inspired by a stray thought about how people would judge a life after it was over.

The poem “Like a Shadow” is about the tendency of the past to linger even while a person realizes truths about themselves and the world.

Darkness does have a place in creation. There is a tremendous power stored in the shadow. In the early 2000s I was told that I should be writing. At that time I struggled mightily with dark thoughts. I told myself, "I cannot write of what I know. Who wants to hear about madness?". Now I do write. My own shadow is still there. Now the darkness informs my writing, adding wisdom and insight. There are artists who's works are simultaneously very dark, even as they peers into the depths of the human experience. Sometimes it is difficult to look, read or listen to these creations. This is OK. The artist is creating for themselves and for those who are capable of sharing the vision. Deep down, the darkest of works are created with the mantra of "somebody will see this, somebody will recognize this". The shadow is crucial part of creation. Without the darkness, there cannot be light.

"In the beginning God created heaven and earth." So says Genesis 1:1. I say that God is still creating the heaven and the earth. We stare into the same void. We maintain our sanity and soul by seeing the void as a place of potential. What are we to do on this earth? What is our purpose? Merely create the best you can. On the sixth day, you too will say, "behold, it was very good".

The poem “Things Left Unsaid” was inspired by the title of the Pink Floyd album “Things Left Unsaid”.

The poem “Monsters Wear Human Form” is about my retreat from presenting my alternative side.

The poem “Imperfect Mirror” is about judging oneself by the reactions of others.  While this is highly imperfect, sometimes a person can be far enough outside the norm, defying conventional discernment, that others feedback is useful.

The poem “Cloaked by Pictures” was inspired by a meme about walls keeping secrets.

The poem “They Linger” was written for the prompt, “give me scary and creepyminimum.”  The end result is about the zombie apocalypse.

The poem “Purpose Asks” is about the daily journey of the depressed soul.

The poem “Watching Decades” was written for a prompt that asked, “give me poems about your feelings of growing old.”

he poem “Prevaricator” is about an unfortunately concluded comparison of beauty.   The title word means “a person who speaks falsely; liar. a person who speaks so as to avoid the precise truth.”

The poem “Screams Echoed” was inspired by thoughts about toxic mirrors.  While they are desired, the results are damning to both the requester and the one supplying feedback.  The need to be seen in a certain way is poisoned by the uncharitable thoughts of others.

The poem “By The Wrapper” was inspired thoughts about affection supported by more than the surface normative.

“Silence Was” was inspired by Marianne Moore’s quote, “the deepest feeling always shows itself in silence.”

The poem “These Assumptions” is about thoughts that support a life before the possible falls.

The poem “Wear the Masks” was very loosely inspired by the British science fiction supernature horror miniseries “Residue”.

The poem “At the Edge” is about pursuing paths in life that deviate from the safe normatives of society.

The poem “Awake the Day” was loosely inspired by the quote “Every day that involves dancing is a good day.”

The poem “Balm Extended” is about the power and legacy of writing of all types.

The poem “Those of Failed Worth” is about the measures of worth based on efforts outside the mainstream.

The poem “The Spiral Spins” is about the modern day Icarus brought low by life.

The poem “Sad Madness” is about the impact of mental illness on family structures.

The poem “The Normative” is about the awards and trials of conforming to the normative.

The poem “Quest for Kadath” was inspired by the quote “Nothing holy is pretty", credited to Estefania Jaded.  Kadath is an Lovecraftian ancient city and the home of the dream-gods of Earth.

The poem “Life Spins Round” was inspired by the debris that surrounds a continuously depressed person.

The poem “Mirrors State” began with the first two lines.  They were to begin a series of thoughts about not recognizing the image seen in the mirror as our own.  There is a terrible irony that we can look at another person, consider them as an example of exaltation, and at the same time they may be looking at us with the same thought.

The poem “Empty Truths” was inspired by thoughts about how the value of the self is defined.

The poem “They Had Passed” is a sad affair about the forced removal of people from life.

The poem “Leave Before” was prompted by the challenge of talking to somebody you know, sat down in a chair, and listening to brutal sharing.  The poem is a rework of poem from 2015.  The original work was about a letter.  The prompt also asked for 100 or fewer words.    This poem comes with an important disclaimer.  These are not the words I would share with a possible person today, but they do reflect where I was in the distant past.

The poem “Hidden Scenes” is about adventures behind the veil of sleep.

A Tumblr post with the words “Everything Has Beauty, a friend’s post heartfelt post about past ****** assault, and the continuing developments in the political and entertainment realms, inspired me to write “Victims Too Lovely.

The poem “Dazzle of Life’s Bane” was inspired by a lovely drawing of a floating woman with fire has a head.

The poem “Shadows Dancing Round” is about the Reptilian Brain, the structure is in control of our innate and automatic self-preserving behavior patterns, which ensure our survival and that of our species.  I became interested in this topic because many actions of intolerance and hate are sprung not from highers realms of morality, even while the latter attempts to justify the outcomes.

The poem “In Twilight” is about the darkness of the mind.

The poem “Fay Angels” is about the failure of guardian beings.

The poem “Word is Stop” is about one method of dealing with both temptation and negative thoughts.  A person can tell themselves “stop” to short-cut the thoughts that have no place in the mind.

The poem “Sunless Days” was written on a rainy day, one that seemed to echo the poet’s hovering tears.

The poem “Hall of Gods” was inspired by my reading of “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman.