Riz Mack

3d

zumee

again

if you could remember
the process
by which
you came
into becoming
you would go

3d

Whit Howland

Or one to pick
with myself

of how I wish
I'd done this

or that
and what I could've did

or what I should've did
but be grateful

for plain blessings

like how we don't get
the opportunities

in life
for those kinds of do-overs

because the biggest fear
is getting the smaller piece of bone

all over again

Riz Mack 3d

Gurgling

Do fish get thirsty
for a drop of air?
Do horses wish
to comb their hair?
Do birds want hands
for someone to hold?
Is all that glitters
not some kind of gold?

Do dogs need lyrics
when they want to sing?
Do cats crave makeup
right before a fling?
Do fish get thirsty
for a drop of air?
Does a river run
to escape its cares?

Do flowers ever want
to leave their beds?
Do green grapes whine
that they aren't red?
Does the sun still shine
when you aren't there?
Do fish get thirsty
for a drop of air?

4d

Shay Caroline Simmons

Pony For Dray Horse

If milkmaids dance,
I haven't seen it.

That doesn't mean it doesn't happen
when I'm asleep
or dying.

If apples can be poisoned
I haven't tasted one.

That doesn't mean to trust your grocer,
lover,
or restauranteur.

Oh, you, decked in white blossoms like some ironic saint,
evangelizing my arms, my tongue, my will
like the loving dead.

I know now that I was kissing a corpse--
one heart beating for two,
pony for dray horse, dragging along.

I can't swear that I'll be smarter next time,
but I mean to be.

I 'll remember your face, your ways, your smile,
turn my head like a lady
and spit.

4d

Ciel Noir

Bones

I just want to talk about
how I feel

I am confused
by what is real

I chased the truth
down a rabbit hole

and found out things
no one wanted to know

this is the truth:
I am afraid

of time
of the future

of mistakes I made

I'm afraid that I'm too lost
to find my way

afraid of someone I don't trust
I see every day

and that fear turns to anger
when I feel unsafe

I have to stay
I can't escape

a liar
a back biter
and a thief

didn't know my anger
could be this deep

and I have to keep on
moving on

even when I don't feel like
the rational one

reach out
and find out
I'm not alone

not much of a poem
only the bones