Purple streaks across
sky no white
canvas

flowers
smudged against blue
and brown

bronze blobs descending
down the wall on a chain
supposed to be a rope

they say madness
is never expressed
with wide eyes and crazy laughter

but always with a constantly
flushing toilet
and endless sobs

coming from the room
next door
to the rhythm of bad bed springs

whit howland © 2021

The damage is done
my love

and I understand that your forgiveness
won't be forthcoming

and all I can say to explain
is this

what I did I did under
duress

and it may be hard to comprehend
that I only meant to protect you

it is a concept I fear will be forever
lost at sea


whit howland © 2021

Pallet of green
brown
gray

obstructed
destruct
construct

strange things
kaleidoscopically
arranged

natural
literal
and metaphysical

The stove was hot

I saw the burner
and its fiery glow

no need to touch
but I did anyway

is it caution
we are throwing to the wind

when we trust
with no proof of wounds

or scars

whit howland © 2021

Flashy
gold
and the taste of glue

Star of Wonder
Star of David
Morning Star

my life shoots across the night sky
before my very eyes
in a fit

of blurry futurism
but that star
stuck to my forehead

may it always remain
a constant and a symbol
of the best I ever was

whit howland © 2021

Gray
with a film of fog

I knew you once
but now

you are just a pair
of ruby red lips

on a cocktail napkin
in a trunk in my

attic

whit howland © 2021

The temperature is rising
you give me fever

while bringing on thunder
flashes of lightning and rain

I credit that **** Dog Star
again

as well as a mad string
of bad luck

whit howland © 2021

The cool aquamarine water
ripples

as it kisses the skin
and we move like fish

fumbling

in self-induced darkness
to the cadence

Marco
Polo

accidents
collisions

as well as serendipitous
discovery

whit howland © 2021

The soft motor of the mop
purs

as it squirts more detergent
on the vinyl floor

after an up-down motion
across the surface

it's all over but the drying
and onto

vacuuming bathrooms
laundry and other tasks

that seem eternal much like
fungus

drudgery mundane chores
the stuff we do


to stay ahead of the storm clouds
torrential rains and smiting winds

I am really cleaning

whit howland © 2021

gray streaks
mixed with rusty brown

on a stretched canvas
tacked on a plaster wall

cash
on the barrel

and it's yours

at odds
the agreement

you got me for cheap
the dotted line

where I signed
I must have been sleeping

whit howland © 2021