Dance with me,
One last time as the daylight dims
The smoldering heaps
Substitute for candle-lit walkways
A final ritual in romance as we revolve
‘Round we twirl to the music of crackling embers.

The sun above is being choked by the smoke of the dead
The earth itself is blacker than endless nightfall
Nothing grows, as even the dead oaks rot
Their desperate limbs outstretched, begging for salvation,
But the orange glow catches your creamy face,
You haunt me, in a world where beauty is dead.

In a sea of flame,
Surrounded by the nameless remains
We waltz and twist,
Contort into one,
Asking the skyward palisades
“What have we done?”

Obsidian rain reigns down
Cutting your perfect porcelain
As the red flows like waterfall fountains
We find ourselves on the verge of the abyss
A single tear mixing with your wine,
Could not stop how sweet you are,
We found an epilogue,
Befitting our dreams,

Dance with me,
One last time,
‘Round we twirl to the sound of shards
Even now, bared to the world,
Reach out your hand,
And now it’s yours.
My heart.

My god,
What have we done?

Every wail of wind
Is a mournful dirge
Carrying off through the distance
Where tenebrous finger like branches sway,
And the moist air feels like a tearful eye.

The pale light won’t shine,
She hides her face in a cacophony of smoke and mirrors,
A majesty so shy she turns her back
As the wolves cry for her in loving sonnets.

Deeper is the black that darks the skies,
As veins of electric light quickly strobe the clouds,
There’s a crack of a cackling giant,
And the tears fall from angels,
As a strident breeze breathes across the landscape
As the trees mosh in syncopated patterns—
I calmly wait in the midst of storms.

As the embers rise from magmatic tides
The life we lived, loved in lusted lips
As we slid our pride between her fertile hips
We birthed the ******* of our own demise,
Now we can’t see beyond the tears from
It’s acidic eyes!

What have we done?
What have we done?

Oh father on high
Do you even hear us whimper?
The days grow short as the fires grow higher
Burning to find salvation,
Congregate the ground and let me dance within the sea of flames
Burden us no longer with misery,
Ascend us on high leave us not behind!

O father, what have we done?
What have we done?

Dark as black could ever be
Caught in a lungful plead to bury me
A thought dithers, as the light withers
Flesh flayed to the roasting pits
As the echoes linger,

She reaches from her core
To engorge on all the parasitic hosts
That rot her, treated her essence like a *****
We spoke of natural beauty,
As we ripped the limbs of her trees.
We spoke of natural beauty,
Piling high our heaps of **** —
Suffocating her shores.

The sky went black,
His voice struck,
Percussion in unison,
Opened wide the gates,
As unclean ones came,
Carry off the weak,
Carrion feasts from open graves,
This forsaken place,
God has left this waste
Weld shut the gates!

O father,
What have we done?
What have we done?
Oblivion!

Are you hungry enough to eat it?
If I were to claw my flesh like an itch
And rip through the dermis,
Until I’m pounding at the gates,
Break these walls to expose the wound
And tear from the valve.

Dangle it over your head,
As the beat dies down,
Go ahead, consume.

But what’s left of me,
Is compost for your
Garden full of dreams,
Grow with me
Into something beautiful
So wonderfully vibrant.
Painful and harmonic,

Even if I have to die to make it so
I’ll be there to watch it sow
As wildflowers bloom to take control
And our vines twist and tangle,
Up the columns, ageless.

Always your protector,
A dark forgotten aegis,
Sentinel in marble,
Robotic in my onslaught
But alive when the lights go out.

So consume,
I know you’re hungry enough to eat it
******* enough to take this,
One lavished lash at a time,
As I rip it out of my chest,
Beat fading in odd times
Take me in to be apart of you.

Infinite waters
Wash away the colors
I’m back to a blank canvas
How do we create something different?

What is it about the ocean?
That reaches out like a motherly hug
To swaddle me within the comforting waves
Coasting along the salty breeze —
Looking up to the cleansing fire of god
Bronzing my skin like an armor,
I’m a sentinel within.

Pull me under,
Take me to the deep,
Let me free your darkness
And swallow it in within my heart,
Follow me to the surface
I’ll dry your wings.

Join me in infinite waters,
Washing away the colors
Become a blank canvas
So we can create something different.

Stare out into the cerulean,
As the Mandarin orange crashes against the horizon
And crepuscular fuscia
Drapes over an ombre of deep violets
We can watch the diamonds form shapes as they sparkle
And wade upon the swaddling waves
Let the all mother sing like a siren song
Comforting as we sail further into the distance
In these infinite waters.

It feels like a slow death creeping,
Cracked windows like bad lungs
Bring in the wind like this house is wheezing.
Only wanted a happy ending
A purpose somewhere within the reason.
You change your mind as frequent as the seasons.

I’m falling further down, autumnal
Where your cold winter heart beats
Springing growth to a cancer, terminal.

I’m an open wound,
But you didn’t see the stream
Blood so calm it looks like a ravine
Red wine splashing on the tile.

Is this what you wanted from me?

Thought that I would possess you,
Like a demon taking hold,
But I know it just upsets you
Tenebrous fingertips can’t reach from the phantoms of your dreams
To grant you a taste to your hungry lips.

Doesn’t matter if it kills me,
Or what rips apart my torso
Tie me to the horses, and let em go
Collect my piñata insides like it’s candy,
Bittersweet the way you land these
Obsessive little ramblings.

There’s a hole in the fabric
I’m reaching through the spaces
Finding a nook I can escape in,
This is what I mean when I say I plane switch
Fly over skyward, spacious-
Always pushing up my smile for you
Like a facelift.

Is this what you wanted from me?

Crash on through my gates,
And storm the walls,
I won’t protest you,
Even if you take the gun and press it to my temple
Ask me if I still believe before you **** my god mode
Take everything from me until I’m hollowed.
Carve me into your perfect mannequin man.

Would that make me your favorite color?
Would it ever even matter, even if you had me on your shelf?
Would I not still gather dust, not enough ?

Broken in my mind,
Shattered pieces of heart
In a room where the black contrasts
With the bleeding neon lights
A prism of blue and purple hues
Capturing the funeral of what I stand to lose.

So tell me…
Do you see my open wound?
Is this what you wanted from me?

When all that stares back
Are faced unfamiliar
Looking at me peculiar
Like something wrong in the molecules
Piecing together the math abstraction in my intervals.

They try to lash out with their sabers
Cut me down the middle
Find a piece of me they can savor
All their clap-backs speak in drivel
Got a question for the mainframe
Go ahead and quandary this little riddle.:

If you plagiarize my symptoms,
And make a symphony of my sympathy
How can I take you seriously,
When all I see staring back is failed copies and incompletes?

Competency gone in the zero
Lash back in your hack attacks
Like **** me with laymen
Punchlines hit like wet ramen
I’m soggy from your softness
Brittle like dry pasta,
I boil over til I’m screamin’

What you do in fantasy,
I make reality, for me there’s no pretend.

All out of pretense
Come at me with your sharp swords
I got a few weapons of my own,
Strike at your nerve core
See if I can make a mannequin dance
When I pull the strings.

I told you I laugh last,
Because all I leave are corpses,
Now ring around a Rosie
Pockets full of posies
Ashes to ashes I’ll break you down.

Nothing like the smoky atmosphere of a dense city,
When you walk through the crowded sidewalks,
Cross through the busy streets,
And find yourself in good company.

The air seems lighter,
Fragranced with bourbons and bergamot
Various colognes and scents crafts a potpourri
Unique aromatic symphonies tickling the nose -
The only way a good bar can.

I'm parched by the time I hit the bartop,
Shoulder to shoulder with other patrons
As casual conversation flows like the taps,
And then I am asked, "What'll it be?"

How could I resist the sensation?
Smooth caramel-colored bourbon,
The sweet seductive tingly tango of vermouth
And the tangy fiesty bite of bitters,
Place that dagger pick through the cherries
And let me sip on that elegance.

A little dash of heaven,
In a crowded room.

Desperate little debutant
Dressed in his Sundays best
Hoping To impress
Gotta get off his chest

Oh no what a mess
Another bottle down
Liver shot to death
Yellow sight like his spine
Fear grips in his neck.

What would the sane man say
If the insane was publicized in his domain?
What would the recluse say
When ***** deeds are shown any way?

Run further away
But the truth catches up,
And the noose tightens like knots in your throat
Stalker thought he was predator
Turn around and pray,
In praise try to find absolution in his name
But grace, alludes the lewd cruelity of this creature

Can’t rely on you to play the game
Or abide by the rules,
Confined in four walls spinning tales
Roll the dice always landing on boardwalk
And I own the blue.

The only sucker in the mirror looking back
Is this kangaroo jack, yeah this is you.
Desperate little debutant ,
The walls closing in a world that will never remember you.

They enter my home,
Cheap suits, bad cologne.

We talk, endlessly
Needing to break for water,
Laughter and short jokes
But the tone never truly shifts.

I hand them the keys
So they can open the doors
Chat histories explored,
Timelines secured,
Screenshots validated

They ask me if I feel threatened,
I protest that while I do the focus should remain on kids
They offer information not yet known,
I take in the aroma of such sweet tea
And drink it down with a knowing nod.

They show me things not yet seen,
And I confirm the rhetoric used to abuse this barely teen.

They thank me for my time,
And I am greeted by another offensive word
Of cheap cologne.

The walls get smaller for a predator
When they become the prey
You can fool yourself into finding Jesus
But the law won't let you get away if you pray

The walls close in on a cyber-stalker
See the news has broken all over the place,
And you took the liberty to threaten me while they were over the shoulder
How do you feel knowing that it's almost over?

The walls are closing in
And the arms are breaking through,
Soon you'll smell the scent of cheap perfume and cologne
And once the dark shadows rip you from your skin
Know that the monster you chase is the one in the mirror
If truly sober, homer, d'oh yourself while tyring to see clearer.

The wheels of justice move slowly.

Countless screenshots, live messaging, emails, chat histories all collected.

Dummy was kind enough to message me repeatedly while they were here.

Walls are closing in on the groomer.

I’m continually being harassed by this person in both PM and on their page.

I’ve been instructed to stay quiet for the most part and let them do their job, so I am obliging. I can’t comment further but to say…

The FBI don’t ******* play

Defiant, I won’t budge
Unburdened by eyes that judge,
What am I supposed to fear?
I’ve seen hell and met the devil
I’m absolved of contrition.

Do you want to see blood?
Wish to break my skin like ceramic
See the red spill and maybe watch me panic
But I’m made of granite,
Please take me for granted
Swing and watch as bones fold
Crumble, dirt piles I climb
Why would I be humble?

Life shackled to the sun
Not sure how many more turns I have,
But If I’m spinning vinyl then I guess —
Maybe I should impress with a new sound
Parroting the last, in parody at last
We can both share the last laugh
Languished in an ice bath
Cool down the war machine
And let the time-lapse.

I hate everything you are,
Down to the way you nasally breathe,
Down to the way your hair reacts to a breeze,
The way you betray nature by ******* on leaves
And call it poetry when you release
I bet you feel oh-so relieved I’ve taken leave
But trust me, lyrical bullets don’t miss
When I’m allergic to lies and sneeze truths.

I am no fool
You drew the Joker,
Place your bets,
Know I haven’t lost a hand yet.
Defiant, I won’t budge

Fog is bellowing
Where my vision was once so clear
Obscured in the opaque
Plagued by the pangs of -
Belly ache pains,
I’m so hungry for closure
That I can taste the air like a birthday cake
I’ll blow out the candle -
And let the dark consume as I fade out of frame.

I always knew, when the luster wore off
And all my paint chipped,
I’d be discarded and misused -
Stricken by boldness
Like a highlighted bible verse
There is scripture in the way you smite
The very holiness of my utmost intention
Pure as spring water -
Bottle my countenance
And set me by the fire,
Contents under pressure.

You rode the transient train
And I was just a stop along the way,
Puzzling the lines that curve your face
Seeing if I fit in or was it the wrong time and place

Embracing timed moments
Hoping it meant more than a frame
Where time elapses like a photograph
In a flash it was gone
Didn’t know I could be so succinct.

The conductor blows his horn
And I see you border on the borderlines
Mind made up and the engine is running
How could you be so certain..
I would not be the one you chose
In a blink of a moment-
That curved round your face
I’m puzzling the pieces
Wondering if I could have fit in
I never knew I could be so succinct

Is there a warning,
or is it preordained?
How souls meet in the flick of a flame,
a candlelit silhouette puppetry
that plays out our destiny in irony.
But if I could reach from this page,
I’d caress your heart as we journeyed through space,
in all those ethereal orbs circling your light.
Could I be the one to give you life?

And who decided -
this divide could unbind us,
tethering us together
forever in a single harmonic sound?
We unite and ignite.
Time be ******,
there are no rules anyway.
As we tangle like a woven weave,
golden as we shine upon the stream, conscience save me—
as it all repeats,
tethered together forever,
souls met in the flick of a flame.

Feral eyes glint in the moonlight,
Lupine fingernails tear at her skin,
As her hips rise and fall,
She howls with a rhythmic ministration,
The glow of her flushed skin catches the candlelight,
While the cries of her passion vibrate off the walls,
Beads of sweat fall like morning dew off blades of grass.

Enchanted lips, lavishly adorned,
Exchange sweet-tasting spittle,
Where tongues waltz and tango,
Tangled in the heat of a stolen breath,
Until they gasp to recapture it.

His eyes roll back,
A lion’s growl erupts in an incessant cadence,
Massive palms with rigid digits grasp her waist,
Guiding her motion to a steady lock to her heartbeats.

Waves of passion crash upon them like a needy shore,
Their bodies shivering in coalescence,
As the lion roars and the wolf howls,
Creating symphonic melodies in the carnality,
Lovers delighted, souls reunited.

Inhale
           ….hold….

Drop
                 …exhale…

Lift

                           Inhale

…hold…

                               Drop

…exhale…
  
                                   Lift


Until the pain no longer hurts

Inhale
               …hold…
      
                          Drop

…Exhale…
                             Lift

Inhale
             …hold…

Drop
                            …Exhale…

Lift

Until a new you sculpts from the ache
And sweat fills all internal wounds
Watering the seeds of an iron resolve
Until you bloom renewed.

A farewell,
To the smog clouds,
To the scurrying office ants
Clogging the main streets in their matchbox cars
To the deafening noise
And stench.

Farewell -
To neon-lit spires,
To the smell of cheap food and cheaper beer
To the heartbroken fans of ****-poor teams
To the best of times, and the worst.

Farewell -
To all those loves I loved
And friendships come and go,
To the old haunts that still ache my skin
The ghosts that play back happy memories.

Farewell to the tactile familiarity
To the winding trails, and skyscraper horizons
To sunsets and bottle cap collections,
To the way the sun swayed the day
And we all were so eager to get out and play.

Farewell -
To festivals and carnival rides
To sold-out concerts and all that bass
To the very shape of your borders.

Farewell to home,
To the anchor of what kept me humble
I am releasing myself from your hold
And finding a new path -
Into the great unknown

Farewell.

The very essence of fluorescence
Taunts that which I can never see
From a self that I could never again be
Once unafraid and unfettered -
Catching its radiance under umbral canopies
Bathing in the healing rays like a soothing salve.

..How foreign now…

As I stare into the dark indigo shroud
Lit by the pallid mistress,
Curvaceously enticing the howls from wolves
Who, like me, chases to find a cure to hunger
Driving in the very black veins,
Longing to feel a pulse or beat -
While time retreats and like a clock I repeat
Casual flings tapped into ripened vines
An honored host, I spill not a drop of their precious wine
And when the light dithers, I can feel the life wither

…Will I never love another?…

The nights are endless,
The stars wane to a dull twinkle
An endless charade paraded with feigning smiles,
Immortality is purgatory, as all the sins compound
And though the dozens enumerate the years
I see only you, lost in the distance.

…Will you ever forgive me?….

Little hands of mine,
Shaky scribbles in Crayola blue
Handwritten letters to god,
Return to sender.

The sky is grey,
Despite the coloring books
Clouds form like ***** cotton,
The rain is not acidic enough…
I am still here.

In my sky colored room
Stucco walls look like ocean waves,
My lungs are tired, but I wish to scream -
Deaf tones upon muted ears,
Write another letter to god -
This time in barn red,
Maybe he likes this instead.

Return to sender.

Tears burn like pepper spray
When they are conjured from rage
And anger grits through, chipping teeth
As the extension cord to the Nintendo
Knows there will be no game playing.

Wrap it once, apologize,
Wrap it twice, demonize
Wrap it thrice, whisper goodbye

CHOKE

A cosmic joke,
The cord broke,
Gasping, ******* in the air
Disdained at my selfishness
It could have been better…
It would have been better.

Little hands of mine,
Can no longer find strength
To hold the canary yellow
The words fail, like all fallen angels
No longer return to sender.

Prayers are never answered.

Like a cancerous tumor,
I can excise you from life.
I can take the remnants of the pustule tumor
And throw it under the microscope
So I can examine the very molecular structure of your brokenness.

I could study every atomic particle,
What your traumas informed you
Into formulating this visage you created,
How the vile black sludge of your soul -
Is nothing more than gangrene gone spoiled.

Your ineptitude of self-reflection
Blocked by the cataracts of your vision
As you placate to your strengths that play out like a weakness,
No, you were born this way, malignant and malformed
A malcontent of circumstance of poor decision making,
Raised in ways that raze the page of parenthood,
Always a burden, never a gift.

See it's in the nucleus of the cells
That deforms cognition in your riddled mind
As the wine collects and clots like blood vessels
Creating a perpetual loop of your self-destructive patterns
You are auto-immune, eating yourself alive
And yet growing in your toxicity, even now
Cut and dissected, your roots reach out like needy hands.

But I am rid of you, and we are free
No matter the pageantry, or remerging bumps -
I am cured of you, forever rid of the stench
As you flail upon the slide, hoping a humble host will accept,
But like all things discarded, you will find the landfill to be a home.

Sun kissed poets
Singing sonnets with every
Harvested grain or ground herb
Of every odyssey
By the sea catching a feast for a king

We sing the songs of yesteryear
Honoring ancestral lands by way of bard
Or maiden song
Folktales told in plays by ways of melody

Here where the old gods still touch ground
And bless the poor farmer with bountiful crop
And wine spills secrets with each glass emptied

Tales told with full body eminence
Each vowel a thunderous drum
As if words themselves compel our vigor
To rise up and say it proudly!

We are gentle,
Humble servants of god and country
And welcome all that need a warm abode
We feed our lonely and praise our children
And love with abundance as our hearts-
Reach from our chest to hug yours

And whether from the coastal shores,
Or by volcanic rock,
In here we are all tethered together
No matter the distance,
Unified and as simple as a single word
We are Sicilian.

This path is imperfect
Cracks along the pavement,
There are downed trees -
Whose roots reach and cry for life
Graceful strides still give way
As obstacles startle into a free fall
And fall I have, but I’ve risen
Too many times to count,
Excised upon the scars seen and hidden,
But scars remind us that healing conquers wounds
And I’ll never be vanquished by lesser demons.

The path is arduous, long.
Each step forward is a gladiator march
Gauntlet of all the world can throw
In an arena meant for one,
Strength often fails the stalwart
I’ve fallen to a knee more than once,
Parched from a dehydrated atmosphere,
Suffocated from toxic energy,
Left in a heap of lost lives,
But I always keep an extra to play this game.

The path is never-ending
A winding labyrinth,
A garden maze in midsummer bloom
While Autumnal air carries death in potpourri depth
The fork coalesces here at the confluence
A Liminal divide, a decision prescribed
Will I tow the line, onward into the familiar
Or step into the unknown, where the fog betrays space
An endless haze in the great dark expanse -
A shallow sigh, and a reprise of the role
Soldier on, into the great unknown
Tomorrow the path will bend to me.