black and white
today, yesterday
calm and fright
there is no gray
a pastured cow
a startling contrast
the future now
my mind the past?
i take away
i give it back
they sway and sway
with words attack.
tomorrow is now
and blindingly bright
this pastured cow
shall see the light.
you have taken the cake
on an already black-letter day
putting your foot in your mouth
and ruining every cliche.
it’s raining cats and dogs
but you beat around the bush
i wish the cat had my tongue
instead you’ve turned shove to push.
i’m about to blow my top
because you’ve gotten out of hand
your idiom (IDIOT) won’t stop
but I am not a yes-woman or man!
you have worn out your welcome
I’m not wet behind the ears
you may think I’m wishy-washy
but you’re jumping the gun on your tears.
flashes of light
taking the night
flashes of day
take me away
flashes of pain
oh the disdain
flashes of angst
on temples bang
flashes of now
pounding my brow
flashes of then
coming again
flashing frustration
on this situation
flashing impatience
removing my patience
flashes of light
taking my night
flashes of day
take me away.
it’s election day
and instead of red or blue
i’m wearing purple
i didn’t consider
when sleepy-eyed
i picked this passion,
two layers of
red-mixed-with-blue,
violent violet,
that i’d be combining
both parties.
this is where i am now.
no, not in the middle
no, not wary of my political stance
no, not accepting the other side.
just purplish
feeling a bit
done
done
done
with politics
that with any combination,
redbluepurple,
bring angst
into our lives.
if i could be any animal,
i’d never choose
a ferocious lion,
a bravely scavenging bear,
a hawk hunting all night.
how silly
to think anyone would.
i’d be you, of course,
my always-a-baby Chihuahua
curled up on top of her owner’s cold feet,
snuggled under blankets all winter,
given scraps right from the fork,
sleeping and loving and breathing.
yes, that’s the life.
no hunting, scavenging, ferocity.
just peace, love, simplicity.
just you and me girl.
they’re all decked out for
the devil’s birthday
(Hallelujah!)
in Princess Mulan,
clown, cheerleader,
lion, samurai, and pirate.
no hallelujah party for us tonight,
but steps down dark streets
ringing doorbells
and saying hello to neighbors
whose blown-up pumpkin balloons
hover like glowing monsters
over the kids’ trail of treats.
we’re devilish, aren’t we?
letting them plan out this night
for months, pulling seeds from pumpkins,
creating costumes to die for,
seeing them work up a sweat
in their mad dash for candy?
yes, we’ve missed the hallelujah party,
given in
to the American dream of Halloween,
but for one night a year,
when we all pretend to be
something other than ourselves,
when we all remember
the thrilled excitement of the candy rush,
i think this steals the devil’s show.
this is just to say
i have taken all the money
from our account
in order to buy wholesome food
for our children
for us
for one week
and i wish
that the government
would subsidize health
rather than
corn, soybeans, and wheat
so that perhaps
for more than a week
we could know
just what we were putting
into our mouths,
our stomachs,
our lives.
i just can’t imagine
a day without words,
blinded by a burka,
unable to read,
children at my feet,
a whip near my back.
i won’t imagine it,
but instead relish
the freedom i have
to show everyone
just who i am.
I am the empress
you the emperor
as you sit for over a month,
our young tucked
beneath your flaps of skin, fur
protected from windy storms
harsher than hell
while I waddle my way
across Antarctica,
weak from giving birth,
starved from lack of fish,
the iciness engulfing me
until I feel I can move no more.
But it is you,
it is them,
huddled together in fatherly love,
that push me forward,
reaching the sea
with its wealth of life,
bringing it back
for you, for them,
for all of us to taste
as we form a new season.
thanks for the quick
and painful reminder
of why i never ask you for anything.
i’ll just tuck it under my sleeve
with all the others
that are crammed somewhere
in my layers of clothing
and try to use your reminder
(and its inability to keep me warm)
as a reminder
of how much more
i need to
reach out to them,
strip them free
of useless, painful notes
and wrap them in
the warmth of love
that your reminder
has tried to take from my heart.
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