You countthe gray strandson my blonde headtenderly.Say: “Aging is deathromancingthe body.”Coming from you, dear?It’s almosta compliment. Photo by Fabien TWB on Unsplash
A Woman Past Her Prime – Allister Nelson
I do not believesambas don’t illuminate your day,that quartets remain in concert hallsor jazz ensembles don’t pursue youthrough the brazen grocery aislesdemanding you break 4/4 timewith artichoke maracas.How do word-pounded pagesnot scream in your ears?How do you not narrate every habitualnuance of every simplest task?Do you even know what colorAugust is? What shape 9tastes like? […]
An Unquiet Mind – Tamara Fricke
i have had enough
today i have seen the dark
my heart is brighter
Spill the tea, Miss HavishamDine on the moldering wedding cakeSip grief from your dusty tea cupsScatter the dried rose petalsfrom your musty bridal bouquetover the gossamer spider websand candle wax drippingsAll that once was and will never beis hidden behind your tattered virgin veilOnly the mice that nip anguishfrom your festering fleshknow the heartbreakyour tongue […]
Pip’s Last Visit – Trisha Leigh Shufelt
An unquiet mind doesn’t mind what you say won’t care where you go as long as you stay The pulsing, the screaming, The aching, the dreaming Memories of shadows permeate sight not in danger at all, poised to take flight Headphones and static and noise all around can’t shut out the anchors pulling me down […]
An Unquiet Mind – Matthew Eayre
A shadow in the frame—Always, always….No escape possible.Eternal, its strengthand size shifting at timesto delicate and nothing much,fooling me into believingI have emerged, triumphant.Yet, the shadow,no matter how faint,is never conquered,and I am never triumphant.Whispering,spitingits white noise poisonsinto my earas it stands, faintly seen,behind me,exercising strengthnot humanover the fifty yearsof truth I have livedto cast […]
The Well of Childhood Haunting – Annette Kalandros
No need to let ghosts haunt your halls Or give sanctuary to strangers You deserve to feel safe Even if it’s the first time You don’t owe anyone Your smile or your likes You can scroll on by Without being a welcoming center You’re not an embassy The only one you owe Safe haven to […]
An Unquiet Mind – Stasha Powell
slowly i will dance
as the flame on the candle
illuminating
by the dirty window i sit
to watch people survive
there is no pool with living waters
no eternal flames
perhaps a rancid puddle
radiation fuming through
and a block away chalk lines
in the fetal position
my ego dies at the end
of the morning
there is a warm toxicity
in their eyes
we all beg in different ways
my lips half ass parted in warning
synapses remind me i should let be
and watch it unfold
like a ledger owed
in this house of spoiled wealth
words less spoken 