Between metal planes
My savage heart wallows
I exhale and compress
*
Oblate and isolated
This is what it means
To wear armor
*
There is no freedom
In chain links
Only dissuasion
There is no freedom
In voyeurism
In impotent dreams
That rely on conditionals
*
If is exponential
Wait too long
And you too shall pass
Art By: Tara Minshull
My lips tighten
In graceful arcs
Like a scythe
I brandish your tongue
In self-defense
*
Too often I’ve forgiven
Too often you’ve forgotten
The conditions of apology
Another girl
Another drink
Another dream
Heel pressed
*
I couldn’t alter
The dimensions
Of your heart
So I made myself smaller
Seen and unseen
I altercate
Adjacent to actuality
*
A discursive expression
Of circuitous guilt
To what do I owe
This karma?
To what madness
Do I ascribe you?
*
She holds you between
Her thighs only
Soon enough
She’ll exhaust all possibility
And you’ll come
Knees to the pavement
Promises full of teeth
*
I was out of town today, really pressed for time and energy.
If I were a planet
I’d have a hollow core
Crepuscular in odyssey
I’d drift aimlessly
Ricocheting against
Invisible labyrinths
No matter how
Fastidious the design
Fate always bends
Toward entropy
*
If I were a landscape
I’d have a muddied surface
From hoards of unshod feet
Trampling my potential
Into self-serving affectations
Impatience and convenience
Always trump conservation
*
If I were a house
I’d be uninhabited
Save for death
Which preys
Even as it sows
Transience being
Indiscriminate
In its undertaking
*
If I were a man
Praise would not terminate
My sense of omission
I’d hunt egregiously
From stolen parcels
And assign contrast
I am good
Therefore,
Other is bad
Keeping New Year’s in mind this week’s prompt is Virtue.
Just as there are 7 deadly sins, there are 7 virtues and they are
Choose one or more for inspiration. You can write about an individual who embodies one or more of these traits. You can write about your own self-improvement efforts. You can share your own personal definitions. You can write about life experiences which are conducive/coercive to the development of one or more of these traits. You can write about situations that push you to the other extreme. For example you might generally be a patient person but holiday shopping might leave you very short-tempered and stressed out.
Happy New Years!
Speechless
I lie face down
When weeping
Your redolence
Cushions gravity
Monosyllabic
I am aware
Of a certain irony
I, who, never cease
In monologue
Am rendered indistinct
On inquiry
Gift
I prefer the honesty
Of your breath
As it passes quicksilver
Into the night
The truest compliment
Lie in proximity
You are here
You are accessible
That is itself a gift
I clutch the intimation
Of your smile between my teeth
The final bastion crumbling
*
Words are bitter
The discarded rinds
Of a titivated heart
*
Let’s not speak
As if strangers
Let’s kiss and collapse
As if every moment
Were indelible
*
My soul flits
Between spine and navel
A dissident moth
Hunting euphoria
In darkness
*
I want to burn with you
Like an exposed wound
Jagged and irrefutable
My name deepening
With every exhale
A mantra carved
In flesh and sinew
I don’t generally write blog posts but I thought I’d share my Christmas with you.
–
Traditionally Swedes put up their Christmas trees on December 22nd and then remove them on January 6th. Sam and I typically put our tree up on December 15th and remove it according to custom. We make a lot of our own ornaments. We have origami ornaments, ornaments made from melted beads, craftsy ornaments that Isadora makes in school, and ornaments that Sam carves from wood. Isadora and I paint the hand-carved decorations. Sam has a real knack for crafts. I have no such knack, I am the type of person to glue my hands together when making a simple collage. Other decorations include festive house plants, wreaths, lighted stars for the windows, advent candles, halmbocker (straw goats), tomte (santas), and trolls.
–
This year we celebrated on the 24th. Sam made milk free, gluten free blueberry pancakes for breakfast. After our meal we opened our gifts. Isadora received a drum, some jewelry, a Wii game and a Mulan costume. Sam received a clamp, a poem, and I believe he will buy a wood planer as well. I received some jewelry, a poncho sweater, an owl plushie, boxing gloves and a hand target (Sam and I will share), and a beautiful outfit.
–
Later in the day we had a brief talk with my mom on Skype. She lives in the country and her internet connection isn’t very stable so our conversations are very disjointed.
–
For dinner we had a Japanese hotpot which consisted of rice noodles, broth, veggies, mushrooms, shrimp, fried tofu, beef, and chicken. Sam cooked at the table on a hot plate except the beef and chicken which he prepared earlier in the day to ensure tenderness and flavor. For dessert we had a gluten free, milk free apple pie, oatmilk vanilla sauce, and cherry sauce. Isadora complimented the meal so much Sam thought I’d bribed her. I hadn’t bribed her it was just that delicious.
–
After dinner we watched The Polar Express. Last year we watched The Nightmare Before Christmas. Every year we watch a Christmas movie together.
–
On the 25th we celebrate with the in-laws. It is traditional to begin the day with rice porridge. An almond is placed in one of the rice porridge bowls and whoever finds the almond gets to make a wish. I have a milk allergy so I will skip that.
–
We do secret Santa for the adults (Sam and I, Sam’s parents, Sam’s sister, Sam’s other sister and her fiance). Everyone buys gifts for the children. There are only 2 children, one of which is mine, so it’s really no trouble. Every year one of the adults dresses up as Santa to pass out the gifts and every year Isadora gets hysterically excited (she’s been able to recognize the person since she was two but that’s not the point).
–
For snacks there are ginger bread cookies, homemade syrup cookies, homemade chocolate slices (also a cookie), homemade Swedish toffee, another homemade chewy chocolatey candy, and ice chocolates.
–
Dinner consists of: Swedish ham, baked salmon, potatis au gratin with anchovies, meatballs, prins korv, sil (horrible fish in jars), crisp bread, sliced cold-smoked salmon, glögg (spiced wine), and a salad.
–
After dinner and presents we watch Christmas cartoons. We are also working on a Gingerbread house =)
I turn the lights off
When I listen to the chorus
It’s like playing chicken
With God
*
Music is empathic
The way it presses tears
From soul threads
*
Every tender refrain
Leaves me redolent
As a newly dispensed sea
A state of saturation
That expedites purity
*
Everything I know of love
I’ve scraped
From your bones
Words rich and iron-infused
You are
The unbroken voice within
The illumination
Of a benevolent unknown
*
Not much time to write hence the disconnect between the stanzas. I am celebrating Christmas with my little family unit today and then with the in-laws tomorrow. I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!
Blood is a paradox
Contested but essential
To the machine
*
I don’t regret it,
Being born
Despite the cruelty
That you concede
I’ve outgrown that life
That limp-fisted agony
Dusk no longer
Accelerates my fears
I am priceless
However flawed
*
I saw my new therapist the other day. I answered questions about my childhood without crying but when I talked about my current struggles with worth I just started balling. I was so taken off guard I actually looked aroud to see where the noise was coming from. Sorry for the dark topic on Christmas but the therapy session left impressions.
Rows and rows of conifers
Dart past the window
Each one a riddle
A dream construct
Around which gifts
Are posthumously attached
*
I press my cold hands
Between my thighs
There’s an ax in the backseat
And a felon with a volatile temper
In the front smoking
With the window rolled down
*
The air tastes like
Aluminum and cremation
I am excited, cautious
And entirely insurmountable
The numbers on the white signs
Are shrinking along with the wares
*
We stop at the very end of the lot
The trees are dressed
In disheveled skirts of green and brown
They are beautiful
Stoic even as the blade comes
Swooping down
*
My father and uncle
Fasten the tree
To the roof of the car
Money exchanges hands
Poverty is contagious
No one suffers alone
Eventually the backs
On which we stand
Collapse
*
The tree farm is owned by a family
Incomprehensibly they invite us for dinner
I have no idea if we’re related
They are probably cousins,
I have scores of unmet relatives
All over the city
*
Their home is modest
As far as I can tell
It’s mostly a kitchen
All the other rooms
Are dark and inanimate
The counter is filled with food
Collard greens, biscuits, fried chicken
Miscellaneous chicken parts
That smell internal
*
I take a seat and tuck in
Too self-conscious
For conversation
But grateful for the food
And company
*
This was a difficult write for me as my memories are all very sketchy!
mindlovemisery 