The Subtle Knife. A poem.
She is the subtle knife, slid between the ribs of reason. The subtle knife that slides into my heart and cuts it up, with far less subtlety than I deserve. Continue reading The Subtle Knife. A poem.
Tag: Life
Peak. A poem.
You conquered me like a mountain (or a molehill). Climbed me and then left me here, another spire to aspire to. Was I just a rocky crag used as a monument to your success? What was my reward, just a wanton moment, better to forget? Here I stand, wind blown and forever circumspect, a peak waiting on another expedition. Hopefully, one that’ll show me more respect. My first book of poetry, The All or the Nothing, is available now as an e-book from most online distributors. To find out more, click here. Continue reading Peak. A poem.
Love Never Sleeps. A prose poem.
Are you faded and fated, to pass from memory as if you were an afterimage on grainy film stock? Or consume me whole like Jonah’s whale, where I will suffer forever and a day? I have wanted/needed you so desperately that I could not move or breathe without you taking control of me, like some mad puppeteer, pulling strings while I dance to some obscure polka tune. Why should I forget you? You, who stole anxious days and nights of worry, where my thoughts betrayed me and I wondered constantly if you hoped and dreamed (like me) or even felt … Continue reading Love Never Sleeps. A prose poem.
Sometimes. A poem.
Sometimes when I’m by myself and the night has swept daydreams away, like dust from polished floors; when lights click off and the house settles in with creaks and purrs of contentment. Sometimes, I wonder where you are and whether I’m in your consideration. And sometimes, when my mind plays trick or treat with facile retribution, I want you here to play those games in person. Continue reading Sometimes. A poem.
Haiku Friday. Anxiety. A Haiku Trilogy.
Anxiety. A haiku trilogy. 1. Harbinger Tingling on your skin, harbinger of darker things. The skies open wide. 2. Run Run while you still can, ‘fore this acid rain melts you. Too much weight to bear. 3. Hide You can’t hide from this. A pall hangs over you that doggedly consumes. I suffer from anxiety, but manage it much more effectively now than I did a few years ago. These haikus are for all the anxiety sufferers out there. Stay strong Steve 🙂 My first book of poetry, The All or the Nothing, is available now as an e-book from … Continue reading Haiku Friday. Anxiety. A Haiku Trilogy.
My Trajectory. A poem.
My trajectory: sometimes straight and narrow, sometimes a drunk man attempting to walk a straight line, while the cop just rolls his eyes. My trajectory: never in doubt, sometimes questioning. A walk through a dark forest, as the furry eaves and murky weave close off any chance of escape. Clearer in hindsight, never misplaced. God-given, forthright and true. My trajectory: is you. Continue reading My Trajectory. A poem.
Chat(less). A poem.
Fractious conversations; half-hearted, lip synced. Frantic fingers tracing familiar paths, back and forth across time and space. How much longer until each gives in, or gives up? Until the melodrama unfolds, like poorly crafted origami and becomes a crumpled paper crane. Aimless fingers tap dance, until the music ends. You need to be somewhere else, other than your own space and time. Stop typing! Feel the breeze on your face. The world awaits. Continue reading Chat(less). A poem.
Tired. A poem.
I’m tired. And my drifting aimless gaze settles on a distant mist-like haze that wells up continuously inside, like savage, misplaced pride, and makes me drop like a stone into waters unknown. Lost on cruel tides that wend the capitulating ocean to its end. So tired. If only sleep could solve this quandary, instead of leaving me on the periphery of a world that spins aimlessly, through head space and trickery, and leaves me wanting nothing less. And nothing more. Just tired. Time to leave this place. Steve is a literal starving artist. Please keep the dream of poetry alive … Continue reading Tired. A poem.
The Stand. A poem.
Just one tiny moment of her time. Just one glint in her eye. Did she look my way? Is she thinking about me? A lifetime of insecurities, rearing like some untamed bronco, kicking my ass before I’ve a chance to tango. And now, here I am, stupefied and indignant, wondering what do I do to impress her next? Maybe I could put myself down again, or perhaps be less vexed. Or maybe I could just retreat with my tail between my legs. No. Not this time. Time to make a stand. Let me just catch my breath, pull on the … Continue reading The Stand. A poem.
Phantom Limb. A poem.
I’m forever haunted by this phantom limb, writhing in my sleep, guilt stricken for my sins. I see you in every couple on the street, and at the coffee shop, where we drank each other in. It feels like you’re still across from me; the conversation, imagined and forlorn, accusing eyes that follow me no more. Your ghost absorbs my days and nights, a peripheral blur, just out of sight. Time heals all wounds; such perfect sense, but not in my experience. You’re the limb I lost, that still persists. A phantom limb, my will insists. Continue reading Phantom Limb. A poem.
Haiku Friday: ‘Mourning Flowers’, a Haiku trilogy.
Mourning Flowers 1. The flowers in bloom, painted like rainbows in June. Yet, you tear them down. 2. You cast them aside, like radioactive waste. And now: here you are. 3. They are reminders of all you’ve reaped and sown and lost. Mourn your life. Continue reading Haiku Friday: ‘Mourning Flowers’, a Haiku trilogy.
Let down. A poem.
I’m let down, again. Every letdown compiling like a coded compunction, in synapses despoiled by repetition and disfunction. Swarmed and overloaded, categorised and goaded. Too many times to make sense of it all. Letdown, like so many times before. Who has any tears left to cry? And why bother to even try. Continue reading Let down. A poem.
Through His Eyes. A poem.
See the world. But not through your own eyes. Try his. Try seeing and yet not seeing, failing to understand what they truly perceive. Messed up signals, like a traffic jam waiting to happen. Open your mouth, like his mouth, and watch the words tumble out: unannounced, tactless and indiscreet; a crossword of errors on a big broadsheet. Walk alone, not by yourself, but like him: truly alone, like the world has eaten you up and spat you out. Deserted, when you truly needed love instead of doubt. This is how he feels. So extend a hand. Feel with him. … Continue reading Through His Eyes. A poem.
Heartbreak. A prose poem.
My heart was broken, and the pieces lay scattered across the floor like so much fractured crystal. It lay where it fell for days, weeks, months. I fixated on my shattered heart for a long time. Everywhere I looked, everywhere I walked, I was in danger of cutting myself on a fragment. Visitors and friends stepped delicately around the shards like navigating a minefield. Every once in a while I would think about tidying up. But the strewn slivers were a reminder both comforting and saddening. One day, I awoke to find the pieces were gone, as if they had … Continue reading Heartbreak. A prose poem.
Options. A poem.
So many options. So many numbers, so many keys. A lifetime of choice compressed into one, mechanical drone call. Menus designed to send me on my way (but not in a good way, or a satisfied way, or a new way). Menus, like life, with far too many options. Continue reading Options. A poem.
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