Month: March 2019

fourth daughter

are you there
whispering into alcoves
as passerbys listen in
wondering what secrets
can set them free
bound to pathways
of pebbles and hate

are you hurt
have old wounds reopened
new blood covering old scars
warn out scar tissue
a faint reminder of yesterday
failed ritual attempts
to transcend this time

are you waiting
for me to come to town
with my hand out for you
gold in my coat pocket
bountiful room in my heart
unconditional love for the boy
whose blood should have been mine

are you lost
have cold nights worn you down
has his attitude changed you
with an angered voice
or is it a soft touch now
a gentle kiss on the neck
someone who makes you better

are you better
not knowing where i am
wondering who i am now
remembering who i used to be
why i am the way i am now
is it easier to see him
with a future so bright

that maybe i, should stop wondering
about you

dented

i dropped you off
but along the way home
i picked you up
because i used to
know you
but not enough
to see you
alone
with me by you
but i still picked you
up along the way home
while my room mate sat
in the back quietly
as we flirted
when we pulled up
to his house
where his mother
was sorting
recyclables
after he got out
i hit their garbage can
but i didn’t stop
because you kept talking
i kept smiling
the rest of the drive
until i dropped you off
and i went on my way home
after i picked you up

top floor, right

in the wrong
or the side tales of mistakes
where you found me
in dusty corners of lost
afternoons

honest accident
my face cutoff in photos
you in the sunlight
showing off boundless beauty
misaligned

never introduced
to people you’ve known
after i came around
as a secondary thought
forgotten

giving up now
my shattered portrait
when you left for good
with the key to
nothing

just to move along

i hesitate to bring up
the words that put you down
does it hurt that much
when you fall to the ground

they always make the same
mistake
putting their hands where
they don’t belong

are the followers kept
to the sides of the house
where the echoes are heard
so shallow and long

hard to keep up the
charade
as the ceiling begins to
fall away

can you keep this close
to the brim of your neck
as i give you my secrets
please don’t give them back

epithet

i never met your father
nor did i learn his name
come to think of it
i still don’t know it now

i have seen his face before
in a photograph
kept on your dresser
you beside him and your sister
all three smiling
i made a gesture to it
you gave a quick smile
then continued me onward

next time i came over
the photograph was gone
you were slighty drunk
smoking cigarettes hastly
leaning into me
kissing my neck
holding onto me

i came to see you again
but you didn’t come to the door
i half expected you to stumble out
kiss and apologize to me
but no lights were on
no car in the driveway
i went home worried about you

by the time i got back
i was greeted with a voicemail
no words
just you crying
i called back
but i never got an answer

now i wonder about you
from time to time
where you are
and your father’s name