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TaliaRussell
Over 90 days ago
United States

Stories

Series

Stillness, but for spinning wheelsIn my head, in vain to feelPull it upRetrieve that meaningThat I can’t quite, am not gleaning What is this?It’s so familiarFocus now, distill it from airPluck it out, like floating weedsSpiky starsDandelion seeds Fingers close, believe it’s caughtOpen hand, you’re holding naughtNowhere to go, to look it upFile not foundMy mind is stuck Being so used to instant accessResourcelessness just...

Shell Game

Now you see it . . .

She stands before youSo sincereHer heart is on displayCradled in her outstretched handsHeld so tenderly You melt to see her standing thereYou want so to believeAnd to accept her offeringYour hands begin to reach And as you do she pulls awaySaying "you must play the game"And takes you to a tableWhere sit three shells, all the same She sets one shell atop her heartAnd shuffles them aboutAnd under which shell her heart liesY...

I tried to research sourcesI could find no proof I tried to seek out referencesI guess they all had moved I thought up some trick questionsThey did seem answered right And who says "lie detector test"As a date some night? I wish there were a sure-fire wayTo leach out the truth Instead of just believingWhen you say "I love you."

Every time you’re mean to meOr when you let me downIn my head I hear a "dink"A hollow metal sound Not the clear ring of a bellOr soothing music chimeNor the striking of a clockMarking out the time "Dink" is disappointmentLead slug in the machineLanding in the coin returnWorthless to redeem The sound of muffled guitar stringsTheir music clipped and flatHopes and dreams that tumbled downA "dink" is all of that Perhaps my ex...

I saw you weakAnd hated youThe way you clung to meYour need so claustrophobicI could barely breathe And yet I felt responsibleNot able to break freeEach time that I would take a stepYour grasp dug into me As though I held the key to youAs though you lived through meYou feared that I would leave youYou said you’d take your life I’m forced to entertain youAnd care for you just likeYou were my child and helplessNot partners...

I went away todayDriving in my carI thought of you against meHow warm and strong you are I went away todayTalking on the phoneGripped by those blue velvet eyesYet I was all alone I went away todayGoing through the mailThinking how you tie your tieYour collar slightly frayed I went away todayYou never left my mindThe way you call me “lover”The way our thoughts entwine You went away today.

In his hand I saw the gunBlack and shiny brightIt was a pistol, very smallIt gleamed from the street light The gun was pretty as it shonePretty, black and coldI heard as words were said to meAnd did as I was told I never saw his face at allThe gun drew in all lightI turned and heard a metal clickThen silence, in the night.

Consumed by sadnessI pen this verseI saw your lifeCan't imagine much worse I pray for you strengthTo make your escapeSo that your sweet childrenWon't grow up this way You're not a friendBut I sympathizePlease get awayAnd rebuild your life

Now

Do we?

Do we now knowWhen passion has passedAfter unwindingOur limbs’ tangled mass? Long after the lure of the wordsTo and froThe mental gymnasticsPropelling us prone After seeing the imageIn each other’s eyesThrough a mirror of fantasyStep into life What we’ve createdBy acting it outDo we want to move forwardNow that it’s now? What do we know, andWhat more is there?But harder to ask, perhaps:Do we care?

Somewhere, I lost itBut I’m glad it’s goneNo need to fretOver what I’ve done wrong There is a freedomWhen you don’t need to tryA certain freedomTo just say good-bye No effort neededNothing missedLight of heartContented to drift Fine if you’re hereBut not for too longFine if you’re goneI’ll just move on How did I get here?Not really sureWill this go on?Will my freedom endure? Are there othersWho feel this way?Nothing compe...

Within the first week after I took delivery of my new car, I stepped in gum. It got on the carpet. Not on the mat, but on the carpet just beneath the door. I was upset. I got most of it off, but there was still a mark on the light tan carpet. It was a pretty car: diamond white, with a light tan interior. My favorite is white, with a light grey interior, but the last two cars I ended up getting were white with tan. I still...

Pretend

Been there, done that . . .

Act as though you love meI’ve been fooled beforeI’m sure with little effortYou will make me yours Pretend you are devotedThat I’m your only oneBreak down my defensesQuell my urge to run Assure me of your ardorTalk of future plansDrink in my affectionTell me you’re my man Let me know the comfortOf feeling so secureAnd before I know what hit meSlither out the door.

Shield

It's not my way

Take care of meI need you I will never say My fear is if I say itYou will run away Need is terrifyingBoth felt and as expressed It’s better to deny itAnd keep it well in check But sometimes I grow tiredOf seeming to be brave I want to run to you for helpBe rescued, sheltered, saved My strength is my appearanceAnd that is what I show My weakness must be shielded  So only I will know.

Bubonic

Out, out, damn flea!

It spreads faster than the plagueIn medieval timesIt’s the flea aboard the ratBearing your demise You see those around you fallPerhaps you will be next?How can you protect yourselfFrom this horridness? Shall you avoid all contact?Stay away from friends?Never trust an embrace ?Never hold a hand? Live a life so sanitizedInsanity prevails?But this is not the answerTo craft a private jail The flea of which I’m speakingCarries...

Clerk

Can you say J.D.?

I couldn’t believe it, on the second day, when they put me in that tiny room all by myself. A room with no windows and an ashtray. I looked at my watch. It was 8:20 a.m. I wanted to cry. Cry, because I was bored. Cry, for the poor kid whose file I had to read. Cry, because I didn’t want to sit in that room and read it, and cry, because I felt I should want to sit there and read it. Once I started reading it, I felt like i...