Chapter 4 As the evening unfolded, Jess and I found ourselves enveloped in an intimate and serene atmosphere. The soft glow of the flickering candlelight danced across the room, casting a warm and comforting aura. It created a perfect backdrop for the deep conversation that was about to unfold. Jess, her voice trembling slightly, began to open up to me with a heavy heart. Her eyes drifted into the distance, clearly lost i...

One after another Sheets of metal fall from my lips Slicing the corners of my mouth As they clatter to the ground Symbols etched in silver Canvased anguish Purposeful debris Manufactured for them to see Even under a microscope They struggle to decipher The sigils of unsung history Of the ambivalence of death ‘Eureka!’ they shout in unison Handshakes flutter across the room Pleased with their accomplishment Misread, misint...

"We just went out. What now? Not time yet."Looking up at me. Beseeching. whining.Grab the squeaky. Toss it. Lots of play. Biting, flinging about, returning to me. I squeak it, lob it off. Repeating.Return to my computer. "What now? Whining? Out?" We go out. Just dawdling and sniffing. Back inside.Soon crying again. "Please, what is it?" I glance around. Count the toys. What's missing? Oh yeah.Search the house. Finally.Whi...

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?

"You're married?" Susan exclaimed. I felt a hole where my stomach should have been. I saw the look of shock and horror across her face. Then a pained look took over her whole body. I broke out in a cold sweat. I couldn't imagine hurting this woman and I barely knew her.I nodded slowly."Why did you ask me out if you're married?" she asked through clenched teeth. The anger radiated from her in waves."Because you're one of t...

Unless you hide yourself awayYou’ll likely meet one on most daysYou know the kind - they seem quite niceIf not, then they are harmless types You share a laugh, a latte, lunchOr if online, you talk enoughThat you think this person’s coolAnd you’re no rubeYou’re no one’s fool They share with you their historyYou start to wonder “can it be?”That your new friend, a decent sortCan hate so many friends before? Every boyfriend w...

I remember the day we created art,The surest sign I gave you my heart.Posing and kissing we took shot after shot,The caption reading my deepest thought. We hung it with care in our little room,Our symbol of love among doom and gloom,Something of us, that we made together,Our always, not just in fair weather. Years went by, yet it remained,Though on occasion things were strained,There was a time I tried taking it down,Anxi...

"Take a walk with me," I sayHolding out my handYour fingers touch and mesh with mineWe head out on the sand Where the water meets the shoreIts grains so cooly packedLeaving pointed footprintsTrailing from our backs You look at me expectantlyAs if I need to talkI see the worry in your faceBelieving something’s wrong Now I start to wonderHow to calm your fearsErase the Ugly SpectreUninvited hereFollowing in our footstepsThi...

I see you there, Out in the sea,Waving at people, Who just wave back. They don't understand.You're not having fun.The struggle is real,Too tired to swim. They can't see your callYour cry for help.The waves take you down.Why won't they come? Maybe they can't see.Maybe they can't hear.Maybe they're too busy.Maybe they don't care. Slipping beneath the waves,The sun disappears.Eyes about to close.A hand around yours. I can se...

After talking to you, I walked outside and leaned against the rail as I drag my cigarette and look out over the city.Wondering how this happened,how using the internetfills a need, a craving for affection. I guess I need to know,what happened to being with your partnerthem filling all our wants and needs,listening to our desires. struggling together to make things work communicating with each other to fix things. I guess...

As I sit here writing, words flutter from the breezes in my fertile mind. So often, I try to put them on paper or utter them aloud. They come out in a jumble, as if I pulled them from the brambles in my mind. I use words to communicate and inform, to confuse and entertain. Words like the fruit of the bramble can be sweet or sour. Even when sweet, they can turn sour in the mind of the reader or listener. Lately, however my...

Into black and white I often wonder if our voices are actually heard. If people read our every word! Or is it like life where you skim through it to get to the end Never realizing that you might lose a friend. We don’t stop to see and admire the picture as a whole And “that beauty” will never unfold. You know! I also wonder! That GOD could have made this world, humanity And the entire universe in a split second, yet he ch...

Do you remember the CB radio craze? Were you part of it? It was a big thing here in the US in the early to late 70's. Now it had been around for years but was used mostly by businesses for communication purposes. Then someone discovered how much fun it was talking to strangers and before you could say Breaker Breaker it was off and running. There were CB songs and it seems every movie and or cartoon story line of the day ...

My words are translations of my breathing and are hard to say in your language. My tongue, my teeth, my lips can barely pronounce the words from my country where the mountains are steep, the valleys dark and cannot be reached without effort and desire. I wish I could tell you how beautiful it is where I live and have you understand my language and hear what I want to say to you. Listen and you can hear me speaking to you...

I sat beside him as he cooled. I touched his hand and stroked his head. Death had come an hour before. They placed him on a hospital bed. I found him on the bathroom floor. There was no pulse or breathing sound. He collapsed behind the wooden door. There was nobody else around. I never got to say good-bye. When I found him he had expired. I had said mean things that day when understanding was required. I looked at his now...