Miles past the nightstand
over the plastic water bottle.
the Ambien pill dispenser
and the soul-bruised eye shades.
An arrhythmic clock
knits needles of silence together.
Turning on the lampshade,
its circle of yellow light
attaches itself to my night-blanked face.
a damp mattress
molding heavy thoughts
that struggle to climb
dream-tossed blankets.
On its four arthritic legs,
the nightstand's
tour of duty continues
patrolling
one old man's conflict
with doubt and faith.
The way they come to me
the way that they’re heard
And written in haste
whether rich or absurd
Each vowel from the anthem
of consonant rhymes
Pronouncing arrhythmic
with hopes to define
Religiously deigning
the blood from my pen
New veins on the parchment
—alive from within
(Dreamsleep: August, 2023)
leaves sway quiver shake
to the invisible wind
an arrhythmic ballet
Miles past the nightstand
over the plastic water bottle.
the Ambien pill dispenser
and the soul-bruised eye shades,
an arrhythmic clock
ticks like a bombed-out tank.
Of course there is the lampshade
(that lighthouse for the luminescent krill
of submerged consciousness)
that seems attached to my skin
whenever body parts want to cut ties
with a mattresses concave reality.
Secreted like a drugged shark
in the shallow recesses of a snaring drawer
a snubby barrel with six mad prayers
snugs up against a snoring bible.
The raven iridescence
of night-cats prowl a life leaking bed;
occasionally they look up
their eyes shining
as they search for an alien presence.
On its four arthritic legs the nightstand
watches;
its tour of duty still patrolling a far off
conflict of doubt and faith.
Time to turn over the hull of being,
upright any surface
with a legibly printed label,
then haul that address back in
from the far side of an arm’s reach.
Time to shuck whatever shell
still rolls unopened in the surf
of the tossed and blanketed.
My Plea
This my plea O world
That drags the dream of peace
Through the mud of wickedness
Rise
From the egotistic slime to wash away
Self-centered muck
Loosen
Your profane feet of clay
From self-absorbed quick sand
Break through
The entitled self-interest of the arrhythmic heart
To the steady beat of the heart of all hearts
Release
Sludge filled veins of self-importance
To freely flow with innocence’s compassion
Lift up
The hands smothered by erupting ashes
Of the shameless vicious with sympathy
Immerse
Self-seeking vanity of the starving soul
Into the Samaritan’s fountain
Transform
The narcissistic selfie flower
With unfettered grace
This my plea for peace, O world
Sing the dream of dreams vision
Pray the prayer of prayers hope
Speak the speech of harmony
Live the life of peace.
3-29-22
Contest: Your Peace Message to the World
Sponsor: Anoucheka Gangabissoon
Her anger blows
frigid, like Arctic wind
Tears of hostile disposition flows
bosom lethal —
Pulmonary liquid nitrogen
Acrimonious breath
expel serrated exclamations
Jagged exhalation
feels like six below death
Such an icy sensation
Formaldehyde intimation,
cadaver cold pulsation
Got a cryogenic nature
that resides
in an unemotional South Pole
Frostbite vocals
has igloo vibrations
Freezer burn temperamental flatline
show glacial striations
Sub-zero body language
Kilimanjaro translate
hypothermia lacerations
Those neon palpitations
has taken nether hold
Arrhythmic separation
breaks at the
jilted Fahrenheit of six below
Pulsating pain, so cadaver cold
09-10-21
There are stretch marks for every delivered line.
Skin keeps strumming until it runs out of sweat,
incipient and membranous they arrive
through a mutual tension. On their own
words in the woods unseen,
but when pushed through a primal viscera,
they slip through wet and new.
You try to make them civilized and grown.
you know that eyes are upon you.
Birthing’s a messy affair
something you do behind swollen eyes,
a stress disorder that defies latex
or the collective humming of incubators.
Then you look down and everyone’s looking
it’s not a poem, it is a configuration
of arrhythmic pulses,
meanwhile you swaddle an indigenous form
native to a ‘no man’s land.’
You hope someone will read it to the end,
but it’s not the end, it’s another beginning.
Heart Song Separation
“We got separated from us last week and I haven’t found you since.” Poet’s Quote
Too long my heart we beat in arrhythmic clashes
Languishing in sudden cardiac heart arrest
Out of sync creating dark vascular ashes
No phoenix rises from heart disease - never rests.
Too long my song we argue over melodies
Distracted by atonal hallucinations
Dismissing cradle songs of haunting rhapsodies
Elusive harmonies hide in cache creations.
Too long my words we engage in rhythmic stand offs
Glaring at my silent muse - tense verbal showdowns
Impasse of wills – procrastination’s folly doff
Disguised in masks adjectives appear as pronouns.
My aimless soul seeks union with lost heart song words
Remembering your quiet smiles of peace fullness
Your velvet vesper serene these mourning tears blur
As twilight yearns in midnight’s hypnotic stillness.
Too long my heart we beat in arrhythmic clashes
Too long my song we argue over melodies
Too long my words we engage in rhythmic stand offs
My aimless soul seeks union with lost heart song words.
12-11-20
Contest: My Created Form
Sponsor: Constance LaFrance
I stand there, poised, a statue,
holding my paintbrush to my temple;
waiting for the lightbulb of sentiment to wash over me.
Then, like a distant star shooting across the cosmos,
or an injection of adrenaline into an arrhythmic heart;
my thoughts become as clear as a summers day.
The canvas mirrors my minds picture,
a time stamp of today;
igniting an old flame whose embers Iong presumed dead.
It is like time has ceased,
I have reached the eye of the storm;
my thoughts no longer an affliction of my mind.
I coat with a deep turquoise, the colour of the Asian coastline.
I build with an emerald green that coats the summer leaves.
I flavour with the purest white, like that of untouched snow.
The sun leaps above the horizon,
my nights work draws to a close;
the fire of my heart dimming with the dawn.
03/02/2020
Pick a Title - Tristich Contest
Sponsor: Edward Ibeh
#Afflatus
Her exhalation of loin lucidity
mentally fertilizes
my inhalation with ova clarity
Silent eyes move with
midnight aura imperative speed
Time dilation purity
seem to halo heat signature read
Twin soul synchronicity
mirrors a muffled,
dual embrace reciprocity:
A horizontal transmission need
Sigh ... blink
Thought oscillations
of laser intensity
enter the deepest diaphragm part
of fetal prone me
Pheromone palpitations
leaves a muted trail of inaudible moans
Cosmic kiss-synapse fluidity
is the lip-binding universal speech
Blink ... sigh
Love urgency travels
on an arrhythmic aorta beam
Unspoken passion
twas utterly bosom conceived
.my damaged heart this imperfect heart
Beats, beats, beats, beats my weak heart still beats
this beating arrhythmic heart this heart heart heart heart
defective heart beat heart defective heart heart heart
damaged heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart
diseased heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart
heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart heart
heart with a hole and a tumor effects one's active life immensely with death knocking at one's door, fatigue, irregular heartbeat, stress of death impending but life goes on and one adjusts living a full a life as possible under the circumstances God is good, uplifting, encouraging me in each day and every moment
life goes on and each day is a blessing to enjoy with family
moments of spiritual highs with God's presence so close
reaching out and touching the hem of His garment
feeling life giving healing taking place
nothing can compare to this
God is so good
He is so
Good to
Me
Incoming ...
distress missive call
Hangups on the other side
of the continental divide cellular room
Mushroom sobs of insecurity
click end of volatile transmission
Redialitis sparks an emotional kaboom
Hold the phone ...
busy signal
blocks the aural unnecessary
audio carrying on
Listen to the sick, sad drone
of earworm infection
Party line frienemy chatter —
rumor skullduggery
lip shake the skeleton bones
Wireless ...
discredit babble cry is on the blame install
Wronged directory
sent bye-bye a phantom victimized 911 call
Hangups on the teary-eye side
of the bleary divide
Insecure tremors rattle the room
Situation report bleak ...
relationship on a carrier gloom
Moby D pigeon chirps want the last speak
Mushroom wails
spark splash a cellular kaboom
Hold the phone ...
fade-to-black signal
buries the raised decibel unnecessary
verbal carrying on
Silence transmits an air golden tone;
as needless, exhale worriations
of arrhythmic heart palpitations
get disconnected lung distance long
And the bad karma vibrations
beep off-the-tower power grid gone
Blinded to all of the desirable flaws
within pillow reach
Shallow beauty of uneven temperament
rises and falls
with the tide of X-ray attraction
Ultraviolet thoughts in visible range,
scan the scarred marks
on an arrhythmic, telltale heart
Tender touch select a barely audible
passionate promise of silhouette pleasure
Sarah Vaughan on the playlist,
speaks softly low
after every Phyllis Hyman kiss
Silky braille scats,
pure Al Jarreau ...
fingering the body fretboard
Leaves an infra-red lip signature
Blind to the faults
of a carefree gypsy, wandering attitude
Wait patiently
to impart a better bosom perspective
Open the clay vaults
while the lava flow of the moment moves
Let love clarity
be the retinal force which aorta give
See those gems of free expression
paint the intimate mood
Glittering hues of breathtaking ecstasy
is blind to the fact —
seeking love is a natural obsession
Obliged, to senses’ pleasure and to soul’s discontent,
I acknowledged all the appreciations,
I often look at the world around me.
They all appear same – puppets dancing on arrhythmic tunes.
Clones moulded by the system, machines lethargically pretending to sweat for goals.
Permanently busy nodding their way through, unsure of the purpose.
An intense cold war for a better materialistic living.
Fate of tames in the hands of hierarchy, with their laughter being echoed back to them.
And then far away in mountains, amidst a fog of smoke, i inspect myself,
indifferent and very much a part of this inanimate group,
verily afraid of being accustomed to uptown lifestyle.
Agitatedly, as this kindled fire turns into ashes,
I have tried to learn, hoping the dots will connect someday.
Little does my heart know and little does it seem to care!
Pulse is racing
And chest tight
Nerves are shredded
Ice in lungs
Can’t see through tears
Arrhythmic pounding
Time is near
True or not
Ain’t seeming clear
Can’t you help me, in any way?
Keep this stuff from coming back!?!
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