Joy is a problem
it keeps me anxious, up all night
dreaming on the ceiling,
happy yet knowing
the coming day will probably be just okay,
not grey but some other tone
between radiant azure and baseboard mold.
The instability of contentment
is legendary, it’s a jelly baby
that goes stale overnight.
I’m ridiculously happy for no good reason,
It can’t last, and that makes me nervous,
it’s just so damn problematic.
Categories:
baseboard, poetry,
Form: Free verse
What's in the closet
Betty Davis old wired hanger
in the upper left hand corner spiders web
on the floor by the baseboard a mouse hole
and on the closet shelf an folded up patch quilt blanket
Grams old fur rabbit coat
nestled tween the raincoat and dad's work shirts
ragged old hoody
Mothballs scented smell entire closet a memory of useful things now hidden away
7/9/19
written by James Edward Lee Sr.
Categories:
baseboard, analogy, appreciation, imagery,
Form: List
Drifting aimlessly
I have sipped the ladled blades
in this cold chicken soup
Set upon a table of just deserts
on the far end of the horizon
Spoon fed disappointments
staining a multi-colored tie,
hated for what it’s worth
and only half as much for what it means
Navigating a narrow hallway
of slanted photographs, framed and fading
Dripping down papered walls,
torn designs, baseboard gatherings,
stopping only for locked doors,
weather worn carpets
burning my hands and knees
The spiral staircase teeters on its polished axis
as I weave my way towards the furthest star,
carbon copied desires on an unending page
rolled and stuffed in my shirt pocket, mapping
each pie slice step, counted and forgotten of
crusted blueberry footprints…crumbs
falling through celestial cracks,
drifting aimlessly
Categories:
baseboard, loneliness,
Form: Free verse
Another drip another drop
pain filled nights will never stop
water stained ceilings and warped baseboard rot
bubble up slowly from an oversized pot
Red tired eyes stare off into promised lands
staving off dreams erased with life's demands
time precious time ticking ever slower
rewinds in my mind things I failed to show her
Guilt or remorse but of course that chapter closes
fear is it fear or is it what society imposes
mistaken for granted taken forever lost the past
too fast to abstain the pain achingly it lasts
Categories:
baseboard, memory, sleep,
Form: Rhyme
I wish I could curl up inside of your heart,
I’d be content to belong to you, just a part.
Like a mouse in a baseboard, in a cosy little hole,
I wish I could shack up inside of your soul.
Don’t put the traps out, or get a cat, please,
Your smiles are my crumbs, your laughter my cheese.
Categories:
baseboard, love,
Form: Light Verse