in freezing winter of the sixties
our house turned frigid
we could hear the wind whistling through the walls
Mom filled empty bleach bottles with hot water
we slept with them to try and keep warm
store-bought hot water bottles were expensive
I do not need them any more
It’s not that Kansas does not get cold
but we keep our heat up and we have two dog-ovens
The sky watched over the world in silence,
a guardian stretched from edge to edge,
holding the weight of every heartbeat,
every whispered prayer that never left the lips.
It saw the laughter that never lasted,
the wars that stained the soil below,
the children reaching up for stars
they’d never be tall enough to touch.
And when it could no longer bear
the ache of what it witnessed
it broke.
Not in thunder or rage,
but in quiet surrender.
Its tears fell like confession,
soft and endless,
washing the dust from forgotten graves,
tracing silver lines down glass and leaf alike.
Each drop carried a story:
of a promise left unkept,
a name whispered to no one,
a mother waiting by the window.
The earth didn’t flinch.
It simply opened its arms,
letting the sorrow sink deep,
turning grief into green again.
And somewhere, in that trembling stillness,
the sky exhaled.
It had cried enough to remember
and the world, for a moment,
looked a little more forgiven.
Such a common smell
Used in places all over
Restaurants to grocery stores to schools to bathrooms
a smell this clean cant make me feel so gross
Kills 99.9% of viruses & bacteria
Kills the germs left from my stomach surrendering its contents
Huddled over and in pain
a smell this clean cant make me feel so gross
I was always sick as a kid
Never eating yet losing my lunch
Peppermint oil that never worked to keep my stomach at bay
All the home remedies and medical ones yet it still happened
I had my own friend, Ralph, my own bucket
My only friend in my time of need
Forever stained by the clean, slightly medicinal smell
It hits me like a slap
Cold and biting against my senses
The clean, too clean, aroma
a smell this clean cant make me feel so gross
I smell it all the time
Away from the small cluttered bathroom
Away from the hands holding my hair and rubbing my back
All away from my longest friend
A reminder for all i've overcome
A smell, haunting me, just trying to help others
It did not meant to live in my senses yet here it is
a smell this clean makes me feel so gross
Many writers, poets and academics know how a beautiful
And striking alliteration is in a grammatical, congressional
Contextual and conventional debate or literary debacle
Like: blank blind badly bounced blue bowl
Oops! I meant to quote the beautiful Congresswoman
Jasmine Crockett, word for word, verbatim; man
I can never get it right. I fell short, because I’m not tall
Enough to reach that height. Oh! Many contractual
Agreements are in the works: blank black badly bounced
Blue ball. But I’ll keep on trying over one ounce
Of Vodka, maybe I will finally get it right or correct
Ladies and gentlemen, life is never easy and perfect
However, it’s okay to have fun; politics is abysmal than ever
We hope things will not get worse, but much better.
P.S. Homage to Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas, Texas):
‘Bleach Blond, Bad-Built, Butch Body”.
Copyright © July 2024, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved.
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poetry.
Dear Evangelicals,
Did you drink the Kool aid,
or perhaps it was the bleach?
Now wanting to reelect a President
who should have been impeached!
What about those values that Christ did teach?
May be you no longer care about the Capitol police..
This monied man, an immoral leader
whose prompted up by a massive maga meter..
Donald Trump is skilled at marketing his brand
and spreading his divisiveness where ever he can..
Christ over threw the money tables when in the
temple he went.
Donald Trump is not your savior.
He's no Clark Kent!
Now, if I this model
And she just bleached her hole
And I get bleach on my T-shirt
I'ma feel like an hole
I was high when I met her
We was down in Tribeca
She'll get under your skin if you let her
She'll get under your skin if you— (Uh)
I don't even wanna talk about it
I don't even wanna talk about it
I don't even wanna say nothin'
Everybody gon' say somethin'
I'd be worried if they said nothin'
Remind me where I know you from
She lookin' like she owe you somethin'
You know just what we want
I wanna wake up with you in my—
Immune to the virus, I am.
I eat green eggs and ham.
That I eat daily with a fork.
Hah, science, I’m no dork!
I use Johnson & Johnson shampoo.
So I’m topically vaxxed, immune too!
Sure add bleach in my drinking water.
Since Covid can’t live where it’s hotter.
Wearing a mask is just for Halloween.
Needles are for fun, not a vaccine.
So screw your mask, I’ll see you later.
From my bed, and shiny new ventilator.
They label me black
But that’s inaccurate
I’m just different shades of brown.
I’m looked at with disdain
Yet I’m the original creation
Version 1.0
Made for the harsh terrible world
Out of love and foresight
Not pale, Not discoloured
Not burnt by the rays of a star on a bright sunny day
Yet I’m inferior
I’m natural, naturally natural
Then turn I to my sister
Now discoloured and smelly when her pores open
All in the pursuit of pinkness
Ignorant of the fact no one is white
I collapsed at the sight of my brother
Following those same destructive unsensible steps too.
There once was a small beach full of bleach,
Each bottle held a silvery leech.
Those nasty leeches did hiss,
And they would readily kiss,
We carefully stayed out of their reach!
Water in a bubble bath
Forms a tide
A ring of salt
When the plug is pulled
If baby oil is used
And the towel won't dry
If it is folded up for aesthetic effect
And the milk goes sour
And the butter melts if they are not put back in the fridge
Dishes don't wash themselves
And laundry goes foisty if left in the machine
I know this and so do you
Yet you persist
Well played mam
Check mate
You win
But I love the smell of bleach on skin
bleach tastes nice
bleach tastes mice
bleach tastes spice
bleach tastes rice
bleach tastes dice
bleach tastes vice
bleach tastes slice
bleach tastes jesus crise
Bleach
I see you all have eyes
but I don't think you see anything.
I see you are all dressed in the flesh and the blood
but I don't think that you are real.
At least you don't want to be.
Your teeth don't even look real.
And they stink of bleach, wasted money and low self-esteem.
Your tan looks like a batch of over -cooked French fries smothered in orange juice and Dijon mustard.
Your fashion sense is handicap.
Disabled from any form of intelligence or care.
I see you all have mirrors
but I don't think you look into them.
I want to break those mirrors with my bare fist
and not even bother to pull out the bits of glass or treat the cuts.
Because there is pain in that.
And pain is the one and only thing that I know of to be real anymore.
-Bryce Stoskopf
Little do I care if bleach is generic
Or if fabric softener or detergent
Some bad personality flaws become chronic
Little do I care, if well you really meant
What brings me care is negative remarks spoken_
Harsh words pour forth like rain released kinetic
Energy, power released never to be unbroken
Words that leave my heart's state of being semantic
Semantic=Affected role
social exercise
of give and take
leaves happiness a gamble.
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