I
as
a child,
loved night time.
Summer with fireflies,
made the nights very magical.
We love catching them and putting them in a glass jar.
The pretty jar was all aglow then morning came a sad funeral for all of them.
her beauty and
natural complexion
catches every man
Over the earth's eternal ages,
youths endeavor to catch the moon,
not heeding the words of sages
(it's best that they don't learn too soon) -
no one catches the wind or moon."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On hooks they dangle, memories spun in glass~
Refracting fire’s light like frozen laughter.
Nights hum softly against their curves,
As fingertips trace the year's last ghosts.
Mercury gleam of a childhood long since gone,
Each one a silent carol, waiting to be sung.
No two alike, yet strung together~
Tangled lights, untangling time.
Silvered edges catching the tree's last light.
If everything I loved catches fire,
the men I have ever loved
would be cremated for purity's sake.
I was told to listen to the soul
before I expanded it—
to watch the earth, air, fire, water
get agitated.
The sun always works overtime,
as if she turns around the stars
and places the moon
elegantly into spaceships.
At some point, I was afraid to look up,
until I discovered
that the universe is one big intuition.
I am harassed by love.
I move in and out of it,
just to keep every lover alive,
just to keep catching their fire.
Bernice Zoleka Mannie
LYAIOZ MANNIE
When there is a murder in a small town
fingers are pointed sideways, up and down
many have theories, most are totally untrue
rumors and gossip make the detectives blue
some want attention and offer them lies
exaggerate the truth, no big surprise
some say they were there, but they were definitely not
It’s always a miracle if the murderer is caught
You try to catch what's passing in your hand.
It slips through your fingers, your palms, your arms.
You end up wet through.
You leave the door ajar, just enough.
Leaving a tiny crack to let the light in.
You're packing light today.
For the next world.
Hoping something seeps in.
That you can cling on to.
Light rain is falling.
Lightning in a bottle
Your lips on mine
The power of your sighs
Too busy catching
Stars
That fell from your eyes
To notice
The forked tongue kiss
Placed : 4th : Standard Contest : Tania Kitchin
_______________________________________
Venus dropping chandelier dreams
Jupiter glides catching cocoa creams ~
catching a fish is easy
getting the hook out of the mouth not so much
I feel guilty
wondering how much pain they are in
feeling sad
while at the same time
wanting to cut their head off
so those fish eyes will stop accusing me
Remember as a child playing cards,
Go Fish?
A child's life and fishing go together,
dreaming about catching the big one.
How big is the big one?
At what age will they catch it?
Will it be from land or from a boat?
Yes a child will dream about the big one,
the big one being on the end of their fishing line.
One Day ~ Some Day.
I caught a flower
Just below my window sill,
Just before your love went stale.
I dreamt I was catching fish last night.
The sea was flat as my once white sheets,
Stars hung like lanterns,
cold and watching.
I cast once.
The line sang.
The pull came sure.
It bent the rod like a prayer.
The fish didn’t fight.
It came easy.
Too easy.
It stared with human eyes.
I cleaned it on the shore.
Its blood was warm.
It smelled like iron ore and memory.
I woke with empty hands.
And the salt still on my lips.
Zapped our eyes
ears centers
not on a beam
unless
on a ledge
teeter-totter
in space
our eyes want more
or less
either way
satisfies
the milquetoast
our ears crave hypersonic
or a hum
matters not
his horns levitate
left and right
halos
hooked over them
self-righteousness he craves
when Christianity
behaves
dead are men’s spirits
around them
a buzZ
My sister and I used to skip and sing on the way to school
We loved laughing and chatting about Jimmy, the fool
Jimmy had a crush on both of us and tried to keep up
One time he got in trouble for bringing his pup
He was always getting into trouble but had a heart of gold.
I feel guilty being this age now, for Jimmy was not very old
When he succumbed to a disease and left this earth a boy.
When he caught up to us on our journey, he gave us joy.
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