I dragged this cig, my brain went far gaga,
The same cigarette brand that brought me joy;
A puff, and I slipped into a pooh-Bah,
One short drag became enough to destroy.
My legs wobbled, the world around me spun,
I heaved heavily, yet relief slept still;
The fun I sought had never yet begun,
In its stead, I commenced a mental drill.
As I puffed a new cig to chase a fad,
Deeper curiosity did arouse.
How can a mere cigar torture so bad,
A dream taught me the thought in intense drowse.
Later I learned the cig was laced with crack~
The closest I came being a junkie;
That pal later picked madness in bump's track,
Why I never became a crack flunkey.
The crack in your heart is as wide,
As the crack that's parting your hide.
Just part your cheeks in the mirror,
Your crack will reek so much clearer!
Written: August 25, 2025
*********
There was a crack in the ceiling.
Above the lamp, above the silence, a crack—
thin as a vein,
but pulsing with something devious.
At night, I stared upward,
its jagged line, such a question
I couldn’t answer.
The plaster flaked as aged skin,
and dust fell in slow confession.
When she climbed the ladder,
she traced it with a fingertip,
then with pencil, then with tape—
measuring the damage
as if it might reveal a diagnosis.
She patched it gently,
not to erase, but to soothe.
Later, she painted it
the same soft ivory as before.
Not to hide it—
but to let it rest.
And now, when I look up,
I perceive nothing.
Or rather,
I perceive everything it once held.
She was Lip-Smackin', Crack-a-Lackin',
Eye-Poppin', Jaw Droppin', Mack's-a-Snackin'!
"You don't walk like a Man!"
"You can talk to the Hand!"
Poodle-Noodle must Whack-da-Kraken?
One of the clowns in my circus
wants to be ringmaster and crack the whip
one of the sailors on board my boat
wants to be captain and steer the ship
but there's only room for one
under the big tophat my dear
so they're both out of luck
and the buck stops here
I have the last and final say
tho' not one to overwhelm
to maintain a steady course
there can only be one at the helm
'twas on a matopoeic morn
woken by the crack of dawn
fell out of bed
'pon my head
feeling floored
and quite forlorn
but yet again
all at sea
afloat on board a boat
by an ocean wave
my sleep was wrecked
when debunked
and then decked
Uhoh, it fell into a crack,
and now, by God, I want it back.
Alas, my poor unsettled brain
is going to go barking insane.
Oh Lord, why hasn't heaven sent
the necessary implement
to get this missing morsel free?
Crevice you are the end of me.
To the one I love
Just because...
And to those who love life
And those who love love!
Through every cranny, every crack
In every nook of every room
It seeks to fill the empty space
And lift the shadowed shade of gloom
So be it hastened by the heart
Or blessed by universal source
Without it, life would simply cease
So never doubt its mighty force
And you, my sweet, on every day
Give freely of your precious gift
And fill this bleak and barren void
To shatter darkness, sure and swift
Yes, it is light of which I scribe
Of which each crack and cranny holds
No matter where and in my heart
I feel the love that it enfolds
I found a crack in the sky
At midnight, I looked up
And as usual
There was stars decorating
The dark blue sea above
But I caught it
I saw a thin line, just north of the moon
And as I concentrated,
I could see what was beyond
I saw the galaxy
The stars, the planets
And realized there were more than eight
And I swore I saw a human
Waving at me
From one of the unseen planets
Up above
I saw more than our solar system
I saw the universe
In its entirety
Its vastness was enough to crush me
Making me realize
How insignificant I really was
Blue, red, orange, and colors I couldn't identify
I spotted them in streaks across the cosmos
Then suddenly I remembered
I was still on earth
And glanced at the earth's sky
It was turning into dawn
With pink clouds introducing the sun
I tried to look back at the crack
But it had closed up
You wrote me in scars.
You’ve made me like this.
You tell me I’m not the same as my old self—
That I am something you pay for.
Am I something to be paid for?
I am torn apart by the way you treat me.
I am crushed by the comments you pass.
Am I not good enough?
I’m weighed down
By your words.
You’ve made me like shattered glass—
With sharp edges cutting away myself.
Every piece reflects a broken part
That I’ve lost.
Do you see the cracks you’ve left me with,
Or is it still my fault?
I’m more than what you’ve taken,
More than what you break.
Now I gather the pieces—
My strength revives,
For I deserve someone better.
in
crack the sidewalk
nature's determination
~ city garden blooms
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Submitted on June 25, 2025 for contest SHAPED HAIKU sponsored by JCB Brul - Honorable Mention
All my skulls do dope
All my skull break pipes
All my skull you know what
All my skulls for life
All my skulls drive fast
All my skulls positraction
All my skulls everlast
All my skulls satisfaction
All my skull kill the noise
All my skull explicit
All my skull keep it real
All my skull come to visit
All my skull Look
All my Skull ask
All My skull make it up
All my skull adapt
All my Skull so shy
All my skulls know why
All my skull Kill me
All my skulls know the real me
All my skulls
All my Skull Doggystyle
All my skulls Nut
All my skulls smile
All my skull ignite
All my skull rifle trigger
All my skulls Fight
All my skull bad behavior
I met a puzzle and conundrum.
His name is "Why Am I Becoming Dumb",
A diabolically a tough nut to crack,
both he and I are poised for attack.
I'm pretty sure I'll crack him, but
he thinks that it's I who is the nut.
Just how glass cracks
after a lapse,
one should make a gaffe
to smash the mirror of arrogance.
The ground was full of brittle crackly things
They broke as I walked.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
I thought I was walking on lightbulbs.
I stopped walking to look and see
These things were curvy and brittle.
I put them on my fingers and wore them to dinner.
They were cicada shells
Not a big hit with others at the table.
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