in the corner
of a blanched bungalow
sits a self-portrait:
loose bantu knots
the color of volcanic ash
her living nightmare
it was so much-
stampeding rain
wild winds
the icon of tropical thunder
with summer lightning
but the spite of ash
threatened the fete
smashed the sun
morning had broken
an island smeared
like God had face-palmed us
judgment for another place
another people
resting on your gables
the deadweight of ash
crashing queenie's
garden party
The Lord is come.
handling her Scriptures
squeezing the Holy Spirit
out of print
was she wholly confessed,
to be due robes of white
satin?
the sun reawakened,
ash washed away, passes
through her window
where she sits
cornered
Categories:
deadweight, culture, depression, fear, god,
Form: Free verse
Prima Facie
adjective
based on the first impression; accepted as correct until proved otherwise.
so i accept
what choice do I have
i'm such a big fan
i love you so much
you are pure art
so i look past the downward glance of your eyes
Prima Facie
adverb
on the first impression
at first
i thought you were beautiful
but it's not
you're not
per se
it's just that you prefer the pain of others
because guilt is a solid replacement for anguish
you like to see me get hit
get struck down
because you can offer a hand down to me
but i cannot climb up to you
and i'm sorry
if my deadweight was too heavy
when you gripped my body after striking me down
Categories:
deadweight, pain,
Form: Free verse
SNOW BIRD
In the dead of winter comes great beauty,
with broody storms and the elegant snow.
The hoarfrost spears hang icy and fluty,
like aliens in guise as they stretch and grow.
Crisp raw are the branches rasping the sky,
as wind comes in a bluster to disturb.
The shadow creatures den under the sigh,
from the deadweight of snow they perturb.
The beauty is sparse and simply at peace,
a waltz in winter that comes on the fly.
The white blizzard storm, we know it will cease,
stopped by the echo of red bird’s soft cry.
Ruby in starlight with ice on his wing,
red bird dreams of Sun and the thaw in spring.
December 5th, 2019
Your Best Sonnet July-December, 2019 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: John Hamilton
Categories:
deadweight, december, nature, seasons, winter,
Form: Sonnet
For several ages
Our relationship can be compared
To a benevolence fund
Always seeking a hand out
Never offering a hand up
The scales were never balanced
On one scale counterbalanced in pure gold
With dreams not at all foretold
The other measured in aluminum foil
With the value no equivalent
Of a penny being sold
A charity misfortune
You have been
Perpetually seeking help
Because you only focused on yourself
Which delivered me into
The grasp of death
I bet you regret
That I was able to come back
Uncondensed in full effect
Only to have you
Be a deadweight
For that I’ve developed
Emotions of loathing and hate
And this is because of our first date
I should have known
That I would become
An expert philanthropist
In contributing to the poor
You always requested more
Materialistic donations
And now I’ve made a head start
To take off and run
So I will not have to be the chairman
Of your benevolent fund
Categories:
deadweight, abuse, betrayal,
Form: Free verse
VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH
Death blew his misty breath at me
And I trembled in the cold,
Feelings frozen, I stood affixed,
My heart encrusted with salty crystals...
At that point, the blanket of God's promises
Covered me, empowered me
And warmed my soul from within.
Death placed his heavy hand on me
And I crumbled under the load
Crushed and crestfallen, I staggered,
My being burdened with the deadweight...
At that moment, the strength of God's presence
Secured me, reassured me
And sustained my spirit with hope.
03.15.18
Categories:
deadweight, death, faith, hope,
Form: Free verse
those beaten eyes glazed with a film
of bitter almond
shakily receiving her post partum reward
of a broken thyroid and a lumpy lack of form
once upon a time she lived
a lighter life
‘til procreation drubbed her good
these days she’s flesh in a black bag
of tightly straining clothes
mother-love keeps her upright
dead on her feet several months ago
but no-one’s noticed she’s gone off
under the wafts of the morning bacon
was that a giggle or a sob
or perhaps both, for things past
caring she is but it won’t help her now
as the hormones take a dive
and psychiatry pricks up its ears
still her occult self eludes her
skips laughing through months of therapy
peeps out behind the tumble dryer
to whisper “take the pills”
they want to help, they cannot help
those people who mean well
there is no holding dock
for deadweight mum
she sails away with breakfast things left clean
performs a joyful whale-dive, drifts
unseen
©C Watkins All rights reserved.
Categories:
deadweight, body, depression, mother, sad,
Form: Free verse
Have you never tasted hunger
Tread the alleys with the stealthy
Cried the tears of someone younger
While you dined among the wealthy
Shuffled through the papers
Through the pages of despair
Embittered by the capers
Neglect, hanging in the air
Step with me through the sadness
Let me open up your eyes
Weave, careful past the madness
Past the sorrow and the lies
The chains of bondage tighten
No future's in your sights
Do you wish to be enlightened
To embrace those dizzy heights
Piled high upon the pyre
The lost and the insane
The corpses piling higher
Entombed in the mundane
The root of all that's evil
A meaning to their end
More money than they'll ever need
More wealth than they can spend
The scales of justice tipping
With the deadweight of their sins
The wings of Angels ripping
As the final count begins
The boatman treads the water
As you wade the river Styx
The silver in your pocket
For to score the Devils fix
Lost in this sea of torment
While Hell exacts its toll
Your name is etched, inclement
On His register of souls
Categories:
deadweight, corruption, evil, feelings, poverty,
Form: Rhyme
Headlong I fall into a trap
The ascend back a slippery slope
My hands absorb the weight
My feet are deadweight
The puffs of exhaustion,
Sink with all intension
Trying to save myself
Despite my ending life
I still have so much to live for
Thoughts never considered before
Appointments, golf days
Alone, I say my prayers
To live and not to die
I’ve failed life’s gift, it's singular idea
I’d propagate my survival, if granted
To theirs unappreciated, I’m alive, shouted!
Precious life, now not enough
To pull me out of a pit this tough
I walked alone
A one army man
For help to come, I cry
A lifeline, a rope to take me home, I try
Categories:
deadweight, appreciation, life, wisdom,
Form: Rhyme
Should i worry for her
if She holds a knife
but with crimson intent?
if She spreads velvet
of thick consistency
unto her loaf of bread,
but pauses with a shaking hand
tightening gripe around the butter
“harmless” silver?
Goodmorning.
i saw her words fall like
deadweight
then hit the ground
denting even marble.
i didn’t flinch one bit
i’ve seen this before.
Her eyes blink but they do not see
Her chest heaves but not for air;
for troubles.
Standing on my hind legs
i tried to converse
But all i let out was a muffled whine
She gives me a reassuring look
then pats my head
Everything is going to be alright.
Should i worry if She leans too far out the window?
Or whenever She sits on the ledge?
Should i worry if the last time
when her smile was empty
She took thirty white cylinders
before going to bed?
The last time this happened
She slept for three days
and never awoke to feed me.
I damn near starved
to Death!
S.M. Alexis
Categories:
deadweight,
Form: Free verse
How are you gonna collect the beauty when it turns to dust?
Are you gonna chase every particle as it blows away in the wind?
Or are you gonna let it fall into a puddle and rust?
You say that you’re sorry, but apologies are worthless.
You should have thought about this when you used to leave me breathless.
Now all you have to offer me is a bad taste in my mouth
And scarred memories of times we used to share.
But that all changed when you walked away and said you didn’t care.
Well apparently you changed your mind.
But it’s a little too late.
You should have thought about that before you left me behind like I was deadweight.
I’ll admit, the times we shared were great, but things have changed.
I hope you’re happy with the way things turned out
Because I am without a doubt, as Happy as I’ll ever be
Without you next to me.
Categories:
deadweight, dedication, friendship, happiness, life,
Form: Rhyme
A Flytrap slams shut
Blink
of
an
eye
And a stone
splash
sink
at twilight
Down to the
core
of
essence
Silent and formless the bottom
close eyes
strain to hear
listen
listen
ah!
There is your heartbeat
A pair of
deadweight
arms
wrapped around
A Parasite!
the Flytrap
closing
in
on
yr
heart
Once invisible, now bathed in the
spotlight
for an instant!
Kill It!
Rip out the roots!
No
remorse!
There! Aha!
The
Thing
is
dead!
and now you are
ffree
Categories:
deadweight, confusion, imagination, introspection, lost
Form: Free verse