Long Scrapes Poems

Part 1: FORE SIBERIAN FATE

silk wings wet -
angel on the lake.
starlight glitter
separates from

the golden wheat.
her docile hair,
prophecy of ice.

winter pink,
pinched cheeks.
ice skate scrapes -
flecks of flakes.

the snow queen
before her relentless
reign, a pretty thing.

her smile warms
the...

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* This poem was written for a contest originally, but was used by Professor Anne-Marie Thornton of Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, to teach her WAR POETRY class in the spring semester of 2017. My...

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Her small angelic face ...

Once a place where broad smiles bloomed like butterflies on marigolds,
is streaked with the furrows that countless tears have etched into the
layers of dust and dirt and explosive residue that now...

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* I’m honored to say that this piece was used for a “War Poetry” class by Ann Marie Thornton at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. Many thanks to her and the students for their questions...

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Contemplating on a previous conversation with Job and his wife,
I drew a breath of relief, remembering my humbling purpose
Sin was imminent on my brow, though I was beyond its impetuosity
Suffering dines with long-lived perspective, sharpening...

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Why do evil exist why do people expose domestic violence victims to their abusers to cause harm shame to relive terrible pains I will never understand how we seek shelter hide like spies an yet...

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So this is it, huh?

This is the end?

We have come this far,

And this is the end?



All over, just like that?

Your betrayal seep in through my pores,

It taints me whole.



This is the ending of a horrible...

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It is not patriotic
to desecrate a flag
or even denigrate a nationalistic anthem
celebrating a war-torn patriotic flag.

Yet is it even anti-patriotic
to refuse to bow to it,
the flag, that is,
to not stand with supremacist intentions
while singing about...

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There's an animal deep down inside me, deep in at the depths where my soul lays to rest.
And no, it's not a bunny, or a cute little puppy dog, or even a tiger.
It's more like...

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the fire

He didn’t die straight off…the flames seared his flesh and burned his hair.  The Nomex flight suit he was wearing melted in spots as the fire grew hotter. They held me off as...

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You toss them to the ground, they don’t beckon or call,
They’re a pair of jeans, and to the ground they fall,
They stay as long as you threw them,
Yet they could stand tall,
When they’re on you...

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I am a big admirer of all large cats, one of my favourites being the Scottish Wild Cat.
It is one of the wildest of all cats and will fight to the death to protect its...

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I am not the same person that I was before
I no longer hide my scars
I do not paint on a happy smile anymore

The person I once was is no longer me
I no longer hide behind...

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One Step from the Fire

Martha lounges in her rocking chair book in knotted hand in her studio

On the wall a poster of Chipperfield Circus whom she had wanted to join

Just above a small marble statue...

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Starched tears stream, crust
over like a spoiled sweet on 
pink cheeks, flushed,
from suffocated time,
gasping for air,
I shatter at his words like brittle rust,
crushed to dust, 
mind meek.

Fifth time this week.
Shallow breaths to Karma Police,
struggle to...

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“It’s all in a day’s work
 Tryin’ hard to defend
 The time that I spend alone.”
     ~ Chaka Khan, “What ‘Cha Gonna Do For Me” from the album  UNSUPPORTED CODE...

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Sturdy oak creaks as my weight shifts, hands tangling in my hair.  

My chair scrapes hardwood as I begin to pace. 

Processing... Processing...

The flickering lamp casts strange shadows on the walls. 

I sit back...

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Im tired,
emotional,
so exausted.
I  need sleep.
Tears threaten
To spill from me
my eyes do droop
chest is heavy with 
a  hidden  locked
lead-lined heart
alone in  a  world
Tired of fighting so
What would happen 
If I gave...

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With my first soulful breath,
it was Mother’s eyes I saw.
She counted my tiny fingers and toes,
leaned gently to kiss my brow.
Announcements sent out right away,
my name chosen so carefully.
The name, I think, a famous General’s...

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Was it just imagining
Which brought these eyes to see inside
Another world
We could have realised
A different story
For all our lives

Looking into this stolen world
Where the peaceful dream has unfurled
Its banner of love beneath the sun
A flag...

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To Varsity! 
Oh long awaited time
To study literature and rhyme
A time to learn to make words flow
And say to Life a big Hello.

Life’s cup is full up to the brim
And I’ve dived in for a...

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We were looking at pictures from the Mars Reconnaisance Rover.
Dragon became so very excited, and he wanted to go right over.
Before we let him go we showed him Orbiter pics he’d never seen.
Like the Worms...

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Alice
Alice was just going on eight years old
When Lewis Carroll made her fall down a hole.
The incredible place she imagined she'd found,
Buried in her backyard so far deep underground,
Teemed with people and creatures with fabulous...

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The steps come easy
Almost hurried as I tread
The uneven trail before me
The sun is low in the sky
Distracted by the long
Angled shadows
Before me
Brought back to you
By the rushing sound
Of your breathing
Like a stony brook
I reach...

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Oh the images we freeze in time

the sweet, sweet scents that bring recall

the sharp and painful longing that belongings bring

for those lost or lingering on sheets of lavender

on shelves of shaving mugs - Old Spice

soap...

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