Cicadas drone their sun-drunk, tireless hymn
as July swelters, gold and overfull.
the driveway steams, the plastic buckets brim,
and heat, like dye, won't sit still or stay dull.
We cinch the cotton tight in twisted rings,
as if a knot could hold the blazing tide.
but sweat and color are unruly things:
both spread, both stain, both won't be denied.
Cerulean and crimson breach their line,
seep into one another, slow, unplanned,
and thicken into a hue with no design,
no name the rubber bands prepared it for.
The soda ash unlatches what was sealed;
the color doesn't sit, it moves in deep,
past cotton's threshold, till it's not revealed
but lived in, permanent as things we keep.
So heat unstitches winter's careful fold,
loosens what was buttoned, cinched, and pressed,
and turns the plain, repeated days to gold
the way a fever turns a body's rest.
Unwind the bands. Let August find the proof:
a swirl no ruler's hand could have designed,
the driveway's stain, the sun-bleached, faded roof
of summer, fixed now in the changed mind.
It comes for me, too.
No matter where we are
in the turning of the seasons,
I will no longer try
to hide from the bird.
Because it pecks
at the edge of winter,
this world is overfull
with the force of life.
It is because
the bird comes
that the seasons
are beautiful.
It is because
the bird has come
that flowers bloom.
Let it ride the wind—
there is no need to resist.
The bird
is already on its way.
It would be fine indeed,
if we could wash out the mind
each morning.
Thoughts get stale,
the mind like an air deprived swamp,
begins to stink,
and the only way
to go out into the world anew
is in the same way
our souls came into it.
It is wise to swill and pour,
flush and evacuate,
drain and empty,
tip and spill,
ejecting all that collected piss
we’ve been carrying around,
for so many yesterday -
that overfull pot
we call our feelings.
Down the roads of pride
The street of greed
The path of wrath
The avenue of Envy
Transport causeway on the thruway
I'll pass the corridor of by pass on the superhigh
In the alleyway parkway of lust
Boulevard route artery thruway pass gluttony
Overfull interstate dual carriageway secondary road laneway
Run over by my expressway
I need deliverance
A second chance to drive
I'll meditate on you God
Stay on your pathway
Deny ungodliness cultivate you good be transparent
I shall renew retake my driver's test
I confession been misleading
Racing away slowly impeding my blessings
Now REPENTIVE, turned around learnt my lesson
I've stopped driving left, now I'm driving right
Off the Road of Pride
4/29/23
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr 2023©
Fire raged through heavy wooded terrain,
Blizzard hit the panhandle hard,
Bad windstorm slammed the western plains,
Mudslides hid hundreds of backyards.
Brutal sandstorm swept through arid plains,
Fierce hurricane aimed at the Keys,
Havoc descended on tornado lane,
Earth’s warming threatened baby seals.
Crops were at risk in fertile farm fields,
Crowds assembled for protest walks,
Northwest reached one hundred ten degrees,
Earthquakes possible near the fault.
Hospitals were overfull with the sick,
Medical teams were at wits end,
Some thought the nation’s flame left the wick,
Would never find its fire again.
People had the lowdown newscast blues,
Some feared apocalyptic end,
The anchors said it was breaking news,
And we looked for someone to blame.
Two and a half years already passed us by
I can't believe all this time gone with you by my side
I sit and gather all our treasured memories
Hold them close to my heart
All the while I anticipate our future with open arms
Dreams of babies
Saying "I do", you and me
A little dog, a cozy home
Knowing you'll never be alone
Baby, our life together
That's my keepsake
Some would say that love slows down
After you've been together
Well honey for me it only gets better
I can't even see my life before you
And I wait for dying with you to come true
My heart is yours to forever take
You're my keepsake
Some have little china glass
A hand made dress
A pretty chest overfull of their future life appliances
I have only our happiness
It's all i'll ever need
Cause you and I
That's my keepsake.
Our life
Is my only keepsake.....
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