Fog spreads slowly with silent qualm;
confusion grips me, I can’t flee
through the maze of journey’s last mile
as vagrant silhouetted still.
Time is cloaked by opaque future;
I see dreams sunk in miasma
at the blurred depth of hazy dusk.
I wait for sunshine to burn mist.
The man in the elevator hastens,
He feels ill at ease, with most teeth broken;
He pushes the button, marked in red ‘Ten’,
And seems very much anxious, now and then.
But halfway up, the elevator stalls,
The man frowns, apparently quite appalled;
He presses the ‘Open’ switch, rings the bell,
And yells at top of his voice, “what the hell?”
“I need to use the restroom,” he then screams;
Soon the lift kicks open as in a dream,
A woman standing there squeaks, stern but calm,
"So late again today? You know the qualm!"
Putting on soothing, ever cooling peppermint lip balm,
In preparation for how he'll soon use his gentle palm
To coat my body in a layer of chocolate without qualm.
And there, painted
and playing in sweetest frame
is the timeless province.
There, suspended
by the arches of axiom,
with sputtering brushes
of wielded coherent structure.
I drown upon spearing fear
in the devilish qualm,
splintered to scattered scree
upon the wuthering face
of this old, roaming sphere:
in continuous form
and bristling invariance.
Here is one soul
stripped of fire's bite.
I have my tools at hand,
extensions of my form;
yet the tendons are emblazoned,
threatening to break
upon the simplest gesture.
I dare to say
that I do not live:
I am suspended in a desert
where life once drifted.
I once was electing Truth
but am now spirited into hushing,
principled in my lightened travels.
A qualm
Settled upon me
Instant unease
I felt it
Course through
My body
Senses
Instantly
I grab my sword
Scurry
A page of words
Trying to keep up
Make sense of it all
A picture
Emerged
That broke my heart
In a way
No lady could
Yet
Her words
Creep upon my ears
"That pale sustenance, despair."
I drink
From the tankard
Again
We have no qualms to leave,
and we have no desire to prevail to stay.
Space cadets moon
Howling in the night
Why is this apple green?
June 16, 2017
Form Q contest
Sponsored by Broken Wings
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