Caution around that window, my friend!
What of it now?
It lets you see outside and reflects in.
What of it, then?
Some things once seen must be exhumed.
Why the fuss?
It musn't break for it is strong.
Strength will not cherish it.
It musn't break for it will cut.
Blood trickles as tears.
It musn't break for it shows truth.
Truth outside will not yearn for you.
It musn't break for it reflects your heart.
The heart is not in the glass.
It is! The heart is glass!
Then, have my hammer.
If only I'd seen,
Your true colours shine,
Before your poisonous thoughts,
Could ever dominate mine.
Your toxic, degrading comments,
Began taking their toll,
Making me feel worthless,
Tactically destroying my soul.
Manipulating me to believe,
Way too many times,
I was completely crazy,
Guilty of YOUR crimes.
Searching for the evidence,
I could never find,
All just to prove,
Wasn't loosing my mind.
Still to this day,
My anger burns deep,
I once lost myself,
To a narcissistic creep.
Fuse lit now, the spark ignited:
Let it burn, this love misguided.
Our future once had seemed vivid
Now obfuscated… no: omitted.
Structural damage, shock waves follow
Breach the hull and the vessel’s hollow.
Floods, and fires. Catastrophic damage.
It wasn’t watertight. We couldn’t manage.
Here I stand, now scarred forever.
Compartmentalizing to withstand the pressure.
Recycle the wreckage. Containment. Creation.
Review what survives the detonation.
We blew up. Weakness, betrayal, fright.
You left me – free to pursue the light.
Once I feared the wreckage too deep,
But beneath the wave, I found my peace.
For in the undertow I was born,
To rise anew. To live. To learn.
Never thought I'd find this place,
Where joy now fills the empty space.
So thank you, though it seems untrue,
For bursting us to something new.
She said I'm bored I think it's time I left
She hopped in her car, headed west
She left him waiting and wanting more
At least she's pretty
A shame she's a whore
I can't say I blame her
She has her own life to live
It's the girls like her
Who make it so hard to give
Nothing matters
But a notch in her bedpost
It's a race to the end
To see who can get the most
It's the bad girls who trick the good guys
Dress her up it's all a disguise
She's a wolf on the prowl
With her bedroom eyes
She's the ruse of the day
A savior she'll say
She's dolled herself up
Heads out for the night
She's looking to smear
Her nose cocaine white
It's the same places
Just different faces
There’s a thrill in the hunt for her
There’s a power hidden deep in her skirt
The mirrors will break
And her nose will bleed
It’ll splatter the ground
Coat her shaking hands
Beauty is only skin deep
It hurts most when it fades
I'm held hostage to a dream
A dream of what could be
A dream of you and me
and love's eternity
I'm held hostage to a dream
A dream that you can change
that fate can rearrange
our dommed reality
I'm held hostage to a dream
A dream that passion's kiss
Will heal what is amiss
Renew affinity
I'm held hostage to a dream
A dream of prefect peace
Of wounded pride's release
Regained vitality
I'm held hostage to a dream
A dream of lasting love
What hopes are all made of
A sweet comraderie
This hostage must break free
I've finally come to see
To rewrite destiny
My savior I must be
Post Script...
I'm a hostage who's found release
Please, don't come looking for me.
Eileen Manassian
The dark spill muddied my canvas:
Made its mess, dislocated light
And thoughtful lines to the edges
While it claimed the center for spite.
It seemed like all was wrecked.
The time I'd worked nightly
To craft something perfect
(Or at least not unsightly)
Laid to waist.
A vision erased.
But then, I spied a photo of the original.
I thought it would be pretty, as a picture.
Instead, I noticed flaws so visible
They would lead a critic to stricture.
It looked off-colored or drab in places.
Contrived and technically bad.
Downright mediocre and graceless.
My memory of the thing had
Rendered more precious and dear
The plainness this new light made clear.
An impression most unimpressive.
The thing once grieved not worth its mourning.
No longer the crafter obsessive
Or wracked with yearning.
What a stroke of luck!
Now on to scrape the surface
Or from a new layer construct
An entirely new interface.
The choice entirely my own
Blank space for the unknown…
With no room left for you.
You were believed.
8 years apart, just for a start.
I got a belt but you were our mothers heart.
You left a taste oh so sweet and me just oh so tart.
The black sheep, forever marked.
For you people flocked, me they just mocked.
So with this I part, so before before you start.
Before you ask with all your heart.
That maybe we could just restart.
But now I’m starting to get parched.
So my Wisdom I will still impart.
Sister, you and I…..
Only one of us will die.
I was thinking maybe in July.
So look in to my eye.
And do not cry.
Don’t pretend like we even tied.
You lived while I died.
You laughed while I cried.
Now all I can do is step aside.
Because family i was denied.
All my life all I did was abide.
But Its just a tide.
A tide you use to hide.
The fact that when it was me I was simply denied.
But when it was you, there was everyone to confide.
We will never coincide.
For us that can’t be applied.
You asked how we would be described…..?
You were believed…. But i was deceived.
There's not a lot I can do
To get over being blue
My world was flipped all around
When they put you in the ground
Tearing my heart out completely
Our love was so dear and sweetly
Getting better all the time
It was like the perfect crime
When we stole each others heart
It was way too soon to part
We were just getting to know
About each other as we grow
Into one complete emotion
Full of passion and devotion
Care and love, hugs and kisses
My lonely heart already misses
All the plans we made together
All I face is rainy weather
That's about to flood my eyes
Oceans of tears I now cry
That stream down cheeks crazy missing
Your soft lips and loving kissing
And voice I no longer hear
You will never disappear
From my heart cause it will be
Loaded full of memories
That's secure and safely stored
Behind a solid locked door
That no one else can break through
My thoughts are always on you
My mind is open
It has to be
Yet find myself tangled
In a tree
The wind
It wrestles
The safety line
As I hang with the birds
A silent wind chime
The breeze of emotion
Blows this way and that
The sun on my skin..
Then the rain caveat
My silky voice trembles
I just shouldn't be here
"The fates have designed you
This landing place, dear"
The view is amazing
Every moment you fall
Yet get trapped in the elements
Every hail-storm and squall
When the branches entangle
They can claw and then tear
So come back to enfold me
Crease me neatly with care
I just want to return
To that whistling door
The propellor is cut back
And we step-out once more
For this view is amazing
But is there to be shared
I'm designed to be open
Not land-locked, ensnared
Yes our minds can be unfurled
It's the best we can be
The leap from the sky
What it takes to feel free
Soaked in Grace
By Mark D. Stucky
When partaking of communion,
“intinction” is the practice
of dipping the bit of bread
into a common cup.
The bottom of the bread
becomes soaked in wine,
and the bread and wine,
entwined, without separation,
are consumed together as one.
We’re usually unaware,
but God’s grace surrounds us.
No separation exists
between us and grace.
God soaks our lives in grace
and asks us to partake.
(First published in Earth & Altar, 23 Feb. 2023. See also my poems “God Around the Corner” and “Soul Fingerprints.”)
(Image by Debby Hudson on Unsplash.com.)
No Longer Legion
By Mark D. Stucky
Demons departed
via possessed pigs,
down the dusty slope,
drowning under waves,
descending into the Abyss
from which they came.
Purged of evil spirits,
my new emptiness
echoes with His peace.
I now have so much room
to grow and go and flourish.
I want to praise that Man,
who asked me for my name,
expelled the monstrous hordes,
and calmed my anguished soul.
I’m named Legion no longer.
Now my name is solitary.
My fragmented name,
my forgotten name,
my original name,
my true name,
is one again,
now cleansed,
and healed,
and whole.
(First published in Agape Review, 3 April 2022. This poem is written from the perspective of the previously possessed man in the story of Mark 5:1-20. The accompanying image represents a man pondering the waves--under which the tormenting voices and compulsions disappeared forever--and enjoying his new peaceful solitude and possibilities. See also my poems “Jericho Roads” and “Life Labyrinths.”)
(Image by MariaD42530 on Pixabay.com.)
You're bound, there isn't argument, says the landlord,
Who bound me? Why? Entwined with what logistic cord?
Your father borrowed; you must pay; this is the law,
Does law say, for father's debt, his son to whipsaw?
Thus went the argument; both did not relent; fought,
Each over the other, by tricks learned, wounds brought;
Though both died, explicitly, for mundane mammon,
Haven't both got, in them, common cause conception?
Who's got more reason? Who's less? You and me must say,
Giving and taking are parts of life; none can nay;
Ethics, in existence-jungles, has lost its way,
Humans need to decide with wisdom, that's on sway...
(About 18 million people in India are unpaid workers or held in debt bondage, according to the government)
14 February 2022
Noisy noise,
brain drowning in Static
voices pounding on my head
uncontrollable panic.
Feeling manic;
no air to breath, no sleep.
eyes glazed all dead inside,
need to shrivel up and weep.
Reached dead end,
are we friends?
Do I even relate
To anything you say?
The act you play
you demonstrate
we do not coordinate.
I'm fed up-drowning in this mess up,
lets rewind the clock and shut this down
I spy the game you spun and it seems like
none of us have won.
How do you mend a broken fence
When you have no hammer or nails?
What method might be successful
If everything else you have tried fails?
When the cattle have roamed beyond
The boundaries of their pastureland
You can encourage them to return,
You can even offer a helping hand.
Should they be unwilling to come
Around, and choose to stay outside,
Sometimes the very best you can do
Is let them relish their freedom ride.
But, If they decide to return on their own
Be sure to leave the gate open wide.
written July 5, 2021
You are blue
And hopeful for new
Remember what Taylor sang
When she said “Begin Again”*
Now you met him
Such a difference
From paying your penances
For all the ex’s annoyances
How wonderful is appreciation
Without qualification
Forget the last guy’s negativity
About your creativity
Now you know one who likes
All your quirks and your vibes
Gets all your laughs
Doesn’t ask for polygraphs
How were you so mismatched
With that guy from the past
All those years that went under
While you missed out on wonder
Chalk it up to bad judgement
And forget all those contests
Tried to prove you had love
To one who only knew shove
Enjoy this sweet time
You’ve found one who chimes
We learn from our pasts
It gives us a map
To chart new courses
And fight off bad forces
Point your sail to good waters
Collect the best now from others
*reference - “Begin Again” - song written and sung by Taylor Swift
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