i am my father's child
a wicked tongue
to match a lifelong trial
lies spill from my lips
sweet as candy
soft as summer rain
life under my mother's strict gaze
never quite entertaining
new stories
new half truths
new places, new people;
i am my father's child
a scheming heart
embellished fables spring from my lips
strong as the current
abundant as a river
flowing harshly
eroding the innocent child
i could've been
my mother's cold gaze softening finally
as i spill my last lie
and it is ok
it is perfectly fine
for i am as sweet as candy
soft as summer rain
strong as the current
abundant as the river lethe
Categories:
river lethe, 11th grade,
Form: Free verse
Knights of the nebula pond?
Kingdom Gone, return.
Witch and wizard, wave thy wand!
Tamarind taciturn...
Knight errant by lightning struck?
O for help to call!
Cult black magic, I've got truck!
Luck, best drop that ball.
Stuck with indecision?
O plight of prisoner.
Seeress, here is worst vision!
Reality, blur!
Chained atop the atoll wild?
Mother, stillborn child.
Young lovers unreconciled.
Slaughterhouses tiled.
Mild, art thou, O fickle Fate?
Helpful is such hate!
Intellect, be not ingrate!
Gold, go to the gate...
Wait a second, Fortune.
In what hole ought I fill?
Tomb of pharaoh? Trick or tune?
Boon, how to pay bill?
Where then to dig? Why split my wig?
Swine, bequeath to pig!
O dark matter, space is big?
I don't give a fig!
Garden lost from ancient times?
Wind, rattle those chimes.
O for boxes about mimes.
Drop upon, my dimes...
Mariners immemorial?
Land ho? Not just yet.
Ergo, editorial?
Poisonous thy pet.
Forget? O river Lethe, thy sheath!
Belladonna, bequeath?
Mistletoe, art best in wreath?
Hollyhock, thy heath...
Categories:
river lethe, absence,
Form: Rhyme
I'm struggling with the life I live.
And depression consumes me.
There's no escaping these troubles,
at least not that I can see.
My only choice is to ride out
this raging storm of no hope.
The devil is taking aim at me.
I'm in the crosshairs of his scope.
The struggles of life overwhelm me.
To find seclusion for myself is a must,
and honestly, it's a dangerous risk
because it's myself I cannot trust.
I'm forcing myself to ignore my thoughts
that are swarming around my head.
If I were to give in to them,
there's no doubt I'd be dead.
Life has become a tug of war.
For me, it's between life and death.
I've been so close to dying before
that I have seen the river Lethe.
Categories:
river lethe, dark, death, deep, depression,
Form: Rhyme
. . . and with a haughty drink
of Virgil’s water
from the River Lethe
I venture forth knowing nothing
bring on the steps ahead
and what awaits . . .
but the waters have a taste
and some things feel familiar
a few of the steps ahead
look like my footprints
turning to a river
I feel I once chanced upon
and sensing
I am but circles within circles
Categories:
river lethe, inspiration, journey, life, mystery,
Form: Narrative
As armies march on
Kingdoms fall and widows weep,
We always forget.
Categories:
river lethe, myth, river, sorrow,
Form: Haiku
To Sleep
Perchance to dream
That doesn’t seem
Like too much to ask
So deep
And so extreme
One won’t waken
But I’m taken to task
Summoned in the middle of the night
By tormentors in my head
I should ignore - them but instead
I rise
Like a ghost on the prowl
I rise
Like a hunting owl
I rise
And run afoul of the law of
Sleep
To Sleep
How late the hour
What is this power
That shakes me from rest?
I keep
Answering the call
I’m bound to fall
And fail the test
I long to drink from the river Lethe
Forgetting all that’s been said
I should ignore it - but instead
I rise
Like a thirsty vampire
I rise
Like the flames of a fire
I rise
Even though I tire from lack of
Sleep
My one desire to sleep
Categories:
river lethe, introspection,
Form: Rhyme