the truth is a drunk in the corner
nobody wants to look at
because he’s missing teeth
and smells like the gutter.
people like their stories neat—
swept floors, white smiles,
the lie folded in like sugar in coffee.
you tell them the world is falling apart
and they’ll laugh
until the ceiling drops on their heads.
the unknown sits outside the door
in the rain,
smoking a bent cigarette.
most folks would rather
pretend they never heard the knock.
Oh the power of the narcissistic
would be king enthroned,
crowned not with wisdom,
but with arrogance,
delusion and nihilism.
The crowd waits on his every word
which has the power
to flip the world order
from boom to flop
from soar to bust
to tip the seesaw
to flip-flop panic.
Why should one person,
posting his own thoughts social
in the middle of the night
have the power to scare
the butterfly, making it
flap its wings,
triggering the accord
to tip off the cliff
Into chaos.
Should I write a poem about Halloween,
full of psychological horrors and gruesome things?
Like deep romantic wounds getting infected,
herpe kisses or Donald Trump getting elected?
I could lean on shuddery tropes, like haunted houses
or more real world threats, like cutthroat spouses.
I could make you look up scary looking words, like Syncretism.
gasp What caused that creek in the floor?!
Who’s that banging on the door?
Is that blood on that rag?
Is there a body in that bag?
Is that your husband in drag!?
Relax, have fun, chill-out,
Oh, better get a bowl of candy out.
Happy Halloween!
.
.
Songs for this:
Monster Mash by Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers
I Killed You by Tyler, The Creator
.
.
*Merriam Webster: Syncretism: combining different forms of belief
Tons of pineapples and mozzarella,
the perfect side for a scary movie;
Pie built out of two handed slices,
my mouth is already watering;
Stuck waiting nearly thirty minutes,
I could have sworn they said fifteen;
Hangrier with every millisecond,
driver jump that three car pile up!
After twenty more the doorbell rang,
delivery guy heard the chilling theme;
He said ‘You’re my last stop wanna hang?’
I replied ‘Sure. Scares are for sharing.’
A new friend? Icing on the cake;
Such is the great pizza mistake.
river catfish is startled by a splash
he dives down into the lake
hitting the natural springs
unaware he made this loud noise
with his enormous flipper of a tail
Sambractia, a tidy blue soothsaying witch with a “hey hey hey”
startled October’s aged north wind as she went about her great day
A whole lot of debris and garbage blew against her in a weird way
which made her familiar cat laugh as he hid down deep in the hay
“Come out of that hole!” Yelled the witch, the cat turned dour and gray.
He knew he might be losing one of his nine lives that fateful Tuesday.
I have the most tasteful skulls imaginable she said.
I did not think there could be such a thing but kept quiet instead.
They are beautifully done, would look great in a bedroom.
I took her word for it, could barely see them on Zoom.
I have vampire teeth and a cape left over from Dracula too.
Do you want to come by, she asked me? Her face was all blue.
Her teeth had blood dripping, and they gave me a fright.
Not right now, I told her. I have big plans for the night.
I love it, I hate it. It scares me, it thrills me.
It is magical, mystical, ethereal, and yet….
There is a part of it that is so beyond my grasp
I try to grab onto its robes and it races off without me.
A coven of interesting people, who seem to be in the know.
I am in the not know, but the want-to-know.
I watch with a morbid fascination as scary things happen.
I want to be part of it, I want to be included, I want to be like them.
But do I have it in me? I walk right up to the edge and try to face a demon.
She studies my eyes and laughs, knowing I am not there yet.
But I really want to be….
life is scare circuit
a leap in the mists always
love her or leave her
What scares me the most?
The sheer tranquility one possesses while taking an innocent's life.
How their hearts don't quiver or hands don't shiver while they cut through the throats of so many.
One life lost,ten families destroyed.
What kind of barbarity is this in which they take pride.
Somewhere someone's reality is this,
How sleepy one' conscience should get to ignore this cruelty.
Women tortured,men beheaded.
Girls sold ,boys brainwashed.
A generation killed , a bright future lost.
The lies they tell,
the stories they make,
the false promises they give.
A facade ineffective in hiding what's beneath.
Yet nothing can be done for the one's whose lives are at stake.
Wives raped, daughters enslaved,
Millions of dreams destroyed.
Just a difference of boundary decides your future.
What if these boundaries were blurred?
What if all that mattered was humanity?
I know I am asking for something impossible,
Yet it's not something that's unthinkable.
What scares me the most?
Humankind
she is a mirror of herself
espousing her own ideas
i shudder as I look into her
reflections of her reflection
I said darling
Open your eyes
You said “Sorry
The lights too bright
And it hurts me
I’m sorry”
I said darling
Uncover your ears
You said “Sorry
The sounds too loud
And it hurts me
I’m sorry”
I said darling
Eat this it’s delish
You said “Sorry
It’s too hot and salty
And it hurts me
I’m sorry”
I said darling
Put on your socks
You said “I’m sorry
The seam is too lumpy
And it hurts me
I’m sorry”
I said darling
Put on your shirt
You said “I’m sorry
The tag is too scratchy
And it hurts me
I’m sorry”
I said darling
You’re too sensitive
So take these pills
And go to therapy
So you will be
more palpable to me
Don't be alarmed by
my figure if it causes you
amazement ... just and only
grant me a discount ... I don't bite ...
Don't be surprised if I look
crude, strange ... just
stop watching futuristic movies
, without future...
But my figure, occasionally
scares ... I agree ...
even I feel terrified ,
but not usually !
Sixpence and foursquare seventy-seven minus fifty-two
Come and give me a cuddle, it truly is only us two.
What are you staring at? Is that a cobbler’s shoe?
Just the word mathematics makes me want to boo-hoo.
Donuts in the belfry, quotients in the glue.
Wiggle Waggle Wiggle bottom. I am scared now too.
Jumping over a moon, with your magic eyes of blue.
Multiplication meanness is coming rapidly through.
Mathematics is the word of the day. What can we do?
I am terrified of numbers, just between me and you.
Letters make more sense. I have mastered some of them two.
Geometry and statistics? I hope this poem is finally through.
FRIENDS
Friends are like fruits
We need them for our health and nourishment
We need them at all times.
When a fruit is unripe, its existence only gives hope and curiosity:
Hope that one day it will ripe for our consumption,
Curiosity of how it will taste when it is ripe.
Or is there anything to interrupt the process of growth and ripping?
Never give up your friends,
Put round them ashes from the heathen to scare away the ants
The ants that come along with the infections to rot the fruit before it ripens.
You may need one tomorrow to lean on
When there is loneliness and despair,
Troubles and anxiety, it’s a friend who shoulders your comfort.
It’s a friend who will heal you
From wounds of trouble and scares of disappointments
Through love, care and sharing.
Make a good friend today
And keep to your friend steadfastly and steadily
Before there comes a time you may need one badly.
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