He guards the perimeter of
my newly built life,
An unappointed warden to
his long- departed wife.
His surveillance is a shadow,
heavy and profound,
As his relentless, predatory
footsteps trace my ground.
He orchestrates a calculated,
unconcerned chase,
Inserting his fixation into
every public space.
My mailbox is violated,
stripped of its defense,
By his intrusive fingers and
his desperate, dark suspense.
He intercepts my letters with
a convert, hungry gaze,
To map the secret geography
of my escaping days.
Invisible tripwires hum with
electronic sight,
As hidden lenses pierce the
sanctuary of my night.
Those cold, robotic apertures
are blinking from the trees,
Recording every movement
on his digital decrees.
He is a phantom archivist,
compiling what I do,
An omnipresent voyeur of a
life he can't renew.
This suffocating vigilance,
this voyeuristic thrall,
Has turned my independence
to an exhibition hall.
He hovers like a specter in
an inescapable grid,
Unraveling the safety where
my fragile freedom hid.
A microscopic tyranny that
never lets me be.
deer and doe drinking from a placid lake a hunter taking careful aim.
She stood, still
daring not to move
he was close
she felt him
the man, as yet unseen, but;
they are always there.
Chat GPT or whatever AI version you prefer
Is now the go to source for all things human,
Like what to know, or do, or even say.
Like a life-coach who not only mines your data
But your potential date’s as well.
When everything we think and do
- just like this -
Is increasingly online for the world to see
And AI to use,
What is there left to do
But surrender to the Borg.
(1/4/26)
I watch you.
Always.
In the quiet spaces between your steps,
in the moments when you think
you’re alone.
I tell myself it’s love,
this hunger that follows you,
this ache that claws at my chest
every time you pull away.
I tell myself
I’m the only one who truly knows you,
the only one who can keep you whole.
You run,
but I’m already there.
You hide,
but I’ve memorized your shadows.
You build walls,
but I find cracks.
Life without you is no life at all.
I’ve convinced myself of that,
over and over,
until it feels like truth,
until the lie becomes my heartbeat.
You don’t see me.
Not really.
You only see the weight of my presence,
the hands you never asked for,
the words you never wanted to hear.
But I’ll make you see.
I’ll make you stay.
Even if you don’t want me.
Even if you run.
Even in death,
we’re bound.
Even in the silence
of your absence,
I will still be here,
pressing my shadow into yours
until you cannot tell
where you end
and I begin.
In the realm of the heart which served as our guide
For vanities sake we cheated and lied
And all of the signs that lighted our way
Now darkened and silent had lead us astray
In our haste to proclaim that all must belong
We abandoned our will to see right from wrong
So we searched to the west, we searched to the east
Yet ever within did we search there the least
Now between every beat in a darkening hush
Each step of retreat in a frightening rush
And doubts every treason reflected in tears
Did overlay reason with maddening fear
Here Death came a stalking, unheeded, unsought
And sold us the wares we had already bought
So we pelted headlong into welcoming arms
Whose offered embrace was enticingly warm
We took all the things Death offered in spades
And with them adorned our newly dug graves
Of the angels that scry and mark every sin
No stroke may belie nor ever forfend
The promise averred yet never attained
In souls so conferred with indelible stain
Step by step - you follow me.
Step by step - I count to three.
Step by step - let's make a bet:
I'll give you a prise you won't forget.
One - I run down corridor.
Two - then, hide behind a door.
Three - I have no place to flee.
What is now supposed to be?
The count is out - of course, no doubt,
I have no one to blame but me.
No one will hear my helpless shout,
No soul will see my graceless plea.
Step by step - you hold a knife.
Step by step - no place to hide.
Step by step - you caught me, then
I won't play with you again.
Jay Townsend Johnson Henry
Fraud
Jay Townsend Johnson Henry
Identify theft
Jay Townsend Johnson Henry
Attempted murders
Jay Townsend Johnson Henry
Hacker for medical records
Jay Townsend Johnson Henry
Murder
Murder
Murder
Murder
Jay Townsend Johnson Henry
Inspirational verses of murder
Jay Townsend Johnson Henry
Inspirational verse of murder
Jay Townsend Johnson Henry
Inspirational witch craft
Jay Townsend Johnson Henry
Inspirational stalking verses
Jay Townsend Johnson Henry
Inspirational terrorist threats
Rising heat, internal fire, watching you not notice my eternal desire.
Face flushed, internal fire, your world still turns as I'm stuck in the mire.
Burned out from this internal fire, how do you not see me? or are you a liar?
Now you've noticed my internal fire, why resist my pedestal, alter, pyre.
Time running out on this internal fire, now you've called me out on my unsolicited desire.
Dampened ashes in place of my fire. Subdued, extinguished, crushed and expired.
Adrenalin buzz no longer required, now you've seen through my internal fire.
Eyes! Doleful and lonely as they quietly penetrate my soul
In their silence, I can hear clamorous rumblings of a tale that pleads to be told
Far-reaching and clamorous are these eyes
So much so that not even their beautiful abode can cover or disguise
Beautifully haunting, they are
So deep and so regally divine
I see them. I feel them.
Deeply,
Deeply,
Deeply, they touch
As they meticulously befuddle every morsel of my being
I awkwardly attempt to look away
But like a magnet, they pull me close, closer
Then they speak of many tales, from a whisper to the pinnacle of rising octaves
Sorrowful narratives of manipulation, deception, jealousy, ghosting, envy, greed, betrayal, hurt, sadness, and even the macabre
They speak of wondrous hopes and dreams in the dawn of life that were quickly and heinously turned to night
she likes the solitude of her morning walk
loving the striped skies of the gorgeous horizon
having no idea she is being stalked
or that this is her last day
Light
big eyes
watch hidden
behind a bush
waiting for a chance,
stalking a nice prey
a wise lynx
calmly
shines
Eyes in the grass
Stalking me as I walk pass
Will they kill me or leave me be
Either way I'll be set free
My cat sat on the window seat
Tail thumping with a rhythmic beat
Like a lioness stalking meat
A bird to eat A bird to eat
Oh, no you don't, my sweet kitty
That raven is much too gritty
You'd be hurt. Oh, what a pity!
You're too pretty You're too pretty
I'll give you a treat, if you wish
With the flavor of tuna fish
I'm certain you'll find it delish
It's in your dish It's in your dish
She ran, making her 'meow' sound
Straight for the kitchen, she was bound
With lightning speed of a greyhound
Her cat food downed Her cat food downed
I found her later, sound asleep
In peaceful dreams, she slept so deep
or she'd have heard the fledgling's "peep"
Of a bird's cheep Of a bird's cheep
August 8, 2022
Simile Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Hilo Poet
Monotetra Form
In the darkness, I am shapeless.
Formless I slink through the gloom.
Witness, for a moment, death near.
Your breath is deep in its tomb.
In the darkness, you are helpless,
Senseless and fearful forlorn.
Blind to what’s within deep shade,
Displayed in expression adorned.
Your heart beats quicker in darkness,
Your hardness and will are undone.
Looking in shadows for demons;
The legions are really just one.
You fear the darkness around you.
Surrounding, smothering smoke.
Instead you should fear what’s in it.
Admit the terror evoked.
Opening eyes in the darkness,
Harmless is not what I am.
Staring you down from the corner;
No border halting advance.
The gleam of my eyes in darkness,
Its sharpness surprisingly bright,
Pierces your soul as you see them.
Flee, you cannot this midnight.
Fear feeding the fire inside;
Desire to feel the rush,
Of a mortem imposed on you,
And pursuing fresh bones to crush.
You stumble backward at my sight;
A wight from hell in the gloaming.
Fear thick in the air between us
Keen my senses are honing
In darkness I stalked
And forwards I walked
Out from the shadows
While seething
And seeking
The sweet rush of death
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