"You know you can't just assume
that people are like you
and take them to places
that you want to go.
No one else wants
to go birding.
You are ruining
my life."
Oh March
You subtle bully
Boisterously stiffening flags to attention
Tipping your hat to those chasing theirs
Making wind chimes of dangling diamonds
Hiding in the wooly warmth of your alter ego
Soft sun on crisping snow
The trickle of laughter beneath it
A jaunty Jonquil ready to declare its claim
Ah, March
The last of Winter’s lover’s
Seeking a gentle way to exit
While slamming the frosty gate
In “love’s” painful howl
As April’s smiling hope
Draws you closer
…To Spring
Sunlight on the street,
It's too bright!
The pavement's black;
Something's not right.
My eyes scan for shade
As I blink my dazed eyes;
Caught by surprise
While we played.
Bad enough looking up
To catch the darn Frisbee
In all this blue sky sun—
Now, I can't see,
Listening to it roughly slide
On the street,
Behind me.
The gravelly
Scuffing
Groaning stop—
Playing in my mind
On repeat:
The Frisbee
Blaming me
For letting it land
On the street;
In the blistering
Summer heat.
disappointments
hurt the soul
with the most
resounding consistency.
For me, it was my father’s
little broken promises
that crack on pavement
like little glass figurines
that no one can hear, but me.
How, at almost 40,
when I should feel objectively
and not subjectively
like a child, during
our short conversations
do I revert to
a disappointed
twelve-year-old
in her mom’s
Mickey Mouse
maternity tee shirt
asking her dad
to come play outside
because her sisters
are younger, and of course
annoying.
I’m writing this at 6:40
in the morning.
My husband is strutting
around the kitchen,
purposefully,
making 8 o’clock coffee,
with the pour over
in his blindingly hideous
red Bills sweatshirt.
“Now that is a laugh
I love. Wait a minute,
are you poking fun
at me in this one?”
“No….”
“Let’s go back to Lake Lure
this summer.”
I write these words from my heart, just to say to you,
that in this world, many things are not true.
Our eyes can deceive us, as we’ve been deceived,
not everything was right, just as we believed.
There are those who do things, without choice,
they are seen by others, with out voice.
Always be gentle, always being kind,
no matter what situation in life that you find.
Its time for yourself, when you’re alone, you see,
replenishing, everything, drained from you and me.
Solitude, and peace, quiets a beating heart,
while yielding and surrendering do there very part.
Be careful of how you see yourself, no matter who you are, I say,
Our own eyes can deceive us, in a very subtle way.
It’s a simple and ordinary day,
There’s no reason to wish it a brighter way.
A fake smile and gestures I relay—
There’s no positive; just be okay.
There’s a shift, subtle yet hard to define,
He’s simple, but something in him shines.
A blank face, rarely offering a smile,
Yet somehow, he gives my heart a butterfly.
He’s one of the reasons I can’t explain,
The cause of a heartbeat that won’t remain plain.
His smile—rare, like the full moon’s light,
His steps make my world feel right.
Almost three years, still stuck in the line,
He’s far ahead, not quite mine.
Not in the middle, not even a part—
I hope, if it’s possible, there’s still a start.
clouds press on the hills
the sunset clings to the ridge
heartbeats one by one
written_ 12022025_Don Mueang
My hands gaze toward the tenderness of life’s flow.
My heart, beating before the breath,
Serenity runs through my blood
As I begin to discover my senses—
And all that I have ever felt was made of water.
I instantly inspire fire’s burning rays,
Before the water tests its melancholic phase,
After air suffocates in faded absence,
Die in despair from cognitive dissonance,
Within matter—by its essence.
Reaching the higher purpose,
Oneness in openness,
Solace in sadness,
Harmony in chaos.
Dear fear, you shall never feel
Your bouncing heart’s
Ultimate explosion—
Coded in motion,
To fulfill the concept of emotion
By the name of paradox
With galaxies’ devotion
And void’s lotion,
To attend higher vision,
Sight of God’s precision.
Let the heart choose,
Let the earth bruise,
Let me lose—
Or be lost in those eyes of yours.
and void's lotion
to attend higher vision
sight of god precision,
Let the heart choose
Let the earth bruise
Let me lose
Or be lost in those eyes of yours.
Grand gestures are not needed.
Warmth proves that one can love deeply.
The heart finds its ways.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
An area brightly lit
Meets a shadow's
Black body
Illuminated unclearly nor totally hidden,
Glimmer of light through trees nearby
Usually and clearly
Is betwixt and between
The steady illumination and absence of light,
Yes, neither glow nor obscurity.
Peace holds trouble at woman's subtle cheek:
Pale, inviting and warm enough to kiss
Attentively with regards, seeming freak.
Shielded close to her open lips, eyes seek
Patiently... so moment goes not amiss,
Peace holds trouble at woman's subtle cheek.
On top her chest's fountain lies tips so meek,
Choice could travel its miles without a hiss,
Attentively with regards, seeming freak.
Labelling tricks mouth could parade at streak,
Palm could turn on... over silent tigh's bliss,
Peace holds trouble at woman's subtle cheek.
How wet dragging lips put bed in shock, creak!
Out of baffling gestures... wish she resists,
Attentively with regards, seeming freak.
Reaching out on moment, desires bespeak...
To an endless but deep dreamland- abyss;
Peace holds trouble at woman's subtle cheek,
Attentively with regards, seeming freak.
How can I, make you move
When I can't find words to describe
how I feel inside, so I cry.
I close my eyes sometimes.
To pacify the time, this fragile
thing called life.
we all have stars in our eyes
some have dreams that died
it shapes the wake of our life's
she spoke the words
that uttered so soft
her lips were plump
the curvature of her mouth
essence sparks she spoke life
her tongue tasted effortlessly
~
like the honey on a rock
new day dawn dew on the grass
sweetness of the sun's breath
embroidered catching her heart
is the renew new song
nuisance subtle
5/8/25
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr.2025
heart
unhindered
open
doors
subtle
invitation
I sat to write of subtle things
The sun, the gentle warm it brings
To melt the ice on dormant springs
Awakening the bug that stings
Then came thoughts a bit more harsh
Large snapping turtles in the marsh
Bug-eyed pike with teeth so sharp
Chasing dragonflies at dark
A soothing hum that fills the air
Just letting us know that they’re there
Residing between leaf and lair
A season’s worth of life to share
Thus, do the woods kindly enfold
The dreams of lovers young and old
Stories hidden, stories told
Of moonlit kisses ne’er grown cold
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