my reoccurring dream is a nightmare
because I am walking under the concrete underpass
located next to the town square in my hometown
this is a place I have always been scared of
terrifies me, so why am I there?
was I chased here?
the air feels ominous
I hear a twig snap
this is no forest
it is concrete, uphill
the further I go the more terrified I become
I am cornered by my assailant
he throws me down on the ground
I am going to scream so loudly, the entire town will hear me
but no sound comes out
there is only silence
I try again and again
waking up with black pupils
full of fear, scared to death by my scariest dream
a dream I cannot get rid of
a dream that haunts me for fifty-seven years
Mr. Seagull,
Have you seen Mr. and Mrs. Crow?
Oh my, I'm worried about them,
Where did they go?
The Ravens' answer,
"They didn’t say, we don't know.
Eviction dispelled them far away,
and with nothing to eat.
Nowhere to sleep,
and the last of the flock left for skid row.
Like the Byrd family, scattered.
They flew out of formation,
F.Y.I. they're beat, Broken.
In search of a new underpass.
A new city, such a pity.
Meandering, and struggling in tow.
To find shade in this scorching August heat.
Forced to move on and hide their pride.
Trying to begin once again,
A new start, an old low."
Umbrella kisses rain
under a darkly sky
unknown lovers pecking
underneath a moonlit
underpass. The rain
unites then unravels
unafraid, they linger.
April 30,. 2021
Contest Name: Pleiades form
Sponsor: Kim Merryman
HOBO CHRISTMAS PAST
(Hannibal, Ill., 1960)
Old toothless queen with rheumy eyes,
I'm seeing you again, across a smoky fire–
near an underpass, hillside grey with weather.
You hold forth over a can of hot soup,
stopping to guzzle wine, mutter in your whiskers,
something about peace and love
– a wink at the words–
wind cries in the pines overhead,
snowflakes are dancing, falling on the siding,
a December afternoon turning bitter cold.
I noticed you there lost in all this dreariness
I'd catered to your morbid since of norm
unable to notice a young mother her hungry family
pleasantly destined to survive a war gone bad
a broken time where peace hid for cover
beneath a darkened underpass that dark place
where suicide played aimlessly in her torn mind
withered so throughout thee sharecroppers haste
tampered soul brilliant heart glowing mind
looking up to your eyes for guidance that
just wasn't there shock waves of fear chills
of the night time played out during daylight
sorted memories chatting harsh truths an yet
survival was being judged escape from illness
was being challenge through a house of cards
lessons tainted gravity wasted above doubt
I noticed you way off into the dimness counting
naught faceless pout leading grievances tempting
fate the impossible task folded beyond staying alive
we're taught never to look back come home survive
Whimsical wisps of forever fantastical feelings
Pass passionate purple periwinkle pretenses
Uniformed unicorns unleash underpass of Unitarianism
Alluding alluring angst of alliterative adjectives
Enticing exciting, enthusiastic enjoyable encounters
Imagining illustrious intuitive intrusions of indigo,
Providing playfully pleasurable poetic people’s poetry.
let it be spoke
you are a joke
you've got no life
you've got no bloke
you've got no brains
you've got no hope
you've got no humour
you are a user
and you're useless
with no looks
with no laughs
but my good god
what a wide fat ass
imagine the state of your underpass
all the things a no one has
now go away you stupid spas
Why am I drawn
to this scowling girl
selling her poems
in a Shinjuku underpass?
Every Tuesday she is here,
next to a Nikon ad,
threatening commuters
with her cyclostyled angst.
Busy people keep up
with the times,
do a tap dance
on their smartphones.
Only drunks buy poetry.
Grubbing for their last,
sweaty coins, they
mock her with every purchase.
First published in Eclectica Magazine
A Coyote's Howl
They lurk in the grass through the field on a hill
Traveling through hedges of bark & Elm
One look at the moon the coyote's howl
Pull back the covers from my brain
Shattered memories of a forest all a glow
With a fever pitched noise have viscious long hanging fangs that bite
A lone bridge that goes through the underpass in town
Wretched creatures that explode without no kind of notice
We have embraced your ways as you search for bread
The caverns on the hilltop range bring in your kind
A kindly reminder to cross the great devide
Still you hiden behind the rocks with the trees to suit your needs
Having a dark mysterious aura to the sphere of your realm
Forbidden territory to research and learn
You howl for protection as your heart is bleeding in the night
A whole host of packs that gather sending quite a bit of fright
Sometimes you travel in packs to help reach your destination
Your native touch quivers for a source of revelation
Out on the prairie far from the actual range
You avenge your prey to which you host to convey
A coyote's howl make come to a neighborhood near you
No automatic alt text available.
Caution. Watch your head. This underpass is very low!
Is it one you think you can get under?
Unless you’re blind, it’s something that instinctively a driver ought to know.
So if you drive a great big truck, you’ll know you’ve made a blunder
if coming out the other side, you find your roof from your cab is torn asunder!
Written Oct. 17, 2016 For the Warning Contest of Viv Wigley
Flouncing flamenco style or doubling up for a pass a doublet is neither a right or a wrong in a semi colon in nightgowns. But trespassing on a land? Really? Who said? Hum. Huh. Disgusting. Go irrigate a system. It is irrelevant in an underpass. Really. Are Astronaughts astronomically passing? Or is it the ordered preordained multitasking whisk that whirls around. Speaking in a descant voice is rather a pleasant octave. Ignoring ignorance irrationally is a quotation on a journey. But planting ones feet in a mystical view is an integral part of being a being and being a being is good and who would argue with a ninety thousand year old goldfish. Not wise. Not clever. Compunction compounds. I don't wanna wear clothes says I but I have to. Says who. Snails travel at high speeds un the morning. Hahahahahahahaha now eat. Hahahahaha boom bang. Imminent. Dangerous dogs demonic. No ha ha to that bunch of dying arranged posies. Xxxxx decriminalisation z
forensic fears out on the potter's field
where fathers lie without a choice
and the ultimate enigma
has formed your white lies
formed your white noise
in the vale of missing tales
life isn't all cakes and ale
there, crystal clear
and cherry pale
I can see the umbrella man
the pallbearer man
in public showers
standing still, shapeless and wan
his heart in the can
I can smell your perfume
years after you've left
I've been damned by your beauty
blessed with your hate
your faith is unfaithful
I've been crowned too late
by my childish wish
hard to distinguish
I couldn't care less
groping in the shadows
of the underpass
After a day's work
Queued long for a taxi ride
At last get my turn
The cab goes along
Whilst casual talk less intense
Sudden route twist felt
A bus bump cab's rear
It stumble up underpass wall
But no harm at all
Rescuer come a bit
Couldn't believe I'm safe
Just get slight dizzy
I go out the cab
Slowly walk towards the scene
Pay some for transit.
Along this highway of my life
Thru times of joy and some of strife
With overpass and underpass
The road keeps winding on
While getting through this rigmarole
May seem an overwhelming goal
I thank the mistress of my soul
Who keeps me grinding on.
Since early on I guess I’ve known
We weren’t meant to walk alone
But finding one to walk with can
Be somewhat of a challenge
They come in such variety
T'would seem an impropriety
To venture to compare them
Like an apple to an orange.
But keep the faith for all songs say
We’ve someone out there each of us
The perfect size the perfect fit
And just the right ambitiousness
They say these things are planned above
By one who is omniscient
So why should such a fool as i
Pretend to be proficient?
I’ll get in bed and say my prayers
And when the last of them are said
I’ll say goodnight and dim the light
Then write it down and go to bed.
Just another Warrenpiece
By this bend
Old antique shoppe;
Sanguine ancient owner
~~~~~~~~~
Lots of what-nots
Odds and ends mix;
Awaiting departure
~~~~~~~~~
Old motifs unearthed
August edging fast;
Hermit stories
~~~~~~~~~
So much to see
Bright blossoms here;
Salute the day!
~~~~~~~~~
Sit here and wait
Sunset streaks now dim;
Light sleeps in the dark
~~~~~~~~~
Pathway passage
Road underpass;
Busy feet commute
~~~~~~~~~
Tai Chi dancers
Longevity now springs;
Grace thrills footsteps
~~~~~~~~~
Old giant rubber tree
Dazzling wonder;
Ancient forbearance
~~~~~~~~~
Loitering here
Warm sun spreading;
Morning glow styles
~~~~~~~~~
Walking hand in hand
Young couple gaze;
Dreamy wandering
~~~~~~~~~
See that aspect
Truth in deep form;
Tembusu tree glows
~~~~~~~~~
August slips away
Aware of sure charms;
Memory projects
~~~~~~~~~
Seek choice
Style poise;
Hurl voice
~~~~~~~~~
Two butterflies
Twenty-sixth storey flirt;
Profound love soars
~~~~~~~~~
Leon Enriquez
26 August 2015
Singapore
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