Pour a liquid butterfly
into a canning jar.
Kiss me on the 4th of July
beneath a falling star.
i spend all my time thinking about it
i can be surrounded by the prettiest sights
with the best people
doing the most enjoyable things
and i'll be caught up wondering
pondering
how it got to this
how much more will i discover
before i can't take it any longer
how long will i let you hurt me
before i finally find the nerve to let go
will it hurt more to let you go
or to keep myself stuck in this spot
forever
will you ever tell me everything
admit to it all
i don't think i could trust you again
not even with time
it'd be nice to know you think about it too
to know you feel guilty
but i know it doesn't eat you alive
like it does me
taking any last bit of joy i have left
or any i can try to find
i'd have more room for joy if i let you go
if i can ever bring myself to it
A hare who was seeking a mate,
Invited a snail on a date.
But, while the hare waited,
A trifle belated,
The snail turned up seven days late
Shrilling seagulls spreading broad wings
are bound for another flight into infinity;
unlikely us who perceive fear and adversity,
they know how to conquer boundaries:
and as soon as daybreak begins, they don't wait
but venture further than hazy horizons
with a straight line that guides navigators
on their trail until they vanish from limited sight.
Was Columbus or Vespucci more fearless than bold seagulls?
Didn't they defy storms and pushed forward to match their grit?
Their zest for discovery never threw them into irrational wit;
they goal was to project a vison and turn it into daydreams.
Had there been voluptuous women to weaken their quest,
there would have been none to behold other than deep regret;
and unlikely us who fall for shallow desires and accomplish little:
we ignore seagulls and navigators that are brave and yet fragile.
to love, is often to bleed,
cut at the wrist through the fields of reids,
mummification of a beloved memory,
wrapped in caramel gauze of a felo de se.
“should we see this heralding—?”
asked the lonely chimera to the aardvark,
her eyes welting with levees to break,
single teardrop of a fallen empire drips to hands.
“time cares not for your water child, just your heartstrings,
but by which face, who will you let lead is the mystery,”
its cane snapping, sending it bouncing down the hill,
quick way to get around, if you are built for hellscape.
“to which face i lead,” it silently speaks,
“am i the lion, a snake, or just a sheep—?”
The irresistible force removed the object
the unmovable slave trade always a profit
always forever a normalised project
so why would Britannia be willing to stop it
why would you pay just to give them away
purchase the product to cease without pay
for the sake of a debt that centuries stay
for no return no gain but to change the day
freedom is freedom through miracle alone
it came from nowhere and was the unknown
take it for granted and still those would own
how unlikely the ending that we have all known
One power, would be, one historically,
if not for Britain ruling the sea,
the way of the human, still slavery,
no other power ever set us free!
Yeah I'm great.
How 'bout you?
Did you accomplish all the dreams, you chose to pursue?
I bet you did.
Bet you went far.
No doubt you became famous, a real superstar.
Well like I said.
Myself I'm fine.
Though I never did move on from you, I'm sure there's peace to find.
It's been so long.
Did you find love?
I'm sure he marvels at you like you are the stars above.
You were so gorgeous.
Always will be.
After I met you, you became all that I could see.
I hope he knows.
I really do.
Just how lucky he could be to have a chance to be with you.
You lit the sky.
But I digress.
As I said before my life is hardly still a mess.
It's long but over.
I had to stop.
I was never able to pick up my heart after the drop.
It's not an issue.
It never was.
A lie I tell myself each day, if only just because.
Unlikely noisy and vibrant mornings
everything was serene, celestial and calm,
so ideal for a spring's afternoon psalm...
when there should have been mourning sounds!
Sunrise had more brilliance as it illuminated all with grace,
it gave no comfort to souls in graves devastated by a cyclone;
they had no fresh flowers to embellish each ravaged stone,
even moonlight couldn't brighten their dullness and disgrace!
The next day the pelting rain fell to break their monotony,
apple blossoms carried by a sudden western wind adorned
the crumbling tombstones left unkept in drenched ground;
the only visitor was a Greyhound grieving his loss acutely!
Unlikely noisy and vibrant mornings,
utter peace was broken by a blaring and radiating lightening,
and as stormy clouds spread across
the atmosphere, Heaven began to weep with human feeling!
Tamper with her phone, primary income
Sugar site no longer accessible
Selfish intentions drove his decision
Turned to last resort substitute, Bumble
Rapid response, invite to restaurant
Simply served as practice and a nice meal
Revelations compiling impressed her
Chivalrous, frequently announced fond feel
Presented online as a mere sales rep
Below standard for her high status aim
Her lease nearly up, he drove move in step
Surreptitious inventor, numbers game
She didn't suspect his sweetness supreme
Relished via Phil's evil intervene
29th March
Unscrupled Meddler
Turned my trajectory in June 2022
Chalk was bold, pale skinned, and big boned.
A soft souled, porous, sedentary teen.
Bulky, he made a big initial impression,
but seemed to lack in true substance.
And thus, was a temporary friend,
often relied on to help others with work,
but then discarded without a second thought.
Good thing Chalk brushed off comments with ease.
Cheese was very much an acquired taste,
with hooped earlobes and a waxy complexion,
quite rugged, yet packed full of character.
He wore a baggy beanie like a protective rind,
and from a glance, he could give you nightmares.
But behind his hard exterior, was a soft nature.
Easily influenced, he was often seen in a smoky hue,
chewing salty, sour snacks outside of class.
These two were really chalk and cheese,
yet their soft nature made them good friends.
Chalk helped Cheese get a grip and find his true flavour,
and Cheese was a rock for Chalk's sense of self.
Together, they were anything but, chalk and cheese,
yet never had they been more Chalk and Cheese.
05.01.2023
zoologist richard gale
meets an old thief reading braille
demanding he steal
an elephant seal
instead rich gets a narwhal.
UNLIKELY BEDFELLOWS
(Any resemblance to the prologue to
Romeo and Juliet is purely intentional)
Two species, not alike in pedigree
In London Zoo wherein we set our play,
By nature long defined by enmity,
One feeding on the other day-by-day.
From forth the ranks of these unlikely breeds,
A pair of strange bedfellows do emerge;
Whose ill-advised liaison sadly leads
To their demise and to a mournful dirge.
For love between a lion and gazelle
Could never end in happiness of course.
Natural instinct means that, sad to tell,
Lion ate his love, then died too in remorse.
Their families agreed to disagree.
Two species, not alike in pedigree
2nd May 2022
Orphan Sonnet poetry contest
Sponsor - Emile Pinet
a distant god
sits alone
watching
talons
itching to strike
circle
a silent hunger
drives the wolf
to hunt
hidden
in her embrace
a mother’s fear
John G. Lawless
©11/19/2021
I have yet to write a poem about a toothbrush
or toothpaste or cremation or zinc
One thing I am sure of, however, and that is
if I do, I shall have merely wasted a little more ink
since i fell through a glass pane
the neighbors have not seen rain
and since we dont go out
due to the recent drought
i'm hero of the floodplain.
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