~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We caught it in a jar~
one pulse of gold in the dark,
a tiny lantern swinging
between our cupped hands.
Dad said make a wish,"
but the glass was already fogging,
its slow, suffocated glow
dulling to ember.
We unscrewed the lid at dawn,
found only the husk of light—
wings like charred paper,
a silence where the buzzing had been.
Now when the night thickens,
I leave the jars empty.
Some things are not meant
to be kept.
Jingle bells jingle bells
Dear Santas lost all hope.
For the world that he once knew
As sadly now gone Woke.
It used to be so easy
When there were only girls and boys.
But now there's many more genders
He'd rather be unemployed.
So soon he'll be retiring
Along with his reindeers who.
No longer want to be a part
Of a world that's become unscrewed.
As the weather chooses its flavour for the hour,
Stubble-ended wood shaves itself on the layers of unseen ground.
Synthetic puke seeps through pores seeking to devour
Every tiny, curled hair floating in the murk around and around.
Pool party skies reside a millimeter higher than the tallest fingertip:
Leftovers infect this mass of last meals passed on.
A spindle of cloth runs out with time enough to graze my lip
And still no locks of winter-lived years could sink a single talon
Into the darkest dark of fleeting moments taken from a fork.
Shall this be all that has come from years after that first unscrewed cork?
Yesterday I unscrewed the top of the
homemade huckleberry jam you gave
me before you left for Lisbon.
I took deep purple breaths to fill
my light pink lungs.
It was such a necessary experience;
the vision of you in my mind’s eye
atrophies each day, the Atlantic
between us casts foggy shades on
my eyes and the crystal clear memory
muddles like a lake after heavy rain
The anxiety of asking you a question
when I have no idea what the answer
will be, but have every notion of what
I wish it to be. It’s a 60 pound backpack
4 hours into an uphill hike, so I resign
my curiosity and just tap the Portuguese
postcard nailed to the wall beneath
the light switch every time I leave the house.
and hope that you would do the same.
The reindeer unscrewed all their bulbs.
Each nose of the famous of all
rebelled of their Dad,
his youngsters’ so bad.
The night, with no lights, elves recall.
Santa’s sleigh out of control -
the snow mixed with glass.
The reindeer’s too big for their britches,
Santa’s spanking would last.
hindquarters on fire
oh deer the feet on sharp shards
piece back their noses
What of Santa’s sleigh?
It landed on treehouse roof
This was not a goof…
Santa knew what would happen.
This kid hiding from Christmas
would help deliver the gifts.
This is why Santa can “Ho ho ho.”
He knows which way the wind will blow.
He knows who’s naughty or nice.
Rudolph’s grands on the list twice.
12/14/2021
It's halloween I'm babysitting, little horrors crawl from their cradles
I'm not a happy chaperone, these kids are becoming quiet unstable
Frankenstein's unscrewed some bolt, his head's hanging by a cable
Dracula drank five Bloody Marys, now he's talking complete babel
Wolf-boy's climbing walls, I nailed his paws rendering him incapable
Wicked witch's making potions, with soiled diapers and sugar maple
The crazed Mummy's eating bandaids, he looks even more disabled
Evil twins are slashing each other's faces, I'm running out of staples
Skinny skeleton kid's choking to death, stuffing his face with bagels
The exorcist cannot stay still, keeps spinning her head on the table
Johnny's home! chopping doors, I'm outta here my heart's not able
Halloween Monorhyme Contest Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Caren Krutsinger
10/30/2021
The doors that lead to
My heart is close
To make some repairs
It has been knocked on
It has been picked open
It has been kicked down
It has been unscrewed and
Taken off the hinges
Through it all it’s now
Making permanent repairs
Physique in denial, irritating to bouncers
her numbers-to-flesh comparison on the radio is a smash hit
this ice, in a hot summer still slowly melts
making age-stunt her most engaging hobby
boys, half her age come to display lame tactics
her metabolism functions with slow engines
as the bolts of her aging are yet unscrewed
another reason for the planet to baffle, after Pharell Williams
“I’m thirty nine” the most of her answers after her name
envy suffocates her mates as they beg for her genes
faith in using the pressed oil from her skin
may be factual and never should be underrated
this adult in teenager’s skin
still feeds her organs with mama’s milk.
rural sewage, twister tunnel runs
like water damaged dust and rat
feces soaking the lawn down to
a dog in the ground a town over
rusted tin and pewter, twin-sized
coffin in the air with its upside down,
breathing shredded wings of angels,
neighbor's manure & wind blowing
songs to a heart-shaped music box,
crooked lattice peeling splintering
train whistle killing the night birds
dropping them like flies in summer
heat, dripping aeroplane trophies
chipped unscrewed vent whispering
into a hand-held radio, silverfish
in plastic bags hiding girl waiting
to be sought, disappearing in snow
covers in wedgwood stains & dead oak
branches of glass cracking beneath
white lace and clanking metal spoons
carved with the names of alabama
i remember this place, maroon sofa
off-white lead paint, night light on
hand-sewn pillows, empty orange lamp
casting over fields that stretch and
stretch for years im seven and filled
like a tapered glass of cranberry
juice she poured, she pours & pours
Red.
What is the first thing you think?
Maybe love.
Maybe anger.
Maybe blood.
Do you dread to hear the word red?
And remember the first time you bled,
In your bed,
Where you fed your death bed,
And fled the thread ahead?
Is it the lines of red you remember?
Those small beads of life on your skin?
That unscrewed pencil sharper?
?
They ask me.
I say,
Be happy you don’t know.
That's right little ole lady
it's here once again
your birthday is back
so let your aches
settle in
What to get you,
something old or new
you kissed my cheek
and said,
your love will do
But to get a gift
is not just for you
when the one
watching you open it
gets excited to
So i went for a walk
and i wandered about
i kicked this old liquor
bottle and a genie
came out
As shocked, startled
and as scared as
i was this gift would
be perfect for the
woman i love
So i scooped
the genie and the
three wishes up
i ran all the way home
while shaking him up
Sitting the bottle
on the kitchen counter
i unscrewed the cap
and never smelt
anything fouler
The bottle fell over
and the genie rolled out
he got back to his feet
when he then passed
out
All i could do
was laugh at the genie
now pittiful and drunk
just needing some
sleepy
So now at this point
there is nothing
i can do
so i went to moma
and said, "pick a hand
One or Two"
The drunken genie man
was the hand she picked
so i handed her the hand
with the half full bottle
and told ger to
wash him down quick
with this foul smelling
whiskey sour
I have always looked;
beyond the calm horizon;
and think about you
With the memoirs of unscrewed;
vows, made of lies and blues
"Mary Jane here is learning to read", replied Miss Ava sheepishly with a slight shade of pink in her cheeks; subtle, but it told all it needed to tell. After all, she too was a lonely widow nearing her forties. Father threw a look my way as though noticing my presence for the first time. Then he unscrewed his face and once again faced Miss Ava with raised eyebrows. With renewed confidence, Miss Ava persisted. "The Good Lord gave this child a mighty gift; she can talk in tongues. And I's here gonna make damn sure she knows it.." As she continued to ramble on, father stumbled out the room, and I noticed, with mild curiosity, he was becoming as skinny as I was. Maybe everyone was like me, and it just took them longer to get there.
Who are you?
You who are:
Half Baked
Half Crocked
and
Half Cracked
Unscrewed
Unzipped
and
Unleashed
Who are you?
You who are:
Baked
Crocked
and
Cracked
Screwed
Zipped
and
Leashed
Or are you?
You who are:
Just
Plain Old
Screwy
To
Me
I sat on the toy store shelf, feeling all bottled-up and unwanted.
The kids prefer to play with video games, these days,
rather than being outdoors with me.
Then one day, this little girl grabbed me down from the shelf
and begged her Mommy to buy me.
She took me out to play as soon as we got home.
The spring day was so bright as I met the sun for the first time.
I could not contain the joy that I felt
as she unscrewed the lid and dipped the plastic wand
into the soapy liquid. She brought the wand to her lips
and gently blew out a line of iridescent bubbles.
I felt so free, floating through the air with my new friends.
Her giggles of delight were the sweetest sound.
She dances as we swirl around her. Pure imagination takes over
as she pretends to be a fish in a bubbly underwater world.
I will never forget the wonder that was in her eyes.
The wind caught each one of us, taking us on a new adventure.
She runs to try and catch me as I drift up and away from her.
Written by: Kelly Deschler
May 20th, 2014
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