obstinate

my head said "let it go,
the time has passed."
my head,
ruthless iconoclast.
but heart,
more obstinate,
was sure
my time was yet
to come;
and when it did
at last, at last
iconoclast
struck dumb.
heart revels in
the quiet hours;
persistent mind
at last has left.
woven in
the warp and weft
head and heart entwine.
love at last is mine.

peccant

see them on the sand
walking hand in hand
peccant peckers would
not do what they should
contagion does not care
for the laissez-faire

alienist

the phrenologist
declined
the alienist
despaired
the astrologer
begged off
but the numerologist
declared
13 was right
to be scared

regurgitate

like a pile of sick
words regurgitated
spewn across the floor
no reality connection
disconnect/disrespect
abject hatred and vile
his bitter acid eats away
the hope of a better day

vanilla

demure demeanor
hides a richness
full depth of flavor
classic and refined
but designed for
every use
made common by
imitation
still no stimulation
like the perfect scent
of true vanilla
beans born of
a distant land
how it has come
to embody a notion
of bland
i'll never understand

caduceus

so audacious
would be ridiculous
if not insidious
ego not equivalent 
to a caduceus
cannot be
someone else
somewhere else
sucks to be us

deflagrate

a crackle
like a cry
dry leaves
tinder eyes
like flint heart
deflagrate
kindling alit
sparks threaten
her old growth
with wildfire

lampoon

what's the name
for when life has moved
from ridiculous
through the fields of satire
past all punning
when every joke too soon
and the pompous
impossible to lampoon
because they have no shame

abbreviate

making humans
and humanity less
lives abbreviated
reductions by
infinitesimal virulence
and exponential incompetence
reticence against expense
money over distress

crwth

across mists veil parted
time beyond our gaelic rain
songs sung and sung again
pint poured storied ways
session time with crwth and pipe
whiskey, ale or wine
joined in harmony divine

palpate

he would
like a sadist
palpate the abscess
permeate pain
when stands nearby
the lance
yet he would squish
and sicken further
in fascination
of broken things

minutia

wakefulness tugs
at the apron strings
of a peaceful mind
broken cookie jar
of minutia scattered
across a tile floor
whispers recriminations
as it wanders off
leaving insomnia
behind to sweep
the shards that cut
the feet of calm
and splinter in
to the small hours
in restless anxiety

ambidextrous

I've known a few
who were ambidextrous -
rare but not uncommon;
but some have another skill -
they can talk out of both
sides of their mouths.

retronym

call me now
the retronym
of the me
you met before
formerly know as
is my name
the me that
you adore
i did not choose
my given name
so i gave myself
one new
and if you
do not like yours
you can too

Byzantine

childhood's mosaic dreams
laid out across a foreign square
made up tiles laid by books
and songs and scents of spice
Constantine whispers in vespers
a Byzantine memory of
a place I've never been
and now may never go
phantasm city formed
from a pair of pointy shoes
and a rug my mum brought home
so very long ago

escapade

when the world reopens
like a flower to the dawn
oh the escapades
we shall have
the grandest of times
the sad and sublime
running counter to all
fresh and dewy
me and you-ee

devise

love is
a world
devised
to surprise
you with
a sunbeam
when you're down
a butterfly
just before you frown
a kiss
before you gave up hope
a prayer
right before the rope

chapfallen

more than one virus spreads
with each day mutating
as daunting as the ills
that pass from breath to breath
the depth of isolation's abyss
chapfallen fellows filling time
with online vitriol
their misery makes company

sea change

weathercaster
could not see
the sea change
barreling down
on me
the time gone by
no predictor
the way the world
had licked her
the both of us
begin again
chagrined again
undimmed again
we ascend

oleaginous

the huckster sings
his oleaginous song
promising perfection
with a cash donation
health and wealth
for a pennyworth
phenomenal philters
preternatural potions
astonishing tonics
of sugar and arsenic
and broken dreams
and he'll be gone
before the screams
but sure, buy up
you know better
oh yes, of course you do
the sucker born
every minute
could never be you

filch

little did she know
despite the way
she made her chest
a wall of solid steel
and hid her heart
inside a vault
with no lock - sealed
one would come
with welder's torch
to melt her steel
like butter and
her heart reveal
to filch in dead of night
cat burglar cupid

albeit

i longed for days
where i could work
in pajamas
albeit in kinder
circumstance than this
the effects of a virus
and forced time
away from desk and
daily drudgery replaced
with fresh anxiety and
imperfect mastery of
imperfect technology
to achieve the same result
remote drudgery

rectitudinous

they who prefer
the blatant lie
over a nuanced truth
who disdain
the person rectitudinous
in favor of
the loud and ludicrous
should not be surprised
when disappointed
by the lies
but neither
do they learn
instead they spurn
the lesson
no distress in
doing wrong
they go along
to get along

perquisite

The Artist's Lament


if they say
they cannot pay
but the perquisites
are snacks and exposure

that's when you say
"thank you, but this conversation's over"

interpolate

a jarring break
amidst such careful construction
comes sudden obstruction
by means of destruction
rash ideas interpolated
into common sense
and screamed defense
no sense of plan
thus comes the fall of man

untenable

she rose
and riled
and made her plans
she understands
and fights for all
and yet
there are those
who would call
her candidacy
untenable
despite her being
quite indefatigable
it's a shame
how they find
all these little
things to blame
and never name
the truth of why
they think
she cannot stick
(hint: it's because
she lacks a dick)

coax

that you
could coax
my heart
out of its hiding
again to
see the sun
to feel
the salt breeze
to watch
the tide
turn in
and roll
back out again
that you
could do this
bliss
 

trenchant

the cat
it seems
has a trenchant wit
the dog
prefers a salty limerick

injunction

if i thought
the rule of law
held sway
i would issue
an injunction
against his ass
any day

dissemble

present a smiling face 

a mask porcelain grin

as the dance begins

bend and bow 

dissemble dreamer

waltz wearily feather 

drooping flower wilted

but polity requires

another reel before

you go

acumen

the craftsman hunched
in concentration
attempting perfection
building artistry
with acumen attained
by hard graft
skill glittering
in gleaming gold

misbegotten

once best pleased
by misbegotten plans
easy wrongs prioritized
over difficult rights
excused by bromides
about picking fights
every little misdeed
left to let slide
until the avalanche

pontificate

the pundit pontificates
but doesn’t count the delegates
and relegates the candidates
to second rate surrogates
ignoring the debates
and the future states
as he panders to
the network affiliates

numismatic

horrifically glorified
this numismatic tendency
of hoarding gold like
aged dragons
their spindly fingers
scaled claws grasping
denying wealth and health
by burning breath
to those without
leathery wings

judgement

gaslighters
burn you away
in a soft and lovely light
you question your
judgement of not
just the world
but yourself

eradicate

if I could
bottle this
sweet elixir
of perfect joy
it would
eradicate all
the fears
and tears
forevermore

bootless

Anne's Song


for aught i ever
raised my voice
but bootless
heaven plead

left to despair
in quiet dread

the pedestal
they put me on
became the block
where ax will swing
or guillotine

they that cheered
now gawk

they sung my praise
now spit and curse
death i do fear
but waiting's worse

probity

we never
were perfect
but once
perfection
was a goal
a veneer of probity
laudable in those
held up
as worthy
of the power
we grant
instead today
venality
holds sway
so for the future
pray

stipulate

read the fine print
even if you need
a microscope
to do so
because the bit
you never read
is the bit
that stipulates
the baby
for gold thread

vinaceous

setting sun
sky fire
over vinaceous sea
a boat afloat
wave dancer
the moon
unwilling to
miss the show
arrives early
and hangs low

cupid

that he's blind
I can attest
he's shot me
in the ass
more than once
but at last
the bastard cupid
finally aimed true
he shot me
in the heart
when I met you

gustatory

give me
gustatory glory
of gastronomic joy
a glass of wine
good company
and hearth and home
and happy will I be
forevermore

resile

never understood
those who think
to resile love
it could not
have been love
though love called
love cannot be returned
like an ill fitting shirt
to an impersonal clerk
at a nondescript store
love is tailor made
else nothing more than
factory seconds
from the outlet mall

obloquy

I have not
the words
to rain down
in obloquy earned
full disdain for
the utter ruination
of humanity in an
oversized suit

debonair

the dashing days are done
gone the air so debonair
gone the glam and giddy
these 20s not so roaring
with champagne and frippery
the work to do won’t wait
for your blind eye to turn
or dancing to a fiddle
while the world doth burn

expunge

shred the papers
as you will
paper over the cracks
it matters not
you cannot expunge
the scars upon
all the hearts you’ve rent
the families torn asunder
rewrite your histories
we will not forget

lenticular

vision magnified
all defied
and aside
from all the wide
wide world we
float blue-skied
lenticular eyed and
when we'd plummet
toward the ground
and could have died
we flied

infantilize

from an early age
we’re taught
don’t make a fuss
don’t be tough
don’t be loud
be soft and meek
don’t be proud
we internalize
and infantilize ourselves
to please the invisible

canard

we trick ourselves
imagine that
a joy not present
is gone forever
that it’s too late
to do the things
we thought we would
to go the places
we dream of
what a useless canard
the time is always now
tomorrow is always waiting
and joy may sleep
but never dies
we may wake it
if we try

ancillary

after years as an
ancillary afterthought
I’m made a forethought

scumble

the best of my days
have a kind of a haze
the details scumbled
like an impressionist
authored them in
purpled hues and
gentle blues blended
by an expert hand
at once both mundane
and breathtakingly grand

hierophant

how the tables turn
in service to a purpose
condemnation twists
to sycophantic praise
hierophants of a despot
petty pretenders to
a tarnished crown
sing a different tune
than not that long ago
desperate clingers to
the scraps of power
disregarded but for utility
together in the unity
of courtesan whoring

prognosticate

all uncertain the world
and dismal futures
unspool ahead
but still
though I dare not
prognosticate a reversal
my hope in people remains
we may yet redeem
and rebuild after the storm
we have done so before

fissile

our politics volatile
fractious and fuming
fissile nation
held together by
a piece of paper writ long ago
the glue of common purpose
disintegrated by rhetoric
and divisive men
who capitalize on chaos
and we try the best we can
to persist against
a hurricane of easy hate

macabre

in order to
fully live
we must
contemplate
the macabre
being and not being
begin again
until the end

gist

There’s a lot
I don’t fully understand
but I get the gist
and it’s this

Life is hard
and everyone
no matter
the metal
of the spoon
if their mouth at birth
has it rough
one way or another

So be kind
and if it’s hard
try harder

allege

you do not know
and I would not
allege such against
another without cause
but that others would
in such great voice
should at least
give you pause

diligent

it's always the thing you forgot
that you thought you thought
that leaves you overwrought
your diligent care to dot
the i's and cross the t's for nought
target mistook when you shot your shot
you don't know what you ought
to do, put on the spot
suffocating cosmonaut

parvenu

a little slip of hope
a daydream bought
for a dollar or two
I know we’ll never win
but I love the quiet dream
of what we could do
as some lottery parvenu
me and you

sublimate

small mercy
that purrs are
just sublimated
desire to devour
the hand that feeds

lackluster

my fear
that desire
outshines ability
my performance
lackluster despite
preparation and design
thank god for wine

euphoria

revel in
the rare
perfection
euphoria of
a task complete

outlandish

my mind
creates scenarios
outlandish
and I spin
into the fog
of anxiety
it catches
in my throat
like smoke
from the burning
embers of my hope
and I tremble
with the dream of
phoenix rebirth

nurture

take a little hurt
and nurture it
grow it to a grudge
mark every little slight
and write it down
in a little book
note everyone
who ever took more
than they gave
and at the grave
pretend revenge
cold served
'gainst those who
never knew remorse
or met regret
if truth be told
the one who hurts
you most is you
you cannot stew over
what others do without
worsening too

bonhomie

sleepless I spin out
joie de vivre distressed
bonhomie tested by
inconsistency insistent
in sinister refrain
my smile diminished
by worry unfinished

dauntless

the world
will affront you,
assault you, abuse you
frustrate and confuse you.
in matters great and small,
it will help you rise
just to watch you fall.
there is no mistaking
that living's painstaking
and progress hard won
by inches not miles;
but still, worth your while.
be dauntless, my child!
blaze trails through trials
so the people behind you
face other denials -
that they'll then upend
again and again
until inches are miles
and the distance you've
traveled is unmistakable.
and you, tempered by fire,
have become unbreakable.

intercalate

amongst the
cards and pictures
pressed flowers
and yellowed letters
I shove a ticket stub
intercalate in the strata
of tangible memory
so I might someday
unearth this day
and relive sweet melody

vicarious

books
are magic spells
that read
allow the reader
the chance
to live a million
vicarious lives
to dare
to dream
to strive

tontine

a scarcity mindset
either
makes one avaricious;
inherited wealth
the tontine of the rich -
a twisted bet born down the years
rewarding hoarding,
or thrifty;
make do and mend
so material can transcend
one time and place,
yet last,
in a way that enriches too
but without undue disparity.
a prosperity for posterity
built on charity and kindness
instead of small-mindedness

hirsute

built for long winters
we'd hibernate
like well fed bears
hirsute and sleepy
unkempt but dreamy
i'd curl within
your arms and charms
to while away eternity

artifice

in nature's face
is artifice consumed
the moment being
beneath a seeming
pretension forgotten
in fire, drought,
flood and storm
we are destroyed
but if we survive
we are reborn

lily-livered

the ones most jingoistic
parrot a parody of patriotism
conflating stridency for strength
expediency replacing morality

their pride a mask grotesque
to hide their obsequiousness
lily-livered face down they slither
prostrate to a puffed up popinjay

they cannot see above his feet
but like his shiny shoes
which is good because they
will be ground beneath the heel

which I suppose is better
than the wheel of the bus
he'd happily throw them under
should their opinion from his vary

glom

that one
already
with more power
and money
would glom upon
what little I have left
by intellectual theft
makes me burn
and yearn to defenstrate
to sate my rage
or else entirely disengage

weal

scales seem unbalanced
the weal of the world
outweighed by its woe
kindnesses are small
and cruelty enormous
so we must as best we can
revel in the little joys
and multiply them
until by sheer numbers
equilibrium restored
and maybe some fine day
tip the scales our way

convoke

witchy world
convoke your covens
and chant your incantations
whatever recitations
to cast whatever spell
to pull us out of
this communal hell

elixir

poison yourself
in promises
drink every elixir
from every snake
oily apothecary
for just one breath
of perfect peace
success and joy
and health increase
before your heart
will cease

belated

our vision
short-sighted
responses belated
we chase a solution
by tomorrow outdated
chaos spirals
in fractured fractals
and we hold on
to a sigh in a hurricane
we burn and we drown
in both fire and rain

surfeit

grief upon grief
into a heap
into a mountain
made of snippets of news
made of snarky reviews
of stranger's side-eye
and governtment lies
and systemic bias
and all that would try us
and unsaid goobyes
and unanswered whys
a surfeit of sadness defies us
and tries to minimize us
but agonize or mobilize
be buried or rise

dragoon

this
is not
their fight

dragooned into a war
they never called for
they only want to survive
to be allowed to live

we destroy the earth
we destroy their home
we destroy the air
make the world a tomb

their fight
is not
this

agrarian

city birds and bees
do their best to please
but they're simple not the same
as country cousins of their name
yet i cannot leave the town
for life tethered to the ground
because here i scrape the sky
and a million other reasons why
but mostly i'd miss the bustle metropolitan
in a life agrarian

permutation

we may not always
be able to change
the pieces of our lives
the matter made solid
as pieces on the board
but we can lay them out
in endless permutations
to change the presentation
and alter the picture
until we finally find one
pleasing to our eyes

mendacious

how anyone could believe
a single word
from their mendacious mouths
is absurd
I never was one
for conspiracy theories
but these

foible

if the things
I've always
thought were flaws
instead, in truth,
were cause
to find me cute
to the more astute...

than have I
been humble
or dumb
or both?

might my foibles
be charming
instead of
disqualifyingly alarming

and is recognizing that
what one might call...
growth?

cosmeticize

lives long longed for
were never lived
what we share
derivative
for instagram
cosmeticized
by honesty
paralyzed
sins of omission
omitted
life unvarnished
not permitted
lest the world see
our vulnerability

redux

not quite all
but almost every one before
felt like the redux of
the ones that went before
but this is something more
which leaves me hopeful
if unsure
and marginally less insecure