For something to be just right,
it has to start out just wrong
or just a shame it doesn’t just exist.
Then, you just have to do something about it.
Once you’ve done it
— unless it’s just a shame to stop there —
it’s just right.
Category: Poems
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Just Right
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The sun was high in the sky,
the grass green.
Though I had had some petty
rough patches in my life,
I was still untried.
“Put me in, God.”
“Oh, my child, so stubborn,”
He mercifully furrowed his brow,
gazing at me lovingly.
“I am your child.
It is my destiny
to take upon the suffering
of the world to save it.”
We looked over the infinite
lake of suffering.
He took a bottomless cup
and made as if to scoop it
to its dregs.
With a deft slight of hand,
He skimmed off a thimbleful;
with the tip of a needle,
He pricked the tiniest bead
and dropped it into a fizzy drink.
In tenderhearted concern,
He reluctantly gave it to me.
I joyfully drank it up.
My tongue swole black-purple.
My innards churned.
I snowed flakes of flesh —
my skin began to disintegrate.
My blood ran and ran and ran
till I could not think straight.
The hairs on my head turned ashen;
God counted each one
as they fell off randomly.
I knew helplessness.
I knew hell.
As innocent as a lamb, I bleated,
“Why have You forsaken me.”The Problem of Evil
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Sometimes
the instant cure
takes timeInstant Karma
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With a wistful gaze
you wondered aloud about
how we are living out our movies,
wearing our masks,
following our scripts.
Wondered what your mother and father
and the rest of your team of angels
might be thinking of you,
your hair spiritedly disheveled —
a wild iris accented with streaks of gray —
I thrilled to take in your face,
suddenly realizing the splotches
on your cheeks weren’t bad makeup
but simply your ruddy flesh.
I got lost in your pouty baby lips
whose pink smudged past your cupid's bow
— not lipstick, mind you — just a natural blending.
I feasted on your two too cute buckteeth.
Your outer incisors curved to match the
bend off your bottom lip.
I drunk in your large eyes
as they peered off into the distance,
perhaps resting upon some spiritual plane,
and such assured, adept creases caressed them.
You transformed into some cherubic Hispanic
version of Marilyn Monroe-cum-Isabella Rossellini.
I, who had witnessed my body
dissolve into blisters over the years
and fought tooth and nail for a few more
in the vain hope of getting it back
to finally be able to sit at a table with you
over a cup of coffee
and share a slice of cake.
Face Off
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Announcement:
— Beware —
Fierce beauty is on the loose!
You may come across it on your way to work,
on a walk,
on a trip to the grocery store.
No place is safe!
Your neighbor, a coworker,
— even a random stranger —
may be in possession of it.
There is no telling who it might be!
Should you encounter said beauty,
— this is a warning! —
if you drink it in with your eyes
and allow it into your soul,
it will eviscerate you,
— I repeat —
complete annihilation of the soul.
Tell-tale symptoms include
a deep, burning sensation that seems to linger forever.
Stay on the lookout!
That is all.Watch Out!
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Caught between land and sea
I spend my days on the beach
scooping out the sand-sludge
as the waves splay and flood
glimpsing the chest
yearning to unveil its treasureX Marks the Spot
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It’s a nice day
for a latte
and a wrecking ball
Inner beauty can’t be seen
but words kill
So powerful
they cast a spell
of utter destruction
inside my chest
What once was buildings
is now just sky
with little clouds
and little birds, chirpingContents May Be Hot
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In my youth, I was pretty —
my skin so smooth.
Then I got used —
stretched out —
I was clingy —
A cover for others' purposes.
Now I’m wrinkled and frumpy
and no one is interested in me.
At least I fulfilled my destiny.Que Saran, Saran
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Love is in my mouth —
on its roof —
like a seldom used broiler
now stuck on.
My breath runs hot —
like a quiet dragon
huffing to itself.
Will I ever express
the burning word? —
or maybe it is just
a gentle kiss.Acquired Taste
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After all that therapy, I can finally stand to see myself. My horns shine, regrown from when I filed them down. My tail twitches, untucked from between my legs. My hooves tap, unshod à la Shoeless Joe, how apropos. My bed blazes made all ready for when I lie down in it.
Oh, you Devil!
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