Ashes to ashes

in those ashes
do they see forests
do they see
drowning oceans
the rivers flooded
with discarded shit
it seems we just
can't get enough of

in those ashes
do they see irony
do they see
karma collecting
on an overdue debt
the screams of others
that weren't like them
that surrendered to
the flames

in those ashes
do they see hunger
do they see
the plight of poverty
the true nature of
what was lost
and the calling of it
to raise up one another
before they raise
that cathedral once more

July nights

rain used to
play the rooftop
like a piano
and we fell
asleep to
that same ole
tune on those
hot July nights
when the storm
had broken the
heat with its
mere presence
we would open
the windows
and the wind
resuscitated
the air in the
stale warm house
we were each
others covers
until the cold
settled in
but with each
drop on the roof
we drifted out
of our skins
and into the
sirenic storm
overhead

Vultures

seven circling

feathers tethered

to some sort of

sustenance

below

hark

a carved out

carcass

below

for the darkly clad

seven to descend

from heaven

and fuss and

feast on 

the mess

below

Waiting

uncertain whether

it’s the teeth vibrating

or whether it’s the gums

the gaze out the window

hypnotizes, pulls the patient

down further, a weight

not a lift in this waiting

chemical cocktails waltz

through the veins, these

grand corridors of a

historic and worn house

the sun lends little aid

to keep heavy eyelids

awake and open to

consume the days left,

remaining in this waiting

no-vacancy must be lit

on the light at the door

no visitors stop and sit

and talk about nothing

which would be everything

as what once was years

are mere hours now

ticking in this waiting

The banquet

the libations were
waterfalls flowing
from crystal decanters
onto ravenous lips

checkered tiles
caught each drop
of dancing hoof
as the goats furiously
strummed strings
in tenor with the
pulse of the hall

embers danced
in the dark cloud
of locks encasing
his darkly obscure face

the motive of this
unseelie host was
an amorous spell
laced with tears of
the pale lady who
calls to her lunar lover

yet his liquid
bribery never passed
these lips

thus a column of
whispering wind
bellowed forth in
tenor with the eased
temper in the humming
chords of strings

the words laid their
tongue in these lobes
their whisper the
slightest caress
of this neck

this unseelie host
advanced with his
enveloping speech

to his stunned prey
he reached forward
while his stretched out
fingers soon vanished
within this chest
and his eyes revealed
themselves within
his darkly obscure face

all was lost to
those eternal eyes
as a clutching
took control from
within this rib cage
a withering of what
once was or even
of what will be

those eternal eyes
ever moved closer
eclipsing everything

the banquet was served

Dinnertime

at the table
let us remember
we are here
to consume each
other and ourselves
we will eat and
eat the days away
sometimes savoring
sweet seconds
other times gobbling
up years like there's
no tomorrow
and there won't be
with our appetites
for we can never
have our fill of
ever tasty time
yet the chef has
only cooked so
much for us
so sit with me
at the table now
let's dine on
this moment
in time

Melatonin

rushing through veins
little bubbles
that carry nocturnal serum
the stuff that dreams
are made of man
that's plucked from
moonlight plumage
stolen from bogeymen's
satchels and ground
into what only
the Sandman can
interpret on blank
parchment peeled
off the inner eyelids
of slumber, surrender
to swift optical dancing
in between worlds
of dark and light
of obscene existence
and lucid sight
now rest, they say
but what wicked ways
we have all weaved
for the dreams dreamt
have all deceived
and rest flies out
on some whim
escaping this soul
its bones and skin

Elevator thoughts

the elevator snapped
suddenly
a loud crack in the
ceiling
thought maybe it's
you
a practical joke of
yours
like when you call
and
then only make me
guess
you are on the other
end
by revealing one of
your
codes seconds there
after
but I wanted to fall
when
I heard the snap in
the
elevator ceiling that
woke
me up from these
foggy
days, I wanted to
collapse
into the thought of
you
into the blurry image
of
a memory of you that
shone
in the unpolished metal
door
I desperately wanted to
keep
falling until I could see
the
you that once was mine

Hold on

hold this moment
he told me
before he hung up
his coat and walked
out the door into
the dark night air
I couldn't hold
the light, it fell
through my fingers
and onto the worn
boards of the floor
I couldn't hold
the time, it floated
too high near the
rafters where I
couldn't reach
I couldn't hold
his hand, he had
taken it with him
along with his
breath I couldn't
keep and his heart
that always made
mine skip a beat
but I could hold
this moment as
he told me to
that was the only
thing I could do