it was much better when i was drunk by brokengod--veins, literature
Literature
it was much better when i was drunk
& ran out of memories.
you know that way
i would forget all the bills and loans and rent and utilities and water and air and
and
and
i cost something. i cost a fucking fortune and i am defined by how much i pay and refuse to pay. my bones, my lungs, my body, fingers are nothing but insurance lists and black market costs.
we're all walking stock brokers.
this
is the essence
of humanity
paperweight,
maternity leave
to funeral costs,
we are liabilities
from birth
to death.
this is how it was.
this is how it will be.
the drapes
greet me
an unpleasant
morning.
the sink
drip
drip
drips
again
& the tiles
are colder barefoot.
there is a pile of
newspapers on the
marble counter
& dead quiet
in the air-
until steam
billows from
the coffee mug.
sunlight
beams in the room
like a visitor
& breakfast
comes in with
a sweet smile.
it was 6:30 when
i was alone,
but 7:00
arrived
like a neighbor
& i am happy.
i have myself,
oversized t-shirt
& messy hair
& the warm
comfort of my
own skin.
i was alone.
i'm not anymore.
you bleed like a fountain
when the tides aim for saltwater sky
& all you want to do is drown-
i wonder how long it’ll take for you
to stop writing like that.
once upon a time, you were blue
train tracks rolling down cigarette
addiction and soft metaphors.
your mother had no way of recognizing you
from the sallow skin
and crevice-deep wrinkles.
you were a cliche
romanticizing the evenings,
wishing you were dead
on paper.
a beating heart floats for
30 years in stagnant waters,
fragmented like glass windows
& diluted bottle messages.
you were polluted rivers,
deadfish-the
flow of words
gone
as you sit there with your
computer static
el
grow, growing, growth by brokengod--veins, literature
Literature
grow, growing, growth
it's beautiful to witness dispassion
when the dreams
drift
silently away from the body like a secret.
it's as if the moment meant to give my life surrender
guises as an average day with me
washing the dishes
sipping on coffee
ready for small reflections
how did it ended up like this?
'i'm not the kindred spirit
i once was. but no matter.
i'm late by 30 minutes
& life's moving without
me.'
ten years ago, i dreamed of writing short stories Time might consider having.
now i'm just running out of time and stories altogether.
worrying about how i'll make it
now considers small, grave details like
time management
and skills
and resumes
why the water is one big piece of unrequited by brokengod--veins, literature
Literature
why the water is one big piece of unrequited
the ocean holds no place for fishermen; no hungry sailor looking for a mermaid to sink his teeth into. but these days, their net hands tangle into dolphins and pufferfish and stingrays; women with sea salt hair & barefoot soles wandering about—their soles caught at the edge of their wrists as they swim toward the danger zone. there’s a reason why it’s blue.
blood and oil spill all over her belly, afterthoughts drowning in sadness. there is no place for warfare but the space holds everything like a sky hungry for clouds. she is the only piece of quiet left, intoxicated, drifting her own drunk shipwreck searching for rescue
she reaches out
into the light
and i remember how
heavy my heart felt
when i first saw her
she is a golden sort
of beautiful
and i'm too awkward.
when these lungs are
less poetic, my
words churn out
the ability
to speak.
face
teeth
lips
cheekbones
her cheekbones
lift a face
moonlit in my
subconscious
she's a daydream
trapped in the lining
of my pillow
& in hollowness;
when my body
drags out like a zombie,
her face is there
hands.
she is so vivid
and so delicate
like a lost little
ankle-bare beast.
kiss
in darkness,
she's a candle
i can't touch
& things became
less romantic
for me
when i learned how
to have a broken heart
f
look at the mirror and fall in love at first sight by brokengod--veins, literature
Literature
look at the mirror and fall in love at first sight
give yourself a flower
and wear your favorite
sweater
sit in a nice, quiet
little coffee shop
and meet yourself
with that first sip
of warmth
and a smile.
in the afternoon,
walk to the nearest park
and hold your hands
together
as if in a prayer
like a lover's dream,
be sweet to yourself
for once.
let the kid with the waffle cone
and his mother
stare at you for 45 seconds
while you feed the birds
hang those insecurities
by the door
or tuck them away
somewhere
in your cabinets
or drawers-
just take them off
today,
pick a hot red dress
and buy yourself
a drink for two
tonight,
mirror at one end
of the table
and your love
at the other.
The grass fields were as delicate as the spring wind that kept me close to these flightless wings in this wide, open space. Dusts of you lay bare on this mountain, in the air breathing out rain and sun, in dirt and rivers running through this cup of earth you once called home. Every wildflower popping out of this brown shell bent toward the bank where you used to swim, your hands reaching out to some fish or some lost pebble smooth as your skin.
It was a cry for birds, your laughter. How it rolls and tumbles like their nests when the air kisses every dancing tree with a passion. You rarely did laugh, much less smile, and I look for it in eve
my fingers feel the dents
of the boat's curved bed
puddled with mud water, nails
slipping through knots
like a ghost--
a landscape
with fishnet frames
and a barefoot sole
where the living used to reside.
it is here where he rests,
a cane on one corner
and a harpoon in the other--
sailor hands and a room
filled with smoke
as he waves his warm welcome.
hot steam fades
from the cup
dense with the seasons
of leaves
darjeeling comfort
inhaled by the morning
as the city wakes
itself to a brightness
of milk and honey
I smile and bring the
sun's fragrant warmth
to my lips