before I left work
the temperature dropped
a good twenty degrees
in a fit and frenzy of a storm.
one hand smiled content in
a pocket while
the other called “home”
on speed dial.
walking, kicking leaves
blown down nonchalant
restless corners
yellow brown and dying
my mom talked about Christmas
and I talked about my cat
and with a “say hi to dad”
I hung up.
you will hang up the phone
without saying
i love you.
and while you’ll not feel it,
one day your bones
will be dust.
she shook him hard in his blankets
“i was dreaming –
i saw you drown”
she breathed hard, continued,
“the haze blurred
our overgrown backyard
the humidity oppressing
the few purple wildflowers and
the strange cat beneath the willow
we walked to the river.
you yelled for a swim but i couldn’t–
leaving fast for the fire
burning our old family photographs
our memories, our life,
so i blew out the flames and
i … i couldn’t see you
the sky was thundering dark
the waves devoured the shore
it was then i saw your eyes
you didn’t smile as you sank –
i was trapped on the shore – then i woke.
i… i had to tell you.”
she took a deep breath, waiting
but he had rolled over
snoring waves beneath ripples of
a blue-green quilt.
[circa 2002, maybe]
visionary sees
nothing, a blank canvas. tell
more my prescient child —
please.
hound dogs and bloody
marys. red riding coats verse
an elusive fox.
Check out my dear friend Oonah’s blog– Parallel Oonahverse! Don’t forget to read from the vault as well… and look through the great pictures from her trip to Bmore and DC!
where darkness
leads a whiskey shot
with no chaser
claw the burn and the dizzy
where alone
with moans of an E minor
strokes my thin camisole
that dews see through with sweat
even the moon
is submissive on a Tuesday
settles for the blackout
spills out ‘cross the street
where the devil says
i am your sweet tooth baby
i am your lizard king
waste your days, feel whole again —
that’s
where
I
wait.
i refuse
to cut my hair
like Crosby Stills & Nash
i refuse
to bend and twist and
let the scissors close
leave it be-
this tangled nest, a waving
mass curled up by the sea
it is a
culmination of days,
of a lost youth splitting ends
hi everyone, taking some time off to work out a few things. please – i have close to 300 poems here. take some time, read, leave comments, and reach out with ideas for me! thanks all!
Poetry by JC Snyder 