Erin's Irises (revised)
Topic: Erin's Irises
Genetically engineered and ugly,
the sturdy iris defies weaker denizens.
It takes strength from my anger.
Old blood colors its blossoms.

I have an instinctive distaste
for this repugnant flower.
My mind and behavior,
predictably unpredictable,
react to my beautiful garden
smeared in its murderous rage.

It drains my emotions,
sparks an ember deep within
that threatens to ignite
without notice and torch
the monstrosity.

Abyss
Topic: Abyss
You,
hiding
from yourself
and all that care.
Climb up from the abyss and free yourself.

His Story (A Puzzle Piece)
Topic: His Story
We snuggle together
inside a cardboard box built
for one thousand pieces.
We are warm and comfortable
and fairly equal in every way.

Occasionally, our limbs
become entangled. These brief
love affairs only tear us apart.
We don?t complete each other
when accidents happen.

When the puzzle master
rummages through us,
we lose our friends as we
are scattered carefully about.
We feel picked over and used.

We often end up in close
proximity to others more like
us in color and shape. We make
new friends and lose some who
appeared other than they were.

When it is time to marry,
we are put in our appropriate
places with our perfect spouses
and life is good. Our families
are rapidly added and we are happy.

Our warmth is slowly returned
as the picture becomes whole.
We form colonies of families
and hold tightly to each other
less we be torn asunder.

Once the master has his fill,
he rapes us of our parents and siblings.
He steals our lives and throws us back
where we came from. He leaves us to find
comfort among strangers once again.

Pick Up the Pieces
Topic: Pick Up the Pieces
Pick up the pieces still
after four years, of my life
and his. The economy
mimics my sorrow
with gas price fluctuation
akin to the apex of my
irrationality.

The war is not part
of the world I am living.
That September affected
us all; the war, only a subset.
The perpetrators still
haunt my endless days
and ruffle my intolerable nights.

I can?t see my normal
returning to my existence.
Half of me died that day;
the other suffers miserably.
I go on the best I can
and hope to see you again.

Ugly Truths and Pretty Lies
Topic: Ugly Truths Pretty Lies
Ugly truths and pretty lies
slice through the rule
that was once golden.
Freedom does come
at a cost too pricey
for the average man.

What once was held sacred
is now blemished and black.
Honesty and integrity
have been usurped
with treachery and debauchery.

The bride no longer wears white;
she is raped repeatedly
of her individuality. She
drapes herself in a shroud
of red?the blood she sheds
on the road to perdition.

Spring Fever
Topic: Spring Fever
Light and frivolous
moods suffuse
the air with a rainbow
of colors. Winter
has melted away.

Buds spring up
and blossom overnight.
No matter how careful
we watch, we miss
the miracle of rebirth.

Sound of Insomnia
Topic: Sound of Insomnia
Listen to the myriad sounds
of the emptiness of the night.
Great drums of marching bands
beat time to the darkness.
Each tick, tick, tick of the clock
urge inaction beneath the pillows.
There?s no escape from the deafening
noise of insomnia.

Reciprocity
Topic: Reciprocity
Reciprocity?
It?s only fair, of course.
Isn?t that a give-and-take,
no-grain-of-salt
non-relationship?

Life is often unfair
and totally unaware
or it feels that way.

Things are never
what they seem.
It?s expected of you
but not for you.

Use and abuse
lead to a sense
of inadequacy
and self-doubt.

Uneven exchanges
cause mild resentment
in the mutual admiration
and pat-on-the-back society.

On the Road
Topic: On the Road
Anticipation and reluctance,
genuine opposites, fight for the summit--
something new versus status quo.
Accomplish everything attempted
and try it all. Success smells sweeter
than succulent strawberries in summer.

Forgive only that which is not tested
to the best of our abilities.
Knowledge rounds the square
and sets perpetual motion
to the stillness of ennui.

Wade not when you can dive,
want not when you can have.
Take it, taste it, and use it
to your advantage.

Contentment serves only the dreamless.
Strive for utopia and sculpt your place within.
Reluctance shall lose to enthusiasm-
gather greatness in victorious reflection.

Watercolor Words
Topic: Watercolor Words
Watercolor words
cascade through my brain and paint
a beautiful you.