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Round Robin, 2nd Round
Topic: Round Robin
My “daughter”
is getting married today.
I do not know this beautiful creature
dressed in virginal white
with come hither eyes,
but she claims I birthed her
and labored for 18 hours.
As if I could possibly forget
that kind of pain and agony!
And the twenty-nine plus years
between then and today,
I don’t think so.

Everyone wants to know
how I managed such a dream
as a single, successful
woman of business.
I simply shrug . I don’t know
how to answer that question.
I suggest maybe they know
“how it is” and really wish
they’d tell me.
The fog hasn’t lifted yet
even though I’ve several glasses
of "memory juice."

Is my money paying for this?

Reap For Me
Topic: Reap for Me
Be very careful.
Mr. Reaper waits with open arms
to smother his victim with glee.
He is not particular.
Blood and guts preferred,
but not required.

Sacrifice me on the cross
so your sins might be repented.
Drive nails through extremities
as well as my heart and yours.
I embrace the world rigidly
in my impalement.

Death comes unexpected
in so many transgressions.
The deceased is often released
but family and friends are left
to suffer uncertainties
and travesties together.

If we become gluttons and enjoy life,
we poison our bodies in our folly.
Should we avoid an anomaly for negatives,
we find it essential to our health as well.
We are damned to die either way,
shall we meet halfway in enjoyment?

Silence
Topic: Silence
Silence, once golden,
burns red in my mind.
Avoidance is salt
rubbed into an open wound.
It stings until tears cool
the gash and washes the memory
of the recent past to ash.

The cream curdles
in the morning coffee
and leaves a lingering aftertaste
on my once-pink tongue.
It is black now with pain,
tarnished by your actions
or maybe by mine.

The hurt has faded
and is replaced
by a Novocaine numbness.
Not quite without feeling,
but a silly, swelling facade
devoid of sensation except
for an occasional tingle,

more of an awareness.

Steal Away
Topic: Steal Away
You
visit
steal away
without a word
why not tell me what you’re thinking tonight?

Tell Me Something (minor edits)
Topic: Tell Me Something
Tell me something to make me feel
more than just a breathing being.
Let me know I'm worth the effort.
Help make the silence palatable.

Your touch, long ago, radiated through my skin
and spread delicious sensations southward.
Now, we're rarely close; there doesn't seem
to be the time nor the inclination to do so.

We used to spend hours with lips entwined
as we drank from a bottomless well.
Our kisses are more perfunctory, obligatory--
the fireworks have died in midair.

As I stare at what could have been,
I realize we omit the little things.
Those three little words disappeared
along with thank you and please.

We took for granted that things stagnate
and reduced our own efforts accordingly.
I miss what we used to be--the excitement,
the playfulness, the togetherness. I miss you.

Come Dance with Me
Topic: Come Dance With Me
Come dance with me.

Place your hands lightly upon my waist
and carry me away with the music.
Sweep me slowly through the galaxy
to the other side of the universe
and leave me wanting, needing more.

Whisper sweet sensations across my ear
and chase them with a brush of your lips.
Kiss my hair softly and tell me that you care.
Show me your promises by restraint of action
and leave me tingling in longful anticipation.

Dare to be gentle; permit me to be bold--
foreplay can last for hours in courtship.
Remember, there are curious eyes everywhere--
be mindful of your manners and me.
We'll make our excuses soon enough...

...come dance with me.

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.