beetles scuttle through fallen oak leaves
meadow mouse weaves a nest of grass
flicker of wavering candlelight
a dozen or more flames dance & sputter
in the cool October mist
ivy-laden downspouts outline
an ancient crypt beneath a Hunter’s moon
its barred entrance faintly luminescent,
a teasing come-hither to what awaits inside
indecipherable headstones tilt at odd angles
footpaths littered with arboreal debris
chipmunks scamper among the graves
searching, perhaps, for long-lost kin
goes unnoticed / i take it all in / with gratitude & joy // reciprocation is my thing / when others fail to likewise respond / (sadly, more often than not) / i cannot help it / it drains me // i’ll seek out my own warmth & validation / burrowing in the comfort of my own embrace
sugar’s hitting me just fine
caloric intake, fats & carbohydrates
glucose, fructose, the entire gang
pastry cart with a chocolate chaser
i’m none the worse for wear
almost…
Angular.
Stretching along an invisible plane.
Our days are numbered.
i heard what you said / listen to it rattle round the inside of my head // gyrating like a jackhammer / unmuffled sin-chimes from our camel-hair bed // so / you tell me / you want me dead // or out of the house for a few days, instead / i can manage that / i think / give me awhile to give it a tink // if you don’t mind / and even if you do / if you would be so kind / it’s the least you can do / you don’t know that i’m privvy / to what i heard that you said / it’s all tucked away // up here in my head
a jumble of support, enthusiastic acclaim – and me, trying to untangle it all. but I do so reluctantly, loving the promise of validation and the approbation of your longed-for embrace
Published in Haven Speculative earlier this year, my poem Behemoth…
flameleaf sumac, american sweetgum, japanese persimmon
chlorophyll diminishes as daylight’s reign grows ever more brief
soon each tree’s crown tumbles down
crunchy, crinkly temptations, for the child in every one of us
the fatness of fall, her sumptuous melody of texture & hue
i hear you shuffling towards me / and i sense the impending certainty our lives’ intersection will impose / there will be no cataclysm of personality // only a continued indifference, the yawning chasm of you living your life, me living mine / fruition a thing of longing & beauty // when might we ever pass this way again
A Sawyer's Daughter 
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