Arizona (a love letter)

Author's note: This is from a poetry series I write and post on my author website blog, called "Notes on a Bar Napkin." For more info, go to http://jenlynnanderson.com/blog.

I will never forget
These sweet nights
These nights of rhythm
of rhythm and sway –
The music is under my skin
Under my skin and in
my bones –
The music is permanent
because of you.
You grasp a piece
of my heart
My heart and you never knew
you held it.
And this
This heart bursts
Under the haze
The cloying haze
of a desert summer
night
And I reach
I reach
So far
So hard
And never
Can never
Will never grasp
What this all meant.
But I love
I love
You
all the same.

it might have been...

remember that day?

your eyes were 

red it might 

have been 

salt spray 

it might 

have been

the wind  

I might 

have believed

that

ocean

so far away

but so damn close

a lifetime 

to get there

a leap

a moment to

leave

 

we could have jumped right then

I met you

on a bus

I wanted 

to leave

my scars behind

you wanted

to follow

you said

you'd follow me

anywhere

we made plans

west

cliffs

ocean

sunshine

freedom

glory

death?

a story

they would 

remember us

welcome to the end

you said

you'd follow me

anywhere...

anywhere

your eyes were 

wet it might

have been 

the wind it might

have been

love

remember that day?

we stood

my hand in 

yours in 

mine

we stood

oh

we stood forever

we could have 

jumped

we could have jumped right then

we could have...

we didn't

welcome to the beginning

all the boys of myth (a love poem)

yesterday i spun a tale
cynical about love
clutching each thin strand
saying i'd never lead you out again

that was a lie

time still slows
at the command of your smile

sometimes i dream running
a pace set to a song
you are strumming across
the strings of my soul
an old song made new
in a rush of blood
from my shuddering heart

it breaks free from encircling bark

just let my warm hand
brush across your rough stony cheek
and make it flesh again

fingers graze across lips
brow rests on brow
grey blue lost in blue

boy
drop your bow
and kiss me

no one
(not even you)
craves solitude.

Theme for June: Tacos

Photo credit

Ready, Set, Go...write poetry

What do tacos mean to you?
What memories do you associate with tacos?
Why do you get that funny feeling in your gut when you think about tacos?

Anything you care to aspire to when it comes to the magical mystery mix-up food.
Everything tacos.
Everything in a shell.

lights out for love

An emotion you cannot ignore
(Though you may have been foolish before)
When love comes a'calling
They say it's like falling,
And, my friend, you have just hit the floor.

There's something about love that stills
All tedium that normally kills.
And as you happen to be
in your great ecstasy
You've forgotten to pay all your bills.

Yes, being in love's made you dense
To a rather important expense,
But you think it's a lark
as you kiss in the dark,
"This warm feeling, it doth recompense."

Terrible Poetry from Terrible People

Terrible poetry from terrible people

Like the bitter words of lovers lost down the sewer drain
Polluting the water that once provided sustenance

From that abortion clinic picketer
Who weaves bible passages into spears that pierce the hearts of those who grace its doors

Like the eviction notices posted on homes crafted into soliloquy
That left every hungry family beyond tired of listening to these demands

Terrible poetry from terrible people

Like those violent chants and angry threats
That emit from peace demonstrators
Reminiscent of sloppy kisses from virgin lovers

Like the soapbox rhetoric of a rabble rouser in downtown Minneapolis
Preaching about the importance of the environment
She enjoys her bottled water on her car ride home

Or perhaps escaping like the satisfied belches from a man
who never stops professing his love of animals, especially those cute kitties and puppies
While stuffing his face with the assholes and intestines of every other mammal on this planet

Terrible poetry from terrible people

Like the promises of a do-gooder who volunteers to be a Big Brother
Then quits after 6 months
The same one who sweet talks another program into letting him be a mentor again
After 4 months he leaves, resembling the fathers that abandoned the same kids he used to tutor

Like the propaganda pamphlets dropped overseas
To those who only pray for peace
But instead get slaughtered like the cattle we view them as
We fill mass graves with glee

Like the racial slurs and harsh words dropped by children on the playground
In a small town middle class hell
Landmines and cluster bombs that would send my brother home crying everyday
Just because he is not white

Terrible poetry from terrible people