Climbing Trees

Sweat oozed from my pores as I ran toward the barnSand spurs stung the bottoms of my fleeing feetAs I sprinted wildly toward Margie’s southern farmI prayed my drunk daddy would do me no harm In the woods, I had played with dollies and climbed treesThe big three, one with a treehouse I had visited […]

Innocence Betrayed

Green eyes shot serpentine spears of betrayal tersely into mineBlinding me by your lack of love and all I once deemed kind. Once to share my unlocked heart until misery maimed my soul,Reclaiming your “forever after”, with the razor tongue you stole. Untouched and pure was I inside for never had I loved before,You, my […]

The Lonely Glass

Dark as coal was the night, as my body aches with youthful memories of your tender touches. Days spent in fallow fields with unwavering wildflowers on a tattered quilt tossed in the trunk. The clatter of your camera snapping as I would become Your muse while playing in the water like a child. Dusk by […]

To Launder in Love

No rationale for the sorrow which often floods our hearts Through an awful thicket armed with spikey painful needles Edging along this dreadful path cautiously we shall ponder Why to visit now, this trail of tears we precipitously wonder. Drowning in this uninvited sensation and under we do go Violent are the waves of regret […]

We Dance For Silence

Like a snake sheds his skin so go we, those of us who bravely venture onFilled with heightened senses as vigilantly, we quietly roam till dawn. Exposed our emotions on our shoulders perched like the raven black,Hearing whispers, feeling stares, why we grow eyes high upon our back. Lost amongst the others, those who gather, but wonder […]

Beautiful Young Pin Cushion

Have you ever sensed it The poisonous sting of another? Piercing clothes, skin, muscle and bones Needles poking, pushing deeply into your eyes Looking away does naught to soothe the tender flesh. Burning bushes of anger deep inside you suddenly awakened Fraught with insecurities laid there deep-rooted by another And intense is the passion of […]

Saved From the Water

Wet sand slowly sinking beneath my weight there is a mugginess to the air it accompanies the endless rays of searing sun so anxious of what powers lay beneath the mystery of the ocean’s layers never grasping how to swim, yet the gravity of the sea calls to me Chilly is the rough briny water […]

Merry-Go-Round

On a merry-go-round of perception on a tall prancing, painted horse, Shifting patterns of movement and thoughts are fleeting swiftly by, Recesses of memories, flying by with odd faces, I try to stay the course. Tightening my grip on leather straps, I can remember those days gone by, A small, speedy heart is pumping, as […]

Deceitfulness

Pierced with sharp objects the skin grows tight, Disillusionment fraught with dishonesty stings, As those you love, with one swipe cut at your wings! Your adversary hides like the spider in a new web, Jealousy, cruelty and embitterment take a slice, Your heart is now fully aware of their shallow device. Your tissue toughens to […]

My Wrath

Lips pucker and brows wrinkle as he stares.Anger burrows in deep erasing his kind features.Borne is this unsummoned yet familiar creature,From the inferno of my own unrestrained wrath.Stinging remarks racing from my impertinent gateway,Chilling his heart and granting birth to my sin and guilt. by Joni 6/19