
Carla
All Weather, All Ways
Colorful and Sure
Arise, my heart, from the flower bed
where your seeds are sown
with cheerful rain and sweet refrains
quenching your thirst for things unknown.
Arise, my heart, and the day is yours,
as certain as the sun
will warm us all until nightfall
and the moon will light you home.
The Ogre
Your face is green when you look at me.
In fact, I find myself a bit queasy,
now that you mention it.
I keep trying to figure what I did to succeed
in making you be so mean to me.
I obviously haven’t yet.
When you come around, I keep my nose clean,
begging you to go and leave me be.
You obviously haven’t yet.
So, while my stomach sinks down below my knees,
right to my generically sneakered feet,
I refuse to let you see me sweat.
Because, lately, I’ve hidden and watched and seen
that you seem like maybe you’re lonely.
So, I decide to do something you’d never expect…
and march across the playground over to you,
fingers crossed that I won’t regret it…
Sticking out my hand like the branch of a tree,
I ask if you want to be friends with me,
and, to my huge relief, you accept.
3 O’Clock
The familiar vroom
of the mail truck
in the afternoon
brings delight
with a side of mystery.
It’s alright if
we’ve only gotten
fliers or bills
because, sometimes,
that’s life.
My favorite days
are those when
the post comes
for some other someone
I’ve never met.
I press love
like a stamp
on the envelope
with gratitude for
our shared address.
One-Way Signs
Smile, check. Nod, check.
They’ll think what they want.
Wear that dress, make your mess.
Drop that shit and move on!
Let them say you’re purple.
Let them think you’re pink.
You know you are mauve,
so give them a sassy wink!
Smile, check. Nod, check.
They’ll think what they want.
Eat dessert, go ‘head and flirt,
even with no makeup on!
They don’t make the rules.
They don’t get the final say.
Can’t destroy your joy—
invent another way to play!
Smile, check. Nod, check.
They’ll think what they want.
Don’t explain, ride your train!
Let them wonder while you’re gone.
The Insomniac
She’s a stump,
small and watchful,
a mouse
with ever-moving eyes.
She’s a mug,
clutched by two hands,
drank down
in only one big swig.
She’s afoam,
untrusting and unfit,
a dog
fighting the dead of night.
So Much
There’s a lot I want to say, but I hold my breath like a toad
and slash the tires so the air’s out any time I head down that road.
This thorn in my side’s exacerbated by the heavy load
that I refuse to light the fuse on so I won’t explode
or worse, curse myself and cause my own implosion.
So, I let it go and resist the downshift into survival mode again.
But I hate that the state of our affairs makes my children cry.
I die a little when they look at me and ask me, “Why?”
The look in their eyes keeps me up at night
as I explain to them that I’ve tried—that I’ll keep trying.
Still, I can’t deny that time apart helps me get my feet under me and prepares my heart
for the onslaught of triggers that we both dance around
like land mines, until one of us picks the wrong spot on the ground.
It all disintegrates in the wake of the debate
the jury of our years keeps bringing up like everything’s at stake.
I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to wait
for the times we had to fight for our lives every day to dissipate
or at least for the pain of growing up to ease up so it’s not so great.
There’s so much that I want to say, but the lock’s jammed on my gate.
Peace and War
Birdsong plays over the airwaves and green things are making their way.
Bursts of blue hold me captive as sunny days overtake the gray.
There are no shattering shells or calls for ceasefire as spring invades our land.
But a falcon swoops to grab its meal and I seek to understand
what it is to persevere in the clutches of a predator
because liberty and human dignity are under attack overseas by a warmonger.
It is quiet here, the month of March has come in like a lamb.
But disallowing a tyrant’s power to grow rests in collective hands.
If You Don’t Play
What impossible luck
this is,
to tumble with flair,
deceived by the umbrous
rim of
the next step ahead
and my weight, thrown backward,
making
the winning basket.
♡
Thank you for joining me. I am so glad you’re here!