Response to Uncorrected on J A-N
Some things are kept
because they have value
or valued beyond
their worth
Others
are best set aside
released into the wind
to fly beyond
the horizon
If you love something
Set it free
to find its meaning
to chase its leaning
to explore
Its hidden passion
Fashion a new life
identity
value
inner riches
I cast you aside
But you came back
keep coming back
a dark secret
blemished
A bad penny
Tarnished
but worth
no less
than before
My response to Intent on J A-N
My soul
naked
judged
A blotted copy
a blotted original
laid bare for all to see
I wouldn’t have it any other way
I won’t be afraid
when the time comes
no jeans selectively hiding
what I don’t want seen
No shame on my side
of the ocean
no blame either
Not perfect
Not perfect enough
but honest
Better original
than a lie
Judged
naked
but true
Response to Only if you find it on J A-N
I’ve seen those torn trousers
I wouldn’t be caught dead in them
You know I’m no prude
but I would rather choose
what skin I show
to whom and when
I would rather show it all
than let those lewd imaginings
fester
Those boys can’t
keep their pants dry
you encourage their
secret delights
I would rather
deserve their devotion
sing to the queen
not another’s mistress
Weave a pure melody
for all to hear
leave your random
humming aside
What starts in the shower
should stay in the shower
Show me your soul
not a random patch of skin
live with intent
You cheapsake!
One perfect noun
is worth its weight
I say in one sentence
what you might waste
a whole chapter on
It’s worth the effort
I would rather be seen
as elegant
I would rather be seen
Not lost somewhere
buried in a collective noun
like a murder of crows
response to Rewrite on J A-N
I always rewrite
what needs rewriting
you never use your own words
always something
stolen from someone
a dozen shiny phrases
when one will do
a hundred meaningless adverbs
replaced by a well-chosen adjective
the right verb in the right place
your endless humming
never a memorable melody
leaving silence hanging
waiting for a penny to drop
trashy novelese masquerades
as hack journalism
250-word storys with no content
placing products nobody wants
you call that art
I call it fluff
lint caught in my bellybutton
something you sadly lack
a black hole proven by science
it would change your perspective
like all those orphan socks
lost in the dryer consigned
to an alternate universe
all those notes
I crack on my horn
mean something to me
tiny inadequacies
piled in a corner
cherished like prizes
that make me human
not something
you would ever understand
sweet nothings
spoken without feeling
are moldy offerings
response to Repetition
I keep looking
but you are never really there
a curved image in the peep hole
you’ve always been my addiction
Your bent-backwards look
irresistible, deliciably
keeps me near the door
even when I know you aren’t coming
Now that’s a loaded word
but if the suit fits
leave me wanting
something I never wanted in the first place
denying that I’ve wanted it
since the beginning
like a golden tan
on my rosy skin
a bluer hue to my hazel eyes
like you were born with
at least I got the blond hair
since faded
for you I contemplate the sky
the nature of daylight
precious innocence
response to Strategic Innocence on J A-N
Pull the tablecloth
and watch it all tumble
I know the science
but it has been a long time
since science worked for me
You make it all seem so easy
your ordinary, accidental success
only the surface, fake
like your tan from a bottle
I’ve always been your go-between
something to keep me busy
while I’m in-between
watch you shine
then clean its tarnish
I’ll nourish your orphan children
your abandoned dreams
you say I’m lost in mine
but I keep them close
Dreams persist long after waking
(just like you) your kind
the spam that keeps coming back
from a different address, blocked
reappearing like magic
response to (untitled) on J A-N
forgetting is something I do easily
certainly all of what you’ve done for me
I forget so I don’t need to forgive
when was I well-behaved?
skinny-dipping at the lake
and swimming to the other side
(you didn’t tell me there were people there)
your bad behavior
was always well judged
to embarrass me
when did you behave badly for your own sake?
you say I’m drawn to sparkly things
I’m the queen of sparkle
while you drag it into the ditch
your darkness in the light of day
your twisted petty arguments
your rain-soaked confetti
why do I still love you?
Response to Jessica’s Already Inside
give me a break
you tricked my rent-boy muse
told him you were famous
never more than me
not that I ever was
he never behaved
never played the game
praised your long-winded replies
he preferred my slapsicle gigglegoose
pretended he wrote them himself
then swanned off on some cruise
to return only when
dreams couldn’t pierce my
auburn helmet
you were always his tart
easy on the eyes
easy on the …
well, just easy
but what he gave you
was never good enough
you called it my roadkill
if only
he was never good enough for you
you said I deserved him
he was the part of me
you never understood
Response to Sideways on Jessica Anth-Noire
laying across from one another
your almost-voice daring me
to break out of this slumber
lumbering on in a frozen wasteland
you called me frigid once
I chose to ignore it
you’ve been strangling my muse
on the back stair
it served you right when he left you
he was never your type
you and I like lovers in this fold-out bed
more like a reflection in a cracked mirror
you wanted to edit me out of our story once
but you couldn’t destroy me
without burying yourself
in an obscure dream
we passed those scribbled pages in class
but you never got caught like I did
I was always a scrawled note in your margin
you were always the main event
I was always sideways
just to fit through the door
