A Series of Eight Poems Painted Upon Stones and Tossed Into the Sea: 5
the problem the moon realized was it was impossible to see into the sea when all one can see is it’s own reflection on the surface of the sea a conundrum it seems
Tag: poetry
A Series of Eight Poems Painted Upon Stones and Tossed Into the Sea: 4
far below the lands of man and gods coral castles flourish in ever warming waters sea horses serve as steeds for crustacean knights noble and just a treasure lies untouched guarded in time immemorial at the heart of poseidon’s kingdon
A Series of Eight Poems Painted Upon Stones and Tossed Into the Sea: 3
droplets of water dancing upon the gossamer threads of a finely spun web between the branches of a gnarled old tree the seductive shimmer of hope trapped in the machinations of hunter seeking prey
A Series of Eight Poems Painted Upon Stones and Tossed Into the Sea: 2
he stood naked upon the shore confused in this moonless night his breath fog in the air around his head a circle of ravens hung motionless like statues carved from feathered ice a faint silvery glimmer caught his eye from above yet his mind was consumed by his own lack of clothing in the chill […]
A Series of Eight Poems Painted Upon Stones and Tossed Into the Sea: 1
the moon stole down from the sky hid itself away in a cave overlooking the sea in the night it would peer over the edge of the cliff watching it’s own reflection dance upon the waves hidden so it wiled away the time whispering of love long lost far down below beneath the waves with […]
vacc(i)ne
thinking of you is like a millipede racing down my spine your presence haunts my sleep like a spider scurrying across my face or a fly buzzing around my ear it’s a sickness this disease called love no inoculation seems to suffice try as they may the doctor’s vaccinations only made me more susceptible or […]
(just a)thought II
i love you more than i love me that’s the reason i am the best you will ever have but never will be enough in the end when all is said and done it is a ravine you will try and fill to no avail until you realize it isn’t worth it i am not […]
closing time
this manic word depot of mine sees visitors but few that ever stop fewer that care to speak it is a lonely place filled with the echoing taint of depression is it healthy giving form to despair shedding one’s soul into silence it is a near zero return upon emotional investment divesting the darkness in […]
(me)taphor(i)cal
her touch was the morning sun on hiroshima awash with radioactive afterglow she is my post nuclear eve splitting adam into isotopical decay my every cellular break down a dropped call a missed mixed message contextually sent undeliverable beyond her comprehensive disinterest
bent
i taped my love to a boomerang sent it flying off into the air in the hopes it would lead someone back to my heart turns out it was just a curved stick as it never came back now i just feel nothing
honest(y)
she asked me, are you afraid to die i sat and stared up at the clouds rolling across the sky for a long time and shrugged, not really you’re awfully brave, she said with a smile i couldn’t look her in the eyes, i just kept staring at the sky she watched me carefully i […]
(just a) thought
they say depression despondency sorrow cause the sufferer to find solace wherever they can sometimes it manifests in taking long showers to feel warmth to make up for the lack of human contact i just ran the hot water out yet still didn’t want to get out seems like psychobabble to me just a thought
regretful haiku
freshly shaven head on a rainy day that’s cool seems like a mistake
bad news
the mirror is shattered like the fool that views you look at me with love but baby i’m bad news the scholars and the madmen, the wretched and the ridiculed, beaten and abused by the ones that should have loved them most, this is not about them though, is it this about the fool himself, […]
pr(i)ce to pay
i sprinkle poison into my coffee as i have grown to crave the taste the gentle reminder of how fleeting this life can be organ failure is a small price to pay to feel alive again all endings begin when the culprit becomes the victim no matter the clever reason the lies spilled from behind […]
(m)or(e)
don’t fall in love with a poet in the end it is the words they love the need may be laid upon you for a time but that fades don’t let the words convince you there is more hidden beneath there isn’t what lies beneath is the cold darkness from which the words are drawn […]
equate
it doesn’t take a semi truck driving full force into the back of my brain for me to take a hint i get it i studied my use of semi like a semi colon establishes equals rank meaning you;i will never be a thing the you will always rank higher to both of us ie […]
museum trip
it all started to cascade like the churning waters of the white rapids when you were a kid that trip why is that in your head indistinct drawings of stick figures and strange beasts, the flickering light of torches wash across the cave wall, the sounds of something primal, stalking, low growling bounced around the […]
no reflection
she asked me what i see when i look at her i told her the truth my every wish and fantasy given form i asked what she saw when she looked at me she smiled i guess she answered a mirror over the years i must have gotten tarnished because she was still the same […]
(you)
you look so good with sin dripping from your bloody lips sex oozing from every pore a hemlock and lust popsicle on a summer afternoon i want to lick every inch of you the angelic disguise a mirage gore me with your horns leave me bleeding out begging for more
forever temporary
even in the freshly fallen snow i will never be able to make my mark on this world i write my signature in invisible ink all my love letters are biodegradable the only ode to forever i could pen would be with skywriting on a blustery day i am temporary in a world of granite […]
(n)ever
i’ll never be your dream come true but you will always be my fondest wish this is something i just have to accept
poetry
poetry will never be the answer it won’t bring her heart closer it is empty devoid poetry doesn’t feed the hungry it doesn’t hold it doesn’t wipe away the longing the need poetry is a dead end a razor edge an out of key symphony in a piss stained alley leading no where poetry is […]
castoreum (hunger strike)
i imagine this sung in a happy rhythm, even if it doesn’t make it better ambergris is whale vomit, but castoreum is secreted by beaver anal glands, perfume from the puke, artificial vanilla from the brown sludge flavors ice cream marshmallows are cow bones, as is j e l l o, while yellow number five […]
cold and lonely tanka
it’s cold in texas i wish i were holding you i would keep you warm tonight i will in my dreams alone and shivering in bed
the lies i tell myself
i tattoo your visage upon my cornea so beauty infuses my day your name upon my tongue so every word i speak is love even then i am aware of the falsehood inherent in dream the falsehood that makes up my daily routine i love you don’t take it upon yourself to tell me how […]
confessional
i fight being impatient too scared to make the changes necessary they shred my intestinal distress with stress the burden of anxiety of every lie piled like fine china in an earthquake i used to wear mistruth fabrications like a second skin until i was bitten by the same set of fangs that i thought […]
avalanche of ash
i was looking for something i was sure i had written or possibly dreamed but i knew somewhere sometime i had scribbled something so i scrolled and scrolled through my own endless blatherings countless odes piteous screams unrecognizing the words looking at titles first verses searching through hundreds of pedantic pieces looking for the one […]
for edgar
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream. – Edgar Allen Poe stumbling alone on this muddy path, the pregnant moon the only light, heart racing and labored burning breath i saw something i should not have, a creature feasting, bloody mouth and ragged claws, the personification of death my […]
caramel
her depression tastes like caramel on her lips salted by the stray tear on her cheek when she is sad all i want is to hold her close squeeze until that sorrow infuses me instead yet i taste the caramel on her lips the sticky mess of intangible agony that is her depression longing for […]
silence in the refrain
i moved from illinois to the deepest of deep south away from snow away from bars from all i knew about far from the vacant eyes of lovers gone astray wagging tongues of slander from dear friends i ran away traded one empty for another but never ever did i realize it would turn out […]
angel with dirty feet
she was an angel with dirty feet from a lifetime of walking when she should have soared i longed to touch her wings but i was icarus she the sun so i fell and fell while she shined gloriously in the sky reflected back in my eyes
miss take
she asked why i was sitting at the bar alone her smile said she was just as lonely the rest of the crowd of drunks made me look good in comparison so you can imagine the shady patronage scarred goons drinking to forget i told her the truth i was hoping to get a little […]
hushed darkness
pt I she dances on moonbeams flies upon the thermals like a sparrow dives through the aether like a dream given form pt II the road was laid brick by brick cemented together by blood and lies unevenly paved paid for by tears none who walk alone on this empty road can hope for more […]
another one (drowning)
sinus pressure cluster headache brain infection mental infraction dove into the greenish swirl pain reliever slash sleep enforcer slash truth inducer slash thought refuser now i sit weak and weary wishing i could just think clearly dreams of you run through the fog clock hands twitching broken gear and cog(tickticktick) i am drowning in a […]
dusty
he told me stories about living in a border town sitting in the harsh sun sipping cervezas watching the dark skinned beauties in their multicolored skirts as they walked down the dusty streets around him he made one hundred dollars a month lived like a king arranging trips to send mota across the border hidden […]
unless you asked
i would never hurt you unless you asked then only as much as you desire but if you were a book i would break your spine with the number of times i would read you cover to cover highlighting your secret passages with shaking hands folding the corners of pages for quick access to the […]
ve(no)m
it seems a pen dipped in venom can still write the loveliest of words even as they scorch the table beneath
cat’s tongue
i would trace my tongue along your every self perceived flaw until you saw they just enhance your perfection calluses would form from kissing away your callous self image until my tongue grew rough as a cat’s still you do not see how beautiful you are when my eyes catch the softest glimmer of your […]
red
the sky turns crimson as an arrow hit the sun shadows turn liquid blood drips across the ozone oceans rage, all becomes red panic strikes below flora wilts in on itself oxygen turns stale photosynthesis no more black mold ingratiation peace fades chaos rules this new reality holds the world goes insane filtered through vermillion […]
carving
i carved the blade from my own rib for her to use sharpened it against the stony disinterest she previously wielded like a blademaster presented it to her hilt first bared my soul so she had no chance of missing yet my eyes still widened in shock as she casually carved her initials then walked […]
fade(away)
let me get lost in you fall deeply into your eyes lose track of minutes to hours to days to weeks let me lose the part of myself that keeps me apart from myself that keeps me apart from you i wish to be lost what better way than to let myself become lost within […]
calcified in you
when i die i want you to take my heart and calcify it then wrap it in every poem i wrote about my feelings for you let it drink in the love i spilled the words drenched in you your beauty of wildflowers in your hair your blood like wine stains upon my lips let […]
to be with you
threading the needle it seems between romantic or misguided every word of it is true still even if this love is unrequited sworn to you my sheer goddess i shall be your personal poet your vengeance and your blade give me one chance to show it i would cut my heart out for you if […]
(un)titled ode to she
she blossoms like a flower in the dead of the night a vision of sublime beauty intoxicating on a subliminal wavelength laying root inside your brain until she is all that remains latching to your reward center your opioid receptors then she is all you need
headache but the truth pains me more
my head hurts just a double bass pounding in my temples with a circular saw behind my eyes so excuse me while i sit in the dark stare up at the ceiling thinking about you knowing you won’t read this if you do i doubt you will know it is you that is the you […]
(un)titled i + she III
i am a mudpuddle in a pothole right next to your car door a hassle stepped over so coins can be tossed into the depths of the wishing well that is her
(un)titled i + she II
i am the middle verse of a poem written in shaky hands on yellowed parchment forgotten for the prose that slides across her teeth and lips
(un)titled i + she
i am a firefly in a glass jar on the shelf battering myself against invisible walls ignored for the lightning storm forking majestically she casts across the sky
charcoal sketches
i have started sketching using charcoals for heavy shading the kind that leaves your fingers blackened smudges on your cheeks like a chimney sweep after a long shift a coal miner after sixteen tons each new piece of art using the charred remains of former loves of former lives of former frames of mind to […]
(un)titled tanka II
the words grow quiet or at least i won’t seek them as a waste of time there seems little reason to no one cares if they do speak if i stop writing will the world even notice or sigh in relief as i stop polluting it with odes and refrains of love
(un)requited V
she loved me despite myself she was quite proud of that always pointing out the despite she loved me for who she thought i could become not who i was but future me she loved me for my words the ones that flowed onto the page just for her but when it came to me […]
(un)titled i VI
i speak with the voice of the voiceless heard by deafened ears seen by the blind my portrait painted by quadriplegic artists in comatose reality i am a lession covered leper in the broken heart club the zero sum investment the toothless lion pariah of the pack sinking like a stone into the poisoned waters […]
(un)titled thought LX
the wind chimes sing on the balcony a steady ringing ode to desolation or maybe today is a day for depression
pearl diving
sitting with my feet up craving whiskey in an effort to stop other cravings the neighbor upstairs just got home his slight frame beguiles his inability to step lightly a knock on the door i refuse to answer it is her the ex her if she can refuse a hint i can refuse her knocking […]
never could
i woke this morning with the dream remains of your kiss upon my lips wispy and tasting of yesterdays long gone cold your name still sat upon my tongue the feel of your fingers entwined with mine lingered like a ghost i cannot escape even if i chose to your memory draped across my skin […]
corazón de oro (my muse)
freshly cut flowers standing in a vase the sounds of vivaldi dancing softly on the air her light steps upon bare feet gliding across the room. flores recién cortadas de pie en un jarrón los sonidos de vivaldi bailando suavemente en el aire sus pasos ligeros con los pies descalzos deslizamiento través de la habitación. […]
dunning-kruger as relating to the fool
my poetry my search for love are actualizations of the dunning-kruger effect my lack of understanding fuels my belief that i can succeed my ignorance breeds confidence i rub lemon juice upon my flaws assuming it makes them invisible all it takes is a simple smile to make me forget the glaring failings the greatest […]
light plays in shadow
pt 1 she stands in front of the window golden light frames her naked body uncaring if a car drives by hits the pole out front again dust motes float in the air as if she stands in a sea of airborne glitter it isn’t clear yet if the sign outside referring to deadly curves […]
if you asked
i don’t wish your lover would die but if he had an accident i wouldn’t be overwrought with sorrow i would never raise a fist in anger but if he truly made a mess i would be on a plane to you by tomorrow call it jealousy or just need but before bed i pray […]
deep down at the bottom
blame my impatience in my utter disdain for the person i was to the one that i am to who i want to be in the not so distant future how do i wait for the next evolution when every bitter tear falling is tainted by lies i desperately need to believe it isn’t as […]
a raven and a roof
the roof on the church had partially collapsed i can only assume it was from the weight of unanswered prayers i have never found myself understanding so profoundly a sentiment more as i sit alone in the cold as if to give an answer a raven took wing launching itself like an ebon dart against […]
tiny anchors
she folded me like a letter she no longer needs to read stuffed me into the back of the drawer with the musty reminders of days gone by i told myself she was saving me for a day when things had changed when i would be important or at least not quite so bittersweet when […]
fell for falling
her love gave me the bends decompression sickness from an escape from the overwhelming pressure of daily life i surfaced from the pit of depression too quickly to see she was a mirage instead of the oasis i first mistook her for i fell for her by falling for what i thought i wanted by […]
tanka for the cure
injecting robots nanomachines deep within looking for the cure knowing deep down in my soul both disease and cure are you
out of tune
she smiled like a piano i tried all eighty eight keys but none fit the lock on her heart i tugged the strings all i got was bloodied fingers and the sounds of my own fading soliloquy
a poor fisherman i make
there are plenty of fish in the ocean but where i live is landlocked the only net i seem to cast is poorly made any potential catch swims freely through they told me if you teach a man to fish he eats forever but with jutting ribs and aching belly i sit on the cusp […]
(un)titled ode XXXVII
my dearest though i have never gotten a chance to whisper sweetly into your ear brush my lips across your neck or your throat know that the sun’s rays as they shine upon your skin is a reflection of my love for you every breeze carries the whispered words of devotion from my heart to […]
(un)titled thought LIX
he was an ink blot on the ocean a rorscharch of childhood trauma nebulous tremors anecdotal memories a butterfly with poisoned fangs murderous intent in loving eyes a plastic mask devoid of hope these things are what he was but the question he asked himself in the quiet dark what was he
(un)titled ode XXXVI
she is beautiful like an aria like a field of lilies like a sunrise over the sea she is intangible like lilacs on the breeze like sea foam like the thrum of lightning right before it strikes she is dream fantasy given form divinity given shape love made palpable washing over bare nerves
cold rain
it’s raining it’s cold i wish i were with you even if it were in the rainy cold i can think of a few things we could do to keep our minds off of the weather we could read to each other or watch a scary movie i could watch you out of the corner […]
wrong blood type
she has two small puncture wounds on her neck no reflection in the mirror we only meet at night i have never seen her eat i would be suspicious but it is just nice to be wanted to be paid attention to to feel as if i exist or it was last night i told […]
worse indeed
i wonder if things would have turned out different if i hadn’t been such a sad sack of shit my entire life the whiskey the women the singing the words dating out of my league only acceptable when you factor in the talented tongue also the charming way i spoke how did i fool so […]
pencil sketchings of the ocean
i am just animated carbon and water an ocean given human shape an unsharpened pencil incapable of making beauty you on the other hand are the most spectacularly beautiful thing i have ever seen in hindsight i am the dead sea and you are the bountiful ocean if i ever find a way to sharpen […]
dogs and horses
you cannot teach an old dog new tricks you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink you can close yourself off from the world but you cannot stop the need and you have proven time and again you can take my heart and crush it but you cannot love me […]
(un)titled ode XXXV
every time she smiles a star let’s itself fall from the sky in jealousy when she cries an angel hangs itself from the heavy bough of the cherry tree and when she looks at me my stomach tumbles my hands grow sweaty the world seems brighter
never weres
my mind is a photo album of all the perfect days my dreams are the photo negatives the views beyond the page now they seem crossed as all i have is imprecise rememberings of another time another place the candle burnt away waxy reminiscence now the latest to deem me insignificant other joins the menagerie […]
(un)able
she swears up and down what she feels is love but she has never seen him, never held him, never smelled him, never felt him, never been there when he needed her she is the mist of the sea and he is the shore, tangentially connected at best, everytime they meet, interact, he loses something […]
third and fourth
when she left it felt like lying in a snow bank like lying to everyone it was going to be okay like the pieces of my being were left lying in the broiler as i turned up the heat in hopes they would ooze back together again if absence makes the heart grow fonder silence […]
Annoucement: Issue #1: The Ache of the Pen is Available for Download
https://wolffpoetry.com/annoucement-issue-1-the-ache-of-the-pen-is-available-for-download/ The first case of yours truly being published as a poet. Thanks to Linda for this chance. Grab a copy or twelve. Tell your friends. Have them tell their friends. I can only assume everyone involved is amazing. Follow the link and remember to purchase the chapbook when it comes out. Hell, buy me […]
be(a)st
i had hoped by staying in my cell the transformation would not occur wrapped in chains of pure silver away from prying eyes temptations of the sweetest variety alone with the beast that lies within pain is momentary but the memory iself that lasts your entire life i could never rectify the two halves of […]
(un)titled thought LVIII
if there was one thing that had fought against the depression that smothers me so it was you. but then you showed just how little i meant to you as well. i was little more than a distraction. easily disposed. not that it matters we both knew it was so even if we were too […]
miss me
i have painted a bullseye on my head and chest now you never have to miss me again even if the only part of me you ever missed was a bit lower i’ll be over here you won’t really care
day(dream)
before color tv people dreamt in black and white color dreams were not commercially viable until the 1950s, monochromatic journeys into the minds flushing of tangential garbage i dream in radio plays, in subservient satellite blasts of long gone yesteryear a top of the charts rendering of the ridiculous renderings of reality versus distorted misinterpretations […]
(un)titled ode XXXIV
she moves like the breeze as his heart flutters like a sparrow they dance like flakes of snow falling upon a window pane it lacks the fierceness of love but carries the weight of unspoken promise two brass gears in the back of a grandfather clock ticking in precision so softly as not to break […]
never
i will never be a famous poet spinning words into silken delight there will never be a bronze statue in a park of my likeness for birds to shit upon or children to ignore i am no one always have been always will be but i keep writing anyway
stray
she has the eyes of a mother filled with hate and regret the rough hands of a drunken father the sharp cutting tongue of an abusive aunt is it any wonder that i can’t help but love her so i am a stray desperate for a home
shudders
rainy days like these remind me of when i fought in the secret war to liberate canada from their beaver overlords the battlefields smelled of maple syrup bullets and bodies were strewn aboot we fought hard across the frozen tundra against the furry bastards on top of their moose mounts war is hell, eh the […]
oneday
one day i would like to make my living off of the words that sing songs in my empty head all day rather than barely survive with the words being my only companion
demonology for lovers
etch you sigil onto my skin carve your intials into my soul paint your visage across my pupils sear your scent into my nose by the north wind i call to you by the east i cry your name by the south i feed your fire by the west consumed by flame with this bell […]
shifting
some nights she melted into me as if our bodies were not whole without one another others it was if she were a mannequin or mechanical facsimile of a real oerson in the beginning when sweet words and soft thoughts flowed like honeyed nectar from our tongues you could not tell where i ended and […]
darw(i)nian
as far as i know she sleeps every night in her gilded tower on the softest bed surrounded by works of art that have nothing on her. a moat surrounds the tower filled with snapping crocodiles a knight in blackest mail stands guard to keep evil doers at bay. in the morning bluebirds land on […]
feast
i prepared her a feast made her favorite dish served it on a silver tray she smiled said it smelled delicious as she removed the lid she gasped in delight my heart on a bed of wilted promise garnished with every lie she ever uttered in moments of passion enjoy my love i whispered as […]
dripping
drip drip it was a strange noise that woke me far too early a rather ringing sort of drip drip i tried to ignore it so tired always so tired drip drip so i stumbled from dream into underwater kitchen felt the water hit my head from the light above goddess knows i may have […]
two
i only let myself fall in love in two very precise conditions. she must be fictional or unattainable. that way the end is obvious at the start. but i am a fool. the fictional is just a dream scenario. i am not insane. the unattainable though. i still let myself dream. because i am a […]
the monster
cobbled together from pieces of all her former lovers she worked like frankenstein in her laboratory trying desperately to make him into the one she truly wanted bolts on his neck jagged scars on every joint every word a moan of anguish as he lost what made him him he was the creature but she […]
chin up
i am sorry you have had to suffer through this congenital disease called life i only know one cure it is coming for all of us one day a wise person told me chin up so i carved a bullseye into my forehead and did as i was bade
f(i)berous
her smile is the habenero twinge in the back of my throat her laugh the nails across my spine the twinkle in her eyes like tap dancing on my grave but i’ll be damned if she isn’t the cooling balm on my burning soul i hate myself for loving her with every fiber of my […]
pretend
flay me skin me dip me into an ocean of your salty tears burn me as your effigy carve your initials into my heart take my ribs and carve them form a frame from them in which to rest your pretty head i don’t give a fuck about me without you and that isn’t going […]
orchid
she was an orchid in bloom i was just a fool that tried to love her is it any wonder it wasn’t meant to be
Mike's Manic Word Depot 