I Might be Unsettling but You'd be Settling for Me

pretty words, writing refs this is a sideblog.

[pseudnonymous]

come and crush me with your weight

press my skin to your skin

my bones to your bones

i want to feel the jut of your hip clatter against mine

the softness of your waist,

your lips

run your fingers along my sides

look into my eyes

and let's just breathe for a moment, okay, darling?

[matthew-pasquarello]

another commercial you swore you’d never get stuck in your head but here you are zombified in a gas station aisle under blinding neon lights

the evening feels like a comfort-blanket with gasoline fumes caught underneath and the sleep-eyed student behind the counter says “will that be all?”

and that is far from being all

[pseudnonymous]

Oh look, its already 1.43

where should i put my heart

it isn't safe with me or my head

it weighs heavy, then strains

to be with someone else instead

my heart isn't suited for my non-suitors

i barely know them at all

i know their names, not their stories

they'd drive me up the wall

my heart isnt made for the man

who lives only inside my head

a frankenstein monster of people who exist

neither alive nor dead

my heart is safest probably in your hands

where if it flew you'd catch it

but you'd probably see it safely home -

then i'd drop and break it.

[jupiterreed]

can i call you baby?

uttered unsweetly, drunkenly, at midnight at the corner store, in your parked car drooling gas outside my apartment, your lips brushing my collarbone like coins flipped in the delirious sun lights that dance; before bottoming out like a bad knee, i guess it makes me afraid, do you only want me in the dark? no? then what’s on the agenda? is this hand of mine, fitting so begrudgingly into yours, a winedreamt illusion? your breath smells like daffodils and when your chest rises, that is how mountains were born— this much i know as well as my soul, but there is a wall of white noise in between us and we become contagious, the static embedded deep as gold within our bones […] we leave these forms half-bodied, unmarked, backlit and consumed by sunken moons, we leave our remains for someone else to make sense of.

[lebuc]

clockwork blue

* wednesday is a blueberry pie - crusty, ultimately sweet, dessert aficionado or not

unfortunately, it’s breakfast time.

like clockwork, we say hello to the zombified dawn, pre-coffee

shuffle into our assigned places - slow-paced, facing another page-turning recordation of our space in the book of us.

you know you’re on to something profoundly ordinary, when

stray kittens pause to regard you, birds chirp all around, cicadas join in with their own cacophanous buzz, squirrels scamper on the morning’s dew-dampened landscaping lavished on each lawn on your block

& you’re just glad to be healthy, alive, tamping the brakes on all that busyness, taking it in,

entering new phases & phrases in the wake

of a new day on the clock, working to make pay, promising to savor the sweets

shielding you from blues of banal boys on a national stage beating back boredom - boldly, but badly. * 7/17 - lebuc - clockwork blue

[plasticdynasty]

Character Questionnaire

Here is a detailed character meme to fill in! (If you’re stuck on some of the questions, check the prompts here.)

Full name

[name here]

Preferred name/nickname

[name here]

Generally referred to as

[name here]

Appearance.

FACECLAIM: [Do you have a faceclaim for your character?] SEX: [Is their anatomy male, female, or other? Was this always the case?] HEIGHT: [how tall/short are they?] WEIGHT: [how heavy/light are they?] BUILD: [Thin? Fat? Bulky? Muscular? Toned? etc] HAIR: [describe their hair, is it long or short? Soft or course? Do they style it a certain way? Do they dye it?] SKIN: [What colour is their skin? Is it rough or smooth? Is it soft or hard? Note: feel free to change this to fur/scales etc if that’s more appropriate for your character!] EYES: [What colour are their eyes? Do they have a distinctive sparkle or do they look kind of dull and tired? Long or short eyelashes? Eye bags? Wrinkles? Hooded lids?] MOUTH: [Big mouth or small? Plump lips or thin lips? Perfect white teeth or crooked, gappy ones?] NOSE: [Big or little? Pointy or bulbousy? Huge, cavernous nostrils or teeny little ones?] HANDS: [Big or small? Manicured fingernails? Claws? Wrinkles? Visible veins? Bony knuckles? Or smooth skin and soft features?] FEET: [Big or small? Bony or plump? Trimmed toenails? Claws?] SCARS: [Any visible scars?] CLOTHES: [What is their clothing style?] OTHER FEATURES: [Optional for non-human characters, or human characters with uncommon features] OTHER NOTEABLE FEATURES: [Optional - anything you need to mention that isn’t covered by the above.]

Speech.

VOICECLAIM: [For those without faceclaims - do you have a voiceclaim for your character?] ACCENT: [Do they have an accent?] VERBAL TICKS: [Any verbal ticks? Such as a tendency to stutter, repeat themselves, stumble over their words, etc.] LANGUAGE: [What language(s) do they speak? If more than one, are they fluent in all these languages?] ARTICULATION: [Do they tend to be good at explaining things, or can they be clumsy with words when trying to explain something?] EDUCATION: [Do they tend to use a lot of long words? Do they ever show off about how many big words they use? Or do they prefer to use short, simple language?] LAUGHTER: [What is their laugh like? Do they laugh a lot, or not very often?] GRUMP: [Do they ever grumble, sneer, or grunt about things?] BREATHING: [Do they tend to gasp, sigh, humph or sniff at things?]

Mannerisms.

FACE: [Do they have an expressive face? Do they show their emotions in their face? Or do they tend to have a poker face most of the time?] HANDS: [Do they make a lot of hand gestures? What kind of gestures do they use?] LEGS/FEET: [Do they tap their feet or jiggle their leg?] EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS: [Are they prone to these? Do they tend to cry or yell when they’re upset, or laugh and jump about when they’re happy?] HABITS: [Do they have any habits, like humming or singing or fidgeting or fiddling?] POSTURE: [Do they usually stand straight and to attention, or do they tend to slump? Does their posture change with their mood? How does it change?] WALKING POSTURE: [How do they walk? Do they skip gleefully along, do they march like a soldier, do they slump their shoulders and stomp around?] SITTING POSTURE: [How do they like to sit? Cross legged? Slouched? Feet apart or together?] PERSONAL SPACE: [Do they like to maintain a personal bubble, or does it bother them when people get in their personal space? Do they tend to be respecful of others’ personal space?] SPACIAL AWARENESS: [Are they good at noticing what’s around their physical space? Or do they tend to be clumsy and bump into things?] OTHER: [Optional - anything not covered by the above.]

Health:

DIET: [What do they like to eat? Do they have a healthy, well-balanced diet? Do they eat a lot of junk food? Or do they sometimes forget to eat?] SLEEP: [Do they sleep a lot? Or not a lot? Do they go to bed late, or do they sleep early and get up early? Are they prone to nightmares or strange dreams?] EXERCISE: [Do they work out a lot? Too much, not enough, or just right?] ACTIVITY: [Do they tend to work hard and exhaust themselves? Or are they pretty lazy? Or somewhere in between?] CLEANLINESS: [Do they bathe regularly? Are they meticulous about washing?] ODOUR: [Do they have any particular body odour (good or bad)?] MEDICINAL DRUGS: [Any medicinal drugs taken?] NARCOTICS: [Any recreational drugs taken?] ADDICTIONS: [Any physical addictions?] ILLNESS: [Any physical ailments?] INJURIES: [Any injuries that never completely healed, and still cause trouble?] PARASITES: [Do they have fleas or any other parasites?] OTHER: [Optional - anything not covered by the above.]

Personal.

INTROVERT/EXTROVERT?: [Is your character one of these? How does that manifest in their life?] OPTIMIST/PESSIMIST: [Which of these are they? Or are they in between?] GENDER: [What is the character’s gender, if any? Do they feel that their gender matches their anatomy?] SEXUALITY: [What type of person do they feel sexual attraction for, if any? Do they have a preference for one sex/gender in particular? Do they prefer their own race/species, or another? Is their any type of person they absolutely would NOT want to get into bed with? Or do they have no preference?] ROMANTIC: [Are they inclined towards romance? Do they enjoy lots of romance, a little, or do they prefer no romance at all? Do they see themselves married with kids one day, or would they prefer to be alone?] MEMORY: [Do they have a good memory? Or are they forgetful? Are they good at remembering certain things and not others?] PLANNING: [Are they good at planning? Do they spend a lot of time planning or do they tend to leap right into things?] PENSIVE: [Do they spend a lot of time thinking over their actions, their life, their problems, etc?] INTUITION: [Are they good at making the right decisions, or at figuring things out from minimal clues?] PROBLEM SOLVING: [Are they good at dealing with puzzles and problems?] GOALS: [What is their main goal in life? Do they have any short-term goals?] INSECURITIES: [Is there anything they are insecure about? Do they hide their insecurities well? Do they affect the way they live their life?] ACHIEVEMENTS: [Anything they’re especially proud of?] ANXIETY: [What, if anything, causes the character to feel anxiety?] OVERWHELMED: [Do they ever feel like things are just too much?] SELF-HELP: [How do they deal with their life problems?] COMFORTS: [What helps the character to feel comfortable and happy?] BAD HABITS: [Do they have any bad habits?] PHILOSOPHY: [Do they have any religious or philosophical beliefs? What are they?] TRIGGERS: [Do they have any triggers?]

The Past.

PARENTS/GUARDIANS: [Did they have a good relationship with their parents while they were growing up?] SCHOOL: [Did they do well at school, or did they struggle?] ADOLESCENCE: [How did puberty go? Was it a hard change? What was particularly hard (or easy) about it?] LEAVING HOME: [What was it like for them leaving home for the first time? What prompted them to move out of the home they grew up in?] FURTHER EDUCATION: [Did they go to college? University? What did they study, and how well did they do?] FIRST JOB: [What was their first job? Did they enjoy it?] LIFE EVENTS: [Did they have any important life events that affected the route their life took? This could be something traumatic or it could be something pleasant like graduating with good grades.] WORST DAY OF THEIR LIFE: [What happened?] BEST DAY OF THEIR LIFE: [What happened?] LESSONS: [What are the most important things they have learned through experience?] LOOKING BACK: [If they could re-play their life and do something differently, what would they do?]

Relationships.

FAMILY: [Who, if anyone, does the character consider their family? Are these blood relatives? And do they have a good relationship with their family?] FRIENDSHIPS: [Do they have lots of friends, or just one or two close friends? What do they look for in a friend?] FRIENDS IN NEED: [How do they help a friend who is going through hard times? Do they offer advice and support, or do they feel uncomfortable, not knowing what to say?] NEEDING A FRIEND: [Do they tend to go to friends when they need help and support? Or do they deal with their problems on their own? Do their friends ever worry about them?] ANNOYANCES: [How do they deal with arguments and disagreements with friends or partner?] ROMANCE: [If applicable: how do they woo a potential partner? What do they look for in a potential partner?] MARITAL PROBLEMS: [How do they deal with problems in their love life? Do they talk it through with their partner? Or do they bury their head in the sand?] ADVERSARIES: [What would turn them off a friendship or romance?] ENEMIES: [What would make them hate someone enough to call them an enemy?] STRANGERS: [Do they tend to be respectful to strangers, or are they careless towards anyone who they don’t consider a friend?] FUN STUFF: [What kind of things do they like doing with a friend?] DATING: [What kind of things to they like doing with a romantic partner?] BEST FRIEND: [If applicable - who do they consider their best friend?] LOVE: [If applicable - who do they consider to be the love of their life?] WORST ENEMY: [If applicable - who do they consider to be their worst enemy?] RESPECT: [Do they respect their enemies, even if they don’t like them? Is there anyone they disrespect? Why?]

Interactions.

MINGLING: [Do they get along well with others, in general? Or are they bad at making new friends?] COMFORT LEVELS: [Do they feel comfortable talking to people? What might others do that could make them uncomfortable?] PHYSICAL: [Do they tend to be touchy-feely? Do they hug people or pat them on the back> Or do they prefer not to touch anyone?] GROUPS: [Are the comfortable in a big group? Or do they prefer to spend time with just one or two people?] OPENNESS: [Do they tend to open up easily? Or does it take them a while to open up to someone?] GENEROSITY: [Do they like to buy gifts and treats for others? Would they be willing to lend money to a friend? How do they feel about people buying gifts for them?] JEALOUSY: [What might make them feel jealous towards somebody else? Is there anyone they are jealous of, or have been jealous of in the past? How do they deal with jealousy?] TEMPER: [Are they easily worked up or do they have a lot of patience?] EMPATHY: [Are they able to empathise with another person’s feelings? Or do they tend to be clumsy and put their foot in it? Or do they just not care who they hurt?] AFFECTION: [How do they show affection for others?] DISTASTE: [How do they show that they dislike someone?] ETIQUETTE: [Do they tend to stick to the polite norms of social situations, or can they sometimes be rude or inappropriate?] RESPONSIBILITY: [Do they admit when they’re wrong? If they make a mistake, do they try to correct it?] SELF ESTEEM: [Do they tend to stick up for themselves or do they let others push them around? Why?] CONFIDENCE: [Do they care what others think of them?] HONESTY: [Do they always speak their thoughts honestly? Or will they keep things private if they feel that it might upset someone?] LEADER OR FOLLOWER: [Which one are they? Or are they neither?] PARTY TRICKS: [Do they have any special skills or talents that impress other people and gain them praise?] PRAISE: [Are they comfortable accepting compliments?] FAILURES: [Is there anything they do that makes people annoyed or irritated?] CRITICISM: [How do they take criticism?] INSULTS: [How do they take insults?] EMBARRASSMENT: [Are they easily embarrassed? How do they handle embarrassment?] FLIRTING: [Are they flirtatious? Why?] ATTENTION SPAN: [Are they able to concentrate on lots of things? Can they hold their concentration well? Or are they easily distracted?] SITUATIONS: [Are they good at dealing with difficult social situations? Such as an argument or someone getting upset?]

Life.

CAREER: [Do they have a career? Are they good at it and do they like it?] PROMOTION: [Are they hoping to advance their career?] BOSS: [Do they have a good relationship with their boss?] DUTY: [What kind of responsibilities do they have?] TECH: [Are they good with modern technology or do they prefer not to tough a computer?] POLITICS: [Do they have strong political opinions? How to they show their support/opposition for their leaders? Do they vote?] COMBAT SKILLS: [Can they fight and defend themselves?] HOME: [How do they like to keep their home and their personal space? Are they messy or organized?] DAILY LIFE: [Do they cope well with day-to-day or do they tend to feel out of their depth?] INDEPENDENCE: [Can they get on well by themselves? Or do they sometimes need help dealing with things like bills and bank accounts?] COOKING: [Can they cook?] BUILDING: [Can they put together an item of furniture or do basic DIY?] CLEANING: [Do they keep their home clean and tidy? Do they always do their chores?] SHOPPING: [Do they like to shop? Or do they prefer to only go to the store when absolutely necessary? Are they prone to impulsive buying or do they shop sensibly?] DRIVING: [Can they drive, or operate any vehicle?] FINANCES: [Are they in a good position financially? Are they good at taking care of their bank account? Do they usually pay their bills on time?] MARRIAGE: [Are they married? Do they plan on getting married? If so, how do they plan on spending their life with their partner?] KIDS: [Do they have or want kids?] PETS: [Do they have or want pets?] DEPENDANTS: [Do they have anyone to look after, such as an elderly relative or a sick friend?] LAW: [Have they ever done anything illegal? What was it?] COURT: [Have they ever been in court? Why? And what was the verdict?] PRISON: [Have they ever been in prison?] TRAVELLING: [Have they ever been on holiday, or would they like to?] MEDICAL: [Do they go to the doctor/dentist when they need to? Or are they afraid of going to see the doctor?] ILLNESS: [Do they have any mental illnesses that affect the way they live their life?] WORRIES: [Is there anything that keeps them awake at night?] PEACE: [Do they like peace and quiet? Or do they prefer always to listen to the radio or playing their favourite songs?] PARTYING: [Do they go out partying a lot? Or do they prefer to stay in?] HOBBIES: [Anything they enjoy doing in their spare time?]

[jacarterwinward]

mr. and missed cues

he says: i can’t do it all instead of: i’m overwhelmed she says: neither can i instead of: i’m afraid you blame me

he says: nothing i do is enough for you instead of: please don’t reject me she says: you don’t appreciate all i do instead of: please don’t leave me

he says: you don’t listen to me instead of: i want you; i need you she says: you don’t hear me at all instead of: i want you; i need you

if she could say it, she would say: my heart is bleeding and i’m so afraid you don’t want me— all i need is for you to hold me and tell me it will be okay.

if he could say it, he would say: i was just trying to fix it when all i want to do is hold you and tell you how scared i feel sometimes.

but he fixes too much, she feels too much,| and they talk past each other long into the night.

[jupiterreed]

matutinal

I never understood the schematics of human desire, asked him to map them out for me in stars across the bare expanse of my spine, to drench the geraniums with the sorrow that willfully escapes, through church floors and empty corridors, the grave site where all my abandoned emotions lie wasted, stab each other in the back & ram their skulls into infected walls. I insist that it’s all relative, he says the love’s in the way you pronounce it, so we pronounce it together. With peaches & unsure hands, disturbances in the rainfall. So I spit the mortar back into the sink, I chew on fragments of rose, I discard the misery back into its ugly drawer. He is vacant and unafraid, he is a parasite of ash & frightening flesh that aches to break free of the body. He is light, soft, like the honey I stir into my morning tea. Suddenly he is everywhere - the exit wound, the swathes of morning dew that linger round the swollen ankles of this hideaway we call home. Suddenly he is a cataract, la douleur exquise, the upturned  fruit basket in the meadow. 

[jupiterreed]

rigor mortis

don’t tell me it was for nothing - you know all too well i only deify what’s not good for me. i gut your sorrows one by one, surgical atonement at the butcher shop, knit together the damaged bones. i mould them into relics. it’s blurry, freckled with rain out. you ignore occurrences of tunnel vision. i am foregone. i sit doll-like in rooms after the delirium of black light parties. i study the outline of the murder by which i mean, the baseline of the universe. by which i mean, the fissure of your body. i watch the milk spoil (like our love). mornings we burned our tongues on overcooked words, the cigarette you left in the kitchen, a funeral for your teenage habits, a prodrome of all your kid-your-parents-warned-you-about achievements. the way the blood vessels clog the necrotized heart, your throat chalk-full with absinthe, a childhood revision of daddy’s latest sin. remember the town house? the newspaper boy bringing the latest world-ending headline to our doorstep, the suicide lake with its dead swans? somehow it always ends in dull mutations of tv static, saying grace around a table of estranged ghosts.

[stevenluce]

Tell Me Grandfather Time, You Gonna Eat All Those Pringles?

I mean I don’t know if you’re gonna eat them It’s not like I want them or anything But if you don’t I could totally take them If you’d be into that kinda thing

And the walls are closing in And your friends are scattering across the country And gets hard to breathe And your starting sentences with, ‘and’ Maybe someone could open the window Maybe someone would could give me a ride home And the volume keeps getting louder And your heartbeats throwing a temper tantrum And we’re all gonna die And I wish I could fall in love again but I think I might be too confused

But hey If you’re not gonna eat those Pringle I could If you’d be okay with it

[firemoon42]

Ways to un-stick a stuck story

Do an outline, whatever way works best. Get yourself out of the word soup and know where the story is headed.

Conflicts and obstacles. Hurt the protagonist, put things in their way, this keeps the story interesting. An easy journey makes the story boring and boring is hard to write.

Change the POV. Sometimes all it takes to untangle a knotted story is to look at it through different eyes, be it through the sidekick, the antagonist, a minor character, whatever.

Know the characters. You can’t write a story if the characters are strangers to you. Know their likes, dislikes, fears, and most importantly, their motivation. This makes the path clearer.

Fill in holes. Writing doesn’t have to be linear; you can always go back and fill in plotholes, and add content and context.

Have flashbacks, hallucinations, dream sequences or foreshadowing events. These stir the story up, deviations from the expected course add a feeling of urgency and uncertainty to the narrative.

Introduce a new mystery. If there’s something that just doesn’t add up, a big question mark, the story becomes more compelling. Beware: this can also cause you to sink further into the mire.

Take something from your protagonist. A weapon, asset, ally or loved one. Force him to operate without it, it can reinvigorate a stale story.

Twists and betrayal. Maybe someone isn’t who they say they are or the protagonist is betrayed by someone he thought he could trust. This can shake the story up and get it rolling again.

Secrets. If someone has a deep, dark secret that they’re forced to lie about, it’s a good way to stir up some fresh conflict. New lies to cover up the old ones, the secret being revealed, and all the resulting chaos.

Kill someone. Make a character death that is productive to the plot, but not “just because”. If done well, it affects all the characters, stirs up the story and gets it moving.

Ill-advised character actions. Tension is created when a character we love does something we hate. Identify the thing the readers don’t want to happen, then engineer it so it happens worse than they imagined.

Create cliff-hangers. Keep the readers’ attention by putting the characters into new problems and make them wait for you to write your way out of it. This challenge can really bring out your creativity.

Raise the stakes. Make the consequences of failure worse, make the journey harder. Suddenly the protagonist’s goal is more than he expected, or he has to make an important choice.

Make the hero active. You can’t always wait for external influences on the characters, sometimes you have to make the hero take actions himself. Not necessarily to be successful, but active and complicit in the narrative.

Different threat levels. Make the conflicts on a physical level (“I’m about to be killed by a demon”), an emotional level (“But that demon was my true love”) and a philosophical level (“If I’m forced to kill my true love before they kill me, how can love ever succeed in the face of evil?”).

Figure out an ending. If you know where the story is going to end, it helps get the ball rolling towards that end, even if it’s not the same ending that you actually end up writing.

What if? What if the hero kills the antagonist now, gets captured, or goes insane? When you write down different questions like these, the answer to how to continue the story will present itself.

Start fresh or skip ahead. Delete the last five thousand words and try again. It’s terrifying at first, but frees you up for a fresh start to find a proper path. Or you can skip the part that’s putting you on edge – forget about that fidgety crap, you can do it later – and write the next scene. Whatever was in-between will come with time.

[theinkstainsblog]

*Blinks* I-I’m not the only one to call writer’s block needing to un-stick the story? 

[stevenluce]

I'm Too Tired For You To Buy Me Dinner

Just take me home So I can sleep

I’m too gone to be here now Just tell me your problems And I’ll say, ‘there, there’

I’m too fragile to be your rock Sharp and brittle Chipped and unremarkable

I’m too disillusioned to be of use Playing imaginary hopscotch On an imaginary playground

I’m too old to be the next new thing Bitter bitter Dark and bitter

I’m too repetitive to land a book deal Blah blah blah Let’s point out everything wrong with the world using shiny catchphrases

I’m too blue to sing the blues I’d rather make robot noises And walk past you without making eye contact

I’m too hurt to take myself seriously Tar in my lungs Sarcastically coughing

Shadows slide across drywall The monsters under your bed said they need space Jazz is a conspiracy Outer space a myth

[poetdreamerfool]

ghetto news: bonjour skeletor.

i.

I spent my teens duck dodging the Megatrons and Skeletors my war cry: give me more! what the fuck is liberty when there’s roaches on the floor and cops at the door–

ii.

the liquor we pour drowns out the light; what is hope? have you ever tried to see the world through glass half full?

iii.

balling and baskets, falling in caskets; gun metal forks, we eat with torque; the pretty girls are wraiths– champagne cost ten dollars or a thousand but victory is free.

iv,

I fell in love with the idea of a peanut butter colored whip with a jelly interior, superior while inferior I put my perceived other, the fictionalized brother deep inside to hide– I pimped my pride; my expectations were extorted from a dying dream that had no idea it would soon be dead– that my black heart would soon be red– I finally accept that I am nothing more than a collection of words left unsaid.  

[stevenluce]

Are You Constantly Worried Your Whole Life Could Fall Apart At Any Minute?

Well It will You’ll be half asleep In gym shorts and a t-shirt with the armpits ripped out Wrapped in a blanket Lost in an autonomous routine With one eye open

You could be sober You could be the biggest drunk the world has ever seen You could literally be a crow hanging on a sloping wire It doesn’t matter One day some serious shit will happen

Are you gonna cry? Are you gonna kick yourself for not having serious shit insurance? Are you gonna beg for help? Are you going to become a hermit and never leave your house again? Are you gonna bottle it all up and passively take it out on the people who love you most?

Are you gonna write weird poetry? Are you gonna buy a Harley Davidson and then yell at your wife when she says she’s worried about you? Are you going to stumble into the desert high on peyote and wait for a rattlesnake to tell you what to do? Are you going to look for love to save you? Would that make you whole again?

Dead leaves scatter across the ground Sad men eat cheeseburgers and drink weird beers you’ve never heard of Children play outside with remote control cars and laugh hysterically when they hit each other A middle aged woman watches murder mysteries on cable for twelve hour straight Crows scavenge through trash and go ‘caw caw’ and whatnot The bathroom smells like bleach The family room smells like smoke Time drools along

Who do you want to be? Where do you want to go? Would it be better to just close your eyes and wait for the whole thing to be over? Would it be better to endlessly talk about your problems to whoever will listen?

Learn to play a piano Write the saddest song ever written Get a good nights sleep And tell me specifically what you plan on doing tomorrow

[stevenluce]

Everything Electric

Neon struck Sand in the desert Sand in my eyes Smooth Like midnight perfume A velvet trigger Prescription lead Under Over On and on

Who’s this weirdo in the mirror? Mouth moving Arms flailing What are you saying? The sky The sky The blue sky is failing The mountain’s sharp Lovers loving

Parallelism Parallelism Parallelism My head feels like it’s about to explode I wonder what Jackson Pollock thought of his fans I’d like to think he just laughed Shook his head And said, ‘Whatever I guess’

A stupid child flips through the dictionary screaming random words ‘Turophile’ ‘Bucolic’ ‘Flowers’ ‘Ba da duh da’ ‘Wah wah wah’ Does anyone have the time? Does anyone have a minute?

Silence Even the crickets Silence And the moon Oh the moon Silence And the stars And they shapes the make Everything electric Everything buzzing It’s midnight and I’m running down the street High and broken

[carryme-crow-deactivated2017032]

in the room, where the morning pours in and the light angles across the floor you cut your hair all of it! shaved it off

you cut these little things from you week by week the community you lived in two feet of black hair and the boy and the abuser

and I offer all that I can but you take no more than you need leaving holes in the sheet draped over my heart and laundry in the basement

you leave the cans of food in my car for the second time grow silent at my request how blind I am! your words are nearly everything you own

and no one owns words they only bend around the truth for the pain to exit cleanly before the next attack scares you awake to silent alarm clocks

or your roommate fucking loudly in the bed across from yours separated by yet another sheet what is sleep then? how do you make it through school?

you keep the lavender pouch tucked away in your backpack, beside your pillow, you told me so long ago it eases anxiety. I hid it in the orchid cup

once, you told me I love you more than anyone. yesterday, you asked why I would doubt you will take care of yourself

somehow you still manage time for the one you kiss kiss father or lover or someone between yes, I’m jealous, but I’m a mother a friend, a brother, and none of these

what I am, I am the moon reflecting the light casting shadows on our earth or revealing some way forward through all of the darkness

you cut your hair, you said you can rock any style and laughed flicking bath water from the short bristles. I hung your shirt on the door handle

I made you promise me not to give up. and to the powerful play you laugh contributing your verse: I hate my life. I hope you feel better.

[katrinnac]

Nude That, Too

these days the sun skids, tarring us in yellow sludgy light the trees look happy in green with gauzy yellow throws

they’re not they’re pissed

these days clouds, smooth and creamy like dollops of melted ice cream

they’re smooth all right they talked the sky out of blue a cimmerian shiver nude and how’d that work out?

spring will do that and make you long for it too

@katrinnac