#oxlongwritings

[mikewhittern]

Cannibal Clause

While you are reading

be mindful the poet, Mike, 

will be transparent.

[mikewhittern]

Faceless

I am surrounded

by loneliness in the form

of strangers' faces.

[mikewhittern]

Smartphone Screen

My screen is bright

but my reflection is mighty

because I see what I never thought I could

in the palm of my hand:

all of me.

[mikewhittern]

We could stand

under the stars

and I would still

only look at you

[mikewhittern]

Disregarded Shadow

I have disregarded you

to so many women

and disregarded so many women

because their figures

did not fit

in your shadow

[mikewhittern]

My Broken Heart Still Beats

I write a lot

of broken heart

in words

that comes from a heart

that still beats

for you.

[mikewhittern]

Love and Death

I love you

Like a child's concept of death

Warped and incomplete

Tainted by youth and naivety

And is that not

The best way to love?

[mikewhittern]

Seize

My fingers seize

as I try to write

the painful truth

and I don’t know 

if it is because

it is cold in here

or because they are tongue-tied

but the truth 

- no matter how painful -

spills from them anyway

be that in my sweat

or my blood

or my broken bones.