(Reposted with Sung Poetry link)
Take the shot, they said
I ran my finger around the rim of the glass
The fumes of insults bitter rose
Hard liquor is not for me, I tell them,
I remember when I drank that poison
Dancing lightly to the tune of other people’s dreams
I just slip out the back door, now
To smoke freedom in the alley
Walk out onto the sidewalk under lamp posts
Glowing golden in the night
To wander empty city streets and dream
Of communal integration and
Hopes of equitable contribution
My thoughts become a world renewed
By pleasant innovation
Before I know it, I’ve gone home
A waiting invocation to a peaceful
Destination brought by sleepy
Contemplation
In the morning, I will rise
Put some plans upon the table
Avoid stinging tribunals from defenders
Of the status quo
Fanciful rebellion built from cotton candy
Musings
Holding sacred all the precious beauty
Which has become the inspiration
For each flowering consolation
What is love if not the logical progression
Of earthly preservation plus
The deeply cultivated reverence
For each human’s common situation
Temporary permanence
On a trip or two around the sun
What have we won with greed
What have we lost with need
Unfulfilled and
Running headlong in between
The birthing and the grave
Full stop
Give me your hand
Let’s watch the sun caress the sky
Whether rising
Whether sinking
We are written within time’s eternal
Constellation
