Alarm. Caffeine. FiberCommute. Timeclock. Email.Caffeine. Carbs. Meetings.Invoices. Timesheets. Requests.Reports and summaries.Copy. Paste. Delete.CONTROL ALT DELETE.I can’t pretend to feelAs okay as youPretend to be.Control ZEscapeUndoI wasn’t made for this.I want off this ride.I’ll take the exit.Student loansMortgageCar paymentHustle hobbiesMarket yourselfHave a presence everywhereEngage, produce, do more.Never sleepAlways look fresh, fit, […]
Author: Melissa
Sticky Rice, My BFF
Where have you been all my life?Decades ofSweet cornbread and chiliEgg noodles, beef tips, mushrooms.Flings of pastaEvery shape and sizeEvery sauceDaily devotionsOf my beloved tubersOnly a Gamgee would understandAll meant nothingThe moment I had youMy dear, sweet sticky rice.The way you holdA dab of sauce,Sauteed cabbage, pickled carrots, cucumber.Best Friends […]
Bologna
I didn’t throw the bolognaThat you were afraidWould ruin the faded paintOf your car,The car with the sub woofersAnd bass you thoughtCould give a woman pleasure,The car we got busted parking in,When the officer ran our names over the scanner,But I still laugh about it.-Melissa Donley
Regrets at 17
I should have known by the wayHe worshipped his carAnd chased younger girlsThat he was not worthy to bask in the glowOf my lava lamp and plastic constellations.The Magic 8 Ball did not warn me of The thousand cuts brewing ahead,Only telling me what I wanted to hearWith each shake.But […]
Photons
Winking old starlightFrom there to hereBouncing off telescope mirrorsHurling across the universeWaving at the speed of lightMerely to be perceivedHighlighting suspended motesFading spines on shelvesElectromagnetic radiationCrisping skin through cloudsEclipsed by moon and earthRefracted and brokenNever to have massEjected from Bohr’s radiusThrough fiber optic cablesAt the speed of information-Melissa Donley
RUN!
Needle stuck on scratched trackNo signs forward, no breadcrumbs backHabits here have made my bedYesterdays, tomorrows fledAcquired tastes sour the drinkLeaden regrets rinsed down the sinkSnipped and frayed, coil undoneTattered laces, no maze to runFault the Fates for what is doneVeins open to what may comeDamn the Fates! Dare it […]
The Letter G
The letter G was missing on his mapsBut he memorized the route to my body in the darkThe trailheads to get what he wantedWhat he couldn’t get from the younger peaks he chasedEach pursuit fracturing my bedrockUntil I commanded the thunder in my veinsMended the fissures with gold oreBecame my […]
Pink Frosting
Bridge threads waft from your lips,Another lure whipping my gray matterInto brilliant pink frostingIn the well of my skull.After the highComes the crash and confusion.The realization that You’ll never know the depth of my flavor.The first smile,an anchor point,Dividing timeInto a Before, then an After,Is a free sliceServed to all.I […]
When Alan Tudyk Calls You Beautiful (2)
Mads tantalizes, “Hello dear. Where are you from?”John L in my DMs, trailing breathless along my collarbones.Sugar daddies on boats and horses, “Let me take care of you babydoll.”Sculpted men follow me for numbers.Middle aged men seek to fill me with babies, for God and country.But when the unverifiedalantudykfans_officialpagecomments on […]
When Alan Tudyk Calls You Beautiful (1)
Or at least the scammer pretending to be, does,As your partner fills their life with everyone, but you,It’s okay to cry as much as you need.Ignore the scroll of self-fulfilling deceit,Iron straight the warped mirror and scope,Correct the tilt of pelvis and rabbit ear antenna.Up right the spine and dust […]