Christmas tree…

the tree laid in the street
her lights still lit
she couldn’t believe
this was how her life was ending
she’d barely had time to grow
and now she was alone
and dying
she tried to remember
where she sprouted
remember the trees
that had been around her
singing softly
firmly rooted
to the ground
but her memories
were fading fast
she was thirsty
and a little afraid
that’s when she heard a
squeak
and felt her needles move
a tiny mouse was climbing
in her branches
the mouse darted around
twitching and gathering
material for a nest
patting the needles in place
with her pink paws
the mouse turned in a circle
and curled up
her tiny tail
wrapped tightly around her
the tree suddenly felt happy
she was no longer alone
she had a friend
and her lights
were still on

 

Pixabay

Sleeping Beauty…a Story Poem

the story you’ve heard
about Beauty
is a lie
made up by men
who think their
KISS
is
somehow
magical
and
life giving

it’s
a poor
substitute
for actually
bringing life into the world
but men do keep
trying to
be better than
women
at every turn

as if that lie
wasn’t bad enough
we are expected to believe
that when Beauty
woke
she went off with
the guy
who kissed her
and married him
never having MET him
before that very moment
but again
the story was written
to bolster men’s
sagging egos
and make women
look like weak
and desperate
comatose
things
who were
delighted to be
chosen

there’s absolutely
nothing at all
romantic
about being
helpless
and
unconscious
until some creepy stranger
kisses you
but that’s exactly
what little girls
were taught

pretty pathetic
if you ask me
especially
when the truth
of the matter is that
Beauty
took a nap in the woods
and a strange
man found her
and kissed her
after which
she fought him
and sent him on his way
limping and without
his horse
which she kept
as payment
in exchange for not
taking his life

Beauty
was tough
no one kissed her
without her permission
NO ONE
and while she didn’t like
the guy
he did make her laugh
when he told her there was
definitely something wrong
with HER
since ANY WOMAN
would be thrilled to have him

and FYI
she renamed the horse
Smoke
since that’s what the guy’s
dreams went up in

 

 

Picture:  Alice Alinari
Unsplash

 

Arthur…A story poem

for awhile
there was hope
Arthur
took the sword
from the
stone
and everyone believed
that goodness
and better times
would be the result

Arthur
was good
he trusted
those around him
he loved
with an open heart
he wanted peace
and community
but you see
just because someone
wants something
just because someone
is good
honest
and true
doesn’t mean
anything better
will come because of it

the people around
Arthur
those he loved
those he believed
to be honest
and loyal
were not lovable
nor were they trustworthy

it’s always that way
so the
Arthurs’
of the world
carry their
Swords
and
Banners
and sometimes
they have power
and even
crowns
but
no matter
how pure of heart
they may be
no matter how badly
they want peace
and harmony
they can’t change
what people are

and that’s the most
terrible thing
of all

Reality…a story poem

he didn’t know
how beautiful he was
he just knew
the joy inside of him
had to be expressed

he didn’t realize
the world was falling apart
around him
he just
wanted to dance

he didn’t see
how twisted everything
had become
how jaded and deadly
he just wanted to have fun

no one had the heart
to tell him
that what he saw
was an illusion
so they just smiled
and let him keep his dream

and all the while
no one admitted
that everything they saw
was an illusion as well
so they just kept pretending

 

Picture:  Nina Hill
Unsplash

The Apple…A Story poem

Eve
held the apple
gently
against his shoulder
and looked away
he wasn’t sure
if it was poisonous
but he had eaten
everything he found
growing around him
and nothing had
harmed hm
so far

he was tired of being
alone
tired of being
bored
somehow he knew
the apple was dangerous
which only made it
more attractive
the animals around him
were eating the fruit
as it lay on the ground
or pecking at it
while it was still on the tree
so how bad could it be

the wind told him
it was the fruit of
knowledge
but he didn’t know how
knowledge could be
hidden in something
he could eat

so he took a bite
and felt the juice
rundown his chin
and drip onto his chest
delicious
he groaned
closing his eyes
savoring the taste

he picked two more
and finished them
in no time at all

then
he looked at the tree
and saw
that he could
make
a
weapon
out of its branches

and
the knowledge
of violence
was born

 

ChristianNewman
Unsplash

P.S.   I love this photograph so much…I could write a thousand stories about it.  It’s absolutely wonderful.

Hector…A Story poem about a life.

Hector
had what most people
would consider to be a rather
dull life

he got up
ate
went to work
came home
read a bit
ate some more
fed his gold fish
did the dishes
brushed his teeth
then went to bed

the next day
he simply repeated
everything he did the day before

but on a certain
Tuesday
a new person walked into his
antiquarian bookshop

Hector said hello
Jill smiled
and asked for a
First Edition
of her favorite book

while Hector was showing her
his only copy
they began to talk of different things
and time went by quickly

Hector was
late getting home
late having dinner
late feeding his gold fish
late doing the dishes
even late going to bed
he felt terrible
and apologized to his fish
more than once
asking for forgiveness

but the more Hector thought about it
the more he noticed
that being late
hadn’t actually
changed
anything at all

it didn’t seem to matter
when he arrived home
when he ate
when did the dishes
or even when he fed his gold fish
although he still felt badly
about making the fish wait for his food

he looked at the clock next to his chair
and noticed that
it was an hour past his bedtime
he wondered
if staying up a little longer
might be acceptable
after all
he thought
he hadn’t had time to
read the next three chapters
in his book

so Hector
his heart pounding in his chest
picked up the book he had been reading
looked around for any disaster
that might be about to happen
for daring to break
his self-imposed rules
removed his bookmark
and started to read

he woke to the sunlight
coming through the living room window
he was still in his chair
the book open on his lap

for the first time in his entire life
Hector had not slept in his bed

shocked at his own behavior
he quickly went through his daily routine
and set off for work
but when he reached the sidewalk
he noticed that something had changed

and after years
of wondering what it was like
Hector finally realized
that he had been keeping himself
in the dark
and that by breaking his own rules
he had opened his heart
and let his light shine through

that’s when he knew
that he no longer
wanted to be
a cog in the machine
he wanted to be free
and truly
alive

Tech…A story Poem…

no one remembers
the exact date
when people stopped
recognizing facial expressions
and voices

the time
when humans
especially those
under the age of
twenty-one
could only speak through
code and lyrics

eyes closed
they sifted through the music
hoping to catch words
that when put together with others
made sense
and told a story

it started as a game
but it wasn’t long
before it’s all they understood

communication
became a tangled web
of phrases and numbers
riffs and decodable murmurings
the deeper people got into it
the less they wanted to
come out
until some were hooked up to
IV’s
wasting away in specially made chairs
that held them

their vision
became dull and insufficient
for safe mobility
the matrix flashed across the back
of their eyelids
while their headphones and implants
screamed into their minds
until they lost touch with reality

that’s when the anti tech revolution
began
and even though tech was everywhere
and no movement went
undetected
the war to save future generations
while not quickly won

cannot be stopped

Virus…A Story Poem…

a virus

released by the government
in order to thin the herd
so that fewer would starve
from the food shortages
that began
once that same government
hoarded and genetically mutated
seeds
so that farmers
had to buy seeds
rather than use the healthy ones
produced from their
own crops

was killing thousands
of humans a day

the government had a cure
but lied
saying that drug companies
were working on
and testing
inoculations
that may
or may not
kill the virus
in some people

but while government officials
were busy putting spin
on their lies

witches were experimenting
with herbs
and methods of healing
handed down from
one woman to another
for generations

covens found a cure
that was simply
inhaled
and exhaled
removing the fragile covering
from the virus
as it tried to
infect delicate lungs

the only thing was
the inhalant
was made for
and tested
on women

so
it didn’t always
work
on men
who continued
to die

you know
the way modern medicine
works for men today

but  not
women

 

Gillian…A Story poem…

she never knew safety
her magic was smoke

wisps of  warm cloudy air
where she could
appear and disappear
into the shadows

you had to know how to
hide
if you wanted to survive
in a world
where danger
was everywhere

where men killed
at will
and took what they wanted
without reprisal

food was scarce
the animals were gone
and men roamed alone
or in bands
destroying whatever they could find
including each other

women who were caught
were stripped of their magic
and lived only a few hour
if they were lucky

Gillian
was one of the
Last Borns
no children came after
her generation
when women fled
and life became
a nightmare
of kill
or be killed

 

Kate…A Story poem…

Katie
was born outside
on a clear night
under a crescent Moon

the first thing she saw
through her blurry vision
was that beautiful sliver
of white
hanging in the sky above her

she cooed
at it
and kicked her feet

opening and closing
her tiny new fingers
she reached out
toward the Moon
and the
Moon
took notice

the Moon looked
down
and saw a new daughter
one of Her very own
so She placed
a crescent birthmark
on her wee right arm

Katie
fascinated
with the Moon
sang to Her
every night

she sang about
the Moon’s beauty
she sang about
Her kindness
and when Katie closed her eyes
the only thing she ever saw
was that beautiful crescent Moon
smiling down at her

so if you hear someone singing
about the wonders
of the Moon
and the night sky
it’s probably one of Katie’s songs

but

if you listen carefully
in the dead of night
and you hear Katie
singing
and understand the words
then you may be one of the
Moon’s
children as well
it never hurts
to check for a birthmark
on your right arm