Sass Comes in Waves

Photo Artistry by Erik Johansson Master Photo-manipulation Artist

I’ll carry my bucket of tears

to the beach so I can bury his name

in the hottest part of August.

There’s always a blues song

splashing against the sky

where water dances in sighs.

Not everything’s ugly in the moan,

sass comes in waves to drop

a little hell in the spray so

the dead of night won’t be lonely.

Misery loves harmony, but

she won't like it when

I won’t let her sing the chorus.

©Susie Clevenger 2019

The Sunday Muse #61

Now Is Not the Time for Silence

I will not be a pawn

in a parade of penis’s,

or submit because

a book of men

arrowed me to an apple.

How bitter must a woman’s

heart become that she would

wound her gender to please

the dark eye of patriarchy?

I am a woman, mother of life,

and daughter of Mother Earth.

The man who walks with me

does not brag of ribs or dominance.

He values my strength and compassion,

and sits with me at the table of wisdom

so we may support one another

in love, life, and accord.

Now is not the time for silence.

If we don’t speak for ourselves,

who do you think will?

Women and men who love us

and support our equality know

when oppression is given free reign

it won’t stop at gender.

If freedom is given only to a few,

it isn’t freedom. Tomorrow

depends on today. May we rise

to build a world where our children

won’t suffer from our failure.

©Susie Clevenger 2019

Real Toads ~ Being a Woman in Times Like These

When the Ladder Has No Rungs

The water is muddy

and prayers make no sound.

Dying feels easy when

the world is saying drown.

Oh, where is mercy?

Where are dreams

when blaming owns tongues?

Too little is too late

when the ladder has no rungs.

It’s hard treading muddy water

with a sin tag on your shoulder.

Dying feels easy when

the world is saying drown.

©Susie Clevenger 2019

Today I had a conversation with a young woman on a Facebook comment. I didn't know her, but she responded to my comment about being a recovering Southern Baptist. Her words broke my heart. 

These are her words:  "I was on the wrong side of being Southern Baptist. They don't take too kindly to us gays, lol. But for real, growing up gay in a Southern Baptist church was traumatic.

I STILL consider suicide because I'm gay thanks to the shit my family says to me. Thanks to the shit "Christians" say to me. I LEGIT want to die because I'm gay. It's super lonely when you love people and a God that DON'T love you back." 

I told her I cared, because I do. You would have to be heartless to not feel the pain in her words. She will always have a place in my heart.

Real Toads ~ Just One Word ~ Muddy

Mud and Blood

Eli Edward Evangelidis (2018)

The calendar announced spring,

but the sky didn’t bring a bounty of green.

The heartland is mud and blood

loss and flood … amber waves unseeded.

In the valley of misery politics budgets war,

gives dimes to poor, and high fives the religion of division.

Even when the sky turns blue few notice the hue,

because they’re sorting through calamity fearing the next tragedy.

©Susie Clevenger 2019

Real Toads ~ Art Flash/55