He hunts innocence,
stalks moonlight
searching for lips
speaking the language
of Neruda stars.
What he doesn’t know
is Luna’s sisters have gone
before him to warn dreamers
to be cautious of charmers
who cloak darkness in the
simile of a wish.
Sunday, August 9, 2020
Like Prince Charming
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Lessons from a Mockingbird
“You never really understand a person until you consider things
from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in
it.” To Kill a Mockingbird ~ Harper Lee
I’ve stripped to my bones
to try and feel the weight
of another’s skin, crawled
out of my own thinking
to explore foreign thoughts
alien to the landscape I’ve
made my home.
In the brine of history
my spirit burns with the scars
of those shackled to prejudice.
The walk of chains allows only
as much freedom as the length
inhuman allows it to roam.
In the everything repeated nothing learned
anger blooms from the same well-tended root
of hate’s tree never pruned.
I walk the cliff edge of hymns where
the slave song is now a chant,
“No Justice No peace.”
In a savage shaking I awaken in my privilege,
look down at my skin, and know nothing
will change if I remain content to live
in my city of silence.
The Wednesday Prompt ~ Word Crafters
Saturday, July 18, 2020
From the Eye of the Moon
We thought we could own moonlight,
steal stars from Asteria’s palm, and brag
conqueror in bloated chest bumps of human privilege.
In our tunnel vision we couldn’t see
the cat’s eye moon stalk us with
bared claws reaching for the very breath
we had bottled in our lungs.
There is no fool like the one who owns stock in oblivion,
an empty nirvana where men play gods and trust
their footprints will lead to dominion.
A mere toy in our sky litter the feline
sniffs our defeat in the tomorrow
we are so careless to trust we will quell.
©Susie Clevenger 2020
Saturday, July 11, 2020
Eyes of Ink
Image: Antonio Mora
My mind is an open window,
a free-thinking view of the eye’s appetite
for images translated through ink stained imagination.
©Susie Clevenger 2020
Inspired by poetry prompt @ WordCrafters
Friday, June 26, 2020
Dreamless Moon
Image: Susie Clevenger
The air is thick with empty.
Windowpanes wink with passing cars,
but no one stops to read my lips anymore.
I live in a burnt candle moon
where arms atrophy
from the loss of touch.
I’m words on a screen, a photograph,
a video wading through pretend trying
to trust I’ll reach flesh and blood.
©Susie Clevenger 2020
Monday, June 22, 2020
The Wolf Howls in Red
I screamed into the wind,
“Give me your worst,
bits of hell
purchased with a liar’s tongue.
The storm is always with me
even when the moon
tangles my hair with dreams.”
of a dead valentine,
a loveless lullaby hummed
through the throat of delirium.
Today is another matchstick
on the bonfire I breathe,
the scar chasing me with
its knife I won’t let cut me.
I will be strong even if I fall.
Every weakness in me will find
its shaman to pulse my spirit
with survival.
Saturday, June 6, 2020
Not for Sale
My eyes aren’t servants
of diamonds nor does
my hand owe allegiance
to glitter.
If you wish to capture my heart,
pour your soul into charity.
I’m not a mannequin
to be gilded with your arrogance.
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