I Am Not Seeing

this
place, lovely as
it may be.  All I see
is the vacancy beside me -
the ghost.

For Sanaa's prompt at Real Toads

Sometimes Solace

Sometimes solace shadows sunrise,
slipping in with the spreading light -
slow and sleepy from a long night
aligning stars

with where you are,
restless in your bed.

She whispers, "Peace will come
once your promises are kept."

Heretic Heart

I had a heretic heart
cool and skeptic in my chest.
Prideful of its wildness,
it beat quick with testament.

Then one day I found my love
for madness less than pure -
my heretic heart was humbled
by a craving to be sure.

For Words Count at Real Toads

After The Flood

There is no dove,
no olive branch,

just mud.

Sucking, slurping,
sludge to shovel

mud .

Murky water, mosquitoes, mold,
and mud.

The meek are drowning
in their earthy
inheritance.

For Houston and The Tuesday Platform at Real Toads

Flashlight Tag

Like a mannequin
in the marigolds, still
as a statue.

Let the flashlight circle of sun      pause,        then pass you by.

Don't laugh       run fast
for the streetlight.

Flying braids and bare feet -    Tag!  

Too slow     this time.

For Poetry Pantry at Poets United