Favorite Poetry
There's the queen of 4:54 am
There's the queen of 4:54 am
sprawled on her bed
she fumbles for a cigarette
finds a bingo dabber instead
Quiet is a tangible thing
Thicker than water
Thicker than blood
The queen learns that her underwear
smells sweeter as the night ages
like delicious curries spiced with cinnamon
and mango
looking
The window is a work of art
freezing black twisty branches
against a sky yearning to be blue
the world is a museum
the mind is a ghost town
at these hours
the queen remembers
fingers like twisty branches
gently and exquisitely
piercing her sterile skin
exploring the folds of her flesh
so silently
she also remembers
how they did not understand
that she would have rather picked her face
than make stagnant conversation
the words hanging,
like hallmark cards at christmas
from some fireplace somewhere
squeaking mice
rattling snakes
soothing selfish selves
suppressing silence
Quiet does not always mean mutual understanding
Sometimes it means stasis
Sometimes sometimes means stasis
but she could never really tell
The queen never intended to impress anyone
at any given time
She just wanted to float through the days
throwing metaphors and comments
like rose petals at royal weddings
or mud at funerals
the priest's hands clenched,
but scooped
secrets live inside them
secrets live inside her
she makes no mark
she says nothing, too
but sighs,
and turns her sweaty, hairy, smelly,
angry, heavy, bulky, ugly, pointless body
to the side
and then the queen of 4:55 am arrives,
but that's a different me altogether.
Zoa Hartry
Periwinkle Butterflies
Dreams are periwinkle butterflies
that flutter in and out of our minds
filling us with hope.
Hate is a brick-red grave
that fills our lives with pain
and rage.
Melissa’s marvelous magpie meatballs
merely melts in your mouth.
Made many months before much
mold grows.
How come the cat has a tail?
Why is grandpa’s nose so big?
Are the people on the other
side of the world walking on
their heads?
Why are so many women raped?
How can someone beat children?
Why are so many people starving?
I have learned that if you pull kitty’s
tail he’ll hurt you.
I also learned if you treat other people nice,
they will treat you nice.
Parents can be right, some times.
But the most important is to believe
in yourself and you can do anything.
“Clean your room.
Do your home work.
Let the cat in.
Let the cat out.
Rinse your glass out.
Get to bed.”
Little creepy crawlys in side your shoe.
Elephants in your soup.
Planets in your hair.
Horses in VCR.
Cows in the school.
Teachers in the moon.
Clowns in your drawers.
Stars in your eyes.
“If all your bones were candles,
you would be very bright.”
“If your smells were wind-chimes,
your nose would be very noisey.”
“If your skin were sheets of paper,
you could erase yourself.
“If you were this poem,
you could rewrite yourself till you got it right.
-bertha lawez differenchia 1/16/97
mail to:dietcoke@lewiston.com
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