[konstantine]

has it been a year already?

[Lepre_Khan]

Unfortunately it has. Welcome back, let's have another good run of it, eh?

[konstantine]

Yes, sir. Not going to say too much about it, don't want to jinx it.

[cynthia]

Cool Joffre poems Aloha

[mamawsue]

Where did the year go anyway? The older I get the faster time flies...GRRR

Anyway, welcome back!!!!!!

[lemonthief]

I know that face.

More poems. Yes please.

[konstantine]

[konstantine]

Well, I just got home from my open mic, I'm still up, and technically it is April so...here we go...

I of XXX

me and my dreams have been smoking green
with envy.
so now,
i have high hopes
half-baked ambitions
and i'm afraid they have the munchies.
they are so hungry
if i don't feed them
i might not survive
if i don't feed them
they may eat me alive...

[lemonthief]

Ha, nice little start - loving the word play!

[a beautiful lie]

THAT'S the way to start Napo!

[cynthia]

So true, what feeds us more than writing and sharing? Aloha

[AppleofEris]

me and my dreams have been smoking green
with envy.

I lol'ed. Love it!

[Chudz]

Ah, I remember those days like they were . . . um . . . *gets out a calculator* . . . 25 years ago.


Crud, I'm old! Heh.

[konstantine]

Just got back from the pub. It's a place called NuNu's that serves really good burgers but is a really cramped space when it's crowded. Met this quirky girl who just appeared in my booth when I went to close my tab. She was on her phone, preparing a drunken frantic text to her "crush". I managed to convince her it was a bad idea and best saved for tomorrow's sober afternoon. Good deed done. Now a poem I wrote today.

PS - I rode a segway. One painted shiny gold to be exact. Those things are way cooler than they look.

II of XXX

i've been waiting my whole life to leave you
waiting for this end from the beginning

i bid adieu to my mother's womb
and have been secretly breathing goodbyes
underneath my breath ever since.
my first words were ta-ta
my first steps were taken out the door
my father left when i was five
so maybe it's genetic
maybe it's a habit
maybe each morning i mediate
to channel houdini's ghost
so i can treat relationships like shackles and bonds
oceans of love like fish tanks of glass and steel

i am an escape artist
i've made burning bridges an art form
what i do with a pencil pales in comparison
i've got matchsticks for fingertips
your skin has turned to the texture of a flint
my forked tongue drips out lighter fluid
instead of spit
my tears taste like overpriced gasoline
my heart is a powder keg with short fuse
it's about arms length
i wanted to keep distance because
you were my lite.
i told you
i ate match-heads as a boy
and stared down the sun
i'm ready blow
one of these days, alice
one of these days
pow! straight to the moon
away from you

i've been training for this forever.
i got it from both sides
so many pink slips
handed out by red lips
i can practically taste rejection.
women have been my waking dreams
the ones you can never quite hold on to
and i lose friends like skin cells on my pillow.
and now i'm eloquent at leaving
i'll never turn to salt.
my farewells are unflappable;
a hummingbird couldn't catch me.

i've been waiting my whole life to leave you
so why is it still so hard?

[lemonthief]

It's a place called NuNu's... NuPu? Heh.

i've been waiting my whole life to leave you

Officially love this line! It's also pretty sound structurally, which is great for a first draft. I can feel the influence of Open Mic in your writing at the mo, and I must say, it's fab to speak out loud.

This stanza is my fave:

i've been training for this forever.
i got it from both sides
so many pink slips
handed out by red lips
i can practically taste rejection.
women have been my waking dreams
the ones you can never quite hold on to
and i lose friends like skin cells on my pillow.
and now i'm eloquent at leaving
i'll never turn to salt.
my farewells are unflappable;
a hummingbird couldn't catch me.

Definitely one for the revision pile!

[lemonthief]

Happy Birthday!

[konstantine]

Thanks Sofey. Birthday poem coming next...

III of XXX

you and I, we never hold hands
we've got the sands of time between our palms
and it takes the strength of two to hold them
so baby, grip my hand tight
don't allow time any space
because when there's enough room
anything can happen
we can't give an inch
not even a millimeter
we can't allow space
for those grains to form together into rocks
no space for them to tumble together into boulders
no space for them fuse together into mountains of time
that are too heavy to hold
and fall into the sea

[Bill]

I'm just sorry to only see you once a year, Joffre. I've enjoyed watching your work evolve over the years...

[cynthia]

beautiful, joffre.. aloha

[a beautiful lie]

I really like II, especially that stanza Sophie pulled out.

i lose friends like skin cells on my pillow. I hear ya.

[konstantine]

IV of XXX: Haiku

we aren't together

and I'm not a f*** buddy

we're done bottom line

[konstantine]

this seems like the sequel to that other poem. Much less poetic as it is my thoughts written down.

V of XXX

it took twenty five years
a quarter century
just enough time
I'd been waiting all my life to meet you
and would gladly spend ten thousand hours
just to spend one hour with you
to be honest
i had my doubts
but there you were
all raven's feather and smiles
the answer to every question
I had ever asked
you seemed to move like smoke inside coke bottle
so beautiful
tattoos want to get skin of you
i watched my philosophy come from your lips
you made all had been through seem
justifiable
even though we met for a short while
i miss you gyspy girl
and I know we'll meet again

[konstantine]

VI of XXX

i've transmuted the sky
it's simple alchemy;
equivalent exchange
your love was enough to bend the stars
use the earth as my anvil
and forge those stars into anything
even bullets that could pierce the hearts of angels

ancients tried to turn lead to gold
all i wanted was to turn this philosopher's stone
into a heart
and then i found you
my fifth element
hidden away in our dusty lab
all the essential elements were amassed
a tear on my cheek
the heat of our skin
the tickle of your breath
and the dirt beneath my nails

i used your love as an elixir
creating gold is child's play
moving mountains is elementary
i've transmuted the sky
it's simple alchemy
it's simple alchemy

[AppleofEris]

O-o I think we're both channeling Alchemy. How funny.

i used your love as an elixir
creating gold is child's play
moving mountains is elementary
i've transmuted the sky
it's simple alchemy
it's simple alchemy

I happen to like your's better, though.

Also, I think you need to print this:

we aren't together

and I'm not a f*** buddy

we're done bottom line

on a pamphlet, or coffee mug, or something. "The Eff You Haiku" (substituting either expletive or other variation of). Your customer could just hand whatever item to chosen recipient and walk off. You'd make a killing, as well as make life a little simpler. (Uh, if you can't tell, I love it.)

[mamawsue]

# 5 blew me away!!!! Guess catching up on my reading brings me back to wanting to write once again....Great work.

[konstantine]

The Eff You Haiku coffee mug, I dig it. Glad you like what i've written so far.

VII of XXX

i've opened the door.
the wind chills my ears as it rushes past.
it pushes against my chest
as if beckoning me to turn back.
i look down.
it seems so far.
one step and it's all over.
i can see the concrete just beneath
the tips of my shoes.
the grey seems too bright.
i see the tiny ants scurrying about.
just one step and it's the end.
i believe this is the only way.
i mean,
what's a leap of faith without belief?

my back feels warm
as if the sun is just behind me
but i dare not turn around.
she might be there,
waiting for the outcome.
i doubt it,
but i dare not turn around.
i don't have the faith to turn back again;
to step to this ledge one more time.
it might not be there again.
not like this,
not like this moment.

it's just a step.
my feet are grounded,
body stiff as a rod.
maybe i'll be struck by lightning,
and change my name.
too easy.
deep breathes
happy thoughts
and step.
the winds rushes past again
it could be forever before i reach the ground.

but i do.
i feel the the loose gravel beneath my heels.
deep breathes
happy thoughts
i turn back.
she's there,
arms folded,
elbow clutched,
looking at me with a composed expression.
it seems so far
reach out my hand
take a deep breath
and close the door.

[konstantine]

VIII of XXX

right and wrong is war

love and truth they reach above

sin is falling short

[konstantine]

IX of XXX

let's roll play
you be dusk
make a night of me
let's sprinkle star dust eyes
across our bodies
dot them with finger tips
and cross them with kisses

[lemonthief]

IX = eee!

[konstantine]

lol what exactly is "eee!" Good i'm hoping?

[konstantine]

X of XXX

I choose truth:
you had a monopoly on my heart
but you went straight to hate
do not pass love
do not forget all that followed
we would place our palms together
fingers would reach and connect four
i saw the trouble ahead of time
felt the aggravation grow
but i decided to take a risk
and soon my life became a trivial pursuit
i was trying to climb ladders
and was only landing on chutes
but you were my candyland
apples to apples you were more than I could ask
but i could see the spaces left on our path
yet this life is no roll of the dice
we had to make different moves.
this game of life, it's chess
not checkers
and i'm no mastermind
just a boy
trying to play god's game
sorry

[mamawsue]

Ok Joffre...your #7 just blew me away...such truth in my world was within those words!!!!!

[Chudz]

X of XXX

I choose truth:
you had a monopoly on my heart
but you went straight to hate
do not pass love
do not forget all that followed
we would place our palms together
fingers would reach and connect four
i saw the trouble ahead of time
felt the aggravation grow
but i decided to take a risk
and soon my life became a trivial pursuit
i was trying to climb ladders
and was only landing on chutes
but you were my candyland
apples to apples you were more than I could ask
but i could see the spaces left on our path
yet this life is no roll of the dice
we had to make different moves.
this game of life, it's chess
not checkers
and i'm no mastermind
just a boy
trying to play god's game
sorry

Nicely done. Unfortunately, now I'm gonna go cry about that gal back in my junior year of highschool. *Sniffle*

[konstantine]

Ok, I'm behind but I have a lot that I haven't got around to posting coming soon. Perseverance!

[konstantine]

XI of XXX

i chose you
little dove
i lit the trip fantastic
and saw the dream anew
i chose you little one
to search the vastness
inside this world
beyond my grasp

you came to me
little dove
fig leaf beneath your tongue
to show me there was something solid out there
out in this never-ending ocean
you taught me my heart
could escape this sea of despair

[konstantine]

XII of XXX

to give anything
i was willing and yet i
could not give it all

[konstantine]

XIII of XXX

how can i dream of this place anymore?
my chocolate rivers have become simple streams
of water with no caramel karp
i can no longer make the mountains dance
majestic horses dart from the forests
their horns have withered and wilted
the Cheshire cat no longer smiles
not even a smirk can be seen
what has become of this place?
perhaps i followed the wrong second star
or followed the wrong princesses.
this land is unparalleled in its beauty
but where are the fairies pull at my hair?
what has become the sly sprite to attempt his tricks?
i long to converse with the old wise tree
i would sit beneath its eaves speak gaily
but she is now dumb
i can not swim with the mer
in this sea of brilliant teal
or dance about these pink clouds
this place is breathtaking
but there is no magic here

[konstantine]

XIV of XXX

it's funny how people change the past
in hindsight,
like little time travelers
trying to make their future selves
feel better

[konstantine]

XV of XXX

let me dance you to the end of the night
we'll spin till underground forest of diamond turns to dust
till your silky slippers become ribbons
let us don this enchanted cloak
steal away unseen
up through the moonlight passage hidden
beneath a castle of ruins
not even your sisters will know
they're too busy dancing themselves
but make sure to hide your tattered shoes
in a place your father won't find them
like right under his nose

[lemonthief]

'Eee' was the noise I made on reading. In a good way.

XII is a nice twist, understated yet resonant.

I also especially liked the last section of your latest:

not even your sisters will know
they're too busy dancing themselves
but make sure to hide your tattered shoes
in place your father won't find them
like right under his nose

It has an unpindownable (yes, I am making up words now), curious sort of energy to it. "In a place" though, it should be, I think. Typo nit. But it should be rectified 'cause it's a fab passage.

Hope to see a few more before the month is out!

[konstantine]

XVI of XXX

i wish my clothes still smelled of you
it was a gift-like remainder to take home
like the strands of hair i would find
no doubt they were yours
because of that particular color
i feel feral
swearing your scent is in the air
you've rubbed off on me
my heart
it still holds scents of you
my heart
it still reminds me of you

[cynthia]

you did it!

[konstantine]

I'm quite happy with myself. Not XXX but almost XV pretty good poems. Getting better with each year. Next year the full XXX, fingers crossed.

[Chudz]

I'm quite happy with myself. Not XXX but almost XV pretty good poems. Getting better with each year. Next year the full XXX, fingers crossed.

Congrats on your accomplishment!