Kiss Me When I Die [excerpt] – Gladys Harlow
January 22, 2020
Sog
Carried in a basket
full of heavy wet laundry
the longing to be dry and fluffed
near to your body
all the lines
on a wrinkled shirt
a map of every way
a situation can go
Good Deeds Go Unnoticed
In case of loss,
please do not return.
Send it anywhere you want.
Hell, bury it in the dry wall of
the intrusive neighbor’s house.
Put it in the blender with those
freshly picked fruits.
Stick it in a stranger’s coat pocket
for a rainy day.
Toss it over your left shoulder for
bad luck.
Throw it over your brother’s right
shoulder for good luck.
If you have no brothers, wish me luck.
In case of loss,
please do not return.
There is no reward.
Dodge
Ever breaking sin
the shadow puppet
of my mind’s eye
revealing all you feel
but never see
there is a great escape
in the underlying
of these giant roots
the curve and swerve
of my eighth smoke
proof of flow
proof of the wretched
pang that rules
my paintbrush
this will
the vital force
Static
My mind searches
for the texture
in the sound of a hum
My heart, a magnetic field
pulling love out of
metal clanging cups
I’m not sorry
for what it is
your soul wanted
Escaped
IT GREW
from the thorns
of your empty words
And I wallow
in the grand vacancy
of universal love
To Always
Holding on to every moment
as if my fingers could slip
off the edge of a balcony
at any moment
Solitude
is a
beast
Burying
me
deep
In the burrow
Of its fur
Comfort
fear
Comfort
fear