INCAPACITATED

word |wərd|
noun
a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and typically shown with a space on either side when written or printed.

One
Choice
Word
From the right person
A bullet from a gun
Stripping all sense of rationality
Motivation
Confidence
From whatever place of strength.
You may have kept them fresh and handy
Polished, practiced and preened
Tossing them onto the slag heap
Of rusty useless, discarded tools.
Melted down to the basic core
Insecurity
Doubt
Fear.

Word, sentence, paragraphs, diatribes, rants,
Arguments, encyclopedic extrapolation,
Lectures, advice, tirades, opinion, suggestion,
Observation, invective, verbosity, attacks,
Discourse, conversation, judgment, perspective,
View, critique, review, denunciation, reproach,
Castigation, gossip, praise, vituperation, guidance,
Recommendation, notice
The unmarriable
Abyss
Between
Now and never
Then and when.

Paper cuts
From scarlet lips
The chill slap of reality's nonchalance
Blood letting
The slow death of disappointment
Deep holes
Dug
Deeper
One word
At a time.

Disappearing
Makes the most sense
Embracing the nothingness
Has never been easier
"Clouds are illusion
The sky is your essence"
BULLSHIT!
This rain is wet
And cold
The roof leaks
Onto the page
Shorting out
Any charge
That kept power
Flowing
Zap
Sizzle
Of
Shattered
Mirrors
Lightning
Struck.

The cycle spins
Big efforts
Scraped from the charred remains
Of an ancient sensibility
Pulled squirming by its short-hairs
From what is left of one’s self-respect.
Just another day at the salt mines.


~ May 11, 2011 Wilmington, DE

EPICENE SCENE

Quite taken by women who go by guys names
Not a conscious decision but a trend I can claim
Feminine handles are lovely and fine
Fall for the Susies, and some Carolines
The Mollys, and Marys, and Guens I adore
of course, there's Michelle, and Danielle and lots more,
The Lisas, the Lizzys, the Lizas and Vals
and the Cindys, the Barbs, I like all of those gals
There's Sallys, the Charlenes, the Colleens and Beths,
The Jens and the Annies and all of the rest
But there’s something intriguing
Bout the Martis and Sams
The Rickies, the Bobbis, the Kellys, hot damn
A Casey, A Tracy, A Stacy or two
There’s Teri and Jeri and Jamie and Drew
A Leslie, a Billie, a Robyn and Jo
Carrie, and Taylor and Pat, don't ya know.
An Alex, a Jordan, a Toni and Kris
A Dusty, a Niki and one named Frances
There's Lynn and there's Sandy and when Sunny gets blue
There's Ashley and Ali and maybe you too.
And even though spellings aren’t always the same
I’m somewhat intrigued by an epicene name.

FAITH IN THE ADORABLES

What is this wealth of riches
Working hard not to sacrifice my deep respect
Striving, polishing my honesty and reflection
For those who give me their cherished moments
Their subdivided hearts willingly;
For those who share their stories
Aches and joyous epiphanies;
For those whose fingertips trace
Epic tales of romance across my furrowed countenance
Lost loves, souls torn with time’s scornful glance
Life’s diverted energies focused
If ever so briefly upon my grizzled grin,
Whose hands hold all of this very moment’s hopefulness
Whose lips whisper the only truths we are sure of
Whose arms comfort and envelop me
In their neediness as well as mine.
I praise the deep longing for what only we can give each other
Whatever is distinct from what the next will give,
The last withheld,
from the dream we all search for
of The One we may never find.

How I cherish their willingness to accept my fragility
My smokescreens, my flailing attempts at flinging myself head on
Into the path of the battering ram of self-reliance --
Oh, how they surround my aging gracelessness with the kindness
Of compassionate longing
And what they find there in the darkness is me.
Simple in the very complexity that I brandish
A credo of web-like stickiness
What is and what should always be
never quite making the grade
That they see in me what I do in them--
Humanity masquerading as something so much grander
Reaching for the ring and reaching yet again
And we hold each others care to our hearts
Defying definition by any previous standards
Because our friendships
Our devotions
Our lusting and loving
Can only be seen as the courting of the impossible
Of the toe-on-the-rail, abyss leaping swan dive
into The Perhaps.

Leap with me, wrap your wings around me
Adorables
Freefall together
Past jealousies, fear, doubt
As lovers, muses, friends,
Believing
In love’s mystery
The heart’s resilience
The soul’s compassionate grace
Believing
In the undiscovered moment.

- For The Adorables: JS, MM, RR, SV - the amazing women in my life...alphabetically, of course ;-)

WOMEN BY THE WINDOW WAITING

the pen is / mightier than / the bored / hello or

rushing conquest / notching a new name
on the list / I scored!
if only more men / knew that words
are so seductive, yes / and captivating
there would be fewer / women by the window waiting
- Rhys McClure

And then there is the dilemma of the men
walking below those filled windows
chasing
scraps of paper
shredded love letters
that spin in the draft
of their yearning
around some blind corner
where only dream shadows
await.

They look up into the rain
fingernail crescent
diving behind rooftop edge
windows empty
shades drawn
night
longer
than most.






~ for Rhys. Thanks for the light that sparked this poem.
Poetic 2nd Comment by Brad on Rhys’ Facebook comment on the poem
WHY SO SHY BOY? November 6, 2:42am