Soft pale loveliness
close yet far
life’s chances
balanced on a pin
and ready to tip
all you have to do is blow
yet who has the courage.

Longtime players
step down
in an uphill struggle
contentious issues arise.

He said,
Every man needs an angel
a man don’t know who he is
and it takes faith
the faith of an angel
to teach him that.
She said,
But what of the angel?
He said,
What about her?

More pain lies ahead
says the great leader
reforms are vital
out of your pocket
and by the sweat of your brow
we will get them.

Books upon books
falling into each other
important books
pretentious books
forgotten books
hard to find books
books here
and books there
sweet books
and sour books
cold books
and hot books
so many books
you’re swimming in them
and falling asleep in them
until you don’t want to wake up
you’re dreaming books.

A long history of poor health
chronic congestive heart failure
a sad and tragic end –
psychiatric evaluations
and a post-mortem
reveal
a tendency towards
supremacism and shooting.

I miss you
I miss you in a way you can’t know
it’s not the way
you always touched me
so gently
and with such care
it’s not that beautiful look
you always had
outside on a cold day
with your cheeks flushed
and your hair just slightly falling
over your cool eyes
it’s not that at all
nor all those other things
it’s all that I should have been to you
and wasn’t
that’s what I miss.

– matt at shadow of iris

I want a room
where I can wink out
and wink back in.

What I mean is this
at the blink of an eye
I’d like to be able disappear
for a fraction of time
so small
no one would ever notice
I was gone.

During this time
I’d go to my own special place
a small comfortable room
with a fireplace perhaps
or a window over looking a pleasant garden
and in this room
there would be
books upon books upon books
about anything I could possibly
want to read about
on shelves stacked up high
all around me.

In this room
time would stand still
relative to real time
so that I could
collect my thoughts
study my situation
or even take a nap
then return back
when I was ready
to where I had just been
prior to winking out.

Imagine the cute ripostes
I could make
or the errors
I could avoid
had I just such a place.

– matt at shadow of iris