diagnosis…

without
sanity
one
would let
children die
while
political debates
raged
about what to do
without
sanity
the world
would avoid
giving aid
to those in need
in lieu of
lottery tickets
without
sanity
a government
would send its children
off to war
while corporations
profit
from their deaths
without
sanity
yes
without
sanity

numb…

two days
waiting
each day’s
surgical procedure
closer
to the edge
of my sanity
i stare
over the edge
testing
my fear
of heights
wondering
if
i’ll slip

the dog run…

 

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

she
a child bride
was chained
to his
expectations
but
was
quite free
to run along
a set path
at whatever pace
she chose
and
could make
the trip
back-and-forth
to sanity
as often
as she
wanted
this was
what
he
defined
as
freedom

container…

walls
stainless steel
no ambient light
penetrating this space
no reason
for sound
to be made
this is not
a place for
conversations
or
negotiations
it is not for
you
or
your civilized friends
that constantly make war
under the flag of peace
this is
a shelter
from
your society
a self-contained environment
designed to maintain
sanity
it is the shelter
of my heart
and
the doors
are locked

homeland security…

Image by CWMartin

honey
old man jones
has stepped of the precipice
of sanity
into the deep blue skies
of margaritaville
i mean to tell you
that old fool
has started acting
stranger than usual
he went out
got a lock for his pantry
electric fence for his garden
and enough ammunition
to defend fort knox
telling me
food’s gonna
be more valuable
than oil
you wait and see
he said
what
what do you mean
he makes sense
what world food crisis
what about Russia
so the sahara desert
is growing
what’s that got to do with
my super walmart store
you mean to tell me
that old fool
is right
what do you mean
where
am i going now
i’m off to walmart honey
i’ve got to get stuff
for my
food security system

deimos inn…

Final Challenge Image from Jade

  

with the lights on
there is nothing to fear
this is just another hotel room
a place for
an itinerate soul to visit
everything seems in place
but
when the lights are off
this place becomes a prison
nothing is where it’s supposed to be
the floor
is quicksand beneath my feet
the door has bars of anger
holding back my freedom
my thoughts rattle
around the room
seeking a familiar corner
the air is foul
and
stale with formality
my misery
has no place to hide
it cannot find
a warm spot to rest
so it paces
back and forth
in my mind
refusing to rest
until the dawn
when i release it outside
where it can run away from me
and swing in the trees
with childish expectations
but it is hours
before dawn
so i sit alone
with the lights
on

This poem represents my last response to  the second challenge series between Jade and I.  As you may recall, each poet provides the other with a series of photos, visual prompts,  from which the poet is to write a poem.  Jade has written her response which can be found here. 

in dark conscious…

Challenge Photo IV from Jade

yesterday’s tears
are now morning’s fog
distorting my perceptions
confusing the mental
landmarks of my sanity
i deceive myself
a trance so tranquil
that i am blind
to my own blindness
my thoughts move slowly
suspended in the fog
a blurred rationality
but a desire to feel whole
not some fragment of myself
i am a child
crying out for comfort
but there is none
to be found
and while you embrace
another warm thought
of how you shall
revive my sanity
i listen carefully
to your words
moving without sound
through the air
and
i agree
to whatever you have said
knowing only that i
am lost in the darkness

 

This poem represents my fourth response to  the second challenge series between Jade and I.  As you may recall, each poet provides the other with a series of photos, visual prompts,  from which the poet is to write a poem.  Jade has written her response which can be found here. 

on the edge…

Challenge Photo II from Jade

the gray morning
air presses hard
against me
holding back
the sounds
of my footsteps
that were so clear
and distinct
as i began
this journey
but now
all i can hear
are my labored breaths
in and out
and
my throbbing heart
a heart seeking
to escape
these city walls
to leave behind
this street
where laughter
and joy
have fled
where only
your memory resides
shrouded in betrayal
wearing a cross
of lies
to conceal
the truth
of who
and what
you are
and what
you’ve done

 

This poem represents my second response to  the second challenge series between Jade and I.  As you may recall, each poet provides the other with a series of photos, visual prompts,  from which the poet is to write a poem.  Jade has written her response which can be found here. 

suburbia…

 

night holds
no magic
movie theme
dreams here
just shards of dreams
brown budwiser crystals
spread out like rose petals
along the gutter’s edge
this place is the channel
you change from
not the one
you want to watch
but this is where
your kids come
to buy
what they need
to make
living with you
tolerable
and where
your daughter
will come
to trade wares
for the love she needs
if you wander here
by mistake
then keep your eyes
straight ahead
don’t dare look
into the doorways
for what you’ll
find may break
the walls of
your sanity

line sketch…

life line
lines on chart
bus line
stay between lines
line of reasoning
lines of conformity
graduation line
lines the pocket
communication line
lines dropped
front line
lines between sanity and insanity
crossed the line
enemy lines
line of fire
three     short     lines
reception line
lines of sorrow
end-of-the-line
lines of crosses