allthepowerandtheglory

[allthepowerandtheglory]

I want your hazel brown eyes to be the last thing I see tonight

[allthepowerandtheglory]

memory from two thousand ten

the tall leafy stalks split the skin on my fingers as I yanked them by the root

dad had told me not to mess with the plants in the yard but I couldn’t resist

one of my favorite things in the summertime was to pluck the plants and circle the house barefoot, waving the fluffy cream featherlike fronds round and round, singing Hannah Montana songs

some parts of the yard were wetter than others from the sprinklers and my feet were always green by the time i was ready to go back inside

[allthepowerandtheglory]

you stole the words from my mouth

to put them away

with lock and key

[allthepowerandtheglory]

Caged

you will never catch me more than once

for I will flea the second time

you must treasure me from the 1st moment

until the last

i will run for the hills

your name to never touch my lips again

keep me and I will keep you

but only if we’re meant to be kept

nurture me like my father didn’t

hold me like my mother couldn’t

set me free when my wings grow stronger than yours

catch me

hold me

keep me while you can

- lera 12.4.23

[allthepowerandtheglory]

I am messy, gross and juvenile

but you think I smell just fine

I am impulsive, irresponsible, and naive

but you love the choices I make

I hate my body, cheeks, and nose

but you tell me I’m the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen

my makeup always smeared

my shoes always untied

my hair always tangled

but you love the chaos I feed the world

and I love the chaos you feed mine

13.11.23

- Lera

[allthepowerandtheglory]

Beauty.

Buck naked in the kitchen

Nina Simone at max volume

Landlord tells me to turn her down

But I don’t listen

I’m a ladies man

Flash photography

Hides the imperfections, brightens the room

Blood trickling womanhood

Gotta find a sponge

To soak it up

Went to buy a Patti Smith novel

They only had Bret Easton Ellis

Bad for brain

Good for ego

It’s the little things

That drive madness

Dark corner of the studio apartment

Sacrifice clothes for art

Food for beat poetry

Love for lust

Lera

[allthepowerandtheglory]

do you ever just

dream about people and things from your past. how it crushes your soul. it turns to ash. how the places you once grazed, become no longer your taste. where your eyes once touched, now viewed in disgust. why the sky is less blue, when it looks down upon you. this is no dream, but a memory.

L.E.

[allthepowerandtheglory]

a poet’s friend is a poem’s enemy

[allthepowerandtheglory]

MAYBE I DESERVE THE HANDICAP STALL

Violence provides results

The anarchist girl said

Watching the world burn

Is easier than trying

To survive here

There is war

There is poverty

There is rape

There is abuse

There is pedophilia

There is homelessness

Why would we want to exist

In a place like this

Love does not over rule

These acts of

Horror

and Pain

and Destruction

the Media lies

We are blindfolded

told to believe

the government

wants us to succeed

Equality is not real

in a world like ours

[allthepowerandtheglory]

you and i, are in the heart of the cesspool. the american dream. the manifest destiny.

a buy one get one free, way of living. we light fireworks on the fourth of july. we buy cheap clothes and wear them til they fall apart. we eat meat with every meal. we drive til the gas tank runs dry. we drink warm milk. we buy what we cannot afford. we have kids at 18. we don’t understand democracy. we hate immigrants. we do not go to college. our husbands join the army. our husbands come back ptsd riddled. they beat us. we use one can of hairspray each week. we live in a trailer. we kill animals for fun. we yell at the television. we stop reading books after fifth grade. we hunt. we feed. we kill. we stand up for the pledge of allegiance. we hide our wallets when black people are around. we blame mexicans for stealing our jobs. we pay for every meal in food stamps. captain crunch for dinner, kids. my husband says the bombs are going off. he chews tobacco and spits it on the living room floor. i knock over ten empty beer bottles, looking for the bathroom in the dark. he hits me but says he doesn’t mean to. this is love, isn’t it?

V.E.

[allthepowerandtheglory]

july seems like a good month to die

i could kill you with just my eyes

V.E.

[allthepowerandtheglory]

i would kiss you if you wanted me to

[allthepowerandtheglory]

Color

The sky is blue, yet contains no sorrow

The grass is green, yet not with envy

Black is dark, yet not bad

White is light, yet not good

We think not what we feel, but what we see.

So how do we know its real?

We have beliefs, not facts

We have judgement, not truth

We have hate, not love.

So how do we know its real?

The sky, full of stars

The grass, drenched in dew

Reality is here, waiting for you.

V.E.

[allthepowerandtheglory]

Tragedy

it is the rich who are poor

and the poor who are rich

one with money, yet lack of love

is forevermore inferior

to one with love, and lack of money

there is no competition between the two, love will always prevail

one can live off love, yet one with greed will perish alone.

V.E.

[allthepowerandtheglory]

Reality

Some say they don't love

some say they don't cry

which known by all, are truthful lies.

in the end we come together

from crying to loving

fighting to hugging

we do it all.

so why lie?

to hide the truth

to hide from reality

for many, their biggest fear is reality

V.E.