#NaPoMo2021

[mariothepoet]

crapulence

Gave up on changing the pastbefore it was proven to me that I’m going to die.Memories taste,dreams disintegrate,concentration obsesses over inspiration.  Waiting around to waste more time.Drunk, High, Drunk, over sexed and sleep.Alone. Lonesome. Present in the moment of exodus.The Zombies in my area steal: detergent, Newports, and cases of Hennesy.Lurking in the same clothes, pacing the…

[charleskelleypegg]

if We Called it What it is

My pronouns would be he/him

I would be 5’2”

I could be Colombian

If we called it what it is

You would be an unsupportive brother

You, a distant father

You, an overbearing mother

If we called it what it is

You could be the love of my life

You could be my future

Written in the stars

Or maybe ‘boyfriend’ could suffice

If we called it what it is

You had abandoned me

You left when I needed you most

If we had called it what it was

Then it was not consensual

Nor was it pleasant

Nor would I repeat it to anyone else

[mariothepoet]

#ThisIsMyCrew

there are few things worse than Cubs fansyesterday they threw behind Brandonand when the crowd grew restless  Our heroes unavailablethe Cubs fans sat there in their stupid hatsmaking faces.the Sox fans are to be tolerated in short dosesthey had their time in the limelightswept the Astros out the seriesthough it took them forever to do it.before their recent glorythe Cubs cursed and buffooned…

[mariothepoet]

the hidden epilogue

huddled close to the speaker she is musicand waiting and listeningher eyes lowerednearly in prayer she is consumedby the orators cadencethe quiet scribbles she keepshiddenher secret artisan paintsmosaics of her hurried lifetime is running outon her present surroundingsshe is leavingnot fleeingjust leaving the herefor the here after because what she is here afteris far too fragile for the…

[mariothepoet]

Better than

the crippling God of guilt that knows my faults and hates my liesher kisses as sutures and antisepticslike driving directionsunhinge my exit planspanicked she might uncover my masquerademy defeat is already preordainedtogether like Lego pieces we lay inside each otherfluids like filthundue myself into a puddleI am fist fisticuffs she is negotiations her relaxed ambassadorI look she listenspromise…

[mariothepoet]

Grey Hairs

they say, “trust no one over 30”for they have learned to lovethe sweetness of the bridles rust.Old dudesin old clotheshand me down languages and prison numbers.When my roar was showroom newwhen divorce seemed a nuclear disasterthought of  mennow a decade my juniorlike dinosaurs and dry cleaning.Now that I have been bestowed the inheritanceof an overflow of sunrisestill my chin is grey as rain…

[mariothepoet]

It is what it is...

It is what it is…

If love were simple like punching bags & coloring books If love were easy  like calling on facetime & answering text messages If love had cosigns & parentheticals like mathematical equations I wouldn’t long for her so distracted wouldn’t be vexed and embarrassed in yesterday’s clothes calling God by his first name They talk about love like journalism like the facts matter. Like you can…

[mariothepoet]

infernal argument

Pity the man who has placed his hope in idolswho talks of God like he isn’t always listeningShame on the man who has given his life to his possessionsor theories that slip away like fog once heated by the sunbut your coldest loathing be reservedfor any who embarrass their mothersand are a noose about their father’s neckwho think(if their shame could be called thought)that Ironman would have a…

[mariothepoet]

finding hope

laying face down in a shame spiral, sober again,losing your faith in magic,the unkempt bedding of a prison cell,therapy,God because he is always Godand we are powerless to impeach her,deep in thought,in the sparkling sunshine,the compassion of forgiveness,giving yourself the right to have been wrong,going your own way,in the piles of trash hoarded away,in the eyes of your inner child,in the…

[mariothepoet]

throwing space and parking lots

throwing space and parking lots

the concrete is littered with rock saltthe movie theater abandonedwe are engulfed in fearof an inoculated Jesusrisen just in time for vaccination it is hard to take the headlines seriouswe were told everything they could think ofduring the time we had unbridledby the final solution to the problem of our mortality arrivingGod is undoubtedly comingeventually to everyone & asking questionswe will…

[mariothepoet]

Got my reasons...

Got my reasons…

I found myself drunk last night  writing out the reasons I should leave youin my best penmanshipon 14 five by seven index cards  rejected you then forgave youprayed for you then hated youthe room was a sideways spinning quartercoming to rest on my couch between the cushions I was high tooand as much as I tried to convince myselfI was tripping & that all my excuses  were just cowardice  kept…

[mariothepoet]

Fool's Day

Fool’s Day

Taken to repeating incantations set in my stone ways. Afraid of death and being less than a manjust a series of stories and silence.fighting ignorantI am helpless and unwantedinside her casketnever lie my way out of anything.  Climb back into her decaying wombwhere house rules and monopoly is forbiddenbut home like salvation is never the last place you left it.Pulling out your teethso you won’t…