Posts for June 26, 2016 (page 2)

***Inspired by the sculpture of the same name in the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C.***

From the onset his power was
Unassailable from my small place,
Too far for an arrow or a stone
Cast to eliminate my final obstacles.
No illusions were necessary,
Foretold height and strength placed him
In a tier of war I could never hope to reach.
Vain hopes sustained me,
Maybe a being such as this
Simply did not exist.
How foolish that thinking was!
Instead he came and towered above me.
He cast a shower over my memory,
Reached in and plucked out a flower,
Set it aflame, and let it consume me.
Then he took the whole world on those broad shoulders
Gave it to her as his life
All in the first moments of my eyes meeting his
When I knew the war was already over.
In fact,
It had never actually begun.

Colony, decline
Collapse of the honey hive
Chaos to the elite

Royal jelly flows
Vanishing workers hold secrets
Honey saves the Queen

Greed, gives disorder
Contempt feeds the drones, apathy
Vomiting forth truth

Swarm the upper class
Proletariat death sting
Leave honey for the crown

genteel white tents

sprawled on a wide green lawn

formal gardens

Chevy Chase ladies in hats

with mint juleps and music

I wish I hadn’t seen their pictures 
Or had to read their bio 
When I went to post a comment I didn’t need to 

Would I have thought them so well written 
If they had been 
By ugly old men? 

Maybe
But, unfortunately
Creepily
Not to me

My unwanted, disused sexuality
Has corrupted their poetry
I only hope
They never find out

She was the most joyful
person I ever saw
showed it in every action
sliding across the room 
in pink argyle socks
stealing moments at the piano
to play “Dream a Little Dream”
added butter and homemade icing
to store bought cinnamon rolls
I wish I’d kept in touch 
-Jessica Swafford 

artist on the corner

chainsaw carving a tree stump

into praying hands

fingers reach for heaven

Sunday peace bells

Delicious Rollos

Lassitude. The heat presses
you to the chair forcing
energy out of your pores.
[Empty] 

In the rentable sand spills
over the landscaping reclaiming
asphalt for it’s reckless own.
[Interloper]  

Grains spread
through shoes, bags, suitcases—
the new silicon valley.
[Silence]