Submissions by Pinkdreams
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
Humorist and storyteller, with a dash of lyrical loveliness and an occasional deep thought.
Anything But I Love You
In a new relationship
saying the first
I love you
is like throwing yourself in the air
hoping to be caught in his strong arms
while anticipating the pain
of your ass hitting the concrete floor
Saying the first
I love you
is offering your special homemade cookies
only for them to be declined
because they're not vegan
After a certain age
saying the first
I love you
is an atheist's prayer
or a flash of expensive jewelry
bound to be stolen
in a...
saying the first
I love you
is like throwing yourself in the air
hoping to be caught in his strong arms
while anticipating the pain
of your ass hitting the concrete floor
Saying the first
I love you
is offering your special homemade cookies
only for them to be declined
because they're not vegan
After a certain age
saying the first
I love you
is an atheist's prayer
or a flash of expensive jewelry
bound to be stolen
in a...
#love
#risk
202 reads
16 Comments
Burned
Sunday afternoon
is horrible
the sun is shining
friends are calling
but with your ADHD
lesson plans take a long time
and you're two weeks behind on grading
and of yeah
you have three test administrator training modules to do
you have housework to finish too
you're trying to do it quickly
steam is billowing
from your new electric kettle
a cup of ginger tea
will be soothing
mind on anything
but the present moment
you reach for an upper cupboard
too close to the billowing...
is horrible
the sun is shining
friends are calling
but with your ADHD
lesson plans take a long time
and you're two weeks behind on grading
and of yeah
you have three test administrator training modules to do
you have housework to finish too
you're trying to do it quickly
steam is billowing
from your new electric kettle
a cup of ginger tea
will be soothing
mind on anything
but the present moment
you reach for an upper cupboard
too close to the billowing...
#hurt
125 reads
9 Comments
Low Flying Planes
They are everywhere
low flying planes
over small patches of mountains
over office buildings
they don'r fill the space
between my thumb and index finger
from where i sit
on my balcony
low flying planes
small and silent
one after another
i watch them to take my mind away
I'm a wildy repressed
primal jungle girl
dancing to tribal rhythms
trapped in an aging caucasian city life body
giving another little piece of myself to the sky
every day
low flying planes
more...
low flying planes
over small patches of mountains
over office buildings
they don'r fill the space
between my thumb and index finger
from where i sit
on my balcony
low flying planes
small and silent
one after another
i watch them to take my mind away
I'm a wildy repressed
primal jungle girl
dancing to tribal rhythms
trapped in an aging caucasian city life body
giving another little piece of myself to the sky
every day
low flying planes
more...
#emptiness
#ThrillSeeking
134 reads
7 Comments
Aaron's Wife
my friend Aaron
married a woman who insisted on not one but two
formal China settings for twelve
in her Saks 5th Avenue registry
she named their son Henri
pronounced Ahn-ree
and trained Aaron
to correct those who pronounced it incorrectly (that is to say everyone)
Henri
excuse me AHN-ree
is a gifted artist
like his mother
look how he holds the paintbrush
in his chubby four-year-old fist
mixing blue and red on wax paper
Purple! he screams
causing his mother to jack up his inflated...
married a woman who insisted on not one but two
formal China settings for twelve
in her Saks 5th Avenue registry
she named their son Henri
pronounced Ahn-ree
and trained Aaron
to correct those who pronounced it incorrectly (that is to say everyone)
Henri
excuse me AHN-ree
is a gifted artist
like his mother
look how he holds the paintbrush
in his chubby four-year-old fist
mixing blue and red on wax paper
Purple! he screams
causing his mother to jack up his inflated...
#dark
#family
158 reads
8 Comments
List #8 Things That Are Wrong With Me
1. I have ADHD. Not like "Oh, ha ha, I forgot to do that, I'm so ADD", I mean I have it to the point of it being a clinically diagnosed noticeable disability. I've come to like my colorful, flashing LED lights mind, but ADHD has made my life difficult.
2. I have wildly warped corneas, a condition known as Keratoconus. I'm overdue for having my corneas replaced with a dead person's. I just haven't been in the mood to have it done, you know? Especially since I would have to be completely still for something like 48 hours and I can't be reasonably still for even one hour (see...
2. I have wildly warped corneas, a condition known as Keratoconus. I'm overdue for having my corneas replaced with a dead person's. I just haven't been in the mood to have it done, you know? Especially since I would have to be completely still for something like 48 hours and I can't be reasonably still for even one hour (see...
#confessional
169 reads
10 Comments
Lens
pajamas at Walmart
everyone covered in blotchy green tattoos
texting drivers
AI images of lush creepy dream homes
plastic water bottles on the ground
obsessive self-documenters
super morbid obesity
diabetic kids breakfasting on cookies and Sprite
choosy beggars on social media
an apocalypse of screen zombies
the Milky Way murdered by city lights
smog blotting out majestic mountains
bad news everywhere
danger
danger
a reflected traffic light
on a drizzly city...
everyone covered in blotchy green tattoos
texting drivers
AI images of lush creepy dream homes
plastic water bottles on the ground
obsessive self-documenters
super morbid obesity
diabetic kids breakfasting on cookies and Sprite
choosy beggars on social media
an apocalypse of screen zombies
the Milky Way murdered by city lights
smog blotting out majestic mountains
bad news everywhere
danger
danger
a reflected traffic light
on a drizzly city...
#beauty
#escape
205 reads
12 Comments
That's My New Boyfriend
It started with one of my 6th grade reading groups.
A story about Blackbeard's ghost.
Students commenting on his mangey appearance.
Hey, be nice, I said
That's my new boyfriend.
Silence
Looking at each other
The blowing out sound that precedes a guilty laugh
Followed by five happy guilty laughs.
So why stop there?
My new boyfriends have included Mr. Six,
a scowling, old Chinese emperor,
a minotaur,
and Henry VIII.
I don't know if my students are laughing at me,
or with me.
I...
A story about Blackbeard's ghost.
Students commenting on his mangey appearance.
Hey, be nice, I said
That's my new boyfriend.
Silence
Looking at each other
The blowing out sound that precedes a guilty laugh
Followed by five happy guilty laughs.
So why stop there?
My new boyfriends have included Mr. Six,
a scowling, old Chinese emperor,
a minotaur,
and Henry VIII.
I don't know if my students are laughing at me,
or with me.
I...
#aging
#LookingForLove
149 reads
11 Comments
One More Book
I answer her question with a rambling joke.
Do I have a plan in place?
Nah.
I'm too easily distracted.
Knowing me,
I'd be about to go through with killing myself
but there would be one last book I'd want to read.
Or one more poem I'd want to write.
One more place to see.
One more topic to research...
One more gelato flavor to try.
One more sexual experience to have.
One more cause to help.
If i had any common sense
I might end my life.
But there's always one more book. ...
Do I have a plan in place?
Nah.
I'm too easily distracted.
Knowing me,
I'd be about to go through with killing myself
but there would be one last book I'd want to read.
Or one more poem I'd want to write.
One more place to see.
One more topic to research...
One more gelato flavor to try.
One more sexual experience to have.
One more cause to help.
If i had any common sense
I might end my life.
But there's always one more book. ...
#inspirational
#suicide
#books
276 reads
15 Comments
List #7 Ways I Deal with Anxiety
1. Frequent trips to the refrigerator. Actually, I have to congratulate myself: I only do this maybe half as much as I did when I was younger. I mean, I can now perform incredible acts of derring-do, such as making a pint of ice cream last three or even four days! Don't laugh, I'm proud.
2. Walk the roof. I've always walked to deal with anxiety, usually at night. In Portland, I walked in the rain, and loved it. Now, I walk the top level of my parking garage, where there are panoramic views of the city. I'm fairly near the airport, and three times now I've seen a strange phenomenon: A...
2. Walk the roof. I've always walked to deal with anxiety, usually at night. In Portland, I walked in the rain, and loved it. Now, I walk the top level of my parking garage, where there are panoramic views of the city. I'm fairly near the airport, and three times now I've seen a strange phenomenon: A...
#anxiety
179 reads
10 Comments
Sorry
He's yelling at me.
Why did you put your clothes in my dresser drawer?
Why?
That's crazy!
It's MY house
Not yours
i'm scared
i think i may have filled up two drawers
maybe three
a red sweater on top in one
but didn't i live with him for a while?
no
right
never
not at all
when he leaves
i'll remove everything
except my shame
that will take a while
Why did you put your clothes in my dresser drawer?
Why?
That's crazy!
It's MY house
Not yours
i'm scared
i think i may have filled up two drawers
maybe three
a red sweater on top in one
but didn't i live with him for a while?
no
right
never
not at all
when he leaves
i'll remove everything
except my shame
that will take a while
#shame
#UnrequitedLove
#nightmares
172 reads
8 Comments
Railroaded
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Unbarred railroad crossing
Red lights flashing
this way,
that way
Where is the train?
I wish there were other cars around me.
I'm not sure what to do.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Red lights flashing
this way
that way
No train in sight..
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Red lights flashing
this way
that way
6:30 AM
a car pulls up ...
Unbarred railroad crossing
Red lights flashing
this way,
that way
Where is the train?
I wish there were other cars around me.
I'm not sure what to do.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Red lights flashing
this way
that way
No train in sight..
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Red lights flashing
this way
that way
6:30 AM
a car pulls up ...
#risk
148 reads
12 Comments
Flying Over
I can see the rooftops of your world;
from my rusted perch
I've been circling for years
never knowing when,
or if,
you'll let me land.
I can see the rooftops of your world
the unsightly
the unseen
the spires
the power sources
stars dimmed from lesser light
still,
you'd take them from me
if you could.
i can see the rooftops of your world
and sometimes more
the windows you see out of
the intimacy of your coffee
the door women walk through
the door i have entered ...
from my rusted perch
I've been circling for years
never knowing when,
or if,
you'll let me land.
I can see the rooftops of your world
the unsightly
the unseen
the spires
the power sources
stars dimmed from lesser light
still,
you'd take them from me
if you could.
i can see the rooftops of your world
and sometimes more
the windows you see out of
the intimacy of your coffee
the door women walk through
the door i have entered ...
#UnrequitedLove
#MovingOn
193 reads
7 Comments
DU Poetry : Submissions by Pinkdreams