icedfire

A few poems that I feel confident enough in to share with you all...comments, feedback, and criticism is always welcome, but I do ask that you be at least civil about it.

In this haze of green and gray you stand clad in gentle teardrops shifting softly in a soughing breeze, and delicate coats of gold. In this forest grove you lay a faceless martyr to rest. For what have you bartered with his blood? Did you fetch a bargain with memories and loves that now may never be? A silenced voice cannot sing against the violent night, can only whisper of the light, muted by the veil of right, of duty, need, and war. The dusky rose of memory you lay will fade, withe

The man commands the corner with an ill-fitting countenance through a frayed and filthy overcoat, blessed with dirt or maybe dried blood between dilated bloodshot eyes, proselytizing empty bottles from last night’s sermons. Exuding Jesus and whiskey his voice rings through a matted beard, church bells calling all ye faithful to look aside and hurry past. Across the street, drag queens stand backlit by flickering neon staining glass, huddling around

Sitting on the November balcony with fireflies at our lips, we listen to winter return. Leaves shuffle like Tarot cards but keep secrets to themselves. I can feel your battered cheek throbbing against my shoulder, your fissured lip the only color given to the night. My hand comforts the curve of your hip but there is no warmth, only these embers flickering and cold. We are marionettes, directed by a cruel general to entwine ourselves togethe

i’ve whittled these words into impatient mouths who scamper and cavort about me. they thirst and drink my frustration, hunger and stipple my fingers with red tattoos like rashes. and then, refreshed, they speak in form of verse with metaphor; and the tide recedes... not yet! I call to the smug Moon, but she does not cater to the likes of me. desperate, I try to take back my words as they do. as they do I let my veins with th

The sidewalk glitters reflecting amber in patterns shifting with each breath, each inhalation. Civilizations rise and fall in the shifting diamond light at my feet, in wonder and tragedy. The air around me a blade, suspended precluding movement, but it is worth the risk to exhale and write a shadowed epic on the ground. I am precarious, alone, a gossamer storyline crafted by a fickle pen. If this cigarette break is my anticlimax then let me d

Seven years ago I punched a mirror when I saw your face, leering in place of my own. As I watched the quicksilver coursing down the wall, I wondered how near the thud of wood was to the dislocating creak of jaw – or perhaps the thump of your custom-made cowboy boots, black leather inlaid with red rattlesnake scales, as they dropped your legs into your polished oak box. Combine the three: the creak of its lid, the thump of nails driven home, the thu

A reflective, semi-autobiographical short essay.

There’s something disturbing about the fake grass they use at a graveside funeral. Its color is unnaturally bright, reminding me of Easter mornings and lime jello. A happy color, when you think about it. I guess that’s why it bothers me; it’s like trying to force happiness where there should be none. Funerals are supposed to be depressing, with people crying and comforting each other. I can’t cry for this man and I can’t force myself to feel sad for his death, and judging by the faces of almost

Extremist? Creigh Deeds ran away screaming from any progressive position for the past two months. I doubt he'd have won had he not, but he'd have been much closer than 18 points. Some of the down ballot races may have been closer as well. Still, when a party (Democrat, Republican, or...Conservative) chooses a bad candidate, bad things will happen to it.

Drunken angry sex is the best kind!

What part of the Midwest are you in, Mark? It's pretty brutal here in the Twin Cities, but not quite as bad as farther south.

I am suggesting that your most "sacred held beliefs" are media and pop culture inspired drivel. Slap! Snap out of it. What you have bought into wholeheartedly is collectivism. My generation bleed to stop it and you punks elected it. If you think the economy is bad now, what till you get a load of triple digit inflation and the taxes that are coming despite Obama's promises to the contrary. All I ask is that you hold Obama to the same standard that you held Bush. When his lies start to surface, call him a liar with the same piss and vinigar that you called Bush. As for expecting more, Life sucks, wear a f-ing helmet. You might actually experience a modicum of success in convincing people to reconsider their "sacred held beliefs" by arguing on the merits of what you believe in, rather than recycling Hannity/O'Reilly bromides and automatically dismissing the political "other" as utter idiots. Like the majority of self-professed liberals who actively consider their political beliefs (not, as you say, "buy in wholeheartedly"), I am quite aware that Obama does not fart perfume or sh*t rainbows. As for holding Obama to the same standard as I do Bush? I do try, though I must admit that it's rather more difficult given that Obama does not have an eight-year record of ideological rigidity, intellectual disinterest, and the demonization of various subcultures in America for political gain. If he screws up...when he screws up, as I believe he did with FISA...I will react accordingly. Until then I will give the man a chance to prove himself, not hover like a starving harpy waiting gleefully for the chance to say the four most futile words in the English language: "I told you so!" I'm disengaging from this thread...if I wanted vitriol such as this, I'd go annoy some of the DailyKos trolls or have a quick conversation over at The Corner. It's perfectly possible to discuss and debate things based on issues, but I'm not optimistic that I'll get the chance to here. Rob

No offense, but I don't believe you could have written this (particularly the beginning passage) any more condescendingly than this. It makes it very hard to consider the rationales behind your arguments...or to find them, given the veneer of supercilious sarcasm. I can respectfully disagree with someone who has a different political ideology than I do, but not when he addresses me or the things I believe in so dismissively. Frankly, I expect more from you Rob

Go Devils Go! Also, Zach Parise