Polaroid

Creative Commons: The Smoking Man by WrappedUpInBooks

I have conserved the memory of you,
smashed between the pages
of the photo album on my nightstand –
you, the Polaroid picture I
shook,
shook,
shook,
until the image appeared,
blurred and grainy
and I cried to see the blue of your eyes so diluted.

I have buried myself in the warm fold
of your embrace and
am climbing the steep staircase
of your rib-cage. I am implanting myself
right where it will hurt the most.
I am spying, from the whites of your eyes
to catch a glimpse of the storm sea
in your gaze. It was all I ever
wanted.

© Laura A. Lord, 2015

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Thanks to The Reverie for this awesome prompt!

Taste

The sunshine hung heavy and thick as lemon curd.
The air was one tall glass of hot tap water.
It dried up my mouth and clung there.
It sat in the back on my throat like Robitussin.

It should have been healing, this breath of hometown air.
It should have tasted like honeysuckles growing by the woods
and the thick smell of tar as it was poured down our road.

It should have lingered on my taste buds like dust from the fields,
been the sharp, sweetness of white corn,
bit the edge of my tongue like Old Bay in a paper-thin cut.

It should have been healing, this breath.
Instead it sits there like remorse, and the sunshine has turned sour.

© Laura A. Lord 2015

Reverent

I am a conspiring she-devil,
the physical embodiment of pious fear.

Make the arch of my back
the alter you worship at.
I am worthy of reverence
and the soft spoken words of generous desire.

I am pillow talk
and fingertips
and lacy edges of a baby blue negligee.

I am a thunderstorm in your belly.

I’m in power
on my knees.

I’m bringing down an entire dynasty.

All encompassing.
Swallowing.

I am worthy of reverence.

Take of my body
and find immortality in this moment.

© Laura A. Lord 2015

Thank You, Eve

Written for the prompts at both The Reverie Journal and MindLoveMiserysMenagerie. Thank you!

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The River

I don’t remember the way I loved you,
but it is seared in my mind,
that image of you at the edge of the water,
long strands of river algae curled around your legs
and clung like sticky tentacles on the muscle of your calf
water rolled in languid drops down the swell of your breast
dangled teasingly from the arched tip and fell,
a dramatic end to catch the sun’s glint.
I watched my reflection scatter and break in the droplets on your skin.
I think that’s where the problem was.
I think I saw myself too much in us.

© Laura A. Lord 2015

Exploration

I was ready for exploration,
a bit of adventure in my
one window life.
Your fingers scrolled along
the relief map of my skin,
toured the pale purple peaks
and staggered down through the amber waves
at the apex of my river valley.

Oh you were my Sacajawea
and I was a bright pink plastic
vibrator with triple set speeds
and a versatile set of rubber rabbit ears.

You brought beauty into the mire of my world
and I stamped it out.
I drew four-lane highways across your domain
and planted my finger like a flag
right on the heart of the subject.

I’d never seen beauty shatter before.

© Laura A. Lord 2015

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Written for the prompt over at MindLoveMiserysMenagerie.

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I Was the Breeze

I was one thought –
a single word scrawled across
lined paper,
shoved between the dog-eared pages of
your favorite book.

I was the dedication –
a string of lines sewn together
to make a show for the world:
“Look how much I love her,”
it screamed.

I was the breeze,
pulling lightly at your curls
and flipping the page as you edited,
red marked
me right out of your life.

I was the breeze
that held her breath,
turned into a gale of ambitious proportions,
and ripped the words
from your throat.

Copyright © Laura A. Lord 2015

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A big thanks to MindLoveMisery’sMenagerie for their photo prompt this week! Check it out here!

Fall is… – A Poem by Mama

Fall is…

A chill in the air

And frost on the ground

Fog that clogs

And rain that drowns

Sniffling noses

Bright red throats

Crumpled tissues

Galoshes and coats

Pumpkins carved

And lit up bright

Ghosts abound

Vampires bite

Halloween décor

Right next door

To Christmas trees

In every store

Rotting veggies

On my front step

Family dinners

Hectic prep

Costumes on top

Of the Christmas tree box

Kids stuck inside

With Lego blocks

Leaves that pile

Clog my gutter

Electricity that

Spits and sputters

Sweet potatoes

Grandma’s dressing

Pass the wine

They’re saying blessing

Trick or treat

Candy bowls

All the Reese’s

Daddy stole

Night comes fast

Hot dogs burning

Throw up buckets

My stomach’s churning

Colorful leaves

The firewood’s wet

I quit. I’m done.

Is it Christmas yet?

Copyright Laura A. Lord ©2014