Writing Prompt

the air is sickeningly sweet

the taste burns my tongue

the people overly joyous

smiles once represented content

now they’re a mask,

a facade

hiding what lurks beneath

the phrase

i love you

used to be given out with caution,

meaning

now the words slap me in the face

the birds tweet their gentle melody

harmonies washing over me

drowning

i’m drowning in their tune

still,

smiles

sharp simister smile...

Too much peace leads to stagnation,

A complacent aging population.

The finite resources of this Earth,

Used up from San Fran, Paris, Perth.

That is why I’ve seen the light,

Though it doesn’t fill me with delight.

All six stones I must collect,

In order for me to protect.

Gauntlet on hand to hold them all,

Mother Nature — I hear her call.

Stones for space & soul & time,

Power, reality & mind.

Al...

Is it possible,

To have too much peace?

Too much joy,

Too much satisfaction?

If you constantly bathe,

In waves of contentment,

How long is it until you drown?

How many delicacies,

Can you shove down your throat,

Until you choke on your spoils?

How many cool breezes,

Can float through your hair,

Until you’re numb with cold?

Is it plausible,

That something so sweet and pure,

Can turn...

His eyes were grey not blue,

It took her years to understand

At Dawn it had been colored,

At noon she couldn’t play pretend.

She had wondered long,

If this would be her destiny.

It’d always been her song,

First two then kids -a family.

Excitement once alive,

Had long since burned to ash.

Nothing left but _peace,_

__

How could she quitely pass?

Forever she had told herself,

The dream was peace...

Madness and mayhem lurk at my left

To my right, chaos crouches… promises a riot

Escalating anxiety paralyses… leaving me stressed

“Just a bit of peace and quiet

That’s all I ask for my birthday!”

_“Can’t we take you out for a nice meal?”_

The mere prospect fills me with dismay

My life’s frenetic pace has become surreal.

*

My heartfelt wish is reluctantly granted

Totally alone on a ‘desert islan...

I’ve known chaos.

She lingers in my chest each night.

She knows me, inside and out.

In my childhood,

My adulthood,

And my career.

School felt safer than home,

Love felt dangerous,

And sirens surround the sick.

But what happens when I can’t sense her tingling on the back of my neck?

It brings a sense of unease.

All that I’ve known is how to live fast.

Recklessly.

And yet…

A gentle embrace,

A...

Can it be to peaceful?

Maybe it can in fact.

Life can be so great.

Maybe the peace is too great.

There is a lot of silence when there is peace.

We think it leads to trouble.

Who doesn’t like a little chaos?

Maybe peace can be too much....

They say the stillness is a gift,

a balm for weary hands and hearts—

but what of days that drift and drift

with no sharp edges, no bold starts?

The air too calm, the sky too blue,

the silence thick as honey glaze.

Even the birds seem quiet too,

lost in some endless yawn of days.

No cries for change, no cause to rise,

no clash of minds, no restless storm.

The fire dies behind the eyes

when nothin...

i recently wrote a poem

about wanting to have peace

total peace

with no dogs barking

or cars honking

or loud commercials

or people on speaker phones

etc etc

and all i want

is a book, Bach, a fire,

and my own goddam farts

and i got some questions

about why i kept the farts in

the poem

and the reason is

tonight

my wife had dinner plans

and i stayed home

so i put on Bach

and grabbed a book

and li...

i just want

peace

no more trains

or dogs barking

no more car horns

or shouting outside

no more speaker phone

or cat’s meowing

or hissing

or scratching at their own shit

no more children

in general

no more commercials

louder than the show

no more clearing of throats

no more small talk

nothing but

Bach

a book

the crackling of fire

and

my own

goddamn farts...