She smiles at me,

her face a mosaic like shiny glass.

I turn away and the glass shatters into thousands of little pieces,

lying on the floor.

“We’re so happy you’re here,” she says.

My eyes slide sideways to her face.

How often has she said this?

“You are the bomb,” she tells me smiling.

The smile doesn’t penetrate those bulging blue eyes and green metallic eyeliner.

“We’re here to help,” she says admiring the polish on her nails.

“It’s all about helping them be the best they can be.”

The eyes glitter over the cat-like smile as she adjusts her designer jacket.

“You know you can always ask me for help,” he adjusts his green and brown bow tie,

over the matching green dress shirt.

He musters a smile, faintly.

The brittle bones are so fragile and easily broken,

Not easily mended.

The milk of human kindness doesn’t flow here much.  

Ah, me. To think on how things used to be, and

might never be, again.  

3/23

cew

                                                  

The words won’t come.

Sulky as an obstinate child,

standing in the corner with a frown.

I cajole with candy and sweets.

The muse shakes her head, an angry no.

I want to shake her.

No good.

I am back at my typewriter,

Staring at the piece.

“You know, it has potential,” the editor told me and

smiled. “But needs work.”

I smiled back and worked on it a week.

I’ll swear it’s worse than before.

Damn it. I pull out the paper so

I can rip it to shreds.

The little girl in the corner laughs and

shakes a finger at me. “No, no, no.”

“You might be able to use it somewhere else.”

Somewhere else is exactly where I’d rather be,

then staring at this stupid machine while the ghosts

of words whisper at me in voices that refuse to cooperate.

Cew 2/23

Spider Webs


I walked up the stairs
and felt the clingy fingers grab my arm.
I suppressed a shudder and
pulled off the thin invisible fingers
of webs on my arm.
Like faded dreams of mother gone again,
brother come back.
Things from the past that won’t go away.
They tug at my mind and whisper in
my ear.
They refuse to be put away – forever.
I dust and dust to keep it all clean, and yet,
at night, those spiders,
they come back again.