spilled-from-my-lips

[spilled-from-my-lips]

I did not know how large the beast was

for when I was young its appetite was little

there was no need to draw the bars shut

it fed as I did, rumbling with pleasure

word by word, sentence by sentence

tale by wondrous tale until none were left

and then the hunger gnawed at me

just as it scraped at the belly of the beast

my spirit and mind begged for more

that is when I found the pen in my hand

when the hunger entrenched itself within me

and drove me to make the meals myself

the stories of others no longer satiated

and the beast, once so small and gentle

sunk its claws into me with knowing eyes

…

we will not be satisfied.

#lrcole #poetry #writing about writing

[spilled-from-my-lips]

You’ll find me in the heat of the desert

Killing all within my grasp

They become parched as they still stay

Seeing an oasis in me

But deserts are known for terrible illusions

so you drape me in blame.

[spilled-from-my-lips]

there is a difference in being loved by someone who wants to change you and being changed by someone who loves you

#lrcole #poetry

[spilled-from-my-lips]

You soften your voice as if to lessen the blow but if you could see through my eyes you would see how a dull blade hurts worse than a sharpened edge when dragged across flesh

[spilled-from-my-lips]

I know you the way a prisoner knows sunlight through the bars of their cell.

[spilled-from-my-lips]

you love me, but you don’t. you love me, you do. you love me, but it doesn’t look like love. it doesn’t feel like love. not to me. you love me. you say so. but you don’t.

#lrcole #poetry #love

[spilled-from-my-lips]

i loathe my body but it is the form my loved ones know me in

[spilled-from-my-lips]

sometimes you’re so used to falling apart that you don’t know what it means to be whole

[spilled-from-my-lips]

they are soulmates in nearly every universe, but he only remembers the life before where the other was beyond his reach

[spilled-from-my-lips]

you were so beautiful

before the rot

pierced you from within

and bloomed with

terrible, rotting petals.

—l.r. cole

[spilled-from-my-lips]

creature of habit

you can’t help but love

scrabbling to have it

when push comes to shove

it slips through the bars

of your ribcage you

can’t bear to hold it in

like comets and stars

and wild nebulae too

burstin’ out and free fallin’

creature of habit

you can’t help but love

fleeting as a rabbit

temporal as gifts from above

[spilled-from-my-lips]

it’s the little things that stack up

a little bit here

a bit more there

enough drops will fill a cup

just one more tear

falling in the air

it’ll overflow; drip down the sides

she is a good mother

he is a good father

giving hugs and piggyback rides

until she smothers

and he walks farther

away; deepening the disconnect—

I should leave.

. . .

I am not the child

that they will grieve.

—l.r. cole, “I can’t”

#poetry #lrcole #the last drop to overflow #the last straw #if you will #mothers and fathers #and the horrible dichotomy #of loving them and hating them so much it burns

[spilled-from-my-lips]

Nana had to make bullets

out of her favorite

cast iron skillet

I hope they seared the hearts

of every man out there

that hoped to start a war.

[spilled-from-my-lips]

mold is growing

in the eye of a tree

if I stop for long enough

it will blink at me

“come here child

inhale the scent

of gentle change”

the collapsed forms

of hollowed pumpkins

nestle into the roots

slouched comfortably

“let us be child

ponder the sweetness

of life and decay”

moss crawls meandering

across the branches

plush and soft in turn

inviting me to stay

“rest here awhile child

slow your thoughts

let them go free”

mold is growing

in the eye of a tree

if I stop for long enough

my home will call for me.

—l.r. cole “mold is growing”

#poetry #lrcole #mold #moss #autumn

[spilled-from-my-lips]

how do you explain

that the only reason

you remember to breathe

is because sometimes

the weight on your chest

presses hard enough

on your lungs to

make you reflexively inhale

how do you explain

that the only reason

your heart beats right

is because there has

to be an angel

wrapping their fingers

around it and squeezing

just enough to keep

you painstakingly alive

how do you explain

that the only reason

your blood circulates

is because gravity

pulls it down

and it simply gets

lost on its way

to the ground.

—l.r.cole, “how do you explain”

#poetry #lrcole

[spilled-from-my-lips]

you won’t find me

in the sunlit halls

of your heart.

it’s been a millennia

since the last time

I was there.

wander instead to the

gray and sallow corners

of your forgetfulness.

there in the shadows

my bones lie alone

tired of waiting.

—l.r. cole

#lrcole #poetry

[spilled-from-my-lips]

“I’m tired.”

Is better than dying.

So take what I give.

Or lose everything

that’s left of me.