recollection — a month in poems

by onyekachukwu

02.25.24

beat the block

back in my bag

and unsure why

i’d fallen off

and did not try

to beat the block

that’s been in my way

even whispers

i could not say

could not put

my pen to page

like a bird

caught in a cage

with the wisdom

of a sage

suppressing message

deflecting gaze

of the people

awaiting raised

voice of reason

raucous rage

written to commemorate

the war of words

fought on this date

02.23.24

beware the flash

is there a look, a smell, a taste

or does it flash across the face?

downcast, the mask that grins and lies

to self when none named Else lays eyes

upon this cruelly cracked up vase

blown of glass

that hardens, breaks

bread and fish, a basket case

with closed fist pass

collection plate

connections often fictive, fake

two ships at night

across the lake

fraught with freight and shuffling gait

unmoored is give without its take

02.24.24

but i digress

in the same breath

as the life i see next

i question this tension

i’ve yet to inspect

connotations complex

on the quest to accept

missing piece of the puzzle,

untold as of yet

that this fit would perplex

those for whom it’s been said

final judgment they make:

“welcome all these, except”

for this abstract aspect

(taken within context)

no respecter of persons

who care to connect

in its cause, an effect

some consider suspect

and to these i reply

wondering why they object

and now lest i digress,

ask me what i expect

to affect the perspective

on concave-convex

02.25.24

feeling(s) deleterious

i think i’m, maybe, curious

about what lies beyond

unsure whether it’s spurious

and just a friendly bond

outsiders may be furious

of what it is i find

to them somehow injurious

how i make up my mind

my thread neat and luxurious

for comfort and control

nothing should be deterring us

from choosing to be bold

03.02.24

hermit / hidden gems

without the armor,

who are you?

and what is it you’d

have me do?

to demonstrate it,

show and prove,

my sole allegiance

unto you;

so i relinquish

all control

instead surrender,

bare, my soul

up to whom

i trust to see

these hidden gems in-

side of me

02.25.24

open up

how many who’ve, in truth, been touched

remain to testify of such

a reckless, hapless, careless trust

between them and another?

how often has it been enough

to not let known, aside, be brushed?

instead, unsaid, in place of crushed

(no need to then recover)

as pressured pillow loses plush,

a teddy bear may spill its stuff

and leave behind a trail of what

should have been blocked by buffer

03.02.24

alternator

could there have been

something there

at the time just

unaware

of where the road would

turn to next

time will tell if

it was meant

two to tango

one’s a bore

what if i had

asked for more

would it start up

something new

(or) would i be left

missing you

03.03.24

breadbasket

there that testy

recluse goes

blown by pesky

wind, which shows

one cannot live by

loaf alone

when begging bread, you

won’t get stone

and water never

past you flows;

if meant for you, you’ll

surely know.

what’s left to do, but

fly with flow?

fact or fiction,

friend or foe?

no matter which one,

few follow

to where my place of

refuge goes

03.03.24

blowing smoke

do you want to stay this way?

should i say my goodbyes?

do you care about the pain

you’re causing simply by

returning to the same old things,

refusing to comply

(because of stuff you’ve stumbled on,

that’s likely crock of lies)

am i part of the circus?

(how you love to toe the line)

you live along the precipice

between living and dying

chalk it up

left up to you,

you’ll soon expire.

“Gone is our

Beloved High-Flyer”

“Lost to Balance Beam,

High Wire”.

left up to you,

this life will end

in tragedy you

could prevent

but opted, rather,

to befriend.

left up to you,

your own demise

will leave us looking

unsurprised —

no weeping wails

or ugly cries.

it comes down to

how much you care

about the face

from mirror stares

at you with eyes

all too aware.

it’s up to you;

you will decide

the day on which

the paint will dry,

completing canvas

of your life.

kill switch

flip the switch

to power down

and make me blind

to what confounds

the eyes with brightly

deafening sound

and sets its sights on

looking loud

enough to shift

one’s focus left

of centerfold,

foretold:

“BEREFT”

eternal sunshine

dead and gone are the days

of concerts and plays,

of ingenious inventions

and clearing our plates

beginning to fray

are the parts of your brain

that remember the good times

before skies went gray

and incoming what may

be the last time we say

any words to each other

before you slip away

though i try to have faith

and to hope and to pray,

innermost expectation:

you won’t be okay

in how many ways

can this hurt be appraised?

a feeling of loss

of things no more the same

03.13.24

grins and lies

bloody hell

bucket in well

my knees are shot

from praying tell

from wringing hands

and ringing bell —

or rather knell —

instead of self,

leaving a shell

kneeling, hoping, wishing well

“how are you?”

fine, i’m doing well

(while under-eyelids

start to swell).

turn that frown —

i wear it well —

upside down

don’t to yield to yell

instead aspire

to quash and quell

to quiet quotes,

in parallel,

that say too much

that doesn’t sell

about the folks

you bade farewell

03.24.24

percyjones

guess who’s gone

back to the place

where darkest demons

must be faced

the wild eyes

i saw today

were chilling, though

a hellish gaze

guess who’s lying

to my face,

spit-splattered portrait

of scattered brain

stalking, staring,

stating case

making bold

fantastic claims

guess who needs

amazing grace

needs saving from

an awful place

guess who’s gone

back to the grave

to visit with

the prior age

flying close to

sun seems brave

‘til circles form

around the drain