Month: Jun 2021

Between Bullets And Enemies

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I come to my senses,

No battlegrounds and no defenses.

I come to my senses

As she’s breaking down the fences.

There’s a wicked crowd chasing me,

My own fault, my only legacy.

(Even if I had to slay him,

Did I have to do it statim?)

But the whirling thoughts don’t last

Whenever her dark eyes meet mine.

She’s the future, she’s the past,

And for her I walked the line.

So, she gathers her contacts,

Enforces all the contracts.

My spine lightly tingles

As she holds me while they gather and mingle.

I must keep my focus.

It takes a village to save a killer.

We both know my crime was bogus,

Just a conversation filler.

But I come to my senses,

No peace and no crooked lenses.

I come to my senses,

She’s reimbursing the expenses –

All those finishing touches

I gifted to her dying trust…

Now my low-budget duchess

Sweeps away the rust.

And I come to my senses,

The air around us tenses.

We’re surrounded,

Blindsided.

Our eyes meet and we agree to take our chances.

Between bullets and enemies

Is where we found our peace.

No battlegrounds and no defenses.

-JW

Unconscious / Her

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She said I should meet her at 5 AM by the rugged graveyard.

I know she wouldn’t beg for forgiveness,

Apologies never got her far.

I’ve tried compromising one too many times,

And as devil is my witness –

Her face is a vivid red light,

It’s screaming “survival of the fittest”.

I know I shouldn’t have crossed that line,

Shouldn’t have sworn on my life.

But her caramel locks sprinkled on my chest erased it all –

The wicked brawls and the insults,

Her shaky voice after robbing another mall

As she phoned me to consult

Or to get out of another fight she started.

Her face looked grim but jokes still tasted lighthearted.

Her lips reeked of whiskey

But it was always her smile that got me drunk.

I faded into droplets for her until everything was misty,

Until she shot silver arrows with her tongue,

Swearing she would never miss me…

And then I wake up with her warm palm on my forehead,

Five years have flown by but it’s still the same smile,

Too damn gorgeous, a hothead turned horrid.

Yet, she would still drive miles to save my life.

Hence, pardon me if my thoughts run all florid.

She’s anything but rife.

-JW

In The Getaway Car: Part II

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I navigate between empty lanes, absorbing the adrenaline.

Every noise is a threat, every crooked sign lies.

All the smiles of passersby deceive with their benevolence.

The scarlet car roars as I rush through the deserted mountains.

But the evening sun rises, it drains my guilty eyes,

They leak like long abandoned fountains.

The inky mascara mixes with my miserable pity and it burns.

No strength left to escape, no energy to stop the cries.

My stomach and eyelids convulse, each taking turns.

A gentle light in the distance pulls me out of the panic.

It shakes and it dances, mimicking the stars in the night sky.

And my limbs move, they’re almost mechanic.

This might be the limbo – but I’ll take anything a little less tragic.

As I pull over, the door of a mahogany house nearby swings open.

She smirks, lips playfully parted.

My downfall, my last omen.

“It’s been a while since I’ve messed with magic,

But, love, I’ve never seen a soul more disheartened.”

I collapse by the entrance, all goes black, then turns blue again.

Yet, I manage a grin,

Knowing that I’ve found a fellow sinner in a friend.

-JW

A Lone Bar

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The neon shines in distorted agony

As I exhaustedly enter a lone bar,

Right by the dusty road of vanity,

Over the state lines – but not too far.

They smell my boiling blood,

I know it a bit too well.

My car’s covered in rusty mud –

And if that’s not a telltale…

The whiskey neat I ordered

Tastes just like yesterday’s regret.

I’m a scumbag, I’m a hoarder

Of the terrors they’ll never forget.

They won’t let go of it either –

No matter what excuses I bring to the table.

The blades they carry have one desire –

To slay me like Cain slayed Able.

The dirt on my snow white fingers

Screams that I’m no angel.

The sins choke and they linger,

But don’t be scared, handsome stranger.

Are you the one to take me away,

Are you the one to follow?

In some places I might be the prey,

Here I might be your gallows.

***

I sneak out as the sunrise comes knocking

Like a gunshot in the distance.

I throw away my ripped stockings

And get back on the road to seek assistance.

-JW

In The Getaway Car

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The miles run by, I don’t notice, I don’t mind.

The desert sky grows darker, the road grows unkind.

It splashes me with memories like freezing cold water,

Flashback after flashback, blotter upon blotter.

The adrenaline is leaving my chest and I’m shaking,

Wondering whether I’m a prey of my own making.

Did his wife remember my car parked on their street?

When did they notice the blood on the sheets?

I know they’ll never find him but will it be enough?

Will I survive all the car chases and petty bluff?

And the desert roads answer what I’ve long feared:

“Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”

-JW

Betray Me Once

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Dug a hole in the ground for my baby.

“Betray me once and we’re in the clear,

Shoot me trice and you can no longer blame me.”

Your emerald eyes turn moldy in fear.

Or is it the decomposition?

Difficult to tell when the end’s so near,

Difficult to let go of the friction.

The lonely road nearby watches in silence,

My only co-conspirator in these times,

The only safe bet through this sea of violence.

My father told me to never speak of my crimes.

But I differ, I’m singing this one like a ballad

And selling my soul for six dimes.

So, I’m off to the next town as you grow pallid.

You’ll be cold and forgotten before I cross the state lines.

And they were right to warn you about the pretty lady,

You never should’ve started the strife.

Dug a hole in the ground for my baby.

“Betray me first and I’ll lower the knife,

Cut me trice and you’ll never play me again,

You’ll be done with your life.”

-JW

Safer

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Being safe in your own mind for the first time is an unsung feeling.

No buzz, no synthetic static,

No yellow brick road and no ceiling.

The rays hug my shoulders with their golden promise and peace.

And the silver bullets I carry soften

As I fall to my knees.

My scalp shrivels once the pressure shoots out of my crooked spine.

The anger detonates within,

My pride gains an appetite.

The unforgiving lust for darkness gets lost under the summer sun,

And the search for the end stops

As I lower my guns.

-JW

Velvet Casket

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You slapped a tax on our love

And sold them the copyrights,

Wrote off my voice as I was watching front row.

You erased all the fights,

Renamed them after your pride.

Just another scalpel you hide

While I peel off my own skin at night.

And you tried convincing me that I couldn’t have it any better

As they unpacked the cameras

Along with the heads they had severed.

They scream, they leak red,

And you call it amorous.

But I learned long ago that each bruise on my ribs is a blessing

Dressed as a velvet casket.

You taste like venom mixed into the salad dressing.

You don’t even mask it,

Just smirk and start confessing.

And you sign off on our love with mahogany ink,

Giving away my name to the gloom,

Letting me sink, sink, sink…

Until I give up my right to bloom.

But don’t worry, dear,

I’ll be back by the next Blood Moon.

-JW

The Thirst

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My face grows paler each coming day –

But the bright crimson on my lips remains.

And the bite marks bloom like spring flowers

As you leave me alone in the dark for hours.

No, I do not mind it, leave as you please,

Lock me in your tower ‘til the next Christmas eve.

My skin will grow snowy, my muscles – weak.

My voice will forget which words I can speak.

But the bright crimson on my lips will stay,

Hiding from sunrises and their audacious ways.

And you will come home to see me once more,

Hopeless and fearful, still lacking a cure.

The memories will lose their charming taste,

You will think of death when seeing my face.

But the blood will not stain

As long as you stay.

As long as you carry the thirst too,

You will bow before my pain.

-JW

Scarlet Smoke

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Your guilt trips over my thighs,

It covers you in modesty.

You cannot avert your eyes,

I cannot promise you honesty.

The red plays with my hair,

It curls it like summer heat.

With each moment we share

You clung tighter to your seat.

The guilt wraps your elbows

And ties them together.

I pluck petals from a white rose,

I mix them with feathers.

Your knees get trapped too

As you admire the scents.

My lips stain like a tattoo

And they burn like pure hell.

The guilt serves as your necktie

But you do not seek freedom.

Your instincts stay on standby.

Yet – you have no plans to free them.

The scarlet smoke surrounds us,

Your lungs struggle to breathe.

Your screams sound boundless

As your pupils drift off to sleep.

-JW