I fear stillness and putting down roots.
Home is needless
If you only think after you shoot.
When you live on pins and needles,
Nothing is safe.
Be it graveyards or grand cathedrals,
Be it deep sea caves.
-JW
Unsafe
Category: Other
Crushed
You pick and choose the colors you assign to my halo
While my ribs are bursting open like volcanoes.
My worth is always equal to how much I lie for you,
After all that I did you still try to hide my truth.
I paint myself in gold, but you erase all my glory.
The more I obey, the more you twist my stories.
There is nowhere to escape, only pressure on my chest.
My lips are painted grey as you tell me to rest.
You crush my lungs between the tips of your fingers.
The sound cracks in half and the violence lingers.
You pick and choose the spots where you cut me open.
As I bleed out dry, they still look for a motive.
-JW
The Downward Slope
I reflected at the still lakes,
I searched through hundreds of wells.
They say I am missing my heart.
Well, I do not know where it fell.
The mirror image says nothing.
I am out of pity and patience.
The deep waters still scare me,
Even if they are an imitation.
My thoughts joke crudely,
Taking away the humanity I saved.
The left leg punches thin air,
The right one breaks, trying to be brave.
And I am stuck at the beginning,
Always tied to one more hope.
The end is reaching out its sharp claws.
I am headed for the downward slope.
-JW
Only One Way Out
No, I don’t expect them to see this as clearly as I do.
I’ve been scorching my eyes,
Trying to erase the moments I’ve been lied to.
No, I don’t bother when they send the dogs after me.
I keep running up the hill,
Trying to save my barely breathing legacy.
No, I don’t stop, I don’t even look back when they yell.
Their teeth snarl angrily.
I know too well that it’s a telltale.
No, I don’t hide when they breathe down my cold neck.
I’ve burned all my masks,
Turning your powerplay into a wreck.
No, I don’t ask for comfort once they hunt me down.
They’ve been after me for a while,
They’re my ticket to flee this town.
-JW
Alone In Your Mind
Your scalp tingles when the night loosens its safety pins.
Two feet can take you far but so can your sins.
Still, you rush towards the lanterns like a little kid.
The jar of darkness has lost its seven lids.
You feel like it is your fault, and you want mend it.
The stars meddle with your vision, but you cannot defend it.
You hear voices in the background screeching for truth.
They turn into whimpers.
They are coming for you.
-JW
They Took Our Mothers
The sun still rises, even when all has been written down.
We switch disguises,
We offer the mountains our crowns.
The ink betrays us, it paints us dismal and cruel.
Our crimes are heinous
But we try to keep our heads cool.
The burning sky raises hell over our weakened frames.
We are losing our high,
Lifting armors and cursing names.
There is no one to bother, not a soul will hear us out.
They took our mothers,
Exchanged fresh air for doubt.
-JW
Wasteland
I promise myself water, I promise myself air.
Each evening I repeat these pledges.
Each morning I choose a new war to declare.
It would have been fine if I were not rough around the edges.
But the water tastes like wine
And there are vines in my hair…
I capitulate, I give in whenever desire speaks.
How could I ever fight it?
Self-sabotage fills all my empty needs.
I swim in dead violets.
One can live in the wasteland, baby, but not for free.
All stays crooked even when I rewrite it,
All stays perished no matter how many times I plant seeds.
-JW
The Very Last Dance
With nothing left to lose in my pockets
I say goodbye to our white picket fence.
One day you will remember to lock it
Instead of fixing wounds with empty amends.
The road never gives up its sources.
It has been a long time coming, my love.
You warned me about devious forces
But this path seems to fit me like a glove.
When I was longing for some affection,
You said moments can last a long time.
Our tension fell apart like a lost connection,
It started itching like a dirty crime.
So, I took it upon myself to fix the wires.
The winds never agreed with my grand plans.
Now I say goodbye to our forest fires
As guilt and I have the very last dance.
-JW
Flooded Fields
Don’t leave before breaking the last promise.
I looked at you for peace,
I looked at you for solace,
But you gave the truth away with such ease,
Making me wonder whether you were always this lawless.
Don’t leave before breaking my last bone.
I prayed to gods and fiends,
I prayed that they send you home.
But at the end I was alone in your flooded fields,
Sinking in your blame, choking on the boiling foam,
Out of ammunition and shields.
-JW
Saturday
Another Saturday morning suffocates me with its glee.
The sheets strangle my sleep,
Begging me to finally break free.
My head aches as I struggle to let light into my home.
Some try to reach me via telephone
But they know I prefer to face this alone.
Sounds fold and unfold, they knock on my bedroom door.
I land on the hardwood floor,
Hoping fate is keeping score.
There must be a way to leave these linen walls behind.
Yet, the meaning is always difficult to find,
Living in the bomb shelter of your mind.
-JW
The Daily Writing of Jackie Wright 