My tongue is a tightrope,
It twists when I command it.
My tongue is a rude joke
When words get too stranded.
The teeth serve as a trigger
When other defenses fail.
They leave marks and figures,
Shoot coffins into nails.
And my lips glisten in red,
They quiver when you whisper.
My lips speak with the dead
And make the third sin my sister.
-JW
Take me to through the fields of silver
Where all fates float like rivers.
Take me down the steepest hills
Where they hide away our wills.
Let me risk it, let me be saved
When I take the road less paved.
Let me stand up and let me fall
When my ego grows ten feet tall.
Run me over if I disobey you,
Pull me apart unless I pay you.
Run me like a show, bright and loud.
Call me from the dark to kill the crowd.
-JW
My skin is taking your form.
It adjusts to every edge.
The vessels are blue and scorned,
Feet hanging over the ledge.
What did I expect, truly?
Your words launch like rockets.
And your tongue is unruly,
Asking me to empty the pockets.
But you never seem to mind
When I put my life on the line.
You curse out my breed and kind,
Rotting everything that is ripe.
(Still, I tell them it is fine.)
-JW
The lights on the ninth floor are trembling tonight.
I know you are waiting,
Building your appetite.
The hair on my back stand up when you whisper.
Your breath fogs up the windows,
And my vision grows crisper.
The left foot is moving, the right one stays still.
I know I am late,
But you have time to kill.
The candles on the ninth floor leak wax tonight.
My chest lifts the elevator
As I hold myself tight.
The door is about to open and show me your face.
I know you keep waiting
For me to find my pace.
The darkness from your eyes engulfs my senses.
I walk beneath the stars
And drop the defenses.
-JW
Come in, don’t you hesitate, push over the papers.
The room hasn’t changed since they moved in this April.
Her laptop’s slowly drowning in a red pool.
The dead plants break their necks, dissolving all proof.
Ignore the putrid smell, the windows won’t open.
He nailed them shut as he trapped her like a rodent.
The carpet’s still bruised from the many stab wounds,
And the walls bleed crimson, ready to be in the news.
Come in, don’t hesitate, step over her remains.
It’s been a few months but no one’s noticed a change.
She will slowly rot away until late September.
No one will remember ‘til they hear she’s been dismembered.
And the mail will pile up as the seasons keep changing,
The excuses in their minds will stop rearranging.
So they’ll have to come in and face the truth –
She was always right when she called him a brute.
-JW
The carousel ride never ends.
We spin with the Gravitron,
Spilling glitter on our intents.
And they call us graceless,
They stomp on the lights.
The kaleidoscope covers us
As hungry fire ignites.
Once the sparklers cover the sky,
I hold your hand tightly,
Knowing this is the very last time
These memories will find me…
But our carnival never ends,
Even if it kills us nightly.
-JW
My body sinks into your peaceful waters
Until the pale lips no longer need air.
The oxygen I cherished
Disappears in a flair,
And my longing flesh feels perished.
My fingers sink into your wavy hair
As ship horns blare in the distance.
I open my eyes
To your loud persistence,
And I know it has all been lies.
-JW
Don’t deny my hate,
Don’t tell yourself those stories
To save your own fate.
Drop the allegories,
Don’t twist and spin.
The moment you left,
You knew you wouldn’t win.
Go, carry your debt
With your heart of tin.
You sealed your doom,
Wrote it in roses.
Accept your gloom
As the door closes.
-JW
My scalp gets mixed with the greyest gravel.
They laugh and watch as my spine unravels.
I am forbidden from screaming out loud,
But my chest growls louder than a furious crowd.
The tension is high, and I let it simmer.
They cannot drown an innocent sinner.
So, I bow my head, let it touch the sharp rocks,
As they double check every single lock.
No, there is no way out, do not even bother.
Welcome to war, my rotten sisters and brothers.
This is where it all starts, in my bloody palms.
“Be careful about who you keep on your knees,
Be careful about who you harm.”
-JW
I write about you as a ghost story from my past
Even when you are a part of my future.
I act nostalgic, hoping this will pass,
But nature can never beat nurture.
When I try to run away, the map changes,
The road spins underneath my feet.
My compass hides between sages,
It misdirects me toward defeat.
And I still write about you in past tenses,
I pretend it is my sentiment talking –
Even when I still wear your rosy lenses,
Even when you catch me sleepwalking.
Yet, I still sneak out every evening.
The tree line twists and blocks my way.
Despite my legs once again bleeding,
I reach for the sunset and scarlet red rays.
Anew I write like you never existed.
The words mourn my disoriented truth.
I wish I could run but my path is twisted,
I know it is always tied to you.
-JW
The Daily Writing of Jackie Wright 