church attic burned out
shotgun blast shattered window pane
squatter tags
why would anyone choose to live here?

cracks in the floor
concrete rubble
asbestos dust
bare floors

you could live here
thrown out unwanted
high on fill in the blank
no money no food no family no meds
gay transgender young old straight alone selling
whatever you can to bed down
in this homeless house of god
where is the community
that serves you?

-Roberta Rahmer

The above poem is based upon this photo
from the prompt at RWP.

My anti war poem

The moon curled
back behind the trees
a slim shell moved
under the radar

Cooled wind of neglect
traced empty husks
man made meteors hit the ground
& moved into abiding tissue

Your heart pierced by precious metal
stars bleed out overhead
I telephone home where the world is now safer
and say nothing.

Image above created by: Images of Worldes

gentle plump
opaque
pink tissue
surrounded by
savory juice
of her salty sea.

your tongue, clumsy
seeks out the
pearl within.

licketysplit they come running
“mommy mommy
can you eat the seeds?”
“daddy daddy you
can’t eat the skin!”
suck the juice
spit the pit
a sweet yet tart
juicy explosion
of silly boys
poking their
faces into mine
to see if I
swallow the seeds
or spit them
into my napkin

for I track madness

breathe cold damp winds

down miserable backbones

past thoughts

hail dance

across your rooftop

souls scatter

am I not war?

We Are Not All Mexican

Every day I see the men sitting

waiting

their eyes ever hopeful

search mine for cash resurrection

as my truck rolls on by

the empty lots in Suffern

At home the wives/girlfriends

seek out homes to clean

by word of mouth

their children

meet my children

in school

The women

desperate for a voice come to family planning

I hear stories of Guatemala, Ecuador, Mexico

El Salvador

children left behind

with mothers, grandmothers, and mother in laws

They gave up so much to come here

did they know it was going to be like this?

Is the $ worth the loss?

How would I even know?

People seeking to change their lives

and we judge over language-I mean color

We are ignorant

They are brave

They are ignorant

We are brave

Words that divide and judge

when we should really just understand

the human-ness in the experiences we all participate in.

Outside, mismatched soldiers
march in parade formation:
purple lizard man with a dinosaur head for an arm,
an Italian turtle wearing an orange mask
fight bloodless pirates
who attack from their skeletal ghost ship.
Who cares? The sun is out at last,
let them play as they see fit!