"I am offering this poem to you, since I have nothing else to give." ~Jimmy Santiago Baca
Runnin’ from the devils Lord and reachin’ for the stars
And losin’ all he loved along the way…He’s a poet he’s a picker he’s a prophet he’s a pusher
He’s a pilgrim and a preacher and a problem when he’s stoned
He’s a walkin’ contradiction partly truth and partly fiction
Taking every wrong direction on his lonely way back home.
~ Kris Kristofferson, “The Pilgrim, Chapter 33″, The Silver Tongued Devil And I
“You, big lady, were the only Disney character who ever looked like me. And while you may not have had the waist line of a princess, I’ll be goddamned if you didn’t have the swagger of a queen.”
Performing during prelims at the 2014 Women of the World Poetry Slam. Melissa placed 7th overall in the tournament.
via Button Poetry
For more information on Melissa May and her upcoming book SparkleFat visit WordsDance.
The people I love
Are scattered across this country
Like an urn of ashes
Poured into the wind
Needless to say
I’m no good with goodbyes
When I spoke at my grandfather’s funeral
I read a quote I found on the internet
Because I was at a loss
I was an empty pitcher
Trying to pour another glass
Everyone said
I had such composure
We all hollow differently
Some cry like a thunderstorm
Others forget how to hold their own frame
I lose my language
I have said goodbye to you enough times
It should be as simple as a bicycle
Or a shoelace
But it never is easy
It never feels right
So keep doing it again & again
Kait Rokowski, “17/30”
“You can accept or reject the way you are treated by other people, but until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed. You can bandage the bleeding with food, with alcohol, with drugs, with work, with cigarettes, with sex, but eventually, it will all ooze through and stain your life. You must find the strength to open the wounds, stick your hands inside, pull out the core of the pain that is holding you in your past, the memories, and make peace with them.” ~ Iyanla Vanzant
there is a place in the heart that
will never be filled
a space
and even during the
best moments
and
the greatest
times
we will know it
we will know it
more than
ever
there is a place in the heart that
will never be filled
and
we will wait
and
wait
in that space.
“no help for that” by Charles Bukowski, from You Get So Alone at Times That It Just Makes Sense, 1986.
Words ... for the Time Being 