nosebleed club

--- h.harouche

yet nothing all at once

walking the line between

here and there

caught between worlds streaked in ink

i am turbulent and soft

i am timid and poised

shadows of your absence

some sea bent beacon left wind tattered and desolate— my veiled bloodletting in the end's closing credits. a dead warbler curled in a pile of excised seeds, the funeral in my chest becoming more palpable as burnt corona lingers over this plundering evening, eager to keep wrists and feet bound by what will remain unspoken. a streak of purple in the sky, the unreachable archipelago you sequester within, wild strawberries in your long fingers, the miles of my impenetrable permafrost.

-kab

into the deepest depths

inside cavernous catacombs

place gentle hands on shaking ones

whispered words of encouragement and wisdom

a reminder that i am not

alone

Buck up, cowboy

no difference two decades make

in this place that never ages

You grow swiftly

like the fruit flies in the wall

but the river never changes

Cut the logs from your road

and kick dirt up it

They're all still seeing

the past

cowboy

inside me

warbler

camping gear

aspen

cola

retro

out of your depth

Americas

illness vs. evil

haunting song

long nails

being good

malaria

hunters

revising history

RV

turtle

speck

arctic

something's off

rephrase

turning point

motherhood

binoculars

modern era

amazement

border

mascarpone

withdrawal symptoms

the nag of pain in the left lower back, a place for your head to rest after collapse. the glassy haze of eyes as sunlight punishes for the gall of your stupid yearning. dry mouthed mornings and how quietly a single level house holds scattered jars of need. the nascent night sweats over vivid dreamscapes, lingered lilts escaped through keyholes, burrowed into another bedframe. these shivers will subside, will release your name like ashes into a pond's thick algae.

-kab

Sea people, singing softly on vessels to safeguard them from storms, from mermaids who would have them be forever lost.

Sea people, singing softly, uplifting the spirits of seamen who long for the comfort of home and are still months away from shore.

Sea people, singing softly on sea funerals so that at least some kindness goes with those who will never make it home.

Sea people, singing softly beneath the moon and stars and that merciless sun until their voices ache and forced to stop.

Sea people, singing softly even after they are old and only at home, no more vessels nor waves to ride anymore, just songs of the past.

there’s nothing you couldn’t do

devotion of the highest degree

i worship you on my knees

please, don’t tatter your image

please, don’t break me again

wait for a sliver of light (the gap of the door, the barest flutter of a dusty curtain). extend out a hand when it comes, blindly searching in the shadow until it melts into penumbra, shins knocking things into bruises and dust collecting at the grooves between the fingers.

We held each other in ordinary times, in those moments between the silence and its breaking. During moments of calm and boredom; we held each other and while time might have been ordinary, the love that blossomed, isn't.

Life will trip you over and over again. Arise anyway.

Some days there will be stones upon your path that will dig into the soles of your shoes so you may stumble. If you do, arise anyway.

Be stubborn and brave to rise to dust yourself off after the hurt.

Stumbling is not permanent failure, whoever tells you it is, is lying to you. It's just a setback that lasts a few moments, so ignore everything and arise anyway.

Perfection from the jump is never the goal. Get going is.

Keep that in mind every time you fall and whimper in pain; it's not over, it's a try again, you can. Arise anyway and try again tomorrow, fail gloriously and then, arise again.

oh darling! how do I remind you that we were just as vicious and valiant as they thought ruthless, cunning, wicked - fearless, daring, brave we were free, once before time rattled the chains you cannot have me tame, my love and I cannot have you hiding so I run away wild hoping you will follow knowing you will not

oh darling! how do I convince you I would do it all again I am tired of reaching and not finding you next to me our love has outgrown this small town and I cannot survive another goodbye so I wait on your doorstep like when we were young waiting for you to come out and face the world with me

- ylm

Prompt: ordinary time - @nosebleedclub