The Weight of Absence

The old chest, once a keeper of secrets,

surrendered to the curiosity of a fellow, 

who had million questions. Its creaky lid

spilled the secret, like a boiling kettle

sharing tales with a pot. The fellow orbs

widened like a child in a candy store

as he discovered the hidden skeletons

much like a teenager who finally comprehend 

the absence of a father, who was ne’er present.

A bottomless void that rang

through his adolescent life 

like a gondola unmoored to a pier 

on the stormy sea, 

leaving to navigate the world 

without a steady hand 

on the helm. Does a cock ever 

find its own spur a burden

it can hardly bear?

A Shipwreck of the Soul 

I’m trapped in a vicious cycle, 

enslaved by the booze, every sip

every swig, every swill a dagger 

to my soul, a slow motion suicide.

I’m drowning in a sea of despair 

with each drink a weight that pulls me 

deeper into a fatal chasm, my vision blurs 

my senses numb, my life slips away 

like water between my fingers 

I am a shipwreck drifting aimlessly

with alcohol treacherous waters

that threatens to consume me whole.

The Coal City sun once a warm embrace,

now taunt me with brightness, 

a stark reality checks of my down fall, 

a leaf torn from its branch helplessly 

drifting on the local winds 

of addictions, a fragile fading thing 

and yet I drown back to the poison,

an oleander hawk to the flame that promise 

destruction, the bottles make a gesture,

a seductive intoxicant whispering sweet

endearments in my ear. But, I know the fact 

that one kiss and I’ll be lost forever…