poetry community

On The Record

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Hello WordPress readers!

I have exciting news to share, I will be recording my creative work, and will be posting those recordings on my Instagram.

In large ways and small, this is the culmination of my vision for this blog. I’ve always wanted to incorporate an audio element and now you can hear my work straight from the horse’s mouth. I am that horse.

Below is the first installment!

If you enjoyed that, please do consider following me on Instagram too. I will, of course, continue to post here on WordPress as well.

Thanks for reading, and for listening 🙂

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Instagram: @thefilepile

Facebook: The File Pile

Carrion

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Cherry blossom petals

blowing daintily,

landing scattershot

carpeting the lawn with freckles

all the way down —

ashes to ashes.

Mounds of blushing porcelain

find rest

atop

a tire-marked

fox carcass

by the roadside.

“I will bring you home.”

The vulture does no harm,

it does only what it must.

Soaring high

with a keen eye,

for the wary.

An unending journey

to find the lost,

and guide them

back to the origin.

All long walks

must end

somewhere.

Carried on updrafts,

petals blow past

grazing deer

gazing fondly

at napping fawns —

dust to dust.

Compound Eyes

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The fly on the wall

watches closely,

focused on

nothing at all

yet ready for anything.

Buzzing wings,

hundreds of flutters

in the span of a heartbeat,

fling the fly on the wall

down the hall

to a new perch,

a fresh perspective

for further study.

10,000 telescopes per eye,

surveil you.

They tell all —

giving forewarning,

performing troubleshooting.

A mind,

with no capacity to judge

speculate

or daydream

makes life amongst

the clutter

easier.

Unbothered

by raised fists

and rolled-up magazines,

until they’re impossible to ignore —

it evades every strike,

like trying to wrestle

a wisp

of smoke.

Never quite

out of sight

out of mind —

I too will watch,

you may be small

but this house

doesn’t have room

for you.

Rain Smell

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Overcast skies,

mourning doves crooning,

cars gliding slowly

across soaked asphalt.

Wisps of steam

rise from your teacup,

raindrops streak

down the half-open windows

of the screened-in porch —

pooling on the sills and

trickling from the gutters.

The world grinds to a halt,

just for this moment.

Breezes blow in

through the insect screens,

rustling branches

and carrying

wafts of petrichor

that connect you

to the world you swore

you’ve escaped from.

A few more minutes

out here

couldn’t hurt.

Persimmon

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Hastiness will not reward you,

consider me

a long-term

investment.

It’s out of your hands.

Watch for the clues —

I can attest,

slowly but surely

a transformation will take place

under your nose.

Time molds the novice

into the master,

the bud into the rose —

we have it in spades,

yet rarely do we spare it

and often we wish

things would simply move along,

what a waste.

I will teach you

to allow this,

my ways are stark,

yet instructive —

I am a hot stove.

If you partake before I am ready,

you will find little to smile about.

Wash your mouth out,

and wait patiently.

Get on with your life,

return to me

with more perspective,

I’ll make it worth your while.

Terrarium

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You’ll be safe in here,

that’s my promise to you.

This is not a cage,

It’s your space; your stage,

your opportunity to show everyone

who you are.

So well constructed,

that you could never be replicated

in the tumult of nature.

So inculcated we are,

to believe the inherent worth

of the spontaneous.

Be still,

I will water your succulents

sparingly,

to keep them from drowning.

I will make changes

as the days go by,

you can trust me

with the maintenance.

You’ll stay by the windowsill

so you too can see the light.

The world outside this jar

is cold; it’s unforgiving

its unpredictable.

You needn’t worry

about the chaos outside,

I have given you peace,

protection,

stability —

in return just be yourself for me,

we’ll call it even.

A Serious Error has Occurred

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Please

don’t fret,

but

If you’re hoping that it

gets easier from here,

I’m sorry to say

it doesn’t.

Yet,

I appreciate your cooperation,

bear with me while I

get my life together.

Just because I’m a “smart device”

doesn’t mean I have all the answers.

I hope it doesn’t stay like this forever.

I’m spiraling but

I’ll find my way

someday —

I’m positive.

I’ll run a diagnostic.

Am I plugged in?

I seem to be.

Am I powered on?

Yes.

Am I obsolete?

Maybe.

Have I been corrupted?

Wouldn’t you like to know.

Here,

I’ll Google the problem for you.

One of us isn’t playing with a full deck.

Uhh,

pay no attention

to the blue screen.

Please call your service provider.

They’ll take it from here.

Thank you for choosing Dependable Computing!

Still Life

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Arranged meticulously,

posed purposefully,

captured faithfully —

life not as it happened,

but a skillful composition.

Sliced pomegranate,

with a few loose jewels nearby,

a vase full of poppies,

wine glasses half full,

a fresh loaf of bread

a steak knife flanking

an empty plate.

We stand on the outside

looking in,

a window to a moment,

forever undisturbed —

not life as it once was,

just an arrangement.

Take this with you,

only in memory,

no flash photography.

Toxoplasma Gondii

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Stay with me, please.

You’re always on my mind.

I don’t care

when you go hide,

or wander far and wide,

scratch the curtains

or knock my glasses

off the table.

Take your time,

I know you’ll be back.

I feel you with me always,

When you’re nuzzled with me

I am stable

once again.

Stay with me please,

because you’re my friend.

I am tamed once I see you–

how little you do for me,

my favorite freeloader.

To every need, I will tend;

you can feed yourself,

bathe,

and live your life without me,

but I’ll do it all — all for you,

that’s what I choose.

Please stay,

you’re always on my mind.

Bystanders

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We stand

In long shadows,

passing through,

passing through,

they’re silent

Wanderers,

adrift, going where they’re taken.

Currents in the void

have shifted;

you’ll never see them again.

Mutters echo softly,

barely audible,

across the way.

Look them in their eyes,

they will not acknowledge.

As surely as time flows,

they will not stay.

Who are you?

Who are you?

I cannot say.

No one knows,

but they all ask

the same of you.