Our sentences are short
perfunctory statements
serving a purpose
Our brief embrace is feeble
lacks the backbone
the spine of years ago
Your easiness with everyone is gone
my insight into everything is gone
in this broken-down place
We built ourselves a fire
but who will be the first to admit
it’s stone cold now…
Time is a ticking machine
household tasks are an escape
will sleeping ever come?
A phone call to someone else
like a glimpse of some sweet beach
the image lingers on
long after they’ve gone
Your diamond eyes are dulled tonight
my wit is simplified tonight
in this broken-down place
We built ourselves a fire
but there’s no strength in us to go on
and no strength in us to admit
it’s stone dead now…
[2009]
Thanks for reading.
The Lighthouse 
Sad!
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Absolutely, but to put a slightly positive spin on it (from a distance): Admitting things aren’t working are the first step to changing them. Thanks for reading!
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This was so lovely to read, but more to hear!! You give it so much meaning when it’s spoken out loud. This left me with mixed feelings.
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Thank you for reading and especially for listening 🙂 Really pleased you enjoyed. I’ve done a bunch of audio readings, if you’re interested: https://tomalexwrite.com/audio-readings/
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Oh I’ll definitely listen to them before I sleep (as it’s almost night time here)
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Ha thanks, I think they will definitely help you sleep 😴
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:-((
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The sad ones always hit harder. Thanks for reading. 🙏
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Fantastic Tom 👏
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Thank you for reading! I really appreciate it. 🙏🤩
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I absolutely love when you read your poems aloud. Hypnotic and haunting. Sensual even. I don’t know….maybe it’s the accent?? haha…either way, I enjoy the spoken poems.
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Haha, in my mind there is nothing sensual about this poem but reading them aloud is always fun. Mostly the recording is the first time I’ve ever read it aloud – although I have started putting a bit more effort in recently. I’m glad you enjoyed. It was listening to poetic singers that got me writing in the first place and recording readings of the poems brings me one step closer to my teenage dream of being a singer. 😀
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Correct….the poem is not sensual…haha. But your voice possesses that quality. So I instantly sense it whenever I hear your spoken poems. And a singer huh? I always wished I could sing well. But alas, it is not one of my talents. So I mostly just sing to myself, in the kitchen while cooking or in the car. 🙂
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How’s the singing coming along Tom?
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