Friday, February 7, 2020

ANDI TALBOT


THE WORD


The sun shines a little brighter 
On the days that the words come, 
Those are the rare times on this earth 
When the rent isn’t late
Where strangers smile as they pass
There is something in their eyes 
and something in the air 

That is the power of the written word. 

There is a balance to it too, 
of course, 
it’s the way of things.

Payments are missed when the words fail, 
strangers now snarl 
and spit at your feet, 
those are the times when it snows in July, 
Or the umbrella is left behind
at home 
during unexpected summer showers. 

The pen giveth and the pen taketh away. 





 SWELL


I've spent the last six months 
in a medicated slumber 
swallowing side effects daily
and praying that something sticks

first 
there was the 3-day skin rash 

second 
constant stomach cramps

then finally 
being so dizzy I couldn’t stand

then 
a mix of 2nd and 3rd

I became so
stagnant 
and afraid 
only finding respite 
in closing my eyes

I swear I used to hate sleep
But I found it comforts me 
So I slept
And I slept

Then 

from nowhere 
she came 
and collected
all the pieces of me 
scattered across the floor 
the broken bottles 
I had become 

reaching out her hand
she picked me up 
from my self-imposed 
sofa shaped prison cell

and 

with a simple motion 
breathed life into this empty shell
held her lips to my ears
and whispered, "there is hope".



********************copyright Andi Talbot


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