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 2^nd and 3^rd

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