Listening to old soul songs
from long ago
when we were together.

Suffer for food.
Fall from grace.

Distant, cold
in a far away place.

No drug to heal me
or loosen my tongue.

I used to be.
I never was.

Play me in
the cathedral.
Dance to my folly.

Ever so ugly.
Ever so holy.

Something in me
wants to riptide
the day away.

Another part
wants to sleep
till it all
makes sense again.

A witch in blue,
holds my arms
to the fire.

Iron me an emblem.
spread the blankets out.

All we are is
coils and wires
and misplaced parts.

Let the distant sun
play its childish games.

We were born ugly.
Never the same.

Siphon me
like gasoline.

Pay for the cavalry
to fix me at
breakneck speed.

Whether I am,
or whatever
will be.

The density of
gravity weighing us
in perfect symmetry.

Ugly in the innocent.
Ugly in the melody.

A tale to tell
cautiously.

My Ouija Board
Chaos Theory.

Evoke me.
Wander the streets
and welcome the unwelcome
like they welcomed me.

Play for the Manics Who Can’t Sleep
and the Poison Army.

Look in the mirror
faded with old memories.

Something like
an angel. Come find me.
Put your hands on me.

Cleanse my apathy.
Take me from
where I am
and bring me clarity.

A never was.
A never will be.

Angel from the
bright blue sea.

Deconstruct
each moment.
Pause the feed

Till all is left
is me trying
to be me.

Finding the
blue space offerings.

Spent too much time
in the margins.

Trying to make perfect
an empty white-lined page.
A poem in infancy.

Rewind back the tape.
See when I started to skip.

Find those brief
moments of harmony.

Fast forward
till you find me.
One snapshot of
true happiness.

Plant those seeds
in my memory tree.

A toothy smile.
Grateful to be.
Something tangible
you can show me.

Edit me. Make me
who you want me to be.
I can’t do this on my own.

A mess of words
trying to make
sense of something
that doesn’t make
sense to me. A meaning
lost in form.

Artificial flattery.
My only enemy: me.

 

Jason Wright is the editor and founder of Oddball Magazine. His column appears weekly. His third book, Train of Thought 2: Almost Home is available now at the Oddball Book Store.