One
Polar Fixations
Thin ice floor
One simple crack,
A valley is formed.
Apathetic infestations
Skinned, storied souls,
Plain ole denial, then raw--
Bound, the biting cold
Fire-bombed foundations,
Fury sparks & crackles,
True lives to ashes--
Still, oblivion, ignorance, cackles.
Discrepant realities
Amongst & between us,
We are one in the same,
Blurring, melting of cusps
Love-runged ladders
Small steps to strong leaps
Relentless rainbows, luminosity
And there, Trust, diversity, peace
--TBJ (07/19/16)
Throwback
Ribbons of water fly through the air
As my heels catapult the beads of beauty
Over my head.
I salsa through the streets
Like a puppet without strings:
Full of rhythm, free of constraints.
I untie myself from the round,
Breaking free from gravity.
Refreshing fingers of wind massage my hair,
As it's trailing fingers form a hand
that waves in its wake, like a bouquet of
Bicycle streamers
A kite soaring through the sky,
My soul runs free,
Rising above the shard-studded streets,
Sprinkling the spectators around & about me
With the essence of euphoria, glee.
My heartbeat serenading the soundtrack of my life,
Track one to infinity, farther than the horizon I can see,
I untether myself from the grime & grunge,
Breaking free from the bonds of gravity.
Mind flying over matter,
Far above the screaming streets
My arms fluidly blend the physics-adherent air,
Intermixing the ingredients of inspiration
Eyes up to the sky,
I let the raindrops dance on my face,
Like confetti celebrating my victories
Infinite possibilities & space.
Singing at the top of my lungs
This is the Mardi Gras of my life
A festival that never ends,
A spirit that never sleeps.
--TBJ (11/22/05, edited 04/10/17)
Connectivity
Rain droplets skydive around me,
my peripheral vision veers
into a velvety blur,
Presence in the moment,
that intersection of Time & Place.
Percussion, a palate--
passion performed
What if,
I thought, the last droplet
that leapt off of my face
like a tap dancer on an
extra-spring-loaded,
ultra-taught trampoline--
what if the particles within it
had previously danced
atop the cheek
of a girl on the other side of the world,
pondering, just like me?
--TBJ (2016)
Wings
When I was a little girl.
Windows to the world
Intrigue ignited, served,
A magnetic pull unfurled.
When I was a little girl.
Windows to the world,
My heart, sucked through
Swapped, was my point-of-view.
When I was a little girl
Windows to the world.
Sadness-soaked streets, overpasses;
though not at my feet,
Made not the hearts of humans hidden, obsolete.
When I was a little girl
Windows to the world
Glass was just film between me, them
Distinct yet delicate as surface tension.
When I was a little girl
Windows to the world.
"I will come back one day,"
My promises to me, & the pained,
The only temporary passwords to turning away.
When I was a little girl.
Windows to the world,
My mind enabled night-, out-of-sight- vision,
My heart imparted this, my forever mission
--TBJ (11/17/16)
Together
Together we always are just
Pushing "begin,"
Not fearful or believing in
Something finite like
El fín.
Blissfully, we live in our one and only,
Nevermore lonely;
Whimsically weathered,
Strong, but
Soft-as-a-feather.
True and honest,
Perfectly marred skin;
With you all, as I always say,
Together,
We can only win.
--TBJ (11/14/15)
Apathy
You say we feign;
Time and again,
You reign,
See *us* as the banes,
Inflame,
Inflict pain,
Have no shame,
All a game;
Hatred untamed,
Selfishly full of disdain,
"No truth to facts," you complain,
"There's no such thing as rain."
Continued denial;
Barbarism,
Locking our country;
Binding ethics w/chains,
"What advantages?"
You try to deny,
Not wanting to give them up, share
Your right to mediocrity
That unless accepted as perfection,
Quickly becomes "unfair"
For renaming yours as the real
The completion of your deal.
--TBJ (11/14/16)
SOS
Like a Braille that tells a tale,
The stucco signifies.
Dot Dot Dot
Dash Dash Dash
Dot Dot Dot
Valleys, dunes, tundras, reefs,
The flagship forays.
Dot Dot Dot
Dash Dash Dash
Dot Dot Dot
Bygones of bigotry and biased,
Built borders betray
Dot Dot Dot
Dash Dash Dash
Dot Dot Dot
Weighted words and walls,
In excess, democracy falls.
Dot Dot Dot
Dash Dash Dash
Dot Dot Dot.
--TBJ (11/14/16)
Letter From Home
She runs,
Trickles of the stamp of
Summer,
Watermelon
Pure & simple
Glancing her tastebuds.
Springtime
Touches of festivity charge the air
Slightly humid hide & seek
Ocean, pool water tracked about
By tiny little feet
Sprouting reminiscence
Of a face-cleansing towelette
Everyone together, cackling and chatting,
She's amenable to bbq induced sweat
Currency of memory
Priced above all
She's well versed in knowing its one of the last things left
When all else falls
Build it up
Replay to viral video extremes, decoding, encoding, priming,
Ensuring her mind will be readied
Whenever in need
Summer love,
The video, featuring
Her & the whole gang of good-time lovers
It will play
From the projector of her heart,
All day if it must,
onto her mind's big screen
From dawn well thru dusk
A fragile package with ornaments,
No,
Differences unite
There are no struggles
No things able to prevent
Her inner-driven fun fueled fight
You may see a gaze,
Seeming absence or exhaustion
But this summer lovin one,
She's filming every tick
Soaking up the simple things
Ready for the colder days,
Trying on the feelings of others
When the storms come
She'll be Basking in the glorious sun
Knowing we are all in it together,
A block party of the world,
Loving, living with our sisters & brothers.
(TBJ 05/27/15)
Epiphany
Soaring
a glitter vial,
Vexing
stylish cycles,
Spreading
a widening tunnel
Behind,
crossing the sky.
Eye-Black
an epiphany storm
Higher
inverted cyclone
Climbing
electric flurry
Slowing
the awe of magic
Feeling
victory mounted
Glitter
the limitless cloaked
Glimpsing
essence of eternity
Grasping
backless night blue
Seeing
diamond clarity
Knowing
spirit in tune
Breaking
string of the sonata
Moonless
Back down here
Dealing
grounds of near & dear
Over
worldly engine turned
Strolling
chance a glance up
Questioning
where's the next tier?
Slamming
eyes shut
Basting
cheeks glowing heat
Accepting
thoughts agreed,
Integrated
gently blinking,
Pleased
Lolling
athought inlet
Breaching
the glorious sea
Integrated
effort unlocks ability
Symbiosis,
both calm & glee
Gleaming
peaceful, home free.
--(TBJ 05/27/16)