Linda & The Lighter
Linda loved cigar smoke
she swallowed and smiled
as I showered her face with ghosts
perfumes dripped from her arms
her face was a woven tapestry of balms
reddish brown
oval
face
oval
with deep
dark
calling
eye lashes
with hair
black
as the economy
yet she never smiled
at me
not even a day of sun
lifted tears
from her eyes
no gesture of invitation
landed on her
giddy
hot
pink
lips
acknowledging my
confidence
but
she loved cigar smoke
from me
yet I long for her lighter
because in my place
orange, yellow, and blue
rise from nowhere
all the time
A Fallacy of Comfort
even if your gray spots are cancerous
I can lift a balm unto your painful skin
planting mental love bits and kisses on every bump
I could freeze your tears with a bottle of red champagne
or I could sing with a cackle and pulse with flowers of imaginings
landing in your trembling hands
all of these offers I have to give
but I can’t continue to tend to you now
because as I look in the cracked mirror
dancing with romps caused by sexual agreement
beneath our apartment floor
and hopefully beneath their precious
ceiling
wall
Dr. Ernest Williamson III has published poetry and visual art in over 350 national and international online and print journals. He has published work in The Columbia Review, Bricolage: University of Washington’s Literary Arts Journal, The G.W. Review, and many others.View more of his work here: www.yessy.com/budicegenius.
Steel Toe Review 