mani - pedi

I’ve missed several postings, but can’t, won’t promise to myself an every 6th day post.  Not right now.  That commitment has been one struggle for the past year, but until last month, I was successful.  Somedays, words sneak to paper.  Other days, I have nothing.

I started “mani-pedi” two months ago.

I got drunk at my nail salon today

Chardonnay

no lunch

it took one glass only

they’re generous with their pours

© 13 January 2022

Cindy B. Stevens

#Nail #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NorthCarolinaWriter

 

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I try to post every six days . . .

 

I try to post every six days.  Yesterday was the sixth day and for several days now, I’ve tried to pull my thoughts together to share a poem.  All day yesterday, nothing.  My mentor tells me not to explain my poetry; and I won’t explain why I’m struggling with words these days.  Tragedy and I know each other, but this dark place is by far my hardest road.

© 15 January 2022

Cindy B. Stevens

 #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NorthCarolinaWriter #AmWriting

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death match

This is poem is evolving.  Might be waltz rhythm, rumba, or remain haiku.

I prove no match when

death decides, squeezes my hand

equates my slow stride

 

© 8 February 2022

Cindy B. Stevens

#Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NorthCarolinaWriter #AmWriting

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broken

The following poem is in my chapbook, Naked, published by Main Street Rag.

broken

not worthy

I accept the bread anyway

cup it in my hands

it’s torn like skin on a barbed wire fence

vine’s fruit

blood rich

a ruby Port thick on my tongue

I swallow the sacrifice

will I remember?

© 2018

Cindy B. Stevens

#Bread #Wine #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing

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sign of the cross

my kaleidoscope oil cushions

sin colors

jewels

muted

sin angles

mirrored

subtle

 

fingers turn cylinder

towards sunset

I close my booth door

decrepit hasp rattles

 

I know what I’ve done

my mind says it’s

worse than my worst

 

what do I say when after my confession, my

priest remains silent

no penance

prayer

no absolution

 

my no Ash Wednesday forehead

no oil

no cross

© 26 January 2022

Cindy B. Stevens

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veil

I almost didn’t post this too fresh, raw piece that’s not finished; never finished.

veil

my brother died two days ago

a man who it pains to speak

walks with death

lays his hands on

prays for me

 

© 20 January 2022

Cindy B. Stevens

#Death #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NorthCarolinaWriter

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a snorkel

until I stop for my first school bus since March 2020

I don’t realize my emotions are not drowning

they’re treading water underneath my surface

I watch kids unload

they greet their moms

their dogs

tears bubble through my snorkel

© 14 January 2022

Cindy B. Stevens

#Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NorthCarolinaWriter #AmWriting

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four hands

The last stanza of “four hands”:

I used to think it harder to fold a fitted

than a flat

by myself

until I had to fold the top with two hands

now, it makes sense to have one set

© 7 January 2022

Cindy B. Stevens

#fold #sheets #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #NorthCarolinaWriter

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star

there’s one star above my house tonight

it shines through a cloud cover

it’s not the Christmas star but I

can imagine it

points me to

Bethlehem to a

stable to a

manger to a

baby —

 

© 3 January 2022

Cindy B. Stevens

 

#Star #Bethlehem #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Write #WritersOfInstagram #NorthCarolinaWriter

 

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3 days ago

 

he says, “choose your day”

 

I choose three days ago

 

he asks, “why three days ago?”

 

three days ago I will have passed this threshold

 

I will have chosen

© 22 December 2021

Cindy B. Stevens

#three #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NCwriter

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a b o v e

a man in ER waits

sits beside his expectant wife

wonders why I stare at them

 

it’s mindless television

closed caption

daytime soaps

 

local evening news

twice

game shows

 

I watch

it’s all above his head

 

© 22 December 2021

Cindy B. Stevens

#above #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NCWriter

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t r i n i t y

Tuesday nights, 7:30, at Yonder , Open Mic.  This past Tuesday, I read the entirety of a new poem, “trinity”.  It’s raw.  Here’s the first stanza:

trinity

I sit in the living room

cover with a prayer shawl because I can’t pray

don’t know what to say

don’t know whether it makes a difference what I say, so I

cover me with a prayer shawl

© 13 December 2021

Cindy B. Stevens

#Prayer #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NorthCarolinaWriter

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Christmas time

 

it wasn’t until

I walked into Diff and Bill’s

home that Thursday night

 

I realized it’s

Christmas, time to decorate

time to celebrate

 

 . . .

 

time to celebrate

Christmas, time to decorate

I realized it’s

 

home that Thursday night

I walked into Diff and Bill’s

it wasn’t until

 

© 3 December 2021

Cindy B. Stevens

 

#Christmas #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NorthCarolinaWriter

 

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between the lines

she selects worn

soft

cotton from her closet

 

slips it over her head

arms through sleeves

buttons the placket

 

no undergarments

panties

brassiere

slip

no satin

no lace

just a dress

© 4 December 2021

Cindy B. Stevens

#Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NorthCarolinaWriter

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sacred

touch

sacrament

silent

hush

anger fraught

brutal

touch

sacred harsh

fragile

© 27 November 2021

Cindy B. Stevens

#Sacred #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NorthCarolinaWriter

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need

I stand

in front

of you

what

I want

gripped in

my hands

nothing

I need

but you

in front

of me

you wait

you want

my hands

 

© 2018

Cindy B. Stevens

 

#hand #help #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing

 

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twisted

I haven’t stopped

believing

I haven’t talked to

with

God, lately

 

on our way to Duke Cancer Center, we listen to my playlist

“Hallelujah” comes up

I sing

then the verse “well maybe there’s a God above, but all I’ve ever learned of love is…”, I

can’t continue

 

clean sheet day

sometimes it takes twice

three times to fit corners

twisted

I want a fitted sheet that tags top

bottom

 

I feel flat

another grief layer

top sheet stacked on a linen shelf

Is it OK that I sing in the car when he sleeps in pain?

judge me

don’t

I have nothing to say to God

© 8 November 2021

Cindy B. Stevens

#Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NorthCarolinaWriter

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loud

quiet

breath sound

in

out

 

awake

pages turn

no one speaks

 

out

in

breath stops

loud

© 8 November 2021

Cindy B. Stevens

#Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing #NorthCarolinaWriter

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Elijah, 13 years, texted me this poem he wrote a bit ago and granted me permission to share with you:

Where the sidewalk ends is where the journey ends

Where the gold grass grows and the street just bends

Saying bye to all the people that you’ve ever met

Saying bye to all the bad things like pain violence and debt

As you walk down this road there is a feeling of sorrow

As you walk down you feel that there might be no tomorrow

But as all the bad things disappear

Life just might be no more here

So I guess without good there’s no bad

And without happy there’s no sad

People benefit from each other’s downfall

So anything you do can be someone’s end all be all

Now I don’t want to say that there’s nothing good

With so many people happy yeah you wish I could

While life is good for some, it might be bad for others 

Some people even have to lose brothers

The world isn’t perfect no human is either

Sometimes life can just be a brain fever

So here’s a message out to everyone;

Stay safe, live life, and just have fun.

© 2021     Elijah Potter

#Elisucks29 #Art #ArtlixirPoetry #DarkPoetry #IGPoetry #IGPoets #InstaPoetry #Life #LovePoetry #MicroPoetry #Poem #Poet #Poetry #PoetryCommunity #PoetryGram #PoetryIsLife #PoetryIsNotDead #PoetryLovers #PoetryOfig #PoetryOfInstagram #PoetryPorn #PoetSociety #PoetsOfInstagram #SpilledInk #VeinHeartArtisans #Wordsmith #Writer #WritersOfInstagram #Writing

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