Slapdash Poetry

Half-hearted poems
Skitter across a blank page
In desperation,

Wildly trying
To make sense of the whole from
Just one tiny part.




© The Lightning Tower, 2020

Not Enough

There is so much pain in the world,
And it is tearing me apart.

I hear their cries,
And my throat is raw.
I see their tears,
And wipe away my own.
I feel them crushed,
And I can’t breathe.

I open my mouth,
And nothing comes out.
I have the voice to be heard,
But not the voice to speak.

How to be an ally?
A single question,
With unending answers.

There is work to be done,
And as I watch the world,
I watch myself,
Seeking the courage –

To learn.
To change.
To fight for what’s right.



© The Lightning Tower, 2020

Here’s How White People Can Support The Fight Against Police Brutality

18 Ways That You Can Actively Support The Black Community No Matter Where You’re From

Untitled 6

It’s funny;
My default when
I don’t know what to write
About is to write about writing.
When I am at a loss for
Words, the words I
Find are so much
Simpler.



© The Lightning Tower, 2020

Self-Reflection, Self-Doubt

I want to write words that express
The pain, the heartache, the trauma
The world is going through right now,
But I don’t know if my voice is the one
That should be speaking.



© The Lightning Tower, 2020

Perspective

Sitting on the floor,
Listening to the whir
Of the record player
Go round and round,
Soft music seeping
Through a crackle
Like fire,
I lean my head back,
Close my eyes,
Step out of myself,
My life and the world,
Finding, for a moment,
Peace.

At least until the
Record stops,
And silence mocks
Me again.



© The Lightning Tower, 2020

Ever Onward

Tick tick tick deafens
As the hand marches onward.
I have to catch up.

–

I’ve been preoccupied with time lately.
Is it because all sense of it is gone?

–

Living by the sun
Provides a very different
Kind of clock, rhythm.



© The Lightning Tower, 2020

Untitled 5

I look behind and see the future,
And ahead I see the past.
The world’s the same and ever-changing,
Just go ask a cat.

I often wonder what everything means,
Or if that’s a futile quest.
I seek knowledge near and far,
With wisdom past my grasp.

I tend wallow in the pain,
As I outrun the pleasure.
One thing that I know is true,
Contradictions, me and you.



© The Lightning Tower, 2020