Tag: #Poetry

FIVE HOLLOW-POINT BULLETS #poetry by jay
```
i cried at the light
next to humphrey’s 
pest control
the news 
stopped the laughter
in the back
of the BRAT 
as we sat 
shocked
still, silent
frozen
for a moment
before/ after 
the red
turned green
then we 
proceed
crying teens
loaded
in the back/ the bed
of our friends BRAT—

John Lennon shot!

gunned down
by a madman 
a fan with a plan
and a .38 special
FIVE 
hollow-point bullets 
sprayed 
FOUR
hit john’s back
and we sat 
crying
in the back
of our friends 
BRAT.
```
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

Photo by Velizar Ivanov on Unsplash
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February 1, 2022
LOSS #poetry by jay
```
Loss fungal/ passed away
Time gave me a gift and I held tight

Helix band tightened/ screwed 
Deep pools of wondrous/ blue

Moments lost in parallax/ broken concrete
Eyes set/ fixed on you/ spinning

Over the moon/ under my bed
Sealed on the edges

The smack talk/ backwards
I remember the happy times

Lost then gained/ over then under/ then over
then under/ then lost again.
```
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
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January 26, 2022
SATURATION #poetry by jay
```
Saturation comes in quiet realizations
blanketing the soul you left behind/ in haste
on annunciations of your lack of caring/ of giving a shit

about the effect it had on you—

to jolt you like a wicked bolt of lightning/ into a reckless oblivion
a mainlining of pure rage/ into your veins/ then lost
to that perpetual joke of a chase/ of the good life.

Hell—the saturation blessed you/ it pummeled into you
an existence of God/ God in your way/ slow/ steady/ feeling the pain 
not by happenstance/ by southwest by 66/ but by love—

it saturated you like a slow-moving train
an experience of electric/ shooting into me/ a wave/ of enlightenment 
saturating my brain/ unlike all those moments—

I neglected to care for/ back in the day. 
```
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

revised 1-21-22

Photo by Elia Pellegrini on Unsplash
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January 21, 2022
CONSUMED #poetry by jay
```
my hair is longer
my beard has grown something
i can’t identify—

i consume the maddening
fodder like candy—

i play with the idea
of shaving my beard off/ lobbing my hair off 

i find pleasure 
in the act of starting over.
```
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

Photo by Erik Mclean from Pexels
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January 18, 2022
THE DREAMS #poetry by jay
```
The dreams become my party
an escape to foreign lands
enchantment and delusion
dancing hand in hand.
```
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

Photo by Nicolas Hoizey on Unsplash
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January 12, 2022

SITTING DUCK #poetry by jay

have i turned into a sitting duck?
i thought the duck was fake
fake ‘til i became the fake
lamed
protruding into the postnasal drip 
of my inebriated brain

actual confusion of time
leech/ ing/  a/ drip/ of/ sor/ row
from our last days

cups with meager pasts
drops of mocha rings
the stink of weeks / days/ months

the smoking of 2021/ 22  
a foray into a mutated
co-existence of strains that bleak 
the ‘scape ‘cross our atmosphere/ dark days

sheltering the response of nothing
from nobody nowhere
lost in the haze of what we thought
was over 

how we complain and wonder 
about our future/ holding patterns
where they lead/ wonder 
about the virus/ the political scene

sitting ducks waiting for a break in the
stalemate/ checkmate 
gridlock/  post-debate(s) 

as we add 
Ad Nauseum 
to the debate list slate.

©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

Photo by Biel Morro on Unsplash

January 5, 2022

2022 #poetry by jay
```
on the crest of 2022/ zip     like that it went

crap crap/ into the loo

we clear our eyes from 2021/ was it true?

did we skip a year/ I thought we closed-out

the dreary/ the weary/ the bloody fear

      skip      jump      mutate    

to next

act/ year/     bring it on man!    can’t get any

better/worse      have no fear 

Hope it's a great start     to our New Year!   

Happy 2022    whew!
```
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

Photo by Artturi Jalli on Unsplash
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December 31, 2021
Authors & Translators Who Left Us in 2021 #ArabLit
A look back at a few authors, translators, and publishers who left us in 2021: January Ibrahim Ishaq (1946-2021) The Sudanese Writers Union said, in …
Authors & Translators Who Left Us in 2021
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December 30, 2021
THE HARDENED CRIMINAL BECOMES YOUR FRIEND #poetry by jay
```
Years end on new/ as the holiday descends
into an assault on the many/ and a prophecy 
for the smiling claims that lace the airwaves

the hardened criminal becomes your friend
and/ I once saw a reflection of light/ leading into

a millennium promised anew
a fresh-take for the starved
fragile— already broken

to fend off the inevitable descent
into hell/ we strove for change
as it was past due

a pay-up to exchange the
forced poverty and blood-sucking
rich on poor/ on not poor/ but
now poor—

it never ends.
```
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash
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December 27, 2021
CHEER! #poetry by jay
```
And so, the end is near
the daylight turns darker

little by little
we frail away

waiting for Angels
to save our day
and harken—

a New Year 

after a little rise 
of forced/ and not forced
Cheer!



©Jay Mora-Shihadeh
```
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December 22, 2021
Had to share this great post and fantastic poetry over at Global Literature, enjoy! Hainteny: Traditional Poetry of Madagascar — Global Literature in Libraries Initiative
Hainteny is the traditional poetry of Madagascar. Hainteny means ‘knowledge of words’ in Malagasy language. It is part of traditional oral literature of Madagascar, which is mostly in the form of a dialogue between a female and a male, and strongly reminds me of poems of Tamil Sangam literature and Gatha Saptasati of India. Leonard […]

Blue-rooted onion

Blue-leaved sugar cane.

Even the shadow of her lamba is perfumed;

How much more, then, the lamba she wears. 1

The sage spreads its scent over the …

Hainteny: Traditional Poetry of Madagascar — Global Literature in Libraries Initiative
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December 18, 2021
SHIT #poetry by jay
```
all of my shit in a bucket
tossed
sloshing about

every year at the holiday
without fail
doubt

the shit rises to the top
a stench that remains
from my past

I carry the weight of my shit
hoping it doesn’t spill out
onto our carefully selected

tongue and groove 
wood floors

and my wife doesn’t
scold me for dumping it
everywhere 

without care of the stink 
or mess it leaves 
for her to clean up.
```
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

Photo by Vinicius “amnx” Amano on Unsplash
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December 17, 2021
I HAVE STANDARDS #poetry by jay
```
I have standards—
don't bleed on me
paltry mist-eyed
blather

I have standards
so don't bother
me with your
ghastly sought
after chatter—

flung 
too quick at the page
a flick/ a flack
a-tickety-tack

I have standards
to adhere to today—
to cement wisdom
into my brain

don't waste 
words on words 
every damn day
to dress your space
bargained for pay—

I have standards
that don't lean
that way.
```
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

revised 12-14-21
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December 14, 2021
SOLITUDE #poetry by jay
```
I write because
the wind blows

Paint where
the heart goes

Between
these tangled
lovers—

My solitudes
composed.
```
©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

revised 12-9-21

Photo by Clark Young on Unsplash
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December 9, 2021
HAVE I LOST THE ABILITY TO CARE ANYMORE? #poetry by jay
The ‘go bleep yourself’ slips

so easily

Out

My manner is steel—titanium

burning white

I care no more

Despite

Family/ friend/ stranger

at night/ at day/ in dreams

I care not one iota

About

your plight

I fought so long

I strive for ease

To come and lay

up on—I cease

My brow it suffers

naught

a bit, I care less

Minus this

plus that

A raging brook

a gentle stream

of doubt

does not linger

or wreck me out

I care no more

so fine it is

The rocking horse

and whirly wiz

From childhood to

this remiss

I don’t give,

So—fess up please

or

You can leave

me

a shadow/ a nod/ a blessed

whatever it is

The leathered

black-verses

you grip

Causes unknown

but for sure you do

fire that mouth/ your lips

anyhow—

Know one’s home

No care here

the show is over

I have not time

to riddle about

your blinded

faith

This is me/ see Me now

if you care

to drop the crap

perhaps I’ll stop

and give a care

Otherwise—

care has left

it seems,

perhaps for good.

©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

revised 12-7-21
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December 7, 2021
PUBLISHED #poetry by jay
Got my poem DEMON featured on SPILLWORDS today.

A big thank you to the folks at SPILLWORDS for their continued support of my work.

” We are happy to communicate that we have selected your literary work to be part of our series ‘Haunted Holidays’ #HHSpillwords which embraces the dark side of the holiday season! ”

” Our mission is to give both, published and independent writers, a place where their works can have the proper exposure to readers, writers, other literary communities as well as publication firms around the world. Our passion and commitment to writers and readers began in 2015 with the promise to be the true free press of the people. With each passing day we reaffirm our vision of being the voice from New York City to the world. “

Demon

Photo credit- Emiliano Vittoriosi
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December 3, 2021
DEER #poetry by jay
```
The deer emerges from the dark
forest bitten by light and 
shutters in a scurry

hoping to blend into the abyss
of green and brown that mists
across the rambling terrain

fearful to be taken down by shot
or arrow or the watchful eye of
stalking prey— 

makes swift and heft of night 
and day
a breeze, a dream
he slips away.



©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

Photo credit- Pexels
```
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December 2, 2021
A WRECK OF WRECKS #poetry by jay
And when the day comes

We find ourselves aghast

In it

Lost

Freaked out

By it

And they come anyhow

To pick through the

Rubbish

The bones

And find a ring

A finger

Dislodged

And when the light emerges

From the rubble of

Gray battles strewn

Through the black holes

In our galaxy

We prevail and

Rebuild

Robust

It’s like this

Without thought

We go on

As they fiddle with

The locks and the souls

Lost

And they rebuild

The doors

The windows

The arches

And the lintels and posts

Teeter

Precisely

Where they stood

Unbothered

A wreck of wrecks

Too many to count

And they come.

©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

revised 11/18/21

Photo by veeterzy on Unsplash
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November 18, 2021
THE DEVIL’S GREED #poetry by jay
i’m writing this letter to tell you

to go set the world ablaze

make great change

birth freedom

birth doves

do it as a gift

to the ones you love

hold back no shame

stand bold like mountains

across the range

cloud the sky

on a rainy day

feel the burn of wicked heat

scorch the earth

as wet fields breach

reset course

and don’t retreat

birth in love

and

birth in peace

and

always challenge

the notion

of the devil’s greed.

©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

Photo by Zoran Borojevic on Unsplash
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November 15, 2021
THIS BLADE of GRASS #poetry by jay
this blade of grass

holds the key to life

you say, “i”

i say, “me”

we say, “thee”

this blade of grass

is key.

this blade of grass

a sword that slices,

crevasses the earth,

a canyon, a kingdom

a crevice to pass

the key to life

lives in this grass.

machete sharp

and willow reed

the green, the earth,

the seed, like pomegranates

limbs of ruby red gems,

stalactite lungs bellow

and breathe,

this blade of grass

is key.

genuflecting blades

of viridian green

swaying gentle

en masse

in the morning breeze,

the key to life

lives in this grass.

this blade of grass

you cut, i grow

we walk atop

we do not know

the key to life exists below.

this blade

this steeple

this spire that towers,

the daily gazette

and green grasses bent,

they shoot at the stars

with arrowed blades

the key to life exist

in spades.

©Jay Mora-Shihadeh

revised 11/3/21

Photo by Matthias Cooper from Pexels
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November 3, 2021