the mother of mothers

the mother of mothers of mothers,
she's the eyes that see,
she's the pain that we feel
she is all of it,
all of it because nobody knows and does pain
like her.
there's such grace, a grace unknown to many,
she wakes up in the morning and combs her hair with violence,
does her make up with patience,
irons her clothes,
watches the time go back riding shotgun while I drive,
still never loses track of her performance.
she's got an idea of the world she lives in
yet she doesn't know where it is.
she thinks people think too little of her,
and too often —
nothing further from the truth.
she's the mother of all, with a warm hand,
a perfumed embrace,
a sweet goodbye.

a bland reminder

I guess I just always wanted you to be mad at me.
to cause some trouble, ruffle your feathers:
take something that wasn't mine,
toy with it, make you chase it;
for you to think of me, endlessly and into the night,
where unconsciousness felt like cheating

if only you could show me that anger
in your blood shot eyes
I think I would crumble to my knees if I ever felt powerful enough
to grab your attention
all your violence
and have it clustered up on me

I want to be part of something greater
a plot that hasn't been written, yet
my position is acquainted only
maybe a brush on the arm or
a friendly handshake

a bland reminder that I was never meant
to take the fantasy with me