Just had a milkshake
And I do not know how to
Thermoregulate
*I would say all rights reserved but I gotta give some credit to my buddy who said “hey that counts as a haiku” while I defended wearing a hoodie in 80 degree weather*
Just had a milkshake
And I do not know how to
Thermoregulate
*I would say all rights reserved but I gotta give some credit to my buddy who said “hey that counts as a haiku” while I defended wearing a hoodie in 80 degree weather*
If I succumb now It’ll prove something about the world That I don’t want to be true, That I won’t wish into truth. So I stay kicking, Against the tangled sea weed Pulling me down By the ankles To the ocean floor. I keep my face Above the broken surface Knowing that my legs, Human and weak, Must fail me eventually, And that my breath Won’t hold out forever And that I must keep fighting for another second And then another more For if I succumb now I will never see light again.
All rights reserved © 2024 Josephine Joyil
Broke open. And though that cold stone Turned to flesh It now aches In a way I don’t know how to heal And guilt fills Where apathy rested Where love should grow And I go mad With remorse. Irredeemably?
All rights reserved © 2024 Josephine Joyil
And warm, Who makes you feel safe, And realize, That you’re not quite as patient As you should be, And fills you with guilt, For your wrongs, In a way That only the innocent can.
All rights reserved © 2024 Josephine Joyil
Just by willing it, And refusing to accept “no” As the final answer. Keep digging, And once you hit the molten core, And your shovel melts, Let yourself melt with it, And become part of something bigger. Or cease to be. Either way, you haven’t settled for “no.”
All rights reserved © 2024 Josephine Joyil
The anger protects you. So you’re reluctant to let it go. Stay angry, if you dare. Or let down that shield, And let fear take a stab. What have you to lose? Pride? Ha! That thin film that clings to your face, Stopping breath. Just stop.
All rights reserved © 2024 Josephine Joyil
Too many things are coming to shuddering halt after spinning chaotically for nearly half a decade and in the face of this overwhelming stillness settling in heavy slates within me, I hear the quiet whisper of nostalgia.
It is a weak longing for poison, for the racing of pulse and spinning of mind and hammering of heart that have sustained my being for longer than I can afford to forget.
I look back to hear the ghost of experience sing a soothing solace: permission to carry on.
All rights reserved © 2024 Josephine Joyil
Here for you today, But not for you, For you, Unlike it, Aren’t forever.
All rights reserved © 2024 Josephine Joyil
Perhaps you shouldn’t be talking to so many big kids. But you spoke, Talked in circles Keep spinning, kid. Coaxing the eye of the beholder to focus on all that’s beautiful, And only that. Or misstep And lose limb and life. You’re already dead anyway. It’s only a matter of time before you realize it.
All rights reserved © 2024 Josephine Joyil
Supported by the air, With no ground beneath me, Flying like it’s my birthright. I wonder how badly it’ll hurt, When the breeze stills, And the ground I’ve learned to ignore, Catches my fragile form.
All rights reserved © 2024 Josephine Joyil