A.G.E's Joint

It is in all caps Not the first, not the last Not my monkey or hers Knowing our own darkness Faded memories of demons long past, Still haunt Tattooed Alice falling Into a Dali landscape Where up is left And down leads to another dimension. Blood is its avatar, its seal Scarlet stains upon the face A solid mass of contusions Pale, faded roses on the black satin bier Screen shout drawing the usual suspects The “heroes”, The vampires Agendas working against each other Struggling against another iteration Of power and subjugation In a tango where both lead. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Topic- Jessica Brooke Miller Poe paraphrase: Blood was its Avatar and its seal -- the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, -Masque of the Red Death ...

Dancing slowly around the counter Sinatra on the oldies station What music they make. Apron swaying To a Parisian dream. Teaspoon off the rack Spices sprinkled in flour.     Beads as liquid joins.   Dough ball forms slowly.   Familiar thrill begins   Love rises, falls.      Hands quickly knead Searching the dragon’s face When love is not madness, It is not love. Spirit attracted To the scent. To her   She is the bread   Intertwined loaves in the oven Only in the next life, She knows.    Topic- Kim Herndon Pic- Christine Wichman Pic Guesses-Dragon (in blog), Sauron, Godzilla, Long Journey, Middle Earth, Knights of old, Tequila dreams, 4 and 20 years ago,

Glistening in the moonlight Warming your soul like your wedding night Removing remembrance of time Replacing it with fire thorn strife Burning gut and soul In equal measure Stand out in the field If you dare Take the jar from the old man And forget the world.

A hand made valentine For an imaginary friend Whose sense of reality Is what a concept She is never the critics choice Only the finest mess there is.

She's gone again Demons at her back Disguised as angels Or the opposite Running Away or towards something No one can fathom Drowning In panic, unable to grasp The rings thrown Sounds too loud Too soft to comprehend Until The end.