Long Shadow Short

I could have chosen
this noon
12 different windows to
admire my horizon.
But I sat confused,
is this where the view ends?

The opacity of the glass panes,
the walls of houses
beyond the narrow road,
and a moat dug by a
carefully-worded resume...
Yes, I remember, my horizon!

There, confused,
and in an editorial bind,
I get reacquainted
with my shadow,
shortened by the sun’s might,
yet yearning to grow. Patience!

The long story short:
I grew and grew
in dark broken patches
on crumbling asphalt,
till dusk offered me
an obscure crevice to hide.

— Leslie

(Poem: Lost in a moat dug by a much-refined resume, I got myself reacquainted with my shadow this noon...)

Worth My Weight in Dust

 

Hey, you, the respectable Dust. 

You are on an errand,

tonight.

The morrow, you shall trudge

for the rays of sunlight.

And day after,

you shall reach 

a place of absolution.

If and only if,

when and only when,

you deserve peace. But no, 

yes you don't.

The if and when

of life

magnifies the truth,

a reality, mine and yours.

The inevitability of

a tanking worth.

— Leslie

A Lyrical Reality

If I were to fall short

of words today,

and fail,

will there be a second chance

to sing, try once more, 

the song my daughter loves...?

No...

I hear the song

played in a loop,

a random algorithm,

which shows me the futility

in what I desire.

I yearn to memorize lines,

but they are too laden

with leaves ready for the fall,

too heavy...

Instead I store passwords,
mindless, meaningless protection.

If I were to fall short,
that fate walked in because
the lines I should cherish,

were the ones I sold;

to those who are tone deaf,

mute, and mostly arrogant.

Who are they, though?

Why are they playing 

the songs

my daughter loves!

-- Leslie Xavier