plainsong

Standard

i am thinking about your place
this cold of winter
this time of day
the sunshine warm
slowly receding
to other glows

years later,
it warms me still.

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ahead of her class

Standard

woke up thinking about A-words
audacity
authenticity

sure sign that winter
will be setting in
soon

amorous
in a room of one’s own

afraid (of…)

in this particular emotion

Standard

the extent to which i am floored

off the ground
your love is
too stream of consciousness

isn’t it the usual that
fire on a fragile thing
will break

or is it reinforce

what is the most tactile
word you feel
mine are luxurious
& pornographic

you know
when you meet someone who understands
the mechanics of your body
and your mind

i should run
as they say
these things never work out

but today
we meet on the river that
runs contrary to the norm
one of five in the states
says the landlady

heyyMichele McDannold is the author of the chapbook Point of Departure from COCKLEBUR PRESS and Stealing the Midnight from a Handful of Days, a book of poetry available from PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS. She was the Editor-in-Chief at Red Fez Publications for five years and is currently the editor/publisher at Citizens for Decent Literature. She has an extensive collection of flannel and rubber chicken heads. For more, please visit michelemcdannold.com.

a person whom the speaker dislikes or despises

Standard

quietly destructive things

is how i get fat and bad haircuts
is how bad men
“get” me

Porch Sessions #3

Standard

A number of various things today

watched a flower slowly bloom
from the front porch
it takes a long time
it’s still not done
i felt, once again,
the blooming of heartache
surround my lungs
and settle in.

It takes a long time
it’s still not done

heyyMichele McDannold is the author of the chapbook Point of Departure from COCKLEBUR PRESS and Stealing the Midnight from a Handful of Days, a book of poetry available from PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS. She was the Editor-in-Chief at Red Fez Publications for five years and is currently the editor/publisher at Citizens for Decent Literature. She has an extensive collection of flannel and rubber chicken heads. For more, please visit michelemcdannold.com.

Porch Sessions #2 (Survey)

Standard

while thinking about all those suicidal adults and your own relative story

pause
for a moment
focus on the why
a 2 month old child
might be referred to
CPS.

an acronym meaning
fucked
from the get-go.

you think i sell them short?
i don’t.

some are mistaken
and some will
pull through anyway,
some
     how

pull that focus back in
see the baby

cradle their head in your hands
check for head circumference.
do the eyes follow the light?
the sound of your voice?
when you stretch out those little legs,
how far do they go?
can you measure their weight
in your arms?
step onto the scale
& tell me.

check once,
twice,
three times…

this assessment will be over in approximately
90 minutes.

that’s really all the time we have
thank you for your input

heyyMichele McDannold is the author of the chapbook Point of Departure from COCKLEBUR PRESS and Stealing the Midnight from a Handful of Days, a book of poetry available from PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS. She was the Editor-in-Chief at Red Fez Publications for five years and is currently the editor/publisher at Citizens for Decent Literature. She has an extensive collection of flannel and rubber chicken heads. For more, please visit michelemcdannold.com.

porch sessions #1

Standard

i am the tired of bones
tossed at sea &
washed up in a nether land
maybe you’ll find me &
maybe you won’t
that i thought you were looking
was probably my 1st mistake
i should find what makes for bones
or become an adornment
or a pulverized mix of things
meant for something special and mysterious…
like love
oh love
oblivious to coercion
does it wait on untended beaches
for washed-up things?
destiny is the trust of waves
and do you know what that looks like?

heyyMichele McDannold is the author of Stealing the Midnight from a Handful of Days, a book of poetry available from PUNK HOSTAGE PRESS. She was the Editor-in-Chief at Red Fez Publications for five years and is currently the editor/publisher at Citizens for Decent Literature. She has an extensive collection of flannel and rubber chicken heads. For more, please visit michelemcdannold.com.