assuage

This little girl was under-aged
and felt as though she was thoroughly caged-
in by society's moral gauge,
or so her parents' claimed in their middle age,
that little girls mustn't rage--
at least not until they come of age.

She knew though that her chronological age
didn't quite match her emotional stage,
not that this was enough to assuage
the burning rage engaged
within her heart poured onto her diary page.
"Fight," the one word on the title page,
followed by a lengthy plan to upstage
her feeble parents in their middle age,
who earned a trifle in minimum wage.

Her plan was to solicit the wild sage
who lived behind a theater stage
and profited thus from burning rage...
or so the ad said on the yellow page.
"No worries," his tone assuaged,
"I'll help you find the courage to upstage
your parents who seem stuck in the victorian age."

In cover of night they met backstage.
"Oh my," thought the sage,
"This girl indeed doesn't look her age!"
Before he knew it, someone was ravaged,
though which of the two was the savage
was hard to tell for he was wild and she was enraged.
In the end, all that mattered was that
in deed and thought and language,
there's no more denying that she's come of age.
And all her rage assuaged.

©2006 b.cisek

assuage (v. i.): To abate or subside; (v. t.): To soften, in a figurative sense; to allay, mitigate, ease, or lessen, as heat, pain, or grief; to appease or pacify, as passion or tumult; to satisfy, as appetite or desire.
definition taken from The Online Plain Text English Dictionary

valentine

this day, set aside for lovers
like you and me,
sitting across from each other
at dinner, amidst seventy other couples
who wear the same smiles as though
Cupid's many arrows, shot
out like random fireworks, had purposefully
hit just one and luckily that one
was me.
how is it that you and I can feel
like the world has fallen away,
peeling its many layers to reveal
only ripeness
in the fruit we've nurtured
and nevermind that we no longer
hear the bustle of people around us,
nor do we pretend to veer our eyes elsewhere
but right here, in each other
because today, as with the day we met,
that is enough.

©2006 b.cisek

bandy

Politics are futile
and religious topics are often banal.
Problems are for shrinks,
and matters of love require more drinks.
We're back to the weather then
and to this I sigh, amen.

©2006 b.cisek

ban·dy (bnd) tr.v. ban·died, ban·dy·ing, ban·dies: To toss or throw back and forth. To hit (a ball, for example) back and forth. To give and receive (words, for example); exchange: The old friends bandied compliments when they met. To discuss in a casual or frivolous manner: bandy an idea about.
definition courtesy of Dictionary.com

foofaraw

donning a made up face
to start a bad,
bad day
a painted smile is all I could do.
a penny or two
is all I have
but eye the foofaraw in my garb.
don't guess its worth --
not much to safely presume --
but it's what I have,
and what's more...
well, let's leave that
to imagination.

©2006 b.cisek

foo·fa·raw ('fü-f&-"ro), noun: 1 : frills and flashy finery; 2 : a disturbance or to-do over a trifle : fuss
definition taken from merriam-webster online

fornication

This morning,
on the other side of a hangover,
I imagined telling you
last night that I loved you.
Don't worry darling,
it was the alcohol speaking.
It's not that I would lie to bed you
(so sorry to have misled you),
but the wine stirs in me these funny feelings
as though pain took off with all my baggage
and left only fond memories to play in.
Do ignore the talk of love
and all the many strings it comes with.
The bed's still warm and waiting.
And while you're up,
get me a drink, why don't you.

©2006 b.cisek

for-ni-ca-tion, noun: 1. consenting sex involving somebody unmarried: sexual intercourse between two consenting adults who are not married to each other; 2. sexual behavior considered immoral: in the Bible, sexual intercourse between a man and woman who are not married, or any form of sexual behavior considered to be immoral
definition taken from MSN Encarta Dictionary

perdition

"sorry,"
he plainly said
as if I could
pick up that shattered
piece of broken
heart
freely given him.
"sorry"
and I dashed out
a wet rag:
a hag in tears
that's worse for wear.
"sorry,"
and I was
wrung out
a hundred times
over, left
useless
in the space
between
promises
and
perdition.


©2006 b.cisek

per·di·tion (p&r-'di-sh&n), noun: 1 a archaic : utter destruction b obsolete : loss; 2 a :b eternal damnation : hell
definition courtesy of merriam-webster online

myriad

The myriad possibilities in my heart
all disappeared when I met you.
Like shards in a kaleidoscope
spilled and strewn
with no more hope of illusion.
How is it that you
who are so vulgar,
could replace what was to become of me.
Walking in,
in your black, black jeans
darker than Death,
and smiling a crooked smile--
ominous, to be sure--
even Dracula could not have portended
a surer demise.
In a moment, I was tantalized
by eyes that blazed desire,
and didn't notice
that somehow in this exchange,
my future was forfeited.

©2006 b.cisek

myriad, adjective:1 : innumerable ; also : both numerous and diverse <myriad topics>; 2 : having innumerable aspects or elements
definition taken from merriam-webster online

prie-dieu

The night quaked with her restless cries,
all comfort lost in her sallow eyes.
Sleep would not come in desperate hours.
The nightstand's furnished like a geriatric bar,
lined with medications of every sort
promising relief in chemical comfort.
In her tenderness she couldn't decide
whether to the bed or on my breast reside.
But two days ago she was full of life
and now my baby's charged with strife,
slinking herself into my form
as though in my womb she could return.
Alas, there is no luck for me, or her--
the bug, to its course we must concur.
Suddenly, my faith is found
to the prie-dieu, my hopelessness bound:
I pray to God that she gets well;
I pray release from this fevered hell.

©2006 b.cisek

prie-dieu (")prE-'dy&(r), (prE-dy[OE]), noun: 1 : a kneeling bench designed for use by a person at prayer and fitted with a raised shelf on which the elbows or a book may be rested; 2 : a low armless upholstered chair with a high straight back
definition taken from merriam-webster online

gypped

I bargained for the light of day
in between my karmic cycles--
for a human form--I begged and prayed
to be done with ghastly tentacles.
Up the food chain I did climb
my wish was sorely granted
and now in my supposed prime,
I'm bitterly disenchanted.
It's not the wars, or plagues,
or even mundane traffic jams;
It's that I realized my wish was vague
because now I find I give a damn.

©2006 b.cisek

gyp, verb: Inflected Form(s): gypped; gyp·ping : cheat
definition taken from merriam-webster online

marmoreal

don't crack a smile
lest your botoxed face
betray the sullen spoils
of Time.

©2006 b.cisek

mar·mo·re·al (mär-'mOr-E-&l, -'mor-), adjective: of, relating to, or suggestive of marble or a marble statue especially in coldness or aloofness
definition taken from merriam-webster online

salacious

What secrets did she hide
'neath the curtain of her hair,
what sort dreams would
visit as those tresses kissed her pillow?
And when she walked into a room,
or down the street, or out the door
the first and last thing that's remembered
are those salacious braids;
long strands of locks
when at a turn could hold a man captive
like a prisoner against his will,
left languishing for a pinup
--forever out of reach.

©2006 b.cisek

sa·la·cious (s&-'lA-sh&s), adjective: 1 : arousing or appealing to sexual desire or imagination: lascivious; 2 : leacherous; lustful

definition taken from merriam-webster online

kowtow

Wouldn't you know it,
another day worth shit.
We do complain there is no time
yet running errands should be a crime
on a sunny Saturday like today
spent in aisles to purvey
what's been approved by the U.S.D.A.
then spending more
than what's been bargained for.
From Saturday to Saturday,
between the shuffling, bustling sways
of endless work and infinite woes
the fact remains, it's quid pro quo,
so to the mighty dollar we must kowtow,
as you know.

©2006 b.cisek

kow•tow (kou'tou', -tou", kō'-), —v.i.: 1. to act in an obsequious manner; show servile deference.
2. to touch the forehead to the ground while kneeling, as an act of worship, reverence, apology, etc., esp. in former Chinese custom.
definition taken from infoplease dictionary

ophidian

slinky fingers slither
across the sizzling sand
contriving casual circles
as the sea whips out
its serpentine tongue
and swallows them up.

©2006 b.cisek

ophid·i·an (O-'fi-dE-&n), adjective: of, relating to, or resembling snakes
definition taken from merriam-webster online

maledicted

Deep in the bowels of society
rots the scum of our perversity
where appearances have shunned
the maledicted ones
who live off boxes, carts and garbage cans;
who beg for change with calloused hands.
They smoke, drink or shoot up random dollars
while self-indulgent scholars
purport to effect enlightenment
with public service announcements
that rally all the charities
to give their kind gratuities.
But every dollar or minute spent,
with all its good intents,
doesn't seem to make a difference.

©2006 b.cisek

mal·e·dict (ml-dkt) adj:Accursed.
definition taken from Dictionary.com

duffer

I came upon a shifty duffer
whose wares were worn and shabby,
stored within a two-tiered coffer,
he claimed to come from Arabie
where wares were often shabby.
He asked me kindly, "please peruse the goods I sell,
brought all the way from Arabie."
"No thank you," I almost yelled,
"don't ask me to peruse the goods you sell,
for I've not come to buy a thing
and now you've made me yell."
Aghast, he started wondering
why I've not come to buy a thing
stored within a two-tiered coffer.
With eyes still fully wondering,
I came upon a shifty duffer.

©2006 b.cisek

duf·fer ('d&-f&r), noun:1 a : a peddler especially of cheap flashy articles b : something counterfeit or worthless 2 : an incompetent, ineffectual, or clumsy person
definition taken from merriam-webster online