Unconditional

I hate you

          I love you

You are useless to me

          I love you

You don't care about me

          I love you

You don't understand

          I love you

Me and my Dad ...

          I love you

I am mad at you

          That's okay,

                    I love you

B.Y. Penman 9-14-21

Rituals Of My Religion

free floating in water
softly stroking the velvety ears of a cat
sitting still, listening to vinyl spinning on a turntable,
needle pulling sounds from the grooves to fill the room
pollinating strawberry flowers into becoming more with a paintbrush
stopping on the trail just to listen to the sounds of a gurgling brook

B.Y. Penman 9-10-21

Needle on Vinyl

needle on vinyl
takes me back
to slow
time passing
like yesterday's dreams
when tomorrow was full of promise

do you remember
how free felt
before the chains of
adulthood shackled your feet
in place
and the rut formed
through the grind
of the day to day?

B.Y. Penman 9-3-2021

The Trio

RESPONSIBILITY
       GRIEF
          REGRET

a heavy trio
deftly slung
over both shoulders
carried with determination
until the grit built up
beneath my feet and hurt
enough to make me stop
to sit with the weight
of everything
and it slowly slipped
then settled
on the ground around me
and I was free

B.Y. Penman 9-9-21

Heavy Metal Mother

craving concrete and iron
to steel this soft flesh and tired bone
against the crushing weight
of being everything to everyone

nerves thrum like guitar strings
amped up to beyond
when the phone rings
and it's you

cut my teeth on uncertainty
raised on chaos and tears
curled up at night with my fear
easy isn't for me

learned there's no saving grace
no knight in shining armor
to come and save me from it all
life is no fairy tale in the end

now just a quiet warrior
leaking words in place of tears
that dried up long ago
when love wasn't enough to fix us all
and I learned to let go

B.Y. Penman 2021