today what i needed
was frivolous but you
still treated it delicately
like precious cloth draped across
your outstretched arms
small stone 13 – gratitude
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Author Archives: marey mercy
small stone 12 – revenge
i have the taste for it –
salty and rough against my tongue.
how can i describe the taste
of salt – it tastes of beachwater
and failure. my desire
to get even is like this,
like water trapped in the ear
after a hard wave. i shake my head
and stomp my feet but stubbornly
it remains, like the bubble in a level
off-kilter. i have the taste for it –
but not the stomach.
small stone 11 – red lipstick
red lipstick
they say red lipstick
past 40 is a bad idea
but bad ideas past 40
are usually the best ones
small stone 10 – slowing down
everything takes longer now
to accomplish and is sweeter
because of this
small stone 9 – night owl
it is not the sleeping
i try to avoid, but the waking
into another day of starting over
when it seems i just finished
this one –
i want to enjoy its conclusion
a little longer, one more hour
of quiet accomplishment
before the alarm
small stone 8 – older
even the optometrist today
is appalled by my lack of vision
small stone – moving on
drinking one last cup of morning
tea, still not ready for
this day i knew would come
small stone 7 – storm
the storm started up early
this morning, the skyrise sickly
green and moaning, the dogs
barking at strangers they think
are tapping at the window
small stone 6 – surgery
hours spent whittling
on a hopeless poem
all that is left is this
small stone
small stone 5 – ramone
every time he lies down on the autumn leaves
to stretch his golden body i try
to take a picture and he moves towards me with no
comprehension of the importance
of preserving such moments
mareymercy. 