writing – Page 4 – Kevin Trent Boswell

inclined

if one was truly
inclined
to love

one would,
happily,
and without restraint

but here—conditions,
jaundice,
patina

a sutra, a dervish,
a Buddha
you ain’t

A Trick of the Light

I mourn the loss
Of who I thought I knew
But as it turns out,
I do not miss you

I grieve for the person
You pretended to be
It helps to remember
You never loved me

purpled

somehow,
it’s even uglier
on the inside

the surprises,
intermittent,
perplexing

it must be a
challenge
to hide

so much,
for so long,
and so vexing

mask

dwindle and fade,
no satisfaction here
purpose of the ire,
in the open, now clear

garnering support,
an ethos, a ruse,
self-righteous zealot
choose and abuse

don’t need a diagnosis
to tell you to duck;
it walks, and it quacks,
underhand fuck

watch, but do nothing
feign blindness, withdraw
could help, but won’t
the soul—coup d’état

in silence, compliance,
just keep on going,
not twisting the knife,
but watching, and knowing

hardly deniable,
accessory to the fact
encircle the target
enter foul pact

a tribe may be strong,
yet, poisoned in the heart
each member chooses
if they will take part

a bias is a bias,
and roses have fangs
hatred is hatred,
and hate runs in gangs

dead, bloated cow

and that sickly, ugly war
raged through the streets,
unhinged and unhappy,
all too costly and unaware
of the damage it deals

it blisters the skin and boils the blood,
ripping down foundations,
blasting apart buildings,
making vehicles cease to exist,
filling the air with a foul stench
of fear and anger

its reward? only carnage
and arrogant blustering,
nothing of validity or consequence;
nothing positive or loving or logical

only the bellowing roar of endless warring

a hotdog cart burning in the road,
and fat, half-dead cow by the river,
making horrible noises of pain,
as it hopelessly calls out for attention

and to think, how everything
could have been peaceful, happy, and quiet

but some will always find it absolutely
unacceptable to have anything other than
their way

phoenix incorporated

rising majestically from the ashes
is only useful if you have been
unwittingly destroyed
by circumstances
beyond your control

if you willingly walk into the fire,
time and time again,
because you crave
the feeling of being reborn,
then it makes it impossible
for anyone in your life
to know who they’re dealing with

harness the power of the phoenix

without becoming a full-time martyr
to constant change