Chances Missed

The glass comes empty, filled with air

Giving nothing but despair

The grapefruit pulp

Glued to the rim

Brings old memories

Lost within

Chances missed

Feelings dismissed

When at last a thought pours in

To reinvent this frowning grin

A foul odor rises up

And spills the air from out the cup

The Cedar Steps

I lick the grass with cedar steps

Teeth pulled back, all cracked and bent

The grimy taste of ashy soil

Climbs up my stairs, makes me recoil

My mortar skin and cracking bones

Painted bright un-earthy tones

I breathe these fumes of charcoal gas

And exhale clouds of chestnut dust

Ashtray

The ashtray lays just where you left it

The foggy glass, not entertaining

Disintegration from the fiery air

Collective coals, trapped and caged

Smoldered smoke that left, enraged

The ashtray rasps and spits its words

Tries to tell me your absurd

You never listen to the hiss

The end shriveling as it burns

Watching your life shrink to a butt