SPOTLIGHT: The Only Sounds Left by BF Jones from Alien Buddha Press

Insomnia

Uninvited
Night-time companion
An overweight cat
Sitting on my chest
And settling
Next to my actual cat;
Both licking wounds
From existing
And imaginary fights
Falls from
Surprisingly high roofs, trees
And pedestals.
The rhythmical noise
Of their sharp, pink tongues
And the endless hum
Of their unfathomable purring
Keeping me from dreaming
As I run my fingers
Over and over
Through their abundant coats.

---

Woman in mirror

Foundation too pale
For the dark cairns around
Eyes that no longer shut.
Blusher too pink
For a complexion
Drained from the rosiness
Of joy and excitement.
Lipstick too bright
For an austere mouth
Hoarding stingily
The last of the smiles.

---

Tombstones

A life well lived.
Acronyms were not her friends.
Great father, average husband.
A life well lived?
John Something Something.
Finally.
Glug glug.
She believed in iteration.
You ain’t getting that back.
I regret nothing.
We buried you with…