Watchtower by Anita McQueen

 WATCHTOWER

No spiral staircase descending
from my one window
over the city.

No man seeing
my stare
longing.

I won't admit it
grinding my teeth,
flaring my nostrils,
stomping my feet...

High
cloud underbellies
muscled
men
I cannot reach...

I scream and those above only hear
a faint whistling of some common bird.



Published in Catapult To Mars- 1/18/11

Thrill by Anita McQueen

THRILL

Don't think of
me
as the
only one

there's plenty of
honey
givers
for a house stint

I'm a vacation
thrill

take me
while I'm willing

and remember
me
when you're old
and grunting.

 

Published in Yes, Poetry- 3/10/11

Repeat Of Shadows by Anita McQueen

REPEAT OF SHADOWS

Last of the sun
down behind stagnate buildings,
standing in my spot of space,
city click of silence,
before the night rapes.

 
Published in Subliminal Interiors- 3/11/11

Young by Anita McQueen

YOUNG

I'm too
young
handling heavy
thoughts

I must stop
my bare
feet

on the back
of the giant
crock

this government
crawling
a long time
before I did.


Published in Indigo Rising Magazine- 2/23/11
Drawing by Jarrell

Sand Trap by Anita McQueen

SAND TRAP

We're only
here
a short time
melting
into the sand
sidewalks
leading
into a maze of
nowhere
buildings
boned
for failing
walls in this old desert

Desert Earth.



Published in Indigo Rising Magazine- 2/23/11
Drawing by Jarrell

Fading Smoke by Anita McQueen

FADING SMOKE

It's so right
you take me
in flight

over rooftops and bad thoughts,
tombstone corners I've danced

squinting visions
I'll never see
my father without pain,

railroad tracks stitching the distance
where all the world is dying
stalks of corn
yellow and bent

my tears cannot help,
far flying
as you turn me
on my back,

gazing up,
stars gazing down at my resemblance,
my jeans on fire at the cuffs,

leaving a trail
fading smoke...

coughing

how could I
forget your name.


Published in Deuce Coupe- 1/31/11
Drawing by Jarrell

Dirty Taxi

dirty taxi
idling against the worn curb
opening its door


Published in blackdahlia- 2/11/11
Drawing by Jarrell

Low In The Gutter by Anita McQueen

low in the gutter
cold water around my toes
bathing


Published in blackdahlia- 2/11/11 
Drawing by Jarrell

Darkness by Anita McQueen

DARKNESS

Down
the street
distant
someone
playing
the piano
sweet
and sad
for
the city
dying
slow
within itself.


Published in Ink Sweat & Tears- 3/15/11
Drawing by Jarrell

Oscillating by Anita McQueen

I see myself
in the elongated mirror playing
tic-tac-toe with red lipstick,
Xs and Os over my skin
slick with summer heat,

oscillating fan sweeping my mood
back and forth my weight on each bare foot,
skinny as I want,
wanting to run naked down the hallway
into the street where cell phones wait
to take my picture and broadcast it singing

loud
I'm seriously ready
for someone to massage me with a cover of smoke.


Published in Ink Sweat & Tears- 3/15/11

Flashes by Anita McQueen

I'm drunk with the lift of night,
running down streets I've never seen.

A dying newspaper fluttering against a wall.
Condemned buildings with boarded windows
and piss-washed doors nailed
Christ,
I need you...

On and on in my footfall rhythm
my side aching,

bleeding down my legs
raw and stinging
I stop.

Huffing and puffing
I turn around and head home,
lightheaded,
seeing flashes in the sky of another world.



Published in The Literary Burlesque- 1/4/11

Wet Paint by Anita McQueen

I posed for a painter.
He couldn't pay me but a couple of crumbs.

He said my face was sweet and my eyes sinister.

His company was settling for a time
when I wanted to scream.

I deserted him.
He sold the painting of me and moved on.

I find myself
often
in a stance he should have painted
for the two of us.




Published in The Literary Burlesque- 1/4/11

Charger by Anita McQueen

Running
against the wind
purposely
aiming myself
to the bull's-eye
showing
every muscle
stretch of skin
oiled with sweat
unafraid
of horns and hoofs
and grunt of the pawing beast.



Published in The Camel Saloon- 1/4/11

It's Not Fair by Anita McQueen

Sin is
heaviest
on the nape of the neck

bowing us down
under the sky
and the ceiling of our cell.



Published in Raven Images- 1/2/11

Just Before Bed by Anita McQueen

Forgiveness in the air
 
inhaling
fast and furious
 
not getting enough
to stop the tears.



Published in Raven Images- 1/2/11

Cloudy Visions by Anita McQueen

Falling from
night sky

raindrop
thousands

tilting
my head back

eyes open
blurring

water from the gods.



Published in The Camel Saloon- 12/31/10
Published in The Second Hump- 1/1/11