Three Poems by Lawrence Miles
1. Seaside Heights
In love for a day
Lying on a beach together
You were with another but
He was nowhere to be found
We couldn't tell each other how we felt
The world was eavesdropping on us
No matter how far away we were from everything else
We could only talk about the clouds in the sky
Debate about you wearing heels on the boardwalk
And find out at what age did you last eat
Cotton candy on a summer day
But to tell you that I love you
Would have brought the lifeguards and the
Beach police and the
Soul Gestapo from the back of my head
Over to stop it
One dance
One kiss
One hug
Was my reward
It was enough
Then
But we never finished the story
And you threw the book out with the trash
But I held onto to my
Dog-eared copy
Along with a thousand other days
A thousand other loves
A thousand other books on my shelf
And I pull yours out
Whenever I see
Cotton candy on a summer day
Even though I don't remember the last time I had it
When I was a kid.
The best poets
Are those who never put their words to paper
The best artists
Are those who never sell a painting
The best musicians
Are those who play in the smallest clubs
The best prophets
Are those who keep their thoughts to themselves
The best leaders
Are those who let their actions do the talking
The best fighters
Are those who know defeat from victory
The best athletes
Are those who know the real rewards of their effort
The best people
Are those who know strength from weakness
And who understand the difference.
3. The First, The Last, The Only Redhead I Ever Saw
It was a dye job.
It worked.
When you inhaled
My soul fought to fill your lungs
When you exhaled
Your soul seeped through my pores
It was more than
A light show
And a booming bass through my spine
You killed my sobriety
And took the starch out of my skin
Hanging by a thread
A lock of your spirit
I never knew if
The fire would kill me or cleanse me
I would do anything
To be your fool again.
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