Throwback Thursday Poetry: Dreadful Bells

the Bells
They haunt me in my dreams
i hear Them in the streets
it makes me want to scream
scream like a child
whose eyes cannot shut
for fear that their throat
will surely be cut

these Bells
They drive me mad with Their wonderful delights
against Them i rage
i constantly fight
with effortless ease
They attack without warning
They infiltrate my brain
at least until morning

those Bells
all my life They’ve plagued my mind
They ring without fear
They don’t sense it’s Their time
it’s Their time to be finished
They are now forsaken
can i finish Them off
before i awaken

Early poetry from James. From the poetry collection Pariah Bound: The Lonesome Poetry.

What’s New Wednesday: May 6

There are a number of new things I’m rolling out for this blog. The first minor change is the regular Tuesday post. The Twofer Tuesday format wasn’t working as well as the other days of the week. Instead of two poems, I’m only posting one and calling it Tuesday Poetry. I’m also attempting to have more nonfiction. I guess one could call these normal blog posts such as this one. I’m trying some new things. Some stuff I’m trying to write more often and I’m throwing out some tips and things for writers.

We’ll see how many of these new things work well enough to stick around. Other new stuff. I’m working on multiple projects. One criticism I’ve gotten about my poetry books is there are often random things that don’t fit the theme of the book. I’m trying to focus more on theme consistency and therefore have two poetry books in progress. I have also written over half of the first draft of my novel “The Hook.” And I’ve started outlining what will become my next novel. I’m also developing another short story collection but have written no short stories at the moment. 

Those are the basic new things for May. We’ll see how these new post ideas work. If they don’t, I have some new ideas for June. If they do, well I’ll do my best to keep them going. If there is anything you all would like to see more of or something new you want to see on this blog, leave a comment and tell me what you think. Feedback is always appreciated.

Tuesday Poetry: Humanity is Hurting

There’s an energy of hate
Pulsating through the world
And everyone blames someone else – 
The truth is – they hate themselves – 
They have no compassion because
They feel no self-compassion
They have no self-love – 
You can’t love anyone
Until you love yourself
And hating someone does not
Give you the right to hurt them – 
No one has the right to hurt anyone
So, stop hurting yourself and others

From the poetry collection Cats, Coffee, Catharsis.