TaliaRussell
Stories
Beach House
It has a scent of mildewInfused with briny airTinged with heat-baked juniperNear the window thereSwimsuits stiff with sandy saltHanging from the railChildren’s plastic beach toysShovels, balls, and pailsA porch that’s sloped and batteredWarped with f…
Naiad
Glitter water flowingSun flecks on her skinDancing with the riverAs graceful as a nymphFree from care and troublesSmooth unfurrowed browThe visage of an angelWhose serenity is foundOn land her heart weighed heavyLife’s burdens bearing downAfloat, her…
Ordinary
OrdinaryVeryNot beautifulAt allSo what about herScares meInvadesMy inner calm?Disturbs my senseOf whatI amWho I thoughtMyself to beForced to faceAnd not avoidThe truth of what this means:If I outrivalOrdinaryYet itEclipses meThere is no wayI can comp…
Appetizer
Melon in prosciuttoSweetness wrapped in saltPinkish flesh with toothmarksOne biteThen twoIt's gone.…
Chatterbox
True story!!…The old man coughedAnd thus were tossed Launched, then aloftAmid drops of spittle In flight, then alightUpon black and white With a clack and a clatterSkittering, then not Then stoppedIn a bathroom stall At the feet of oneWho had just begun To do hi…
Bad Fruit
You know you want it . . .…Sweet taste of summer!Juicy fruitBeckons from the bins The siren song of “I’m in season!And low-cal!I’m what you want!You can’t NOT win!” Velvet curve of mounded peachThe touch gives me a rushYet I knowWhen I get homeIt’s sure to taste like mush And…
After All
He was never coming backShe could accept that now The fights, the loveThe joy, despairHad seen their final round She let the calm flow over herUnable yet, to miss No mental checks of what he’d doHer thoughts began to drift Who was she, before him?Sh…
Grimm
I see your eyes avertAs I cross your path Inside it makes me smileI know you had it planned Your feelings are so strong for meYou cannot stay away But you’re so shyAs you pass byYou dare not speak my name Each day you’re thereAnd so am II know you ha…
Cleanroom
This hurtsAgainI wish it were gone It hurts againNo matter how long I thought it was betterBut it’s bested me Unable to hideIt tracks when I flee Focus on somethingSeal off the pain Wrap around and aroundIdle thoughts in my brain Distract with white…
Challenge
It's not you, it's me . . .…You were just A challengeThat’s all you were To me I don’t think I liked you muchBut wished You wanted me And wanting it So badlyNeeding To prevail ThinkingPlanningPlottingDetermined not to fail Upset it was upsettingI couldn’t reel You in ApproachA…
Sin City
What are the odds . . .?…Jeweled kingdomPeople zooThe sex of richesWon by few Palatial coolnessInferno blazingMisted desertLustful gazing Lines of feedersSnaking throughMazesWaitingFor their food Glitz and showgirlsOiled menConventionersAnd lost weekends FantasiesAnd booze …
Chasm
You sit across the tableNot looking at my handWhich rests upon formicaRevealing upturned palm Sweated glass of waterDrip-stained coffee cupsCongealed fat drops on a plateWitness us discuss our love Your eye catches the serverA check in tray arrivesY…
Chimera
At times, the heat was so intenseWe smoked right through the internetI dreamed of lightning when we touchedA laser’s gaze, the burn of lustNo matter what went on in lifeYou filled my mind, our limbs entwinedAnd not with love that’s tender, sweetBut g…
Shall We?
Draw me near and cheer meGrace me with your smileLet a veil encircle ‘round Concealing us, a while Let me lean against youStrong and warm and thereRadiating surenessShielded from life’s glare And as your chest enfolds meComfort’s warmth does riseCatc…
Decisions
Questions I don’t want to askAnswers I don’t want to knowDecisions I don’t want to makePlaces I don’t want to goA life I lived in retrospectChoices that I should have madeChances had but left untakenRegrets untouched until todayActing brave while bei…
Shame
It’s such a shameWe never touchedOr heard the other speak It’s such a shameWe fell apartBefore we got to meet It’s such a shameWords on a screenWere all the love we knew And such a shameThose words are goneIn cyberspace, with you.…
Threshold
I wasn't preparedTo love youI wasn't preparedTo stayI've tucked, and I've rolledMyself throughThe lion's shareOf my daysOne foot out the doorPurse in my handKeeping all parts of me SafeWatching for signsThat things have gone southReady to make My esc…
Demon
OnceBy the flame flare in your eyesWith pupils drawnI realizedAs you lit that cigaretteFire taking holdUpon its endTendril smoke curls upAnd outTobacco sulphur scentsSwirl 'roundThatYou would never let me goYou'd taken holdWithin my soulSometimes for…
Dandelions
Stop talkingEnoughYour words areToo much I hate themAs thoughThey lived lives ofTheir own Your creations DestroyThey siphon Off joy Now soldiers With gunsOnce were boysWith peach fuzz Dandelion shyAdoringWide-eyed SomewhereThey learnedAnd this, H…
Waiting in the Wings
Sing me tuneless comfortCradling my painHelp me bear the sadness Burdening my brain Hold me while I rememberWhat can no longer beThe unthought thoughts I dailyTry so hard not to think And while you act as sentryI can bear to feelThe feelings begging…