the spire

the spire
by Timothy Reed

the spire smiled

smugly

at commonplace

concrete

and basic

brick

(to say nothing of its

foundation forefathers)

refusing to acknowledge its

smudged patrons of

loftiness 

Contend

Contend

by Timothy Reed

it was only the other day

I passed a small garden

asleep for the winter, barren

and above saw a mother and child

locked in heated contention

and I thought to myself, "It is good

that our days are numbered

marred as they are by discord 

and warring wills."

Creation groans.

Amuse Me

Amuse Me

by Timothy Reed

In swaths of grass

tail twitching like a dying snake

"Amuse me, amuse me"

Eyes lit by wanton instinct

of feline forebears

Into sea-green glass you looked

fixated

(also admiring your coat, impeccably cleaned)

waiting for a scaled offering

to enter your display case

and suddenly

a glint beneath

and claws flash

water crumples like cloth

confused gills furiously working the air

(like a spider, run out of silk

madly spinning old Solutions)

shocked, you stare

at the fruit of your hunting

no longer so appealing

and so you trot off

meowing,

back to the certainty of your

daily milk saucer

but in the grass, caprice is no option

in this present immutability

"Amuse me, amuse me"

Timex

Timex

by Timothy Reed

on my wrist rests

dead man's watch face

hawk eyes watching

this unproven successor 

so far my only inheritance 

is that these hands,

blunt-tipped and elephant-grained,

begin to resemble his

perhaps I will someday 

deserve this legacy

Ode to Jemma

Ode to Jemma

by Timothy Reed

every day my

collie dog shoots

like a marksman's

arrow into 

blackness, caring 

not a moment

 for the unknown

 of the hallway

Book release! "My Window Faces South" is available!

BIG NEWS! I'm really excited to be able to tell you about my NEW BOOK - "My Window Faces South", now available on Amazon. I've spent the last few months compiling, editing, and arranging around 50 of my favorite poems to put in this collection. I hope you enjoy it! 

Shoutout to Bethany René Mark​ for the incredible coverart! Make sure to drop over and subscribe to her blog "With Favor & Fight​"

 if you haven't already! 

Head over to Amazon to order a copy - they're only $7.50! 

https://www.amazon.com/Window-Faces-South-Timothy-Reed/dp/197334243X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513267511&sr=8-1&keywords=my+window+faces+south+timothy+reed

safe

safe
by Timothy Reed




t'was nigh unto sundown

when I passed your lane

indigo and crimson

warring for celestial dominance

in cloudy battlegrounds

and I saw your white-picket house,

like a movie-screen

alive with the glory above

smirking, smiling

the windows shuttered

the doors thrice-barred

the very model of security

and all round the yard, the baby's breath

whispered

"safe, safe"

it was only then that I

happened to notice a small

pocket of shadow by your stoop

a pocket no larger than a forgotten memory

and indeed it was

or it had been 

(and sunset suggested "will be again")

and there, dressed to the nines

stood a man with fair form

soft features and kind eyes

who, all the while

was breathing words

"charity, comfort"

but whose feet

lived in puddles of

bones

blood

carnage

blackest death

and I marveled at this

essential dissonance

and I wondered what
violence
debauchery
or hatred
that man must 
espouse - evangelize

and so I craned my neck
turned my ear
to hear what he muttered
beside your doorstep


"did he really say?"

"will he keep his word?" 

"am I his keeper?"

"does it make sense?"

and there he 
waited, watched
never loud, never loud
until sun died

and you
unlatched, unfastened
undid, unbarred
lifting locks, latches 
and bade him enter
and dine
dine
dine

and all round the yard, the baby's breath

whispered

"safe, safe"