Free Verse

I howled for another — I forgot your name while entangled in love’s sheets under a full moon so I howled for another and your blistered tongue swallowed my pride. In the morning under a boiling sun you whispered parables of forgiveness while your heart chastised my amusement, but only a fool would forgive such a slight…

Don’t let me die in vain — Embrace me in melancholy where somber tears summon the violin’s whisper under a sullen moon. Where thunder crashes against my heart, rejuvenating pain. Embrace me, so I won’t die in vain. © 2023 Rena Aliston. All rights reserved.

a sliver of kindliness escaped my lips, I then blurted out a multitude of words pleasant. randomly I added licks of verbal beauty, to be followed by tonic breaths of tenderness. despite myself, I bathed you in utterances of compassion, and covered you with post-it notes carrying gems of cuteness. I roared affection at the top of my…

A poem about distilling life to the bare minimum. — It may have been the stuff of whispers, The stuff that makes life springs forth this time of year. Growing in the sun’s direction and spreading arms, Wide like branches letting the light seep through me, And sweeten my bloodstream like honey, Like mildew, like rain. I will know time…

Within pity’s sheltered arms — Shame separates shatters the whole into fragments, disordered chaos struggling to comprehend why love and pain can no longer abide together within pity’s sheltered arms. © 2023 Rena Aliston. All rights reserved. Saponi (American Indian)

Of old paths and new — The fresh smell of laundry mixing with the intoxicating brown of Jack. Watching the slowly melting ice and the intrusive thoughts disappear. The whites reflect too much light, incomplete, and rumbling along. Shifting focus off me to find the new directions I seek. …

Save yourself — Jump if you want to survive, off the cliff into iniquity’s pool where shallow tongues swallow your heart and hands pull apart your carcass. Your blood tastes like poison. I bathe in this acidic lust as your limbs dance among the tree branches buried deep in the forest of domination. Your flesh peels as the moon’s eye opens, glaring at your soul…

What lies beneath your eyes — Our love - walls and windows. Your foundation - stone, unbreakable by design still I climb through love’s portal for a peek at what lies beneath your eyes. © 2023 Rena Aliston. All rights reserved. If you find some value in and enjoy reading my work, you can Buy Me…

A poem — While the rice cooks We lay on our bed and debate which movie to watch. A comedy? Maybe a thriller? A memoir? I worry about the stove on in the other room, but you say it’s okay. It’s just the rice. There’s a timer set. Plus it’s only simmering. …