Mirror by Justine

You’re My Mirror

Telling lies, that I’m okay
No conscience
Exact, I think,
Always reflective
Of the outside
Only in segments
Portions,
In Stages 123
Unless in full length

The cracked mirrors
More revealing
More accurate
Maybe,
Like a rippled lake
Trying to show
More depth

Mirrored,
No warmth,
Cold and hard
You’re shallow, flat
A copycat

You stare at
Off white walls
Magnolia,
Chip wood
And doors
All sorts
Hallways and stairs

Sometimes you catch me
In passing
In reflection
I see you,
I smile and
You smile back
I cry and
You reply
Simultaneously,
With tears

I bleed and
You copy
I laugh, but its
Not funny
I’m only laughing
on the outside
But you don’t know that
Cos your
Only a mirror

You don’t have ears
But you hear everything,
You’re not nosey
Just very aware,
One-dimensional.
You take the stance
Of face value

Cold,
Smooth,
You have
No other option,
You don’t smell
Or record
You’re just a voyeur

Your taste is of
The moment
The seconds
The minute

No record
No memory
Only the present
No worries

But you have
Something special
Like a cat,
You can see
In the dark



Justine McLaughlin

Seize the day by Justine McLaughlin

‘Seize the Day’

The Thief

Never quite managed to
Seize the day
Excuses roll and rap
It’s too cold
It’s too noisy
It’s too…….

So once again
Locked in voluntary isolation
I write another poem

Another excuse

If only I could
Cross that line
Between in and out
Or join the dots
Between home and town
Or that bridge between
You and me

Maybe then
I could seize, the moment
The day,
Time

But the Invisible thief
Is on the loose again
So who knows?
What tomorrow will bring

Justine McLaughlin

New by justine mclaughlin

NEW

He said he knew
She said it was new
They said we knew
I said it wasn’t new
It was old

That the old
Had become new
That what I thought I knew
Wasn’t new
It was old news

Therefore
It just wasn’t new anymore
We needed something
We needed something new
A new beginning
A new start
A new life

Something ridiculous
Something permanent
Something warm maybe
Anything
Just make sure it’s new

Surrender by Justine Mclaughlin

Never

I surrender
To the stars
The Moon
Even to the earth
But I wont do that
I surrender
To the plants
The flowers
Even to the insects
But I wont do that
I surrender
To the clouds
The sky
Even to the birds
But I wont do that
I surrender
To the spirits
To the gods
Even to the fairies
But I wont do that
I surrender
To jealousy
To guilt
Even to love
I surrender
To anger
To disappointment
And even to lust
I surrender to kisses
To rage
To joy
Even to fear
I surrender
To hope
To pleasure
To courage
I surrender
I surrender
To awe
To pride
Even to sadness
To joy
To love And even to happiness

Dream by justine mclaughlin

The Dream

I dreamt
I was sleeping
I dreamt I was
Dreaming
Dreaming of a fox
But it was real
Real I tell you
Pacing in circles
In the space
In the front of my bed
Pacing
Circling
Pacing
Circling
Till it sat
Back facing me
Upright
Proud
Guarding me
Calm
I lay still as a corpse
Holding breath
Did he see me?
Could he smell the fear?
An eye movement later
He was snaring
At something next to me
Making ravaged sounds
He was hungry
Or angry
Nestling his snout
Violently
Into the pillow
Next to me
His tail brushed over
My hair
He’d found mew
Will I die?
I looked up
Time 4 AM

Rhythm by Justine McLaughlin

Rhythm

You have it
I love your
Drum talk
Your meter
Your method
Your pulse
The beat
The pace
A son clave
A boss nova
A short delay
Your tempo
Doubles
Triples
It affects my balance
Your prosody
Your stresses
Long short
Short long
They command me
Beat me
Pitch, low in deliverance
High in effect
You’re a Griot
Oral
Gun
Dun
Go
Do
Pa
Ta
Your African
A Djembe
Tabla complex
My drum
Keeps you in line
In harmony
In time
We make sounds
Variations
In Length
Accentuating
The highs, lows
A flow
A wave
Symmetry
The ripples

Always an event
I clap and
You gesture me
Always in time

Change by Justine Mclaughlin

Fly

You watched the change
Why does my end always become your start
You slowly dissected me
Until I fell apart
First the wings
So I could no longer fly
You took away my tears
So I could no longer cry
you watched me change
from fullness to a shell
you kept your distance
my room a cell
you watched me change
I don’t remember who I am
Or where it all began
But I remember loving you
Now there’s nothing left to do
Ill just have to watch for change

Rhythm by Justine

Rhythm

You have it
I love your
Drum talk
Your meter
Your method
Your pulse
The beat
The pace
A son clave
A boss nova
A short delay
Your tempo
Doubles
Triples
It affects my balance
Your prosody
Your stresses
Long short
Short long
They command me
Beat me
Pitch, low in deliverance
High in effect
You’re a Griot
Oral
Gun
Dun
Go
Do
Pa
Ta
Your African
A Djembe
Tabla complex
My drum
Keeps you in line
In harmony
In time
We make sounds
Variations
In Length
Accentuating
The highs, lows
A flow
A wave
Symmetry
The ripples

Always an event
I clap and
You gesture me
Always in time