the magnetic pull that draws the connection
it can become weaker once you use the same poles
a friendship built upon the idea of being wanted by others
will always shatter over a little discourse
one wanted to be loved even if it was as a friend
one wanted to use the other's skill for his own great good
we were always meant to fall apart
the signs were there but you chose to ignore
to be used is to be wasted
that was the message from my greatest god
Her body tells a story.
A story all might not know.
Her lips and voice once used as a flirtatious weapon.
Hips once used to seduce.
She used to dress to impress.
Too flirtatious for her own good.
Now her lips are used to kiss boo-boos.
Her voice used to sing lullabies.
Her body used to take care of everyone else first.
Now she dresses without a care.
Somedays she doesn't recognize herself from who she used to be.
I received a ten dollar off coupon for my birthday
It said I could even use it on a ten- dollar item!
Today I wished I had used it
when I saw the hardware store had gone out of business.
At this time of year there are usually outside plants all around the store.
Nothing was there, the signage was down, the windows showed empty shelves.
I wondered what happened to the cat who used to hide under the outside plants.
i keep watering seeds i know will never grow
i give every seed a chance at life
never giving up on them
even if i can see so very clearly
they won't live
at least not long enough to bear crops
i feed and feed and feed
running myself dry just to water you
i'm almost out of water
but i'll use my last bit on you
even though i know you won't give a single thing in return
but i keep watering and watering
knowing the outcome each time
but maybe
just maybe
i can get you to grow
even if i have to kill myself
for you to survive
i'm a shirt in the depths of your closet
shoved so far back
i'm not sure you even remember i'm here
it wasn't always this way
i used to be your favorite
i remember the day you found me
it was like love at first sight
i half expected you to leave me on the dressing room floor
cold, dark, empty
you didn't though
you took me with you
and we went everywhere together
we made so many memories
you hung me back in the closet once
i expected you to take me out again
i waited
and waited
you opened the door again
i thought you were going to grab me
you reached for me
but you grabbed the shirt in front of me
your new favorite
i waited
and waited and waited again
but i only got pushed farther back
you open the door
i figured you'd reach right past me like the last times
but you grabbed me
this is all i had been wishing for
we were together once more
you take one look at me
reflecting on our past together
then you toss me away in a small box
cold, dark, empty
why wouldn't you do that from the start?
leave me on that dressing room floor?
why take me
only to leave me in the end?
Like an Axe Used To Split Kindling for Fire
Like an axe used to split kindling for fire,
Her beauty repeatedly strikes at my heart,
Encouraging sparks of desire that inspire
Me to bravely approach her without swagger.
I, in livery, and she, robed in fine cloth,
Comport in accord with that which is proper;
Express youthful, sentimental, foolish tropes,
Indulged in cautiously during our rapport.
Blustery adaptations amuse our spirits
At her pleasure, confident in my prescience.
We play charades insouciantly within limits,
Aware of time and place and our adolescence.
Music warms the heart’s revival of remembrance;
Our minds exploit these encounters with exuberance.
But That Was So...
I Mean, That Makes Me Such...
You Know, Something Just Was
Too Much, I Guess.
Whatever.
-Gray Squirrel
08-10-2025
Have you heard
the one about the
birds and the
bees?
I never much liked
it myself, because it
soured the taste of
our innocence.
Or maybe our
innocence soured
the taste of us.
So much for happy endings,
and so much for love.
So much for innocence,
and so much for us.
You’re an old slow dance.
You’re an old song.
And if I’m being
honest—
I still think back to that
time I slow danced with
your decaying love in
my palms.
And it still
makes me
smile.
You know
it's not what you know
or who you know
it's what you know
about whom you know
and I know you know
'You know'
are the most
abused over-used
words today
you know
I'd be happy
if never again
I hear anyone say
'You know'
but wherever you go
there they are
on the lips
of all your friends
and you know
it never ends
they're on TV
and radio
I'm so tired
of listening to
'You know'
you know
"In Jesus' Name" is not a magic phrase
Many need to hold their tongue and behave
God the Father gave his Only Begotten Son
The name of Jesus is the name of redemption and
It is the productive life of Jesus and his mission that
Got us back to the Father
The Name of Jesus must be used in accordance with his mission
And not with ours
Many prayers are not answered because
It is not in accordance with His Mission
In Jesus' name does not guarantee anything
We must bring ourselves to understand that
We should pray in alignment with what Jesus stood for
We should pray in alignment with the mission he was sent
Which was to bring people closer to OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
"In Jesus' Name" is not a magic phrase
Many need to hold their tongue and behave
God the Father gave his Only Begotten Son
Mark Frank
Copyright 2025
I'm getting away...from the way I used to do
I'm getting away...from the way I used do too
I'm getting away...from the way I used to think
I'm getting away...from the way I used to drink
I'm getting away, getting away, getting away
I'm getting away, getting away, getting away
I'm getting away...from the way I used to be
I'm getting away...from the way I used to see
I'm getting away...from the way I used the book
I'm getting away...from the way I used to look
I'm getting away, getting away, getting away
I'm getting away, getting away, getting away
I'm getting away...from the way I used to pay
I'm getting away...from the way I used to play
I'm getting away...from the way I used to act
I'm getting away...from the way I used to react
I'm getting away, getting away, getting away
I'm getting away, getting away, getting away
I'm getting away...from the way I used to walk
I'm getting away...from the way I used to talk
I'm getting away...from the way I used to put things on the shelf
I'm getting away...from the way I used to get away from myself
I'm getting away, getting away, getting away
I'm getting away, getting away, getting away
I used to know
But not so much anymore
Hold the door
Don’t hold the door
Say “Good Morning”
Or say nothing
Lest I commit
A micro-aggression
I used to think outside the box
I can’t any longer
They have taken all the boxes
And made signs out of them
Covid may be over
Yet the masks remain
Implacably etched
On dour faces
Ever fearful of a smile
I always treated puppies
As if they were kids
Y’know, cleaned up after them
Let them run through mud puddles
Chase rabbits and butterflies
Pee outside
Eat popcorn while watching a movie
The cat…well
If you’ve ever had a cat
You know…
Driver on interstate has pressed his accelerator hard
I used to drive like that – daily
To and from work with gritted teeth
Expecting death at any minute
Racing here, there, nowhere really
The stress was gruesome
In the last nine months I have driven six times
Less than one time per month
Retirement is a happy unicorn that I am grateful to lie on
Every day when I wake up in the morning
I promise myself that today will be different and I’ll change
So that I’ll be able to finally sleep without my head hurting
From replaying these lucid agonizing moments relentlessly
When all I could do is please, support and trust people
While they are constantly stepping on me to move forward
And I just can’t say no to them, it took me a while to realize
That when you let people take advantage of you, they’ll never stop
I’m always deceived by the typical two-faced people
Prioritizing their feelings and their impression about me
While neglecting myself, feeling bad and the urge to be kinder
But at the end of the day, I’m the one who keeps losing to people who didn’t even try.
She used to think she could fly, she would jump off the couch and it seemed so high. She lost sense of the air but her childhood could not compare.
She went to Saturn instead where she had freedom that was self-led, so more worries no more excuses, no more waiting for a savior to tell her reality is gone.
She took the world into her own hands, she used to think she could fly, she figured out soon it was all planned out so to Saturn she wondered about, she skated from one ring to the other.
Better than the life she knew, but frankly she didn’t have a clue, didn't know wrong from right all she knew is that her life was taking flight.
She felt as if everything she was used to had been washed away and she couldn’t have been in more of a mixture of disbelief and array, a satisfaction that blew her away.
She pondered the stars and this was her newest adventure by far.
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