My machiavellian green-eyed monster bats her surreptitious eyelids to within an inch of her lasciviously sly lips, barking out orders like Lady Muck subconsciously screwing her fucking finger, but all I can hear is a drum roll; her Devonshire high tea served & my Mad Hatter sets the scene with nothing more than a whistle
© Copyright 2017, Jodine Derena Butler & Poetry Out West. All Rights Reserved
“You colour my world igniting synapses into hyperbole…” JD Butler
Cairns Birdwing Butterfly
I saw a beautiful butterfly today, green with hints of red & yellow, not dissimilar to how I feel about you
I am reminded of transformation
My solar plexus squirms, churning up a cacophony of nervous tension & something else
Breathe, I tell myself or I fear I might pass out, fear having a lend of me
I tell myself you’re not him, over & over angry that even now his incubus infiltrates my psyche, penetrating my light
I’m an observer, always on the lookout for anomalies, my brain overthinking camouflaged sabotage
You colour my world igniting synapses into hyperbole; my protection in overdrive & you are my stargate
*
Just relax. Take all the time you need, whatever will be, will be
(Fuck you & your pathology!)
© Copyright 2017, Jodine Derena Butler & Poetry Out West. All Rights Reserved
Artist Unknown
It costs nothing to show me you care;
holding my hand
makes me feel like I belong with you
stroking my face
makes me feel cherished
look into my eyes
and I feel seen, really seen by you
hug me
and I feel loved
when you smile
I feel warmed by you
when you praise me
it makes me want to do even better
when you run your fingers through my hair
I want to bury my face in your chest
when you tell me you love me
I feel like I belong
when you say and do all of the above
you show me how much you really care.
Now that isn’t so hard
is it?
© Copyright 2017, Jodine Derena Butler & Poetry Out West. All Rights Reserved
Photographer Barbora Biňovcovà
You sold me out, listening to thugs and bigots
I was the best thing since Findlay, only I ended up like Gaddafi with a knife in my back landing face down
What did I ever do to you?
I would have met, if it weren’t for the stench of deceit that smirks behind your false humour attempting to cast a shadow over my outlook
Gas lights your way ahead; a shimmer of truth in everything you say minus the facts, calculating my goodness to open up doors
You had it all Mr Black, and I gave it willingly till I saw past the facade – my asking questions was not the tell that gave you away
It was your penchant for believing I was like you, but I’m not
I am nothing like you!
I thought I saw a flicker of sadness on your face when I walked by, but I felt no penny’s fall
I blacked out your face in my periphery that protects an empty hole where you once lived, disconnected from everything about you
Just be thankful you couldn’t see the blue eyes that hide behind a white fluffy cloud, instead of staring
The future is up in the air
Let’s see if your hand/eye coordination is as good as you once thought, although my cards don’t rely on slight and my deck is not for sale
Are you happy now? You almost have what you want, but the yoke is still around your neck (mother)
I am where I’m meant to be, alone kicking up a storm in my grandmothers teacup, with my mouth wide open
Sold! To the highest bidder
© Copyright 2017, Jodine Derena Butler & ‘Poetry Out West’, All Rights Reserved
All those times you wanted a home for the family and when I bought one, you didn’t like it and I felt disappointed
All those times you stalked me around the house and picked the locks, and I was afraid
All those times you cornered me, hurling foul put downs, till I stuffed my fingers in my ears to protect myself
All those times you told me I was loopy, a slut, a whore – a loopy slut whore and I was hurt
All those times you kicked open the door to pin me to the bed in a fit of rage, and I was struck dumb
All those times you pressured me to buy an investment property instead of renovating the house because you were plotting way back then and I felt betrayed
All those times you moved out, damaging property as you went. It hurt your youngest more than me, when you painted over her beautiful mural and I felt sad
All those times you misled me, hiding behind your Samsung, and your daughter for cover, conjuring plans to deceive and I was manipulated
All those times you spoke ill of me in front of others, your son and my friends – your friends and family and I felt ashamed
All those times you hid your cash, pleading poverty and gutted the
business and I trusted you
All those times you forbade me to enter our shop, and denied you wanted it for yourself and your daughter and I was controlled
All those times you refused to finish my tattoo’s, claiming you were too busy but not too busy for your daughters’ and I was left with rubbish
All those times you said you would draw me a portrait (like yours) and have it tattooed, but you didn’t have enough money even though I gave it to you
All those times you wanted me to go back to work, promising me you could handle it, but you couldn’t and it was my fault
All those times you withdrew your sex, claiming you could go without and I felt unwanted
All those times you accused me of fucking the neighbour, tradies, my boss, anyone and got upset because I sat too close to my ex and I withdrew
All those times you threatened to expose my client, and pounded on the apartment door and I was embarrassed
All those times you judged my friends, for no apparent reason and said they were damaged and I felt damaged
All those times I warned you not to stop taking your medication suddenly, but you did and became abusive and you told your daughter but I was deceived
All those times you resented my money, but took it anyway promising to pay it all back but you had other plans
All those times you said you would do anything for me, then complain you were my slave and I felt trapped
All those times you maligned your ex, your ex wife, your family and those who had crossed you, detailing your revenge and I felt scared
All those times you lied, gas lighting me to my face and Police, to make me doubt myself and instill madness and I became anxious
All those times you said you adored me, meaning as long as I shut my mouth and did as you expected and I went quiet
All those times you said you could never hurt me like your ex’s, because you loved me, giving me a false sense of security and I became depressed
All those times you stole our customers and redirected them to your personal email, yet I was silly for imagining it and I felt set up
All those times you put your personal email on our business pages, but it must have been me and I felt confused
All those times you damaged my property and denied it and allowed your daughter to do it too and I felt ganged up on
All those times you instructed your daughter to remove texts, business files and photographs from my phone and laptop, stating you knew nothing about it, and I felt tricked
All those times you refused to allow me to give a gift voucher to my friends and family, but you said family is always free and I felt nothing
All those times you withdrew your youngest daughter from me, assigning the mother role to your teenage daughter, leaving me outcast
All those times you washed your car, thrice, but wouldn’t wash mine and I felt insignificant
All those times you expected me to cook, but said you loved cooking your special diet anyway but I felt guilty
All those times you failed to communicate in texts for fear of litigation, so we agreed to delete them frequently so they couldn’t be used, but you secretly kept them and I was blind
All those times you said you wanted nothing to do with bikies, their associates or the security crew but you were in cahoots with them the whole time and I feel threatened
All those times you told me it only cost $5000 to get rid of someone and I asked you to stop talking like that, but you didn’t and I felt intimidated
All those times and more, happened but you have your own reasons for behaving this way, after all
You were angry
© Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler & Poetry Out West. All Rights Reserved
Grief is pouring out of me
unexpectedly violent, suddenly indecent
assault tempts me to die, stealing whatever else you left behind
my soul, violated
shredded skin, giving away my heart for safety
killing her off slowly
and I can’t bear it any longer – this pain
consumes me, squeezing every last breath I take
to want nondescript now; everything I had left with you
totally and utterly forlorn, I am bereft of any life, when you said
you loved me – that was an evil lie
there is no faith left in my world when I think of you
I am foetal, cradled in my own embryonic arms
closing bloodshot eyes
for darkness to caress my fetid skin, sinking in
lost; longing for you in vain, my grief is pouring out of me
and it won’t stop – I can’t make you stop
broken, and excrutiating to remember
you abandoned me, destroying everything I thought I meant to you
and the salt, knowing you’re laughing – telling how you want torture
before dismembering my body for a barrel
some days the grief is so bad I want to die, check
my self in to the nearest vein before I slice my way in – till I can’t feel you anymore
and watch my self disappear
© Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler & Poetry Out West. All Rights Reserved
There has been a shift in me; side lining the old ways, finding hope where there was none, obstacles I once circled, dismantled cages my lion once fixated upon, the enemy – my feminine intuition
strength, I found without glasses raised in my periphery far beyond any sudden obscurant deviant landscape filled with Kings Pardon’s, crystal clear upon reflection – I’ve changed
my stipplings more fluid than transparency could have foretold a straight line in the beginning, my wagered war under siege, till it and I spilled out, replacing what was left with artistic endearment
I unpack my bundle now, denying lace doilies on the armrest and turn my back on your silhouette; wallowing in self pity, my demons are fornicating with your rosary beads, lambasted in disquiet
I have witnessed your demise and I too descended into Hell, double standards raping and pillaging my identity, till she was as bereft, staring your demons down so you could see yourself
I am raised from those ashes, I am emblazened wearing a Red beacon-like flag, my Phoenix set to soar North never looking back, for if I think of you, I am at once torn left blindside and I refuse
I stand alone in my dock; my blue eyes pierce your reign, my laser beams cutting through all those cloaked illusions you conjure, for I burn inside you, igniting scrolls of discarded deadwood you can’t deny
Let us be done with this shade! You can’t have your old school tart by eating her, out of business or waltz her off her feet with your inflated ego – the facts are irrefutable betrayal, denial won’t save you
falling into that rabbit hole, that jester court ball full of grandiose promises, all but a mirage in my crystal; my Goddess is much older than your crucified false prophet, and I am no Martyr for a lost cause
© Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler & Poetry Out West. All Rights Reserved
‘Newborn Nightmare’ by Photographer Wojceich Zwolinski – Cambion Art
I wish you could see me but more crucial that you could see yourself
I loved you more than anyone but you gave me nothing to hold on to
or stop making nonsense some sort of sabotage
pandering to your paranoia – I preferred your sweet smile
remembering laughter when you really meant it
everything on our own terms not needing anyone or anything
your eyes meeting mine discarded clothes strewn about the place
you are all I see, nothings changed; my heart is still beating for you
wishing we were naked in our secret place, playing
with each others present tense, feeling everything we’ve lost
so we can find love again. I wish I could be happy in the madness
doing all the things you wanted me to
this something is not what I want no matter how much I keep thinking
you are everything and more because I could never love another and look past
history is so different this time, I can’t let you go when that first kiss was love
I am breaking down in my darkness my world running after my memory of you
I wish you would pick me up and cradle me in your warm arms because I’m so tired
let those thoughts go from my mouth; taste your beautiful lips
I want to take it all wrap myself around and breathe you in
I dont want to waste a minute wasting time waiting for you to rise
I wish you would walk away from those liars and tell me you love me
time wondering if it’s too late watching everyone take a deep breath
I wish I never met you but I want to see you one last night
you and all your misbehaving hoping it’s alright – but it won’t be
there is nothing worse than watching a man with his demons
and love die
© Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler & Poetry Out West. All Rights Reserved
Photographer/Headpiece/Makeup by Andreas Boldt
You went back to the old ways, baby
let those speak for me, on their behalf
poisoning your mind and self
to bring you back home, tethered
to that place you’ve been trying to leave
you let them whisper in your ear,
sweet nothings to woo betrayal,
the only thing you trust
you’ve gone full circle
fear taking what was good for you
over love held in contempt,
lust luring you back again
already screwing you
now they’re trying to screw me
with phone calls, designer texts
intimidation sending me
into undercover, in disbelief
believing you have a hand in thuggery
you were so protective
of me, once family
willing to sell it all to the Devil you know
sending them all away
but they have your head in a vice
that false prophet Halo
surrounding you in darkness; checkmate,
stealing more than just Mary’s soul
you are weak, following
in your fathers footsteps
the one closest to you, the first
learned her place underfoot
her escape futile, her existance
cruel penance for that lost child
proving her guilt
she accepts her fate, now
that’s why she turns a blind eye
allowing your atrocious behaviour
to go unchecked – you raise your voice,
she see’s him in you and resigns
I have fallen by the way
learning to let go of my heart,
my mortality reminds me daily
that I am alone
I look forward to other things, now
bringing fulfillment here,
my father in his Twilight
where I can care for love
without risk, losing it all
the best part – his death
teaching me everything else
I need to know
/
one day, I hope
you sneak back into my bed,
just because you can and
we have an hour or two
to ourselves, like it was before
remembering our smell,
feeling our hearts open
loving each other well, adjusted
until the next time we say goodbye
and life goes on
© Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler & Poetry Out West. All Rights Reserved
i’m craving you, today
all those beautiful things about you
that glittered like gold; your face,
literally a ray of fucking sunshine
portending our future
happiness, growing old together
i crave to see your smile, fall
about the place laughing
i look back through photographs,
those ones on the balcony
encapsulating you against a green backdrop
when we were ecstatic, tripping
over our good fortune pleasured to meet,
makes me weep now
i loved you so much it’s unbearable
witnessing our public demise
i chastise my foolishness,
choosing to believe in love – you
i would do anything to turn back time,
start over knowing what we know now
hold on to that part of us
that was true, before
reality ripped me a new one
and i belly flopped into despair
my eyes search for you everywhere,
in my rearview
to steal a glance, catch a glimpse
to see if you remember me, re-ignite
one final psychic spark
awakening those butterfly’s
i don’t want the dawn to sing to me
i long to dream rainbows and fairy floss
instead of axe handles / switch blades
cutting off my head,
dismembering my brain stem
from my heartbeat for you
some days i look for ways i can feel
my fingers frantic
without prying ears interfering
and i ride you into rhythm
doublets, triplets and fours
before i stare transfixed
into the silent night – did you feel anything?
i don’t like this, nastiness unbecoming
it’s not how i want to remember you
but it’s all you’ve ever known
it’s not too late to salvage respect
putting it all down to folly, our hurt
doesn’t need to scar, on par
with adolescent angst
i love all those who have gone before
each finding that special place
lodged in the spaces between
the good, the bad and the ugly
forgive me, for i will in time; make
it all worthwhile
i want you to be happy,
successful and content
please don’t fall back into line
choosing thugs for pittance
you’re worth more than pseudo security
it’s all bullshit, that old way
you are made for enlightenment
not eternal darkness
i still love you the way i remember you
i just don’t believe in the Devil
© Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler & Poetry Out West. All Rights Reserved
I could never look
at you the same way
I adored you, once
your true colours have me
in sensory overload
clutching my heaving chest
in shock, disbelief winded
reeling from the blows
taking such pride
inflicting pain, deliberately
fueling retribution over lack
of supply, shows me I never knew
you – you who would do anything
for me, except love me
finding unjustified reasons
to hurt me
because I don’t abide
I could never trust
the man that revels in pain
his empowerment borne
plotting, scheming manipulations
splitting love in two
my aorta left to bleed
out, powerless –
it makes him feel
like a man
you’re not my man
I was your meal ticket
your way to escape
demons; Dachau passing down
suffering, such a way of life
completely misunderstood
cruel Nazi mentality, heartless
your Mockingbird,
your SS badge of dishonour
worse, using children
an apparatus for torture
where love nurtured trust,
spiritual guidance squandered
on self-serving childhood needs,
your own metered out
shortcomings
love is not yours to ridicule away
denying its abundant existance
I will never trust my heart,
expose her soft underbelly
or offer her up
in sacrafice; like a lamb,
your God is a manmade
fallacy designed to subjugate
misogyny, displaced whores
rendering Madonna complexes
in perpetual conflict
I am disappointed in you
you had it all, proffered up on a silver platter
wanted for nothing, except coveted jealousy
lusting after sinful greed
you let breed and wreck havoc
Mr Black is a predator, a perpetrator
you let run roughshod over me
I am not the only one, women
your past is predictable by nature
I hope with what’s left,
you learn your lesson well
I wanted a man – a man,
not a spoiled little boy
throwing tantrums to up
the Antichrist in pursuit
of misspent youth,
ungrateful to the core
matters let go out of hand
I am in Hell
sent there to rot in your abandon
but you didn’t bargain on meeting Demeter,
who will hunt you down
to save herself, mourning winter
the long days and sleepless nights,
haunting your nightmares
she, who see’s right through you
will dance on your grave
© Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler. All Rights Reserved
I miss you
how you were when we fell
over each other’s Cheshire
licking the crème de la crème
from our fingertips,
trusting hoards of butterfly
antennae, sensing under the sheets
or up against the wall
or door, searching for foothold’s
to keep us steady,
while the world burned.
I miss you
your delirious smile
smoldering stare held me
for ransom, taking what was mine in
reckless abandonment
left, existentially speaking
our hemispheres to render unnecessary
for nothing else mattered.
you were my light
my world burned for you – you
set me on fire.
I miss you
everyday my heart breaks,
shattering into shards
splintered like thorns
penetrating my psyche,
where our wedding Rose once bloomed
I sink further
than ever green roots
searching for a wellspring and I
long to love you, remembering
ourselves ecstatic.
I miss you
it hurts too much
to open my self up, invite
you in like Twilight wondering if
demons have you ensnared, tortured
reasons where I cease to exist
beyond anything pale.
I loved you so, adoring everything I love
I can’t help but feel lost without you
wanting to take another leap and plunge,
but it’s too late
*
my heart tricked me
to remind me love died.
Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler. All Rights Reserved
Photographer: Jodine Majewski
I have no ill feelings
surprisingly
God knows I have plenty of reason to feel
angry or resentful, hurt
but it’s not in my nature
I feel proud actually,
that I helped a family to have a future
I really worked hard for her, for him
I am satisfied here in my garden
now, pottering
I’ve found peace here
finally, after losing it all
on a gamble
I should have known much better too
but love is truly blind,
even though my eyes were wide open
I can’t take money with me
so I’ll let it go
they need it more than I
I can hold my head up and feel proud
I don’t have to hurt anyone
to get what I want, tenderness
I can give to myself
*
when you love someone,
you don’t do anything to hurt them
© Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler. All Rights Reserved
The Joker
plays his cards then prays
for forgiveness
to a middle eastern Christian God
before hurling abuse
to those who aren’t white
professing to love women
secretly harbouring unfathomable hate
suppressed rage
staring Red indifference in the face
of reason, his reason
an excuse for payback; vindictive
retribution designed to maximize
powerfully charged emotional punches.
♧
I have loved more than once
choosing my heart over head
batting eyelids deflecting
eggs scrambling to make sense
of the impossible scenario
time after time questioning
my self refusing to settle for anything
less than truth
watching loved ones turn
roll over, pulling the wool
over already unseeing orbs
holding on to contempt for love
lost
♤
Death has defined me
grief ripping me apart
till I am stripped bare and
‘The Joker’ plays me for a fool
his denial hardly concealed now
his truth defining him in the end
hidden underneath a facade
charm dangerously like a predators
false sense of security
when his hands are tied
his dirty hands
he tries to launder abrasive
repeatedly.
♢
Money
the root of all evil
threatens to ignite the paper trails
that have us entwined
enmeshed together by banks
loans and fine print
our future only leased
the balance drains the half full cup
sentiment caught never to be released
that Holy Grail
proving to be forever out of reach
what chance did we have?
the die has been cast.
♡
My love
my darling
you were my everything
my beautiful sweet illusion
my heart aches for remembering you
how you were before you changed colour
I fell head over feet for you and yours
grazing my knee in the process
I succumbed, numbing my defenses
getting back up being pushed back down
losing another fragment of hope
each time threatening don’t
now, the joke is on you.
© Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler. ‘Poetry Out West’, All Rights Reserved
I’ve been living in a war zone
so it seems, three and a half years
of Hell with nothing left
to show for it,
except heartache
and pain
watching love leach
from my soul; phosphorescent,
sparks like spheres
float up, up and away
to fizzle out in to nothingness
Since when did I become
the enemy?
clumped into the annuls of misogyny
tarred / scarred
for being a woman empowered
because I threaten the old ways
where women were barefoot
and pregnant,
swathed in floral aprons
with floured hands kneading
wholesome Madonna complexes
designed to subdue
I love
depth and passion
moving my heart to where I am
mesmerized in awe; my fragile smile
let loose like an arrow
straight and true into you
and I, jubilant
where I am left wondering
where you have been
all my life – that I would do anything
for you
I love my self more
and I am not broken completely.
I can take those looks of contempt
along with those cutting words
and stand my ground against interrogation/subjugation
I lead myself in cycles, navigating
my way out of ear shot for a while
till I can stand it no more,
when I hide away inside
and stuff my fingers
All is not lost
despite my sense of guilt at not being
strong enough in your eyes,
un-like grandma whom you adored,
admiring resilience
I am merely a shade by comparison
if I subscribed to your anger and hurt
if I took her on and became
a better person, wife, mother for you
if only I chose to keep my mouth shut
like she learned in the war
I don’t believe
staying silent will keep us alive these days
my life requires I fight
for truth, freedom, rights and for love
so you may find your self, lifted from those ashes – Dachau,
and understand that women need
tenderness, a kindness that takes away
the hurt of injustices, finding safety
your arms filling me with hope
that I am not alone
It is with great sadness
that I must choose love
letting go the innocence of youth
and embrace my own mortality
if I am to be a survivor
I cannot condone atrocities
of any kind and turn a blind eye
without losing that part of myself
that wanted to die, finding respect
in being true to myself
Lest We Forget
I am mourning
a life of trials and tribulations
that had me in tears for the most part
my heart is broken, I no longer believe
in you, us – I am setting fire to the 3rd mar
closing my eyelids on my dreams
facing those feelings that I have been too afraid to feel
reaching in to pull them out
into the open and lay myself bare
so I can finally heal
goodbye my love
we will all be OK
© Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler. ‘Poetry Out West’, All Rights Reserved
I’m a whore.
A hooker for all
Intents & purposes
I fuck
Men, women or both
If they show me
Respect & pay my fee
How they treat
Me is how I screen;
They peep through key
Holes in my web,
Mobile phone or face
Book
Leave me clues
I peruse at my leisure.
On my unpaid time,
Weeding
Always pulling
Out roots & bare
Back, barking mad
Messages
Cutting into my family!
My family time
Intrigues you & yours –
Watching how we
Balance on that edge,
While I swing my leg
Over, hold on
Tight & tiptoe
Around the giant
Dildo in the room
But we do
Those Bill’s
Just don’t stop coming!
*
I work hard for the money
I work hard for family
I work hard
Pulling my weight where it counts
To make ends meet;
Reconciling differences
Underneath
I bleed red & my shit still
Stinks but that doesn’t make me
Invisible, unless you’re
Anti
Anti this, anti that
Why should it matter
What I do to support my
Self or my family?
I should ram my fist right up
Your arse, to my elbows
(I’d like to – bend you over) &
Piss all over your pride & prejudice!
Your mind is already made up.
Stuck up, to the eyeballs
In condescending lies pandering
To (un) popular beliefs;
Nothing like countering ‘prostitution
Narratives’ in the belly
Of the beast
I am a very tall poppy.
I am not so uneloquently on display
I am not a victim
I am not coerced
I am not a survivor
I am not damaged
I am not suffering any
More than anyone else
I don’t buy into
Negative, stereotypically ignorant
Profit driven victimisation
Either!
I choose to be the
Architect of my own life
Doing my bit,
Arousing your awareness
So that those who are
Tarred with the same brush
Can find support
Not rescue
It’s called autonomy.
Something I have more of than
Some, but you are not one
Tomorrow I’m going to wake up
Turn on my phone
Answer messages
Boil the jug & light up a dart,
Considering all my options
Before heading back in to sex work
It makes me stark raving
Mad, to think you could
Possibly be offended!
*
For what it’s worth,
I feel sorry for you
© Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler. ‘Poetry Out West’, All Rights Reserved
Written in protest of the ‘World’s Oldest Oppression’ Conference in Melbourne, Victoria 2016
Photographer: Judith Bender-Jura
1.
Mary, the one without
a Halo – a married whore,
found unconditional love
hiding in the soles of His feet.
After the fact – that
pseudo relationships
took precedence for a while,
she washed Him clean
for no other reason
than to show respect, reverence
for one that would give
His soul for her.
2.
My feet are bare, scarred
by broken beer bottles and red
blood paint – tips to toes,
manicured to perfection once
upon a time. his feet
are cold; numbness held in a vice –
like grip, as she works her way up
past calves & quads seeking
warmth in the apex, comfort
sucking a thumb – print. embedded
ecstasy applying pressure
where it hurts, to ease the pain.
3.
She thinks the sun shines out –
back, cradling his head, healing hands
mindful of circular breathing; muscles
& tendons ache for release.
Mary doesn’t mind manipulating
bones, fingering the spaces
in – between, redirecting blood flow
to all the right places, kneading
stretches & burns ping – back,
sending signals like sparks, endorphins
take up the slack, ushering in sweet
sensation & nipples peek. there’s
nothing special about Mary, knowing
a thing or two, making money serving
more than a hand – full of life’s little pleasures. making hay while the sun
shines requires little effort on her part,
preferring to let it slide, up past
the point of no return. those days,
over now before they really took hold.
4.
Mary looks at him spent, kinesthetic
energy on standby as he reconsiders
where he stands. the party’s over,
someone has to clean up, Mary
learning to love the hand
that feeds her, wishing sometimes
for independence and silence, in –
between phone calls. those days
are over, up for tender for the next
wave of youthful antagonists who seek
an existence un – beholden. love
knows no rules of engagement.
© Copyright 2016, Jodine Derena Butler & ‘Poetry Out West’. All Rights Reserved
Photographer: _foto_in_vivo
‘Metamorphosis’
Because you pushed
Me away
You said
Looking in, forgetting
Conveniently what
Snapped at me
Before
And I asked you
Not to talk to me
That way
I’m afraid
It will become
A daily occurrence
Because you don’t
Respect me
Enough to treat
Me with love
And kindness
I watched you treat
Your mother
With contempt
Before
But maybe
You’ve found someone
Else to take
The blame
For your anger
And pain
Where do we fit
In to the grand
Scheme of things?
Marriage
A family
A home
A lover
A friend
Is it all to be
For nothing less
Than another
End?
I know you are hurt
In chronic pain
Everyday
I watch you
Pacing, shifting
Moving, frustrated
And bored
You can’t
Or won’t settle
And you distance
Yourself
Defensive over
Nothing
I can do for you
How can you find love?
When fear
Is driving you
To lash out
At me
Only me
When I love you
And I can’t do anything
To fix this
Torture and
Torment
Let it go
Softness is strength
Tears are healing
Together we can
Learn to trust
And fall in love
Again
‘Hurt’ by Johnny Cash (Nine Inch Nails)
© Copyright 2015, Jodine Derena Butler & ‘Poetry Out West’. All Rights Reserved
She takes her hand
in hers, stepping
over rocks, dodging
sensitive weed
to find that perfect
path – way, leading us
to wildflowers.
she picks, a hand –
full of petals,
their fragrant oils
soothing, essential
for healing cuts
and grazes. her
nasal senses over –
whelmed with purity,
nature; nurturing
an abundance
of calm. her soft
self centered,
journeys
into the wilderness,
out – back returning her
safely to her mothers’
roots. her legs,
gingerly circum –
navigate thorns
and misleading purple
fluffy flowers with
prickles. trust,
holding hands held
together,
finding safety
in the familiar
land – scapes,
sensitive to touch.
we are falling
in love.
© Copyright 2015, Jodine Derena Butler & ‘Poetry Out West’. All Rights Reserved.
Artist Unknown
I want
the brutal facts,
negotiating
a purchase or two. slip –
ping up. two stairs
and the pain is
off the chartered
Rhicter scale.
sliding – skating
on your arse. in
dire need
of emergency. horrors
to come. no
good news is
bad news. stuffed up
plans. rendezvous’
post – poned before
you can even
walk the walk.
talking crutches
and neck
braces. on
your back shock
absorbing
shit. painfully
anticipating anecdotal
conundrums. the bite
of teeth
and Lilies. more
than you
can chew. I can
buggaring up
stowed away.
from warmth
and inner
thighs. doctors
and nurses
precisely un –
lucky. nearly losing
the plot as it
thickens. muscles flex
into verbal canes. an ex –
pected debacle of
ruined tension.
de – faulting
into chaos. she didn’t
want or need. your
birthday or
Christmas. travel
in one
breath. denied
children understand
sorry. the world
is still there
for you. home
with your first mate
and friends.
another mate
for life. love is
giving us what
we need
to heal. pretty
but it could be
much worse
for you
and her. your nut
shell cracked.
take all the time
you need.
your favorite whore
x
© Copyright 2015, Jodine Derena Butler & ‘Poetry Out West’. All Rights Reserved.
