By Amy Simone Piller
I forgot there were hills
up there where the air was supposed to be
clear never was, a condition, but an absence
I forgot there were tops of hills
in absentia of sky
Up there where the hills
weren’t supposed to be
I got tired or waiting to feel good
which never was as great
as almost
Hilltops are horrendous downfalls
the wait for the break, [...]
By Amy Simone Piller
A teacher told me once
it’s possible to dream in Spanish
how beautiful to dream
to know what it is to be
to know what it is to be somewhere else
to return to a a place you know
to feel totally alone
to think your world into place
who gets let in
little do you know
about where my mind goes
little do you know
those [...]
By Amy Simone Piller
By all measures you should offend me
shoulders square and high
Misconstrued conceit can reek, building blocked
resentment made, instead of celebrated
Life is largely flattery meeting flattery
insecurity filled voids
But you square circles, make miles in minutes,
defy dimensions, teach time
on a planet of people with irregular borders
(rectangles imagined) we are a balance board
when surfing on people, you touch some
in [...]
By Amy Simone Piller
These holes open up sometimes
and you wish you were small
enough to fit in a doctor’s palm
and someone would rush
to struggle to plug
whatever leak maintained
instead it’s just you and
who is you
sometimes it’s me
you is whoever you turn to
these voids
where is self in them
I appreciate the sink drains
I appreciate the hands
the touch, the reality
and still I am [...]
By Amy Simone Piller
We know each other like sprinkled garnish
separated from the mint plant it grew from
I do not know your siblings’ names
only where the apple landed—close or far
Separated from the plant from which you came
you are stronger or weaker
alone depending on circumstance
And I am here, mere puppeteer
concocting my increments of difference
hoping for spicing’s power.
By Amy Simone Piller
I want to be sixteen again
in a shack at my cousin’s friend’s parents’ tobacco field
playing strip poker unconcerned
about anything except being caught
I want someone to want to catch me
to take control, someone other than me
to put the agenda on the board
I wish the adage worked
with great responsibility comes great power
rather than with great responsibility comes
a [...]
By Amy Simone Piller
Come the end we tend to over attach
seasons were not made to be everlasting
always wishing there were just one more match.
When teaching, it’s hardest to lose every batch
though mid year it seemed never ending
come the end we tend to over attach.
With time, to their quirks, we find ourselves latched
what once annoyed us now finds us [...]
By Amy Simone Piller
During a dream, the world is exploding
who will save the day, keep calm, know what to say?
Two students emerge amidst a future foreboding
rescuing is done in many different ways.
Who will save the day, keep calm, know what to say?
when the day has its way with us and spirals
rescuing is done in many different ways
keep maintaining [...]
By Amy Simone Piller
A son scares
when first he sees his father play
a part, we are all so fixed-gear
chugging up-hill continuously
A girl delights
When first a construction worker turns
His head not bent on jack-hammering
Concrete; we are physical creatures; neat
Simple joys of perspective
later seduced by knowing
more than meets the eye.