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, the tension of gears
missed down beneath the mechanics of gravity
formula so deep and prescribed.
Unbind me
make forces stronger
make hills
I cannot climb
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 thoughts behind smiles
it’s possible to dream in Spanish
of roses and lilies
and all things unknown
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 the pool, skin tactile, connect, affect, allure
You make me want to overcome polite contrivances
tell everyone what they offer:
You make me feel collapsible
I like your cocky disregard.
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 simply absence
we are only interactions
I am what I am to you
I am where the refrain lacks
I am however much I can take
I am my resistance to alone
I am how much I let you affect me
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 headache
Undo, undo, I mean not to complain
I see fruits too
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 laughing
always wishing there were just one more match.
Neurosis revealed nothing left to patch
limitations left for potential’s finding
come the end we tend to over attach.
Our only hope is to give them cache
to pursue what will be their best bidding
always wishing there were just one more match.
So hard to step back from what you’ve seen hatch
independence that hardest gift for granting
come the end we tend to over attach
always wishing there were just one more match.
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 calm when piled trials mount
When the day has its way with us and spirals
Don’t give in to the urge to scream nay
keep maintaining calm when piled trials mount
you will just feel guilty later anyway
Don’t give in to the urge to scream nay
no one ever hears anything through shouts
you will just feel guilty later anyway
shoot yourself in the foot no success amounts
No one ever hears anything through shouts
in the moment it’s hard to see though rage
shoot yourself in the foot no success amounts
rather pen yourself in patience’s cage
In the moment it’s hard to see though rage
trust the remainder of effort frayed
better, pen yourself in patience’s cage
save the day, keep calm, know what to say.
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.
By Amy Simone Piller
Build your tent for the hurricane
protect your dreams from reality
fail spectacularly, dance in the rain
Do not wonder what you can maintain
blindly picture Utopian lands
build your tent for the hurricane
to fail like others would be mundane
the world is vicious, don’t be afraid
fail spectacularly, dance in the rain
The cogs will come to make you sane
wonder what else will sustain you
build your tent for the hurricane
Prepare to question everything
Reinvent the wheel against advice
Build your tent for the hurricane
fail spectacularly, dance in the rain