Words traveled on the breeze on moonlit
nights, moonless nights, rainy nights,
humid nights, freezing nights,
floating over houses where husbands
and wives bickered, over bars where
voyeurs eyeballed each other while
drinking their courage, over city streets
slipping under the feet of the maligned
miscreant running from shadow to shadow.
Words spoken in the flickering light of the
TV through a filter of whiskey, under the
sheets of a missing person sleeping in a car
in a hospital parking lot.
Words heard in an empty room smelling of
paint and cigarettes and desperation while
children do homework and eat M&M’s.
Through the nights they flew from speaker to
listener, over the rubble of secrecy and through
a vortex of duplicity and their credence was as
elusive as swamp smoke and as trustworthy as heat
lightening, choking and burning the throats
from which they whispered.
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Shared on dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night
Charlotte Hamrick 
Words heard in an empty room smelling of
paint and cigarettes and desperation while
children do homework and eat M&M’s…i just love this…so grounded in reality…so tangible…i can smell the cigarette smoke and taste the M&M’s on my tongue… love the whole poem but this part especially..
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Thanks so much, Claudia. I’m a big fan of your writing so your words mean a lot!
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goodness…that next to last stanza contains a world of hurt within itself…really great capture of the texture of society in it…wow, really nice write…
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You have great insight, Brian. Thanks for your words – it’s so nice to hear from such an accomplished writer.
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this seems dark, moody. it became more brilliant to me as read on. great work
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Yes, it is dark and moody – much like myself at times. 🙂 (But not always!) Thanks!
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definitely powerful and haunting.. strong, dark visuals
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Just love the image of migratory words. Speaks well to their abstract nature. They get out, and off they go.
Great write.
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i like “credence was illusive as a swamp”
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You have caused me to feel, hear, smell and taste this one. What a fantastic piece!
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What a wonderful compliment, Susie. Thank you!
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Very cool piece. Love the overhead, aerial look-in you present here, really illustrating the atmospheres within nicely. Very cool. Thanks
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I very much enjoyed this. The objective eye that can capture so much that otherwise remain hidden, roving in and out of secret moments of despair and poverty, ruin and creation, such visions are important to bring together these loose ends that make up our days. Wonderfully written, with an awareness that encompasses so much of life missed.
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Yes, it’s often the small things that make up the drama, no? Thanks for your comment, Chaz.
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Wowee, yes, very good. Okay, I love the third stanza, the words are incredible! “Rubble of secrecy…vortex of duplicity, elusive as swamp smoke, trustworthy as heat lightning” ……these are magical and just go together. When you want to see swamp smoke it’s not there and vice versa. lol.You could write another poem with that third stanza!!!:)
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Thanks, lilie. I was thinking of the swamp fires we have here when the smoke blows through my backyard and seems so ghostly and elusive.
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It’s sometimes overwhelming to think of our words out there, never to be taken back. Thought-provoking, ZouxZoux.
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Indeed. Exactly my thoughts, Victoria. Thanks for visiting!
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Thanks to you all for your thoughtful comments. I really appreciate you visiting.
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Fantastic write; such strong imagery and description throughout. “Words spoken in the flickering light of the
TV through a filter of whiskey” – love it.
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Thanks, Stephen. I really liked what I read on your site when I found you the other day. I’ll be back. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
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I love this…Words spoken in the flickering light of the
TV through a filter of whiskey, under the
sheets of a missing person sleeping in a car..
in a hospital parking lot.
Words heard in an empty room smelling of
paint and cigarettes and desperation while
children do homework and eat M&M’s…………….
So much life in this…reality for so many ….great write.
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I’m so glad you liked it, Ayala, and thanks for commenting.
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Wow, this is amazing. I admire your talent.
Felt like I was floating on a magic carpet through this.
The missing person in the car was a bit chilling.
And I’m giving my kid apple slices and spinach tonite instead of the usual candy for her homework!! 🙂
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