COLLECTIONS
you collect silk ties to build your disguise
you collect lies like they’re going out of fashion
I collect storm-skies to match my eyes
and teardrops from clouded compassion
you collect kisses from all your mistresses
with no witnesses to your betrayals
I collect obsessive distresses
and vicious hisses from behind acid scales
you collect broken hearts like stamps on coffee cards
you collect charred scars from fires infernal
I collect truth shards to meld into new guards
and hard skins with wounds eternal
'Collections' is a poem about infidelity, where Leah uses repetition of the word 'collect' in conjunction with repeated internal rhymes to convey both the continuing justification for a prolonged affair, as well as the continuing harm they often cause.
© 2020 L H Squires
LOST VOICES
blind eyes stare at a smartphone screen,
a discarded tongue lies on the ground,
voiceless words lingering on its tip.
gaping mouths consume content, devoid of meaning,
frozen fingers hover over unsent messages,
unsocial media a world away.
batteries power down into unconsciousness,
monuments to lies believed,
voices swiped away from cracked glass.
Leah wrote 'Lost Voices' as a commentary on how social media can leave people feeling alone, isolated, or unable to speak out about their mental health. In this poem, Leah uses grotesque imagery to signify what humans can become through near constant automation.
© 2020 L H Squires
NO STRINGS ATTACHED
all I am is a vessel, for you
to manipulate.
you’ll use me
then discard me.
you might not want me.
but I’m glad I’m not like you.
I’m empty, hollow,
can’t love.
can't discard something I once loved.
what you don’t seem to know
is that the thudding of a heartbeat
is the only magic there is in this world.
Written for Arts University Bournemouth's 'Magical Fairytales' exhibition with The Lighthouse Theatre (Poole), Leah subverts the characteristics of a marionette to portray the feelings of someone who cannot create lasting emotional attachments.
© 2020 L H Squires