Antidotes tasting like black coffee
A chalk outline of Patterson’s grumbles
China dolls parade 13th street with
residue on the corners of their mouths
Adversaries hack up off colored jokes
under a jagged and teary eyed sun
whispering forgotten fairy tales
“I can’t shine, I don’t have time,
I’m lost and forgotten in these rhymes”

And the ghost of Patterson counts his secrets
Smears his name at the gates for attention
Picking the lock, shouting at the kingdom

Romantics playing hopscotch on
cracked and overused sidewalks
Protagonists and thieves banter
in the smog at Jameson’s bar on Kingsman
Cynics and skeptics erasing evidence
of hope on belligerent walls
Butterflies flying over restless Samaritan’s
chained to oxidized dumpsters
Walker struts with a nervous alibi

And the ghost of Patterson counts the bullets
painting his name on the golden walls
Crouched down, yelling at the kingdom

Walker stalks the neighbors, wrestles with friction, and turns into a killjoy
Leaking out minor details and spilling of a lethal homicide filled with inquiries
Butterflies swarm the garden, surrounding a sealed box
Sounds of an ax break the venerable crate
Intriguing signatures, bag of money, and a letter from Patterson to a world class criminal
Conviction and Walker go hand in hand

And the ghost of Patterson sheds its feathers
Staring up at a dot of light,
Staring down at a dot of black,
Cemented in a glass underworld

Invigorating flare, divine storm
Slipping into a harmonious dimension
wrapped up in all of your inferno
vicious kisses, candy like touches
immersed in your tactile desires, my muse
Taste the hunger of the blazing star

And the electricity ripped the champagne sheets
And the sparks lit up in the tragic skies

A liquid sigh, voluptuous wildfire
gliding into a psychedelic mist
surrounded by your musical sirens
delightful growls, exotic whispers
sparkling in the moonlight, my muse
craving the thirst of the blazing star

And the provocative motion burned
And the ricochet sent shockwaves

whiplashed tension, pulsating snake
spiraling into a smoldering spasm
toes curling, spellbinding tongue
breathtaking havoc accelerating
oblivion touching nerve endings, my muse
yearning the skin of the blazing star

And the enigma was quite exquisite
And the mesmerizing fever glistens forever


My books are available here.

I am the color black
wrapped up in a midnight curse
torture dripping down my bleached face
gripping on to the endangered lies
whispers growling in my prejudice ears
sorrow was a door to throw away my beliefs
clutching on to the skeleton chain
tomorrow weeps from my skewed perception, stumbling in the waterfalls, praying to blurry shadows and the sinister moon, I sip on the poison of a poor man’s cup and I hide in the mist to make me blind
Lord, save me from the lake of screams

I am the color black
severed from the spinning rainbow
buzzards flying around my dying tree
decaying stains, fumbling in the dark
crawling toward the vibrations of the stigma
haunted by my twitching nerves
anxiety and insecurities boiling on the inside
grief jumbled, agony waltzing
carrying heartbreak over my shoulders
I quietly stare into the atoms of my distress
molecules sizzling, bloodstream crying
depths of discomfort, circling headaches
and I seek grace with a pitchfork and knives
Lord, save me from the lake of screams

I am the color black
ripped from the sobbing vermillion sky
distinctively malevolent, serene and ill
tarnished and frozen, inside the frostbite
slightly obscene, smothered in vile
a predator within, carrying a tarantula grin
vertigo parading, obscurity blending
corrosion running down my esophagus
A diabolical mind dipped in scarlet oil
walking with a criminal like scent
cemetery gray with a pinch of graveyard dirt
a night crawler climbing in your memory
spellbinding oblivion, twisted secrets
Lord, save me from the lake of screams

I am the color black
unhinged and sadistic salivating from the burns, scatterbrained, splash of schizophrenia, thousand microscopic splinters in my cornea
I’m a child of the fifth obsidian scarecrow
untouched apricot skin, labeled as a dead end, hunger promenading, brisk spasms
lightning smacks across my crimson back
fractured, friction is my lifeless mother
I live in a atmosphere of short breaths and
gasping for oxygen among my bothers
consistently sucker punched and jabbed
with crude remarks, self esteem is hollow
Lord, save me from the lake of screams

I am the color black
characterized as the lustrous sin
specks of halcyon, spots of carmine
symbolizing annihilation and wreckage
disfiguring truth, a heinous sparkle
I strut with apocalyptic and corrupt nerves
veins filled with cynicism and suspicion
doubt trickling, hyperboles drooling nonstop
fiction rolling off my slanderous lips
sugarcoated fabrication stewing
I’ve shaped my ruthless tombstone
Viciousness is my fathers favorite drink
I’ve learned to slurp vengeance
Lord, save me from the lake of screams

I am the color black
stamped as a disastrous villain
I smirk at tragedy and illuminate within magic, identified as a slithering savage
I slap hope with a monstrous hand
distinguished as liquid monstrosity
I despise faith and lurch in your nightmares
venom is like loose change in my pockets
I’ve exchanged bitten conversations with corpses in my slaughterous backyard
quietly, I am the joker who plays with satire
and explosive irony, kiss the rage on my cheek, I am the gift you are afraid to open
Lord, save me from the lake of screams


My books are available here.

Acquaintances and formalities

shook hands with the Devil’s tongue

Saliva drips down to the

center of honesty and disintegrated

Kindness only filled a shot glass

As gulps of uncertainty surrounded

glass scarecrows and empty vigilantes

Stale friendships vanish in the mist

Faded signs were torn down

Three bedroom houses decomposed

Laughter is a decaying tooth

As you turn on this fragmented road

Stranded on euthanasia street

A number of casualties walk

on the chalk lines around the

thousands of the bloodless scarecrows

Weeds and black roses grow

in gardens of screeches

A morbid hawk hovers the emptiness

barking of a dog reverberates

Eyelids are glued to mailboxes

A mindless city stuck in the trenches

Watching television from the grave

Chuckling as coffins close shut

Numbness and laughter blend

Mothers cauterized by loneliness

Fathers gravitate to only lust

Avoiding love at all cost

Mice crawling from pillow cases

Skeletons playing poker Indian style

in front of the rusted closets

Using marrow as golden chips

Despair and poverty shook hands

Pull the exasperating plug

on any side of this hellacious town

Take a sip of cyanide before crossing

this sharp and dying town

Chopped up dialogue

Interpretations of saturation

Absorbed by lost brain waves

Unfolding by a misunderstanding

Swallowing mashed up berries

Filling heartache with sand

Surrounding it with ten pound cement

Reminiscing the foolishness

Blaming the scavengers

Walking down Cheap Wine Avenue

like a stray dog in an empty storm

Plagued with expectations

Relentlessly undressing the wounds

Baring the char broiled soul

Washing the spots of hands

Praying to turn to the left

to see the state of peace lane

Before you make a sharp turn

on Over Exaggerated Lane

Signs for Decaying Truth Hill

are on your right in front

of the redwood trees

Follow the uneven road

and you will see Disturbance Road

Veer to the left and see the

old rotted sign for Route Bloodsucker

Drive twenty miles with

irritated skin and a defying mistress

Overloads of fierce tension

will consume your one track mind

Disconnect the alarm clocks

as you drive on the famous

Saturated with Rage Byway

****

Check out my new book!

Hello All,

I would like to issue a challenge to my readers. I would like my readers to give me a creative name for a made up city. Just like the challenge for the roads, your poem will be featured in a book. The category for these poems will be in “Borough Verses.” Dripping Insomnia is the first poem for this category.

Please have fun with it and looking forward to hearing your titles!

~ Braeden Michaels

Destroyed trust smeared on shingles

Ruins spread out over the dismantled carpet

Locked up gates surrounding decrepit doors

Components of ancient clocks in disgust

Splinters in necks of apathetic voices

Arms folding like a hand of cards

Negligence lingers in the crisp air

Carelessness hobbling on a narrow path

Monotony standing tall and shrewd

Incuriosity bounces like a dodgeball

Separation is coughed up like phlegm

Alienation is the divine appetite

Four mile road of still emptiness

Unfortunately many reside in a glance of reality

She is a cloud of rage

She is a walking catastrophe

She is a laughing queef

She is a raging monster

She is a broken beast

She is a heartless pig

She is a disgusting human

She is a pile of excrement

She is a bleeding organ

She is a ignorant pissant


*Lou wanted me to use this word as a title of a poem. I will admit this was a challenge. I had to think a few days on how to use it.

Lonely park benches

Seeking warmth and comfort

Posted in a local newspaper

Ice Cream shops fizzle

Wanted signs hung

“Lover of 101 flavors”

Acoustic guitars scream at

5am pleading for a

dreamy love song or lullaby

on Leaping Hearts Avenue

of Northern France

Moonlights reflect on the

crying and moaning ocean

“I’m just full of water but

empty on the inside”

Without a vein blood can’t

rush to the aching heart

Between the handshakes and

the cold New Hampshire hospitality

Salutations and red carpets

are the cornerstones of this

broken down concrete

Standing ovations and hugs

are shared among the living

from the golden curbs

Wreaths of prosperity are

hung on the door all year round

Love thy neighbor is a

song sung in multiple languages

Perhaps Welcome Street is

the Apple pie of the United States


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Goodbye desolate shivers

Goodbye forgotten aches

Goodbye swallowed tears

Goodbye opaque walls

Goodbye erratic fears

Goodbye discarded pages

Goodbye to a dark clown’s frown

Goodbye to a lightless mirage

Goodbye to my lost and last words

Goodbye to the faceless sun

Goodbye meaningless friendships

Goodbye somber passions

Goodbye sensitive heart

Goodbye drowning memories

Goodbye deep blue sky

Goodbye unread poetry

Goodbye Trampled Feelings Pass

Trembling locked lips

underneath the flashing red light

Caution tape torn between

Wicked Lust Lane and Insatiable road

Full force of ripped love

Entangled speeding tickets

Stilettos bright as fire engine red

walking Romeo’s Kiss Boulevard

Seeking infatuation and

burning sensations among the chatter

Sirens storming in the air

Exploring hands twisting

Passing every stop sign

down this riveting and passionate road

I took a sharp turn

down dishonesty lane

and witnessed corruption

I went around the bend

to discover a narrow

jealousy road

After the tunnel I drove

a hundred miles on

a wide open faith road

I took a winding right

on the angry dirt path

I’m only fifty miles

away from Random Avenue

I was told I would see

Dancers, vigilantes, prostitutes,

and painters on the

brittle sidewalk

I would glance up at

shattered windows

and bronze slumbers

I will admit I was terrified

to travel down Random Avenue

and see the invisible scarecrows

Visualizing clenched hands to the

steering wheel feeling

the chaos and poverty

in the brisk air


*Say no to clowns had asked me to use
this title for Challenge

I’ve cried

a thousand tears

I’ve walked

a million miles

I’ve bled

mountains of blood

I’ve feared

the darkest tale

I’ve broken

shining hearts

I’ve stolen

innocent kisses

I’ve borrowed

pockets of time

I’ve craved

unconditional love

I’ve needed

shadows of desire

I’ve ached

for the endangered light

I’ve wanted

someone to hear me

I felt his presence

at Hallelujah Crossing

Fluctuating economy

Stimulating Dow Jones

Buying and selling

In the eyes of the dollar sign

watching corporate America

Staring at bonds maturing

Building portfolios instead

of solid credibility

Complexity of convexity

Depreciating values

Staggering interest rates

Exploration of investments

Discussing volatile markets

Among a million decorated suits

Gripping risks and strapping

onto fixed incomes

Expecting returns on a rush

of thin adrenaline

Motivated by the number one root

of pure evil

Charming pavement

Dazzling hopscotch

Skipping and jumping

Appreciation overload

Barely touching

the luminous ground

Dressed in affection

Block away from the

Everlasting sugar factory

A smile away from the

beaming playground

Sounds of belly ache

laughter and pride

Wishing the entire town

was abundant of love

and respecting humanity

Hoping and praying

the elated joy will expand

beyond this holy cement


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