Someone left the clementines on top of the microwave
Woulda been fine if the safety seals hadn't gave
Oh oh oh
Soon they started growing
With a little bit of glowing
Round the edge
Posted by Gregory Taylor
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Daring Joseph Blaze
Remember what you've seen today, young sir,
And tell your children: Pass it on to yours.
The future thinks that Daring Joseph Blaze
Could split himself in many different ways.
At once in Reed, then in New Boston Park
Then seven planets claimed him at a time.
Had he surpassed? Transcended space? Not just,
Though rumour surely made it seem he must.
For Joseph Blaze was in his people's hearts
And with them still wherever they cried his name.
Though he was dead - or so the Empire said -
For him they fought and struggled, strove and bled.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
And tell your children: Pass it on to yours.
The future thinks that Daring Joseph Blaze
Could split himself in many different ways.
At once in Reed, then in New Boston Park
Then seven planets claimed him at a time.
Had he surpassed? Transcended space? Not just,
Though rumour surely made it seem he must.
For Joseph Blaze was in his people's hearts
And with them still wherever they cried his name.
Though he was dead - or so the Empire said -
For him they fought and struggled, strove and bled.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
Friday, November 21, 2008
Will the Ears Listen as the Mouth Speaks?
"What are you doing here, Ray?"
Startled out of my thoughts, I realized where my feet, once left to themselves, had taken me out of long habit. Back to the café.
Estelle peered at me over the high countertop beside the register, her eyes telling me to get lost but her mouth looking like it had tried to forget things said earlier. Her nose was half-turned up, either in disgust or cool appraisal, but that was normal. Eyes or mouth, which to believe?
***
"Estelle, I guess I just came back to say this." My brain hoped my mouth knew what it was doing here. "I love you. There's just no way around it. The things you said to me this morning? They hurt. A lot. I've never let anyone hurt me like that before. I've never let myself get that close to someone before. The pain surprised me and I lashed out like a small scared boy. I didn't mean what I said. Heck, I don't even remember exactly what I said, that's how little I meant it. You hurt me, but it helped me see how much you mattered to me. I can't say I'm looking forward to more hurt like that, but if you're the one causing it, I guess that'll be alright." I took a deep breath before plunging ahead on one knee. "Estelle Lewis, will you marry me?"
There was a gentle rustling as the loose assemblage of customers and staff slowly turned to look up from my face to hers.
After a long pause she sighed, left hand on her hip, the back of her right hand rising to wipe away some unseen grime from her forehead. "Ray, you are a fool, you know that? An impetuous, irritating, irresponsible fool." With barely a glance at the hushed crowd Estelle continued, "But you're my fool and I don't know what I would do if you were anything else. Yes, you silly man, yes, I love you and, yes, I will marry you." An excited murmur filled the café and a few supportive hands clapped.
Estelle paused, though, looking at me sidelong. "Did you think this through enough to actually have a ring or am I going to have to wait for that, too?"
A smile almost broke my jaw as I straightened and reached into my jacket pocket. "I haven't had it resized yet, since Mom just gave it to me this morning, but we both hope you'll like it as much as she did."
The café buzzed again as Estelle hurried around the counter to meet me coming the other way. The ring didn't fit but with our arms full of each other and our hearts full of hope for the future, I don't think either of us was too concerned about some empty space between finger and metal.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
Startled out of my thoughts, I realized where my feet, once left to themselves, had taken me out of long habit. Back to the café.
Estelle peered at me over the high countertop beside the register, her eyes telling me to get lost but her mouth looking like it had tried to forget things said earlier. Her nose was half-turned up, either in disgust or cool appraisal, but that was normal. Eyes or mouth, which to believe?
***
"Estelle, I guess I just came back to say this." My brain hoped my mouth knew what it was doing here. "I love you. There's just no way around it. The things you said to me this morning? They hurt. A lot. I've never let anyone hurt me like that before. I've never let myself get that close to someone before. The pain surprised me and I lashed out like a small scared boy. I didn't mean what I said. Heck, I don't even remember exactly what I said, that's how little I meant it. You hurt me, but it helped me see how much you mattered to me. I can't say I'm looking forward to more hurt like that, but if you're the one causing it, I guess that'll be alright." I took a deep breath before plunging ahead on one knee. "Estelle Lewis, will you marry me?"
There was a gentle rustling as the loose assemblage of customers and staff slowly turned to look up from my face to hers.
After a long pause she sighed, left hand on her hip, the back of her right hand rising to wipe away some unseen grime from her forehead. "Ray, you are a fool, you know that? An impetuous, irritating, irresponsible fool." With barely a glance at the hushed crowd Estelle continued, "But you're my fool and I don't know what I would do if you were anything else. Yes, you silly man, yes, I love you and, yes, I will marry you." An excited murmur filled the café and a few supportive hands clapped.
Estelle paused, though, looking at me sidelong. "Did you think this through enough to actually have a ring or am I going to have to wait for that, too?"
A smile almost broke my jaw as I straightened and reached into my jacket pocket. "I haven't had it resized yet, since Mom just gave it to me this morning, but we both hope you'll like it as much as she did."
The café buzzed again as Estelle hurried around the counter to meet me coming the other way. The ring didn't fit but with our arms full of each other and our hearts full of hope for the future, I don't think either of us was too concerned about some empty space between finger and metal.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Rie
When he invited me up to his place I expected an inconvenience or two before I'd get to sleep. But the street gets cold around midnight and hey, he might not have syphilis. Turns out Mr. Projects liked to play rough.
The room still smelled of sulfur smoke when the landlord walked in. Avoiding my eyes, he glanced around, said "He's paid up through the end of the month but it'll be two-fifty after that and I ain't cleaning up for you."
And that was how I moved back to the city.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
The room still smelled of sulfur smoke when the landlord walked in. Avoiding my eyes, he glanced around, said "He's paid up through the end of the month but it'll be two-fifty after that and I ain't cleaning up for you."
And that was how I moved back to the city.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
June stifled a burp, the after-taste of cheap Kung Pao chicken already slightly nauseating.
And what's my fortune today? "Help I'm trapped in a Chinese fortune cookie factory." Haven't seen that one before.
June crumpled up the fortune and threw it in the trash bin on her way out. Sarcasm aside, she had seen that joke before. But this time it had been real.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
And what's my fortune today? "Help I'm trapped in a Chinese fortune cookie factory." Haven't seen that one before.
June crumpled up the fortune and threw it in the trash bin on her way out. Sarcasm aside, she had seen that joke before. But this time it had been real.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Lavender and Rose
"Does this smell OK to you?"
God. This was second only to Hey, watch this! for sentences likely to send someone in her family to the hospital. Mati was pleased that Rose only wanted an opinion on her cologne.
"I'm sure he'll eat it up, if he can stop looking at that gorgeous dress!"
Despite her name, Rose was wearing lavender, in a new dress that flattered her perfectly and in a slightly expensive designer perfume. A young doctor named Shane would be here in 5 minutes: the all-important third date.
Knowing Rose's tendencies, Mati had immediately taken to Shane when he drove up in something with more than two wheels. She then spent the last three weeks carefully balancing talking him up (so Rose wouldn't let him get away) and talking him down (so Rose wouldn't psych herself out): the usual job of the roommate.
Arm resting against the window frame, Mati watched the pair walk to Shane's car. A thin drift of lavender slowly found her nose as she returned to her book and the still-warm embrace of the couch.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
God. This was second only to Hey, watch this! for sentences likely to send someone in her family to the hospital. Mati was pleased that Rose only wanted an opinion on her cologne.
"I'm sure he'll eat it up, if he can stop looking at that gorgeous dress!"
Despite her name, Rose was wearing lavender, in a new dress that flattered her perfectly and in a slightly expensive designer perfume. A young doctor named Shane would be here in 5 minutes: the all-important third date.
Knowing Rose's tendencies, Mati had immediately taken to Shane when he drove up in something with more than two wheels. She then spent the last three weeks carefully balancing talking him up (so Rose wouldn't let him get away) and talking him down (so Rose wouldn't psych herself out): the usual job of the roommate.
Arm resting against the window frame, Mati watched the pair walk to Shane's car. A thin drift of lavender slowly found her nose as she returned to her book and the still-warm embrace of the couch.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Have You Ever Been in Love?
"Son, have you ever been in love?"
The old man next to me at the bar had a careworn yet gentle face. He looked like someone who might have seen much hardship but had let it pass over him like waves over a sandy shore. Only his eyes bore witness that time had done anything more than glance carelessly in his direction.
I looked straight into those eyes full of history and quickly looked away.
"Have you ever been in love?" he repeated.
"I once thought I was."
His eyes expected me to continue.
"But now I know I was wrong."
I tried to return to my drink but those eyes followed me and wouldn't let me off so easily.
So I let my mind run back to that summer when I thought love had found me.
* * *
"I didn't have half a clue back then. The first time someone made my heart lose its tempo I thought I'd found it." My mind came back to the bar and I realized I’d been gushing for at least a quarter of an hour. I laughed at myself and at my past naïveté.
"It was all so overwhelming back then. But it won't happen again. The next time will be the last time, because now I know what I'm looking for." My thumb ran over the fold of my badge. "You can't last long at my job without being able to find what you're looking for." I turned back to my companion, half-raising my glass in a toast to love and the past, but there was no one there.
I had to smile. The man was gone and had left me to pay for his drink. I didn't much mind.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
Brandon's Phone
The woman in a dress like a warm cafe latte was wholly immune to the ravages of rain and mud, or so Brandon thought. From time to time, as she glanced up from her book – probably Dostoevsky or something else suited to her cool sophistication – he caught a glimpse of dark brown eyes beneath a cascade of curls. Perhaps it was wishful thinking or Brandon's wayward life spent in classical studies, but she looked divinely Hellenic: a venerable statue dressed in youth and flesh and blood. Brandon was a timid man, uncomfortable with open staring, so his glances were few and furtive: the bounce of her hair as she shook back a stray curl, the delicate pressure of a ruby fingernail against her cheek, the half-smile as she caught him looking in her direction. The red tincture over Brandon's face belied his best efforts to conceal how that alluring dazzle of teeth had stopped his heart. He stumbled to his feet, grabbed for his belongings and bundled out the door. Had he been in my position he would have seen Elena's eyes follow him down the sidewalk and felt her sigh of regret from across the store. As I made my own way out of the store I handed her a phone – left behind in
"Take it. He'll be calling."
Posted by Gregory Taylor
Monday, April 21, 2008
Oh my Heart
Do not lie, oh my heart, and break my trust.
When love stands not before me
I need you, heart, to warn me.
Do not lie, oh my heart, unless you must.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Happy Birthday
The balloons tied to the mailbox would have read Happy Birthday a few days ago. By now, though, even the Mylar had leaked enough helium that the envelope was no longer lighter than the surrounding air. It swung upside-down next to a cluster of shrunken heads buffeted by the twisting winds – latex balloons, the once-gay coloring making their current posture all the more grotesque.
Posted by Gregory Taylor
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