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The Web Poetry Corner

Christine McGuigan

of

Lyndhurst, NJ, US

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The Prisoner

by

Christine McGuigan

I watched him
Shoot-up in the alley
Ah! how alike we are
Both of us feeding
Our addictions in filthy alleys
Creeping down city streets
At midnight, looking for
The fix to get us through
The long, lonely night.
I felt his alienation--
Indeed, he was in pain.
He did not suffer
When I fed on him.
No, he did not suffer...
He was freed from
His crippling addiction
His soul has transformed!
But...
I am still here
A prisoner of my own passion
Hiding in the dark corners,
Waiting
For my next prey.

Haiku...

by

Christine McGuigan

Oak tree in the park,
waves its doomed leaves to the sky...
saws break the silence.

Vampire Haiku...

by

Christine McGuigan

Pale skin, long black hair
Tight leather dress, combat boots
Smile reveals the fangs

Haiku...

by

Christine McGuigan

elderly man walks
past children playing in park
glances at his watch

Different

by

Christine McGuigan

Thee is a conspiracy
here on this planet
against those of us
who are different.
Some days, "it" is thrown
blatantly in our faces...
some evenings "it"
lingers ever so casually
on the tongues of
those with power & money & "status"
and lurks in the shadows
haunting us, reminding us

That we don't belong.
That we are unwelcome.
That we are different.

Untitled

by

Christine McGuigan

I am haunted tonight
By tarnished dreams
Forever locked
Inside my mind--
Dreams that once
Seemed posible,
Attainable...
But they torment me now,
Like cruel demons
Trying to take possession
Of my being.
What once gave me hope
Now gives me sorrow
From which there is no escape.

Haiku...

by

Christine McGuigan

Friend's cancer worsens...
we go to tattoo parlor
search for permanence.

Untitled (Haiku Poem)

by

Christine McGuigan

My best friend is gone
picked up the phone to call her
but she's out of reach.

Untitled (Haiku Poem #91)

by

Christine McGuigan

His old photographs
and love letters in a box
so far out of reach

Untitled Haiku #363A

by

Christine McGuigan

Lion-haired Pisces
most articulate young man
rests in New York grave

Untitled

by

Christine McGuigan

So you lack the inspiration
To write...
Where did it go?
You can't find it
At the bottom
Of all those liquor bottles.
It's not hiding
Inside of the pseudo father figures
Who pay you to expose the bruises
Beaten into your soul.
WAKE UP, PRETTY BABY!
It's buried within your heart...

BUT THE AGONY
Of opening coffins
You tried so hard
To lay to rest...
Tortured if you do,
Tormented if you don't.

Haiku #11B

by

Christine McGuigan

We take one last look--
dolphins soaring through black waves
gulls eating dead crabs.

What You Are

by

Christine McGuigan

Death my friends
Will eventually come calling
At each one of our doors

Wherever we go
Whatever we do
When we die
One thing is certain:

We will never be the same.

We will never feel
Our own bodies
And those of the ones we love.
When that moment comes
Will you feel satisfied?
Not in who you are
But in what you are?

All those possessions
You worked so hard to accumulate
Will be divided by vultures
And sold in second-hand stores
But
How about what can not
Be divided and sold?

Were you someone who
Made a difference?
Did you nurture your family and friends?
Did you fight for a worthy cause?
Did you help people?
Animals?
The environment?
Could people count on you?
Were you a good listener?
Did you give and share love?
Did you practice random acts of kindness?
Did you enjoy life?
And make life more enjoyable
For other people?

No?

Oh, well...maybe
Next time around(?).

Awakening, (Vampire Haiku)

by

Christine McGuigan

Lying in my tomb,
Thoughts of the night air & blood
Awaken my lust.

Vampire Haiku

by

Christine McGuigan

A peak of the sun
Rising above the city
Vampire's last sight

Vampire vs. Dawn (Vampire Haiku)

by

Christine McGuigan

Vampire vs. dawn:
Rays burn through her ancient flesh
Body turns to dust

The Prize

by

Christine McGuigan

Don't want to complain
or speak another bad word
but just take another look around
EVERYWHERE
the cancer
is fighting its way through my skin
desperately trying to seep into my heart
and I want to cleanse my head,
purify my soul
ban their Newspeak
from my existence--
kick BIG BROTHER in the teeth!
The fight may just kill me
and the only prize is my soul
but I'm winning...
so far.

Untitled

by

Christine McGuigan

You tried to bury your feelings
underneath a pile of liquor bottles
but as the drops bled from those bottles
your feelings fought back
with an intensity
that could not be suppressed
in a casket
too small for laying to rest
demons that can not sleep

Haiku #331

by

Christine McGuigan

San Francisco night
faint sounds of a boat party
roll across the bay

Haiku #429B

by

Christine McGuigan

holiday dinners
fewer place settings to set
every season

Haiku #135A

by

Christine McGuigan

Washington Square Park
man collecting soft-drink cans
smiles at his new loot.

Haiku #40A

by

Christine McGuigan

man on his car phone
hurls garbage out the window
...squirrel looks puzzled

Haiku #8

by

Christine McGuigan

fresh cut lavender
arranged in a purple vase
beside the sickbed

Media TV

by

Christine McGuigan

They make heroes out of blatant cowards
Martyrs out of mavericks
Destroy lives with gossip and innuendoes,
Never bothering to do their research.
They control the weak-minded
And long to annihilate the free-thinkers.
They come into your home with a flip of a switch--
Different channels, same horseshit.
Entire rooms of homes are devoted
To these phony gods
Who wouldn't exist
If you just pulled the plug.

Haiku #253A

by

Christine McGuigan

Our Delaware trip
reading the faded markings
on broken tombstones

Haiku #255

by

Christine McGuigan

sitting by the fire
watching flames turn to cinders
like my burnt-out dreams

Haiku #121A

by

Christine McGuigan

Lottery tickets
don't match numbers on the screen--
another loser

Haiku #337

by

Christine McGuigan

Christmas evening...
widow sets her table...
dinner for one

Haiku #338

by

Christine McGuigan

Christmas afternoon
visiting his gravesite next
to chemical plant.

Haiku #354

by

Christine McGuigan

Meadowlands wedding
surrounded by nature
we affirm our love

Haiku #376

by

Christine McGuigan

October morning
fog rolls across the graveyard
or: phantoms dancing?

Haiku #397

by

Christine McGuigan

dying invalid
visits his homeland in Spain
through the Internet

Haiku #408

by

Christine McGuigan

tattoo number three:
a daisy that will not die
until I do

How Much...

by

Christine McGuigan

How much...

How much should

I reveal to you?
Is the free glimpse

Of my heart

Fair to those
Locked within

The scar tissue?

Don't they deserve
Privacy?

Do I deserve

The pain of opening
Old wounds?

If I am committed

To the truth,
Then where

Do I draw the line?

Experimental Haiku #281B

by

Christine McGuigan

Floating above graves,
longing for some company...
the phantoms of fall.

Senryu #205

by

Christine McGuigan

Artist tells me tales
of love, loss, and betrayal
while she tattoos me.

Experimental Haiku #105b

by

Christine McGuigan

On Route 21,
phantoms drag-race all night
until dawn appears

Haiku #420

by

Christine McGuigan

climbing the mountain
seam of his pants splits open
laughter avalanche!

Haiku #426

by

Christine McGuigan

noise from the closet
peering out from my totebag
our green-eyed kitty

Haiku #430D

by

Christine McGuigan

Christmas card arrives
for my deceased grandfather
from his estranged niece

Wolf

by

Christine McGuigan

Majestic creature, you have been wronged!
Those howls were a soulful, poetic song
But, they ignored your primal, weeping cries
The sadness, forever frozen in your eyes.

You gave them their most loyal friend
And still they betrayed you in the end
Swift like the wind, pure like the sun
I wish I could change what they have done

You cared for your young and protected the pack
Oh, I would give my soul to bring you back!
The symbol of freedom is now a victim of greed
How could anyone commit such a horrible deed?

Fears

by

Christine McGuigan

Entire armies
Of fears and phobias
Can exist in people's minds
Rendering them cowards
Who avoid life
And abort their own growth
With fright
That consumes
An obscene amount of time.

Whole lives
Are too often spent
Devoted
To avoiding a confrontation
With truth that is waiting
To be embraced.

Instead, their energies
Are dedicated
To fearing life, death
Love, rejection
Contact, alienation
Choice, consequence
Conviction, reflection
Consistency, change
Honor, humiliation
Fearing, fearing, fearing
FREEDOM!

Cowards & Heroes

by

Christine McGuigan

Change schools
ABORT SHIP!
The moment of truth
No time like
the present for
the cowards to
show themselves
True heroes
don't bask
in glory--
they do their
work & give
their blood
& souls &
leave the parades
in dust.

WHAT DID YOU DO TO DESERVE THIS?

by

Christine McGuigan

I look at your picture.
Your eyes are ulcerated and red.
Your body is confined
to a stock only to reveal
your head. I think that
perhaps you must wonder
what you ever did that
was so unjust to deserve
this torture.

In the photo, I see
a light-haired man wearing
white. He is holding an
eyedropper filled with
fluid, standing over
you (his "instrument") waiting
to induce more suffering
in the name of "beauty".

I can not help wondering
if you have ever seen the
light of day. I think about
your existence and question
myself again and again.
Has this creature always
existed in a lab? Was
it born in confinement
or taken from Nature's way?

I am filled with agony
and sorrow for you. I wish
I could bring your picture
to life and save you but
I know in reality, you
are helpless.

An Elephant Was Killed...

by

Christine McGuigan

An elephant was killed
Shot dead by a storm of bullets from police
He escaped from his captors
At the circus
Saw his chance and ran
How dare he?
After all the trainers did for him!
Leaving him for months on end in a stall
Chained, forbidden to move
Covered in feces
Malnourished & dehydrated
Beaten into submission
With steal clubs
What a class act
That circus owner was!
Justifying his abuse of animals
With a "In the wild they'd be shot dead anyway" response line.

The media attended
Zooming in on every murmur
And blood splatter
From the elephant.

It made me sick for days
Brought back memories of Dumbo
How I cried when I saw it as a child!
I vowed never to go to the circus
And you know what?
I NEVER DID!
Seeing wild animals perform
Stupid tricks for the pleasure of humans
Makes me sick.
I'd love to see
the trainers and circus owners
On their hands and knees
Trying to balance a beach ball
On their own moronic heads.

AND...
When I saw that elephant
Killed for wanting to be free
I wished--and I have no remorse about this--
That the circus owner
Was the one
Who was sprayed with the bullets.

Untitled

by

Christine McGuigan

How many poems

were lost

in an alcoholic haze?

How many songs

were buried

in your liquor drenched days?

How many plays

were abandoned

for a numbness that never stays?

Broken Toy

by

Christine McGuigan

I'm

broken
toy

that

can't
be

fixed,

forever
damned (?)

my
own

world

while
others

gape & stare

making
life

even more

difficult
for

but ultimately,
I

grow

stronger.

Haiku #10

by

Christine McGuigan

Shamrocks in the spring
amongst the ancient tombstones
during the bombing

Haiku #431

by

Christine McGuigan

This March evening...
checking my e-mail to find
no message from him.

Haiku #172

by

Christine McGuigan

Sweet Gardenia
permeating the bedroom
rapture of spring

Haiku #66

by

Christine McGuigan

Deep in the forest
floating in the rippling stream--
a candy wrapper.

Haiku #57 B

by

Christine McGuigan

Memorial Day
a thunderstorm...flooded streets
parade is cancelled.

Haiku #54

by

Christine McGuigan

cool autumn morning
her long black hair in the wind
a mind of its own

Haiku #433 A

by

Christine McGuigan

this spring equinox
planning a new career move
my resurrection (?)

Haiku #432 A

by

Christine McGuigan

kitten in my lap
purring harmonizes with
spring rain's melody

Experimental Haiku #27

by

Christine McGuigan

The meadowlands are gone.
All corporate concrete white--
Suits where animals should be.

Haiku #30

by

Christine McGuigan

Palm Sunday
under the Dogwood tree
...snoozing spaniel

Haiku #29A

by

Christine McGuigan

on the beach alone
the restless ocean at night
beckons me to swim

Haiku #7A

by

Christine McGuigan

Ancient tombs hidden
beneath sand and cactus blooms;
diggers break the earth.

Haiku #6

by

Christine McGuigan

woman in a fur
litters on Park Avenue
...frowns at a beggar

Senryu ##440 A

by

Christine McGuigan

late evening bath
my day's problems and hassles
slowly drift away

Haiku #439 C

by

Christine McGuigan

on the cusp of spring
mounds of snow still conceal our
tulip flowerbed

Haiku #438A

by

Christine McGuigan

Kitchen countertop
spagetti sauce EVERYWHERE!
Teen's first time cooking

Haiku #437 D

by

Christine McGuigan

high school marathon
runners quickly disappear
into morning fog

Haiku #435

by

Christine McGuigan

poetry contest
girl receives written response...
a winner at last!

Haiku #434 D

by

Christine McGuigan

March evening storm
blustery winds blow debris
back to the storefront.

Haiku #418

by

Christine McGuigan

gray and white kitten
napping in a sun spot
crash startles us both

Haiku #421

by

Christine McGuigan

winter evening
icy rainstorm rouses
our sleepy kitten

Experimental Haiku #23D

by

Christine McGuigan

in the music store...
'Lizard King, forever young
staring back at me

Experimental Haiku #23C

by

Christine McGuigan

in the music store...
poster of "The Lizard King"
staring back at me

Wolf, an Acrostic Poem

by

Christine McGuigan

W - Wild creature of nature
O - Outnumbered by guns & traps
L - Loathed by the ignorant
F - Fast & feared

Cats, an Acrostic Poem

by

Christine McGuigan

C - Cunning
A - Adventurous
T - Tough
S - Swift

Haiku for Joey Ramone

by

Christine McGuigan

This Easter Sunday
pioneer of Punk Movement
dies at forty nine.

Haiku #396

by

Christine McGuigan

Good Friday
heavens pour April showers
spring's resurrection

Vampire Haiku #402

by

Christine McGuigan

Vampire visits
Terminal ward and frees
Patients from their pain.

Haiku #374

by

Christine McGuigan

in the rainstorm's wake
his morning paper
bobs in the puddle

Haiku #360

by

Christine McGuigan

weathered black feline
no longer crashes on our porch
mystique of the stray

Vampire Haiku #343

by

Christine McGuigan

Deep in the forest,
pledging eternal love, he
makes me immortal.

Haiku #346

by

Christine McGuigan

my favorite tree
cut down to make room
for new shopping mall

Untitled

by

Christine McGuigan

There is something incredibly hostile about the day
I feel so out of place in the sun's light
I don't feel welcome in its rays
Like I am some stranger at a party
Where no one talks to me
Ah! But the moon!
The moon embraces me
As one of its own
And lets me know
I'm not alone.

Untitled

by

Christine McGuigan

I've met
too many
cowards
in my
time...
still looking
for a
knight,
a dark,
sultry prince
amongst
the whining frogs.

Tomorrow...

by

Christine McGuigan

"Tomorrow..." she pauses,
"Tomorrow will be better."

She counts the remainder
of the change in
her coffee can
walks to the corner store
buys lottery tickets
she can't aford.

Returns to her
apartment/fortress/prison--
the one she will be evicted from next month.
Cancels her chemotherapy
hospital appointment
and waits...

"Tomorrow," she sobs,
"Tomorrow will be better."

LOOK IN THE MIRROR

by

Christine McGuigan

Look,

Look in the mirror, my friend...

What do you see?

A man who gave up on himself,

A man who is not what he intended to be.

Look,

Look in the mirror dear friend...

What do you see?

A man who has sold himself,

A man who is no longer free.

Look,

Look in the mirror old friend...

What do you see?

A man who locked himself in isolation

And threw away the key.

Look...

Look in the mirror my friend...

What do you see?

A man who does not care about people,

A man who lost his humanity.

Haiku #447C

by

Christine McGuigan

cool May evening
the moonlight illuminates
the small spider's web

Haiku #447D (Revision)

by

Christine McGuigan

cool May evening
soft moonlight illuminates
the small spider's web

Haiku #451

by

Christine McGuigan

spring afternoon
grey & white house kitten stalks
unsuspecting moth

Haiku #453

by

Christine McGuigan

hot spring evening
motorcyces disrupt
our kitten's deep sleep

Experimental Senryu #450

by

Christine McGuigan

humid night in May
wishing the cool breeze would blow
my troubles away

Poets, Beware of the Publishing-Crooks

by

Christine McGuigan

I made a "Coffin of Shame" tonight
Finally did what I felt was right

Laid to rest, put far out of sight
Those books I bought when things were tight

From publishers who prey on poets' dreams
With crooked, "You-could-win-the-grand-prize!" schemes

Taking the money we can't afford to spare
They devour it without the slightest care

Poets, please beware of the publishing-crooks
Who charge you to be in their anthology-books

Don't be fooled by their phony words of praise
Or their "You're-a-semi-finalist!" ways

If they attempt to lure you
Think of what others have gone through

They want your money: THAT IS IT!
So tell them to eat a pile of shit!

Senryu #454

by

Christine McGuigan

dinner guests aghast
at Father's smelly, piercing
fart-burp concerto

Haiku Untitled

by

Christine McGuigan

among flying debris
a man and woman holding hands
in the smoke filled sky

Haiku Untitled

by

Christine McGuigan

ties wave in mid air
from those fleeing the towers
we cry in horror

Haiku #461

by

Christine McGuigan

confused eyes, piercing howls
shelters overloaded with cats & dogs
after the attack

Haiku #457

by

Christine McGuigan

frightened felines wait
in shelters for their owners
after the attack

MISUNDERSTOOD, An Acrostic Poem

by

Christine McGuigan

M: Misfit for life
I: Indifferent to the insults
S: Submersed in the counter-culture
U: Underestimated often
N: Non-conforming to what I know is wrong
D: Degraded by people on a daily basis because I am different
E: Exploited
R: Raped on all levels
S: Strong despite the constant blows
T: Tortured to the maximum
O: Overcast with gloom
O: Outsider and okay with that status
D: Depressed too often