that smile which owns me still

That Smile which Owns me Still.
________________________

She blushed like
Pretty Madness
when I tore down
the Moon for Her..

then offered it
like a Flower
while reciting
Loving Words..

and
that smile
owns me still!

It is "My
Universe."

And when I
Grin My Monster
Grin..which makes
other Monsters
falter..

she stands
Strong against
the Night
Blossoms
in My Eye's..

like A Saint
before The
Devil's Alter..

who knows the
way Back.

(to Paradise.)

oh,
It's so good to
be weak I have
discovered!


depending less
on a world which
Deceives,
 than the
Heartbeat of Your
Lover!

And so
 Good to die
in
The Presence
of that Smile!

(which owns
owns me still..)

j.s.h.

The Stars (Within) will Live Again.

The Stars (Within) shall Live Again.
_____________________________

I know it's Hard..
when The Sky
seems Dead with
Stars..
and the (fleeting)
Smile of Innocence
reopens Ancient Scars..
as you sit there Lost,
and Scared, wondering
where you are...
or if you will ever mend.

(assuming that anywhere
On Earth must be better
than where you've been.)

But The Angels 
you Curse have Not 
Betrayed You..
The God You Shun
is Listening Still...
thus an Ounce of Faith
could get you through.
(and Restore Your
Broken Will.)

You are Beautiful
because you are
Different...
A Sweet and Sacred
Friend..

so Forget Your 
Past Resentment..
and the Stars
(Within) will
Live Again.

J.Stephen.H.

the unhappiest skeleton

The Unhappiest Skeleton.
_____________________

Oh Forbidden 
Flame..
I have Loved 
You for Years..

The Sun Rises 
in The Memory 
of Your Face!

(while Doomsday 
fills My Wandering
Heart in The 
Presence of Your 
Tears.)

+++

Hell is making
The Same Wish
repeatedly in
Your Head...

 Then
watching The
midnight -days 
dance by
like Unhappy
Skeletons...

(freed from
The Closet of
The Dead.)

and There is 
Nothing Here 
Without You
Love!

(but Sleepless
Nights on A
Cold Half-Empty 
Bed.)

+++

Have you ever
wondered what
it Could Have 
Been?..

If Life were 
not A Thing 
Of Irony.

Or Is The 
Love I
Feel for 
You A 
Sin?!

(And 
The Unhappiest
of Skeletons
Always ME?)

j.s.h.

my favorite electric nightmare.

My Favorite Electric Nightmare.
________________________________

I met this Human
Angel in an Electric
Nightmare.

A Box that Bled Our
Words of Sentiment,
mingled with the kind
of Bittersweet Honesty
which sometimes brought
to Life Those  Once 
Dead Devils in Her
Ethereal Eyes.

The Eternity of a
Second can sometimes
seem less,..when you're
spilling your Guts
to A Familiar Stranger,
while conflicted...
Part of you Not Really
Caring,..(part of you
knowing that it's probably
Dumb To Care) and that
Slight Remainder of your
Half Dead Heart Secretly
Wishing She was Already
There...if only for a Moment..
to Grace you with Her Presence.
(Or consume you with a 
Ravenous Stare.)

This is likely going to be
my Favorite Electric Nightmare,
because there's no expectation..
Hell,..everyone knows how this
shit works.

You just wake up, (to The
Nightmare of The Real.)
and Everything Fades but
the Fractured Memory of
an Eternal Second which
Could Have Been.

(were it not likely so
Dumb to Care.)

J.Stephen.H.

for a.s.

kisses and slaps.

kisses and slaps.
____________

Kisses and Slaps
to the Face..

how they seemingly
gravitate..

To Test The strings
of Hope..

and determine
chance from fate.

or..
Eternity..

From My Soul's
Thanatopian Rope!

(Love Makes Dying
feel great.)

13

what manner of love is this?

What manner of Love is This?
_____________________

What manner of
Man (or Beast)
is this? (she asks.)
Who cringes at
The Thought of Love's
Sweet Kiss!
(yet laments Hell's
smallest Task.)

Such Walking
Contradiction brings
my Weary Soul
Confliction!
(and I don't
know whether to
Cry or Laugh.)

Lo..Beautiful Evil!
I do Declare!
How it can Own
The Majority of People!
(with but a Stare.)

This is "My Truth."
(she says quietly
to herself) Curiosity
is A Hangman's Noose!
And Our Love the
Toller of Death's Bell!

(which shall Rob From
Me The Purity Of My
Youth.)
_

He never wanted
it to Be this Way..
(His Tomorrow The
Murderer of Yesterday.)
but None Escape
Their Starborn Fate!
Thus Darkness is
The Only Answer!
(that whispers softly
when He Prays.)

I must have you!
(he declares.)
In spite the fact
it will likely lead
our Souls to suffering.
For I'm compelled
By Angels Unaware!
(though the Fallen
Kind with Devil
Wings.)
_

Oh..what manner
of Love (or Hate)
is This?
(they ask in Chorus)
Damned By The
Fickle Kiss of Fate!

(that Whore who
stands in Awe Before
Us.)

j.s.h.

a soul unchained.

A Soul Unchained.
________________

I bled My Heart
out, and She Drank
it with a straw..
offering polite
"thanks you's" and
sweet Smiles between
Hungry Sips.

"Damn." she said.
(licking her angel lips.)
"is that really all?!"

"Why..I've never
tasted a Heart as
empty as this!"
(or seen one quite
so small.)

I Laughed Sadly
in a way that seems
to Scare off Tears,
and nodded quietly.

"Yes my Lovely"
(I replied.)
"I'm afraid it's
been this way
for Years."
(This Absence
Deep Inside of Me.)

Then Her Kaleidoscope
Eyes became bandaids
upon my shattered Soul..
eliminating ancient Fears,..
(acquired in The
Devils Hole) and
from that Moment
everything changed..
as if Fate broke The
Fabled Mirror.
(which had kept
My Soul in Chains.)

j.s.h.

every angel wears your face

every angel wears your face.
_________________________

It feels as though
my Mind has given
birth to 100 Angels
who all wear Your
Face..and they're flying
around my Head singing
songs that only the Heart
can understand.

And what brings them
to this place?...The
Inner Mansion of Life's
Darkest Man! (it could
be Nothing Short of Grace.)

Yes Love..
I've hurt you..
and torn half
of Your World
Down..

But There is
Heaven in
Your Virtue!,

which defeats
The Hell of
Former Frowns!

I feel the workings
of a Higher Fate..
leading us to This
Mysterious Garden
where Angels and
Demons Congregate..

and it is Here My
Love!

(that every angel
wears your Face.)

J.Stephen.H.

Oh My Flame.

Oh My Flame.
_______________

Oh My Flame..
You have Kissed
White the Crimson
Scars of War,..
and replaced
(with Light) The
Shadow Of My
Shame.

So that Death
I Am (and crave)
No More!!

and Gone is
The Constancy
of My Pain!

I will Love You
till My Soul
ceases wandering
from One Corpse
to the Next..

(spending  every
Moment with You
In My Head)

and if ever By My
Cruelty you are
made to Weep
may I be Vexed!!

(For Your Tears
are The Only Thing
which could Truly
Strike Me Dead.)

J.Stephen.H.