M.K. Lee's Blog: Telling Tales, page 117

Mask

That mask you’re wearing is slipping.

The sheen of fear on your cheeks leaves you gripping

Tightly to it, trying to keep it there in place

And not reveal what’s behind it – your true face.

What are you so afraid of?

It’s not like you believe in anything above

That will smite you down for your sins.

No. You just don’t want people to see what’s within.

To show you’re just as fragile as the rest

Of us. You love, you fear, but keep it to your chest

Only revealing your inner thoughts to very selec...

Baggage

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This room is bare now. The stripped bedding lays at the foot of the bed, the curtains sit drawn back into their ties, and the thick pine wardrobe looms ominously as though it will topple at any moment.

My luggage is packed and out in the hallway, and the tied-up bin bag waits to be deposited in the refuse bin at the end of the gravel drive.

I sigh, and reach my hand down to the baggage at my feet.

“What are you doing with that?” you say, accusation in your voice.

I feel my throat seize up ag...

Terrorised

You are my night terror.
Behind my eyelids you move, and me, you own.
Sweat-sheened skin slides on cheap, slickened sheets,
And your mouth is the silencer to every moan.

You are my day terror.
I am laid torpid by your blue soul stare;
Languishing in longing, lust, lamed by love,
Loneliness and doubt. Because you can leave without a care.

You terrorise me.
I’ve fallen even further than you know,
And you can read it all, yet remain marble,
Shattering me with more uncertainty each time you go.

Believing

I believe in evil
Don’t have no faith in good.
Take in the world around you,
Show me how anybody could?
There’s no such thing as freedom
And I don’t believe in free.
There’ll always be a trick, a catch,
Clauses you didn’t read.
I believe in science
But I don’t believe in faith.
There’s no guidance or comfort
From the fictional hallowed wraith.
I believe in start over
And beginning things anew
Even if to achieve this I must
Stop believing in you.

Internal Monologue

‘Be careful what you wish for’ might have once seemed good advice,
But it’s not quite the sentiment and therefore won’t suffice.
It’s better worded: ‘have caution for the things that you dream true.’
Because once they are realised, that’s it. They’re yours. Now what do you do?
Remember feeling that you were lonely and that no one understands?
You kept it in, you shut them out, and now, who holds your hand?
Remember certainty that you were never good enough?
Well look at what you’ve missed out...

Notch

Tighten that noose a little bit tighter,
It’s still too loose.
Notch it in further with throwaway remarks,
And find sturdy branch protruding from thick, strong bark.
Begin to swing.
You’ll find, as you claw, and gasp for air,
There’s no room for those words that always threatened to surface there.
They were never meant to escape.
And this is the surest way to make sure they never do.
After, they’ll say you were seeking attention.
It isn’t true. But you’re silenced now.
They win.

 

Painful

You are too painful to keep around.
Don’t roll your eyes. I know that’s what you’re doing.
Your silence is the loudest of all sounds,
Next to the here we go again sighing
That you’re doing right now.

Just go ahead and fuck off, walk away.
There is no joy in feeling myself burden
One moment, and worth killing time with the next day.
You’re not the first to cause my heart to harden
So there’s no obligation to stay.

When did I give you permission
To use me as verbal punching bag?
I think I’d rem...

From Across The Hall

Ruben’s late for work again.

He charges through the rotating doors at the main entrance of the shopping centre willing them to spin faster, and in doing so commits the ultimate sin of touching the door, bringing the entire thing to a juddering stop. He jolts against the door with a huff at the unexpected stop of motion, smearing up the glass with a hot blast of breath, and hears a disgruntled grumble from all around saying others are doing the same.

A security guard gives him the eyebrow that...

Matthew isn’t looking for a relationship. Ask him, and he...

Matthew isn’t looking for a relationship. Ask him, and he’ll say it’s because between work and studying there’s just no time. Ask his best friend, Sarah, and the story is a little different and involves a failed relationship that left him raw. 

Enter Joel, a childhood friend of Sarah’s recently back in the area. He’s not looking for love, either, but he’s not averse to the idea of a little fun. Uncomplicated and on the same page: what could possibly go wrong?

Whatever Comes First. Available o...

From Coffee Shop Corners

People watching might be George’s favourite way to spend his time. Why wouldn’t he lose himself in dreaming up the loves and lives of other people to escape the mess that is his own? From this new favourite cafe corner, in the new town he’s made his home, George makes up backstories for each of the baristas. And as they serve coffee, George imagines happily ever afters for their waiting customers. But when a surprise email forces him to relive the heartache he’s running from, George can think...