The Unusual Part of my Brain
Street Cleaners
He took his hookers to the bar
It always felt more like a date
that way
The bartender knew what he was doing
but when the cops came in to raid
she would look the other way
The old man was lonely
and paid enough for his elicit sex
that was only a cover for
his emptiness
And so she kept him from sitting
lonely in a cell
For a prostitute that probably
didn't know his real name
Knowing no one was waiting at home
to miss him
The same girl never came with him twice
a character flaw
or searching for the right one
or something less innocent
Piper Marau
The Local Haunt
I was in that bar again
The one with the hollowed eyes and dark secrets festering inside the souls of its patrons
Sitting on the left side of the square
Dreaming out the window
What left of the daylight shining boldly through the blinds
but not reaching my skin
And the first few sips of a cold beer, the only thing I could feel
As the car drove by
An unrecognizable model of an old junker
That had more spirit in it than the man behind the wheel
I could see the trash piled up
Wrinkled clothes in a gray car
with a gray interior
with a gray soul driving to what I could only guess was his own hell
It looked as if he had just gotten back from there but
He wanted more
And nothing else I could imagine
But that heap of steal
Was all I wanted and the only place I wanted to be
To chase the hounds and live its history
And go down in flames
or just drift
like the foam drifting atop my beer
Dissolving with each sip a little more
until it is gone
And the car shuddered by one more time
Stretching my dreams down the street after it.
Piper Marau
A Cold Night Out
There was the guy
The one on an Army pension
Or something
The girls hustled him
Then he hustled me
Averaged two beers per
Random yet pained bar visit
Leering into his glass like all the others
The waiting room for the rejected
by all hope for romance
forced to make shallow friends
But they are only trying to escape their own misery
And they were always thirsty
And always poor
Hoping to go home with THAT person
or me
or just wanting a free beer
Just wanting
And then he would turn to me
'You know you can always sleep it off at my place'
His left eye wandering with the right
staring down my shirt
leaving me with nothing to do but stare into my glass
Sigh, 'Thank you, no'
And reach the bottom of another pitcher
Each one slammed back in shame
Anger
Loneliness
Desperation
Never finding the solution but instead a warm blanket
That was always slipping off just slightly no matter how tightly we held on.
Piper Marau
On to my path I see my prey,
The gentle breeze calms this nerve,
For hunting season has begun,
Tightening the string to my chest I ready for my kill,
The birds no longer sing,
As they know death in is the air,
The silence echos on the wood.
One thing has stopped me as I squint,
A light pours from the sky,
Never before has it been seen,
Not by human eyes.
I ask ," What for do you come here as only darkness rules this wood?"
She replied, "All darkness has a light inside, do not contradict my good."
She approached me with such care I saw,
No harm intended on my soul.
"Dear lady of the nightly watch, why do you prey on my creations?"
She asked taking down my arrow.
"For to feed my family, as they have no man to provide."
I said with great pride and responsibility,
"Well then why is there no man to perform this task for thee? Have you no duty as a wife?"
"I have no business as a wife"
I said taking stronger ground,
Looking beyond her transparent body I saw my buck happily eating,
Enjoying his very life.
"Then be you cursed my Lady? For only such a hex can leave you to live alone."
"Nay."
I replied. "My love was killed in these trees. Consumed by the very creatures of night."
She simply waited for me to continue, showing a frown of pity.
"I have no money to travel, and no family to see. I am obligated to stay. Every night I wait for the creatures to take me so that I may be with my love, but none are so merciful as they watch me from the brush. Every man that comes by to settle these wooded parts ask me for advice. I tell them to keep watch for the creatures of the night. They just laugh and go to be the next slaughtered like a dove in hunting season. One man stopped to stay. He claimed no woman shall be forced to live alone to support her children so sick. He tried to move in, yet one night he vanished. My children are ill, you see. They have been since we settled in this very place. One speaks in evil tongues, the other convulses to near death, yet we find nothing to cure them, but to hunt the freshest of meat and little work to fulfill their days."
The woman just looked at me and turned to watch the buck walk away to a Deer and a Fawn.
She then pointed and said, "That buck has a family too. Every day he hunts for the best of berries and leaf."
Then turning to me she continued, "My forest is not meant to be settled. You must take your children and go."
The dark began to settle in the trees and the light began to fade from her.
"But the best of meat is here for us, the freshest water and solitude for my children. Why must we go when we have nothing to leave for?"
I argued.
"I warn you once, now leave this place. I will not say it again or you shall suffer the price of your most valued possession."
With that she faded and became two eyes.
I just picked up my bow and shot the buck not caring what she said.
Then the eyes began to form a body and the most terrible howl escaped it's throat.
I ran to the hut we had built built when we settled but no sounds came from the rooms.
I circled the out side and heard a noise or whimpering.
Just as I entered the door I saw it.
The beast.
Hairy and scornful.
Devouring my precious children.
It did not see me but I know it had a purpose.
As I walked alone through the trees I heard a voice so serene say,
"I told you to leave at once and did you not stay? This is your price and now you are alone."
I thought how could she make such judgment.
As I came back to the buck I had shot I bent down to clean it.
I knew at once I was a killer of men because this buck was my husband's soul.
Reincarnated into the body of each deer we ate.
it drove my children to the hands of the devil,
And now his poisons kill me,
For I had the others killed.
I made those monsters and now I am killed by them.
Piper Marau
The Promise Rose
He laces his boots as he sighs,
Blouses his pants with his ties.
His jacket is buttoned,
His hat sits in place,
As his wife gets fresh tears in her eyes.
He looks over the room one more time,
The children stand in a line,
He kissed each one once,
Said, "I love you so much",
And adjusted his hat one more time.
As he reached for the door,
A rose dropped to the floor.
And his voice faltered,
As he tunred to face her
While he tried to say I love you once more.
His wife said, "I know,
Darling it shows.
I know you can't stay,
It must be this way
"
And she placed in his lapel the rose.Then his cab arrived,
And he said goodbye
As he picked up his bags,
And waved with one hand,
As one tear fell from his eye.
In an hour he arrived at the base,
Paid the cabbie and straightened his face,
Then went to his quarters,
And put up his things,
Then went to his staion to pace.
His troops were sent out the next day,
They knew not how long they would stay,
The battle was hard,
And they slept under the stars,
But they one the battle anyway.
Back home his wife was feeling better,
Mostly because of his letter,
"The troops are alright,
We joke every night" ,Is what he proceeded to tell her.
"But there is bad news I'm afraid,
Another month we must stay,
But I'll be back soon,
That's a promise to you,
I get closer to home every day."
It's been three months or close,
No letters, or calls, or war notes.
Then one day in the mail,
Came a letter from a general,
And as she opened it out fell a rose.
It said, "Mrs. Marau, I know you're worried,
No letters or calls from your husband,
He wants you to know,
That's why he sent the rose,
That he is on his way"
And continued to read,
So she took down his flight times,
And called the kids at school,
And started planning what to eat.
He arrived the next week,
On a crutch for his knee,
And he sighed with relief
As his wife kissed him on the cheek,
And the kids yelled, "Welcome home Daddy!"
He told them of stories of war,
But left out the blood and the gore,
Life was never the same,
But in his heart was no shame,
Because he had helped win the war.
Piper Marau
The Rose's Thorns are War
The Rose's thorns are war.
The world is beautiful in every way.
Each petal represents life.
The leaves are the joys we get,
That decorate the stem.
The stem is the path we take.
Always armed with thorns.
Sadly enough our world chose to fight,
And that's why the Rose's thorns are war.
Piper Marau
Once, I went to the park.
The park smiled and let me in though it was a very hot day.
Suddenly the ground popped open and right before my eyes I saw three bright stars.
One star said to me *If you wish I have for you a multi colored fish*
The second star just grinned
The third star decided to speak and this is what she said *Though you think you don't deserve it I have for you a gift, in my hands I hold the life of a daisy just for you. But this is not just any ordinary daisy* she said * This daisy holds the power to change the world. Any one who smells it can fly to the stars to visit us. But beware of the effects of this daisy. It lasts only as long as you can smile*
After that the second star did a funny dance and handed me a watch.
*Please may I have the daisy to see you all again?* I asked.
*I promise I will visit often and I wont let it fall into the wrong person's hands.*
The stars just laughed and handed me the daisy and said a pure heart and a great big smile will take me any where I wish to go. They told me that I had the power to fly to the stars and back, that it was in my bright and happy heart.
Piper Marau
Once upon a time there was a man named Coach Perkins. He was a geometry teacher. He loved corn. Evey day in class he would talk about corn. Creamed corn, smashed corn, whole kernel corn, corn on the cob. Obsessed. One day "All That" came and kicked his ass for copy right laws. Then Nickelodeon sued, then the roaches in the class room called Ralf from "Joe's Apartment". They royally kicked his ass. One day while the coach was in ICU recovering the nurse came in and snapped her gloves and Blink 182 came in singing All The Small Things'. Coach had a heart attack and died, the roaches took over his class, every one passed, and the corn had six cobettes.
the end
Piper Marau
note: the events in this story are purely fictional and any happenings like this are a coincidence. please do not sue me.
Interview
Why do you cry like that?
Is it the sun in your eyes that becomes so unbearable?
When you wake up in the morning do you wait for your death or do you accept each passing day as a gift?
Why do you even wake up any more?
Can you change your destiny or has it already been set?
What do you want your destiny to be?
What can this college do for you?
Are your goals for yourself or for someone else?
Can you answer any of these questions?
So why did you come here?
Piper Marau