A second collection of sonnets.                                                                                                                            

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095-J

The Black Rabbit Company
Wiz says, "We have dreams we want to achieve,
"We have our plans and charters, jobs and locks
"We have our symbols, robes and ships and seas
"We're here to push the world outside the box."
1 says, "Watch the wizard, he's going to try
"To leave here, you can save him from himself."
2 says, "Listen to me, I'll tell you why
"We cannot be contained upon this shelf."
3 says, "Please let us go, we've done no wrong.
"Why suffer us this never-ending hell?"
4 says, "Get on your knees and suck my schlong
"Or leave me be. Just get out of my cell."
When 5 comes, there is nothing to discuss.
Leave her alone. "Happy birthday to us."

Horseshoe Beach First Baptist Church (Relocated)
One Dalet member stands along the sand
Of Panacea's crashing, awesome waves
He's waiting for the church again to land
And send the screaming Baptists to their graves
There's thirty-seven of them, chosen few
Selected to live lives exempt from want
Recite the hymns and scriptures from their pews
And die within their mass baptismal font
There's hardly bubbles when resurgence comes
And Dalet waits for Holy Ghost and fire
But all he hears is heartbeat loud as drums
Within his chest, march for a liquid pyre
All now that's left is murmurs in the seas
Protestants whisp'ring "help us, save us, please"

Where The Dragons Went
They came to us with hope that we would view
Them as they once appeared in all their glory
Wanting us to help, and not to be skewed
As drawings in a children's fairy story
But all they were was paper, folded tight
Into flimsy avatars of splendor
They tried to warn us of the dying light
That war was coming, and they couldn't render
Themselves upon us, they needed our aid
But all we saw was toys alighting on
Our fingertips, their messages waylaid
And then came fire, blood—then they were gone
We've now lost how they had loved us before
"Here were dragons" is how we've priced their lore.

Mourning Cloak
It's seen no empires fall, no cities burned
Its memories are not so light or big
No shipwrecked boats the sea has overchurned
Or war-massed graves, and those who're forced to dig
Its thoughts instead are small and intimate
Heavy sorrows upon the brows of men
Prayers they've pressed upon the filament
A cry for sympathy time and again
It's seen the hungry mouths, held wide
The lonely tables meant for more than one
A child in darkness, trying hard to hide
All these it gives to you, suppressing none
The thoughts destroy you, ravages of time
It whispers, "Here now, let me show you mine."

The "Stepford Marriage" Rings
"Come here, my sweet, I've got something to ask.
"It's something that you've longtime waited for.
"I know I've thought you not up to the task
"To settle home and hearth and clean-swept floor.
"I know you've thought of leaving—please don't lie.
"I know you think our love is all askew.
"But darling, I can change, or I can try,
"And more importantly you can change too.
"I know you've thought me to be quite the jerk
"Insisting on tradition; now I plea,
"I think I've found a way to make this work
"So please, my darling, won't you marry me?"
"Yes," she cries, so thrilled to end her wait
And ring upon her finger seals her fate.

The Dungeon
There's water softly dripping from the roof
And with conviction six feet step in time
While two of them are quiet and aloof
The third is wailing, telling of his crime
His jailers are unsympathetic, taut
Unwilling to think of him as human
A person who had done wrong and been caught
And now was lead through their stone-wrought lumen
"I didn't want to!" he cries through his tears
"They said that I would have to take the blame
"They played on all my loves, and all my fears,
"Please tell me, would you not have done the same?"
The chains snap out and drag him to his fate
To quench a thirst for justice we can't sate.

The Lost Child
The doctor rests his hands upon her cell
On glass that separates the child from him
He waits for her to loose her words and tell
What he can't find upon a paper skim
She watches him with eyes that tell of grief
Of children just like her who passed away
Of sadness, terror, sorrow and relief
Of babies who were lost or gone astray
He cannot speak now, he has no more words
He only waits in dark solemnity
For his son's speech to fly her mouth like birds
Assuage the guilt he's felt so endlessly
Her mouth will give him words to help him grieve
While lifted hands cry out for him to leave

Anomalous Typeface
For real, my dudes, I do not understand
Why we can't just be chill about this font
It's just a typeface! Nothing to be banned
And purposely designed to never daunt
I think it's truly silly, really, now,
That we've allowed ourselves to be so cowed
By this. Do we think our collective brow
Is so high that some letters aren't allowed?!
We're better than this, look inside your heart
And see that we can end this petty spat
That's driven kerning nerds and friends apart
So just believe that we—oh dear, what's that?
NO WAIT I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE IT SHOW
I'LL MAKE IT STOP DON'T TOUCH ME NO NO NO!

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