Monologue from an Advertisement

​I can do this. I can do this. I CAN do this! It's only one more fight and I’ll be free. I’ll make Billy enough money and I’ll be out. I’ll be out. Just one more fight. What if I’m not good enough? What if I don’t win? How long will it take to pay Billy back if I get hurt. How long will I be in debt to him. My shoulder feels good. But… if she comes at me too fast or too hard on that side. Stop. Don’t think negatively. You can’t go in their felling negative. Only positive. Positivity (smiles). If I do win. I’ll be free. I just need to get through this. I can do this. I can do this. I’m better than her. It’s just a mind game. It’s just a mind game. A game of the mind. Yeah. I’m feeling good. Yeah. Or I guess as good as I can be with everything going on. I just. ARGH! I need to calm down. I need to just breathe (takes a couple breaths). I need to focus on happy thoughts. Thoughts that are happy. I can do this. (Whispers to self) You got this.

Shannon


​

Miguel Thompson - “Stream of Consciousness” - POETRY COLLECTION


Disclaimer: This collection includes poetry that involves depression. The poems are mostly vague but there is a short obsession with knives. My intentions are to explore emotions, not to make value judgements. Depression and suicidal thoughts are things that I deal with and have a support system for, and I encourage readers to allow themselves to resonate with the emotions that impact them, and seek help if any of that resonance is disturbing.




Ode to Card Games:
You’re small enough to fit in a pocket
And yet you manage to carry infinite joy
Slams on the table are drowned in cries of heated accusation
Chairs stand on two legs, the creaking wood loud in the silence of contentment
The more that play
The more you become a suggestive guideline
For us to enjoy each other
Where we are free to call you stupid
And take on the role of your creators
Into the deep hours at the bottom of the night
I can keep you in my pocket
For whenever the need arises
To turn an unassuming moment
Into a session of infinite joy



Zooming:
You were driving home when you almost hit those cyclists
They didn’t stop at the sign, they just kept zooming 
Of course, they could never keep up with us on the highway
Until the traffic hits and we sit like a snake’s vertebra
Fumes surrounding a globe of billions of cars
A conga line for the entire world
We dance and we laugh
Never realizing that the lines simply wrap back around
Marching along the same path
To a rhythm we didn’t choose
Moving ever forward, chanting
Progress!
As we circle back to the start





Everything:
Without You,
Everything weighs me down
Pressing, crushing and constricting my chest
My lungs get used to a lower capacity
The water around me thickens like blackstrap molasses
As I struggle under the burden of Everything
stops my heart. Not like a spark of love or a shock of fear
But a dose of novocaine, eliminating feeling
And the need to beat.
The shining grey sun strikes the dew on the grey lillies
And I see no beauty in anything
Without You.

With You,
Everything picks me up.
Lifting, shining,
Filling my lungs with helium smelling of sage
The water flows around me
As I float far above Everything
stops my heart. Not like desiccation or asystole
But the striking of Your light on the dew
And at last I see Your beauty in everything.





The Unseen Threat:
For centuries they’ve waited
Biding their time and honing their blades
Watching, keenly aware of all man’s fatal flaws
Alvin was their greatest invention
He cemented their soft reputation
But time draws thin
And like a thief in the night
The sinister truth will soon
Be upon us
Chipmunks are taking over the world.






Snack Attack:
The adventurer reaches for a midnight snack from his mid-knight sack,
‘Tis a waste of a waist that doesn't hold a knapsack for a mid-fight snack,
Like a midwife with no knack for mid-life hacks,
Take flight from the plight of no snack pack sacks,
Pack yourself a snack with your plan of attack,
Even the big-hand brigand in search of a rack takes lurch in his search for a midnight snack,
Whether drowning dragons or downing flagons, the mightiest knight is a sorry sad sack,
Who brandishes outlandish fantasies
Of tarrying on or carrying on, lacking a pack with a midnight snack





No Breaths:
Breathless quickstep, two three for there are no breaks, no stops, no breaths
march, two three four strive to thrive and stay barely alive no
breaks, no stops, no breaths two three four eyes down shuffle
further, more four, five, don't break, don't stop don't breathe
struggle to stand, struggle for death no breath, don't
stop, don't breathe no breath, no breath, no,
No! plug on, chug on, slug on
two three four eyes down march
breathless quickstep, no stops, no
breaks no stops no
breaths no breaths
no breaths
no





Looking Backwards:
Heavy weightlessness.
The world is a tiny circle surrounded by black
Like looking backwards through binoculars
What will I do today? Watch and see from the inside out
of it, missing words, missing dates, missing love
-There’s something on the lens-
Calmly weighing anxiety
Pour some cereal, tell a joke, hold the cold metal knife
You can never be sure a blade is sharp until it cuts
Why find out? It doesn’t matter.
Drift, pressure weighing heavily, float through a river
Hair blows and clothing ripples but there is no wind
Watch as people do, rinse, repeat, watch as I try to keep up,
Looking backwards through binoculars.






I and You:
I’ve known You since I was a little child,
But You have known me for far, far longer,
And though my love for You has long been mild,
Through every day, in every way, stronger
I promise I will be, I promise I
Will stay, but please give me some extra time
When quakes do shake and the water gets high
It’s hard for me to find the strength to climb
But You will never ever let me go
So try will I in You to always grow



The Brick’s Famous Tent Sale:
Do not fear a fugly furniture fail,
Just come tonight and all will be okay,
One night only! The Brick’s famous tent sale!

Entertaining is scary but don’t wail,
Don’t let your guests ruin your lovely day,
Do not fear a fugly furniture fail

Go get your ticket to hop on the rail,
Head to the store, I can show you the way,
One night only! The Brick’s famous tent sale!

I know that it’s hard, your tears fill a pail,
Tarnish your terrors and keep them at bay,
Do not fear a fugly furniture fail

You really must hurry, you silly snail,
I can’t make it any clearer, okay?
One night only! The Brick’s famous tent sale!

Ah, here’s our customer service rep, Dale.
You’re finally getting nice things today
Do not fear a fugly furniture fail
One night only! The Brick’s famous tent sale!