I have these lines on my skin
that illuminate
when the light fades
as if to ruminate
on the tracks
you’ve traced
along these veins
like sparks
still falling
after the light
has parted.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
Series
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.26, NAPOWRIMO
Why
do we spare the rose
yet rape the weed
from the root
when beauty
is fleeting
but a blemish
needs to be tended.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.25, NAPOWRIMO
Doubt
is not a cloak of black
without light
but a brilliant light
unveiling on a tiny spec
of darkness.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.24, NAPOWRIMO
I constructed
in concrete
so many conditions
to keep me away,
like walls
to fold me in
and hold you out,
but with every kiss
the bricks dissolved
like snow melting
in the heat of the sun
that rose again
when I thought
our foundation
had melted.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.23, NAPOWRIMO
I create places
within all my spaces
amid all this spinning space
a place to house the emptiness
that, while never feeling restless,
never grows any less.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.22, NAPOWRIMO
On blood soaked walls
he painted his pain
in shades of scarlet
crying,
on walls worked red
he captured the child
with cries that still
are drying,
on scarlet walls
he hung his hurt
on hooks too high
to handle,
in rooms since then
he sees that shade
still kindling
in the dwindling candle.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.21, NAPOWRIMO
Snow is no different to sun;
it falls and we, in turn,
slip silent under its blanket
before it dissolves on skin
still tingling from its touch.
I recall the heat we made
every morning I wake up
and feel the caress
of the cold.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.20, NAPOWRIMO
Beat
beat on
beat back.
Break
break in
break out.
Hold
hold on
hold out
for happy
for hopeful
for a harbour.
We can be drums
beating out every breath
breaking down every boundary
having a hold on the harbour
while the current
caresses us with connection
that is ours for the catch.
We can be beaten
or beat upon the drum.
We can be broken
or break free.
We can be held captive
or hold out
for something greater.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.19, NAPOWRIMO
If we pulled up
all the carpets,
all the rugs,
how many secrets
would we find
swept into shadows
that never settle?
If we turned up
all the mistruths,
all the twists,
how many futures
could we save
from being
cast into creatures
that cannot comfort?
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES, NO.18, NAPOWRIMO
There are walls we have to build,
both boundaries and barricades,
others we have to climb
and then that wall,
cemented into corners
that cannot be cleared,
when two worlds
held hands
over the cracks
we were happy to overlook.
All words and drawings by Damien B. Donnelly
Damien B. Donnelly 