Mike Meraz- Three Poems

The Curse Of The Ages

get ready for heartbreak

cause here she comes

bending down

ordering a sandwich

leaning over a shopping cart

glancing to the left

glancing to the right

all those wonderful things she does

(how can any girl be that pretty?)

I stand pretending not to care

I have seen her before

and her smile made my last four years

but now it’s just plain cruel

because that is all she gives me

or will ever give me

I wave hoping to get her attention.

"how are you?" I say

"good" she replies

as she glances away

(polite disinterest)

I walk away

hating she is not mine

but some other guys

who is probably as comfortable around her

as he is with his own mother.

but as for me

my heart is caught in my throat

all the blood in my body

is holding a five minute meeting in my face

there is nothing I can do about it.

the curse of the ages:

wanting something so much

it makes you unable to have it.

It Is Not Love

it is

need,

want,

desire,

a sudden awareness

of time slipping by,

a momentary lapse

of consciousness,

of truth

and meaning.

it is not love.

it is fear

of being alone

all by yourself

with no spouse,

no kids,

no dog,

no house,

no...

it is not love.

it is suicide

to settle.

Part 2

love falters.

it fails.

it is not the meal

but the dessert of life;

the cherry on top

of the sundae

you have built

on your own.


BIO:  Mike Meraz is a poet from Los Angeles who currently lives in New Orleans. He is the author of two books of poetry "Black-Listed Poems" and "All Beautiful Things Travel Alone."  He is also the author of "Black-Listed Thoughts" a book of quotes, available through Propaganda Press. Mike has been published in magazines such as Word Riot, Gutter Eloquence, Pearl Magazine, Chiron Review, Haggard & Halloo, Pulp Metal Magazine and many others.