Chameleon

Kinetic,

Electric and static in trickling radio wave energy

Engineered acidity

Yet the surface remains

A façade, 

Your mask,

To hide hurt.

And I'd see, cloaked in shrieks, a crave to breach

Teaching Katana piercing words

And truth would rain down from James Baldwin’s heavy tongue,

“Not everything that is faced can be changed,

But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

And my mask,

A cloud manifesting shadows that’d hide, or escape and scream,

As the winds would dance gracefully

Broadcasting patience; 

See, 

I’d savor the taste and scenes

In adjacency;

I've seen Chameleons transformed in camouflage

And all along the river, 

Held in limbo and catch-22, wedged and lodged,

A lily pad pond buoyancy, soul and purpose, would only abrade the turmoil.

Your mask.

A face of wonder

Wandering about physical and emotional barriers,

Standing in rooms of mirrors

Projecting backward,

Adamant adaptive survival tactics that’d prevent,

And I’d use my mask to equate,

Invent.

Peace and power,

Or to absorb cries for help poured over in boiling hot kettles,

Of pride and satisfaction of others as the mercury rises,

Unearthed in paleontologist's discoveries

And masquerades.

Proud I'd drowned in the sounds,

Harmonic in gradient fade,

Of each striking piano key sweet jazz tap tuned to an emanating parallel of hero and cape symphony,

If that soothing,

Complacency

Would comfort over,

As we remove our mask.

Reviews

[Tony Jordan]

I like this.
It feels almost of the cuff but then edited a wee bit.
I like the katana line but feel the order of words would be better suited 'piercing katana-words' than 'katana piercing words' - the subtle change doesn't sound as if the sword itself is being pierced but that's a minor in this major piece.
'hero and cape symphony' - excellent...

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Magnificent poem & metaphors Ty. Wordsmith applause for you. The masks we wear to absorb shock, hurt we have to be chameleons to survive. Love Baldwin reference. Great!

[Ty]

Many thanks Annette. Everyday we wear masks, at times multiple throughout.