Absent (a free-verse pantoum) - POEM of the MONTH!

Absent (a free-verse pantoum)

A hole tore into my chest;

I am numb to my surroundings.

It took residence as one left mine

And I stare into the empty silence.

I am numb to my surroundings,

You were taken from my residence

And I stare into the empty silence

As you create a sound in my mind.

You were taken from my residence;

A blues song of memories remain

As you create a sound in my mind

And will play forever in my heart.

A blues song of memories remain

My shadow. Who brightened my day

And will play forever in my heart?

The one, I will see until then.

My shadow who brightened my day,

It took residence as you left mine,

The one I will see. Until then –

A hole tore into my chest …

The Machine - POEM of the MONTH!

The Machine

He met his new partner

In the inner-city trenches

Wrapped in neck tattoos

Reflected off the graffiti

Of the perspiring walls

Out of the corner of his eye

He saw the calculations

Triggered by sensory input

Enabling targeted algorithms

Which exceeded intuition

Without moving a joint

His weapon emerged

From the alley of his sleeve

His assailant captured

Before the city lost a pulse

He was back on the beat

While the sound of accolades

Were still mixed in the air

Syncopated to each stride

By his singular dance

By his singular dance

By his singular dance

By his singular dance

He was back on the beat

His weapon emerged

Triggered by sensory input

From the perspiring walls

His partner met his stare

In the inner-circuit trenches

Wrapped in nano-tattoos

Reflected onto the walls

Of his cranial unit

He heard the dreadful order

When his partner ignored his

As he wrestled with his duty

All three laws of robotics

And the Law they upheld

His blood pumped adrenaline

Neurons fired off the decision

As he fired a single shot –

His partner out of service

As he blindly obeyed his …

And then, with realization apparent

It is he; it is he who is the machine!