Poetry
All works by Emily Holyoak, 2021
ROBOT PARADISE
Velvet was the day that I woke up free
Cares out the window
Flowers in the breeze
- Tailgating my dreams
- Rejection’s sting
- My lonely corner
Sunglow
Fills my windowsill
After a void
I’ve done it again
- A sibling’s worry
- But never an embrace
- Freezing laminate stuck to my toes
Shame
But I don’t know why
I can’t help it
- Retreating back to solitude
- Wearing out video tapes
- On a floral carpet chair
Was there a light in that basement
Or was it just a dream
Places I’ve avoided and embraced
- Crestfallen was my sword
- Smiles are my shield
- The yarn of different patterns
I’ve grown close and yet so far
Away from you all
To become the painting
All works by Emily Holyoak, 2020
The Freethinker
I pull back the curtain of butterflies
Leaving my white dress on the ground
Stepping into the possibilities
Choices that are my own
The weight at my ankles free
Balancing on my toes
Light as a feather
The ceiling expands
My heart takes flight
Peonies sprout from my head
I cock my shoulder in delight
And fly through the field of grass
PEOPLE
Anyone can hurt.
Because People.
Communication is key.
Dead People.
Everyone weeps.
Fake People.
Gratitude is central.
Hate People.
Innovation is thrilling.
Junk People.
Kill with kindness.
Leave People.
Make someone’s day today.
Never People.
Opportunities lie ahead.
Poor People.
Question born beliefs.
Racist People.
Say something lovely.
Touch People.
Undo the hurt.
Victimize People.
Whatever the heart wants.
X People.
Yell off of a mountaintop.
Zealous People.
WALL BETWEEN US
Fleabag confessing
the sins that she’s ever committed, even the past 60 seconds
Hot Priest, drunk like a heathen
listening with intent, increasingly interesting
The tears begin to flow, regret begins to show
Silence as piercing as a scream
She kneels
the floor marking up her shins
He draws the velvet line
the forbidden desire climbs with the devil’s temperature
temptation so sweet, so taboo
attraction to God’s light
carnal sin, thrust upon them
moonlight cracks through glass
caught in a twist, Hot Priest desists
Don’t ever visit the church again.
BEYOND THE YELLOW BRICK BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
In the dark corners of society where nobody looks, Elton John and Freddie Mercury have teamed up as crime-fighting, fabulous detectives. Using their pianos of justice, they fly on rainbows in drag and ascend in a cloud of hairspray and feather boas. Their secret den is underneath Buckingham Palace, where they eavesdrop on their royal highnesses and plot their lascivious parties when they’re off the clock.