Cameras everywhere
We all must be aware
Someone can see
Our every deed.
Tasers leave puncture marks
Videos record muscle contractions
Guns leave bullet wounds, shredded flesh, and even death. No breath.
But shock gloves are silent
Innocent looking with
A secret switch
Leaving no trace
Just compliance
An easy case
No evidence for lawsuits
No justice for families
No reputations harmed
Of those alarmed.
Just harm for those unarmed.
moc2026©️
After Sonnet 131 by William Shakespeare
What kind of love poem is this?
Black dust sprinkled on a beautiful rose in a black vase?
Luscious melted cheese between two burnt slices of bread?
The opposite of a compliment sandwich!
A diamond ring inside an old moldy box,
A pearl inside a sea-crusted oyster shell,
Did you think I’d be so flattered by
The love you profess that
I wouldn’t be lambasted by the insults?
P.S. loving me in secret, ashamed to declare my beauty to others, makes you a wimp.
mlc2026©️
#the100dayproject2026sonnet
Sonnet 131 by William Shakespeare
Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art,
As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel;
For well thou know’st to my dear doting heart
Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel.
Yet in good faith some say that thee behold,
Thy face hath not the power to make love groan;
To say they err I dare not be so bold,
Although I swear it to myself alone.
And, to be sure that is not false I swear,
A thousand groans, but thinking on thy face,
One on another’s neck do witness bear
Thy black is fairest in my judgment’s place.
In nothing art thou black save in thy deeds,
And thence this slander as I think proceeds.
I didn’t sleep alone last night
There was no snoring
No stealing of blankets
No elbows or cold feet to
Disrupt my sleep.
All in all it was fairly sweet.
Throughout the day
I’ve been reminded
Of my unobtrusive bedmate
Not by a whiff of aftershave
Nor sweet nothings remembered
Not a hickey on my neck
Just the ever present itch
I feel on my shoulder
Where there’s a welt
From the bite it bit!
mlc2026©️
Nightshade blossoms
Festoon branches
With flouncy dresses
Like angels wear
Eliciting raised eyebrows
Wowed mouths
A need to draw near
It’s heavy scent
Sends an invitation
On warm summer evenings
Luring one’s nose to come,
Follow me, bring the moon,
Inhale my aromatics
Together we’ll swoon
Delicate petals
Beg to be caressed
Its colors inspire
A closer look
Piquing one’s curiosity
Or creative energy
To marvel at best
But don’t.
It’s a trap.
Toxic florality
Will claim you.
mlc2026©️
Spider web
Wind lifts its net
Gossamer wings
mlc2026©️
*technically not a cliché since this is the original scientific meaning.
After Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare
Set your foot;
It’s the root
For your stature
Lest a capture
Of your whim
By the wind
Changes you,
Arranges you,
Into an ideal
That’s unreal.
mlc2026©️
#the100dayproject2026sonnwt
Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound.
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
Imagine a world where one could
Work and be paid
Or not work
And still be paid
As one wants
Or doesn’t want
Your whim
Reigns
Imagine a world where one could
Work for a week
Then take a month off
With piles of files
Waiting for your perusal
Your approval
Wanes
Imagine a world where one could
Spend money without care
Like a constant source of ephemera
An always-blooming supply of
What I want when I want it
Your greed
Profanes
mlc2026©️
After Sonnet 129 by William Shakespeare
Gazing at the crimson orb,
Knowing the delight it yields,
He hesitated to embrace its
sweet juicy essence. Lessons
learned from past indulgences
Irked his conscience,
Piqued his pride,
Forbade him act rashly.
Powerless as a dandelion fuzzy,
he answered the call of the wind,
Floated uncontrolled toward the prize.
Unwise?
No surprise.
It’s man’s demise.
mlc2026©️
#the100dayproject2026sonnet
Sonnet 129 by William Shakespeare
Th’ expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Is lust in action; and, till action, lust
Is perjured, murd’rous, bloody, full of blame,
Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust;
Enjoyed no sooner but despisèd straight;
Past reason hunted, and no sooner had,
Past reason hated as a swallowed bait
On purpose laid to make the taker mad.
⌜Mad⌝ in pursuit and in possession so;
Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme;
A bliss in proof and ⌜proved a⌝ very woe;
Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream.
All this the world well knows, yet none knows well
To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.
What have we learned from diamonds?
Created under pressure. High heat.
In darkness.
Covered in grimy untold histories
leaving scars and cracks.
Defective. Impure. Assaulted by volcanic eruptions. Corrupted?
Only the outside.
Precisely faceting and polishing
reveals dazzling beauty.
Removing the facade
Opens up a world of delight
The inner core, without makeup,
reputation, camouflage or advertising,
Holds the real value.
Image is a mirage.
mlc2026©️
I don’t remember what it was
But the feeling remains alive inside me;
My eyes darted here – a giggle
Then over there – a giggle
following a ghost in the shadows
playing catch-me-if-you-can!
Was it a swarm of tinker-bells
singing Marco…
Or midnight butterflies winging kisses
to tickle my cheek?
Perhaps honeysuckles trailing their essence
past my nose?
I don’t know.
Joy escaped the murky deep of my soul,
Vibrating up through tar and slime
passageways leading lost innocence into
the unrestrained haven where bees dance,
worms wriggle, and leaves flutter.
I woke up laughing.
mlc2026©️
moosicalmountains 