The Reading Room

MANAO PUBLSHING

The Reading Room

For a few moments respite, enter the Reading Room. Here you’ll find previously published, unpublished or soon-to-be published works; short stories, essays, poems and serial pieces covering a variety of subject areas and topics. They change regularly so drop in and spend a few minutes. These works are posted solely for your enjoyment, interest and entertainment.

MEDIA MOGUL

Singular grains of sand

gathered as if one

pounded by tsunamic waves

of relentless media overexposure

celebrity, titillatingly spawned

at every twist and turn

forcing our pendular vacillation

between envy and obnoxious revulsion

hounded by delight

in their self-righteous comeuppance

and publicly proliferated failures

we relish the magnitude of their loss,

while secreting desires that we too

might hold sufficient positional acumen

to blunt life’s onslaught

and yet remain

a foundational pillar

on page six

All works of literature posted herein are copyrighted and may not be used or reproduced in part

or in whole, either in print or electronically without written permission of the author and publisher.

Please be advised that works by Branch Isole are written for adults, containing adult material and

language, some of which is sexual in nature. All works are intended for mature audiences only.

Inseparable

Each holiday and season

brought requests and gifts

Toys, candies, clothes and games

electronics, equipment

newer models, more of the same

Coveted material things

under trees, in bags

most wrapped, others not

expectant exchanges, symbols love fraught

Where are those prized possessions today?

What closet, attic, basement or trunk

keeps them safe, protecting their aging,

promoting their wasting away

the “have to haves” of so long ago

the “I can’t live withouts”

how much

time

money

energy

was invested

to be ‘first on the block’

to be the one ‘never bested’

And today?

What can I possibly give

promote or desire

that of itself you will never tire

Guaranteeing our continuance

as spiritual parent and offspring

What singular gift to you can I bring

One of encouragement, responsibility

to exhibit love’s true

encapsulating civility

None past nor present

nay, not one

can stand in comparison

to the one I wish to share

for you to own,

to spend eternity with you

before the eyes on God’s throne

LAS VEGAS EAST

There is a place,

Las Vegas East

where commerce market

high rollers meet

To talk and scheme

cajole and dream

on how to make mega bucks

off the backs

of unlucky hacks

They share and trade information

of soon to be breaking news

intended for their capitalization,

but as for Joe six-pack

he gets to lose

That’s fine with them

either way they win

For their fee to play

in this one sided game

is to charge you now,

and later again

Rules arranged

to keep in place

those gambling with their dreams

Not those who control

this monied race

with all their insider schemes

Too fast, too high

or slump too low

at too quick a pace

Automatic curbs and stops

swing into place

Guaranteeing time

for each of them

to fully cover their base

You can bet on the line

or bet on the come

on specifics to buy and sell

These players are happy

at attempts; every, any and all

for regardless of win, lose or draw

ultimately you take the fall

Long before

south goes the game,

before too many

traders are maimed

They’re back on the sidelines

on the make, counting their take

off your mistake

Occasionally, a few get caught

with their hands in the cookie jars

but it’s only you or I

who would ever do time

behind a set of steel bars

No ‘club fed’ for us, that’s for sure

in our cases to serve our time

it’s “let the punishment fit the crime”

No matter the outcome

nor heinous number of times

or trusts they manage to breach

It’s America’s small investors

who keep getting fleeced

Monday through Friday

it’s business as usual;

Lying, cheating, stealing

thieving, conniving

at ‘Las Vegas East’

You and I know it

by its other name,

NYSE, Wall Street

SECRETS

A comfort will be missed

Secrets two have shared

Minute aspects of daily life

Souls that have been bared

Vulnerabilities long ago breached

Fodder now

for emotions that seethe

An undercurrent recently present

yet blinders disallowed peripheral introspection

Leaving produces heartbreak

but will abandonment

initiate greater pain

than an eventual knowledge

of a vowed trust decimated

piece by piece

incident by incident

behind one’s back

Rewards and punishment

hover clandestinely within the shadows

each waiting to be revealed

A power struggle balanced precariously

atop the apex of promises made

while impatience gnaws

upon the fortitude of belief

At what point

are the pangs of voluntary servitude broken

only to be supplanted

by the loneliness of independence

At what level, the depth of love?

THE POINT

I don’t find your promises attractive

Anymore, than your denials for not finding the

Time, it would take to show I am still

Important, enough to make the struggle worthwhile

It’s redundant

Starting over

After accepting the sacrifice and then

Excusing, it as a substitute for fulfillment

as if it had

Meaning, beyond you and me

You never stray but your

Ever present, guilt trip

Hovers, over my shoulder

Possessing, a disparaging smirk

You indicate

Desire, to share my success yet you raise the

Bar, all efforts which take me closer to

Rewards, you change by altering the

Parameters, of acceptance

As I draw nearer to each goal

Exactly what is this

Point, you’re trying to make?

that if you help insure my failure your

Unconditional love, becomes more evident?

To whom?

You or me?

Which of your justifications lead you to believe

Continuation, would entice me to be with you in the future?

SYMBOLIC

It was necessary for Jesus of Nazareth

to live and die in an era

when the executioner’s tool was the cross

For no other symbol of demeaning elevation

could have evolved to have such impact