Dark | Nolcha the Poet

This website includes my (growing) collection of poems published on Medium, Substack, and elsewhere, starting from the day my mother died, November 1, 2023, to the present.

For a complete listing of links to my poems and other cool stuff:

https://nolchafox2.wixsite.com/blog

Music to My Sawed-Off Ears

This not-music is sandpaper and saw to sensitive ears. Polar bears and elephants scream and flee from the noise to the next great...

Nolcha Fox

Oct 17, 20241 min read

Strung Out

I walk a tightrope of frayed string. At journey’s end it strangles me. If strangulation be the means, strangle me with strings of pearls,...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 30, 20241 min read

Frozen Insanity

He plays on ice, not thinking gloves can quell his arctic chill. He thinks some safety straps will keep him from a watery grave. He...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 30, 20241 min read

Hotel Lobby

Hotel Lobby – Edward Hopper 1943 Time sits still in the hotel lobby, crosses her legs, reads a book, waits for Death to walk in the...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 26, 20241 min read

Something Missing

Seen in silhouette you are most charming and disarming. But in the shadows I suspect you are a puzzle with some pieces missing. inspired...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 23, 20241 min read

Deadly Weapons

She gave him a peace of her mind, a dagger sharp enough to pierce the silence, pregnant paws, asleep on the table between them. Better...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 20, 20241 min read

Stoppage

He didn’t show up for work one day. The law books sagged in the bookcases. The calendar forgot to change. The conference room sat empty....

Nolcha Fox

Sep 17, 20241 min read

Suckers

Phillip Burne-Jones, Vampire (1897) She was a vamp, a red-haired tramp. At her icy stare, the women simply disappeared into the...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 16, 20241 min read

Waging Art

I battle dragons in their caves on winding plaths of body art. The swords and daggers on my arms that point to sunlight shout I’ve won,...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 16, 20241 min read

Alley Cat

Her soul is a back alley where moon shadows slink. The windows are boarded. The doors are all barred. The walkway is littered with...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 15, 20241 min read

September 2024 Feature

On a Roll I rattle through my broken vows in this barrel of regrets. I pray for rain to wash away my excuses and pretensions. I pray that...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 12, 20242 min read

Our Mothers

Our mothers know time as a face on the band around their wrists. They know seasons as months they tear off the wall. They know love as a...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 9, 20241 min read

Tabloid Tableau

Pretty faces grace the tabloids, They’re so crucial. I ignore them, check the weather, shred their kissers for kitty litter. the tableau...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 5, 20241 min read

Too Cozy

I’m insulated, wrapped in jacket that confines my arms, protects me from the swings I bring upon me when I’m inappropriate. In the...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 3, 20241 min read

Seeping, Weeping

Image credit; Esra Korkmaz @ Unsplash Raindrops on the window seep through pages, wrinkling, running ink that smears and obfuscates the...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 2, 20241 min read

Holes in My Pockets

I paint a smile on my face. I tell myself it’s over, and I can live as I once did, without the endless sorrow. I hide my hands inside the...

Nolcha Fox

Sep 2, 20241 min read

Why I Can’t Find My Father

Image credit Sarah Whiley I dig through snow with frozen fingers. Branches scratch words in the sky. Don’t bother. We touched the ground...

Nolcha Fox

Aug 29, 20241 min read

Gang of Thieves

They rise, they say, to give us room to live and work and play. They say that space is precious. Upward mobility has its price. Look...

Nolcha Fox

Aug 27, 20241 min read

Enough

The wind begun to rock the grass With threatening tunes and low, — He flung a menace at the earth, A menace at the sky. – “A...

Nolcha Fox

Aug 27, 20241 min read

Collaboration Chaos 8/27/24

Collaborative poems written by Barbara Leonhard, Alex S. Johnson, and me! KINGDOM OF QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT My neighbor left his dogs for...

Nolcha Fox

Aug 27, 20242 min read