you will not respond
our words cotton in your mouth
truth to chew, swallow
Vindication
you will not respond
our words cotton in your mouth
truth to chew, swallow
friendship
Mitigation
we drive into the night,
the beauty of a curvacious road
lost among nauseating bumps,
our passionate words
filling the air of the car
(even he shouts out
his usually-quiet opinion)
you might never see this side of him
or the one that opened up lips
along the lines of lakes
our passion moving from anger to lust
our hands discovering a new side
of the world’s version of wealth
i think about the 8500-mile drive,
the quiet moments on the sea
where bland as eucharist crackers,
his words slowly, almost silently, slipped out
you might make a judgment,
but you will never see the side of him
that mitigates me
My Game Lost
the third day
of the job i no longer have
(its nightmare clutching my morning).
the gossip regurgitated
from freshly painted new faces.
the perfection in concentration
resulting in my words
tossed back at me from
the digital keyword demon.
the ball that flies into the sky
never making contact with my arms.
my game lost
in an argument
a dream
a choice that burns me
with each rising ball of fire
give me a new day
a bright-starred moment
to know that
the person i have become
is more than a digitized rejection letter
flashing failure in too few words
When Dusk Settles In
apology lost
i seek solitude in sky
bat’s wings renew me
Formula
don’t be so surprised
that i called you out
on everything he already is.
there is a simple formula
to make the world a better place:
be more like him.
(trust me,
it’s been fifteen years
and i still haven’t mixed
the right concoction)
Road Trip Haiku #16
her Iowa home
loving reminder of loss
warm friends i won’t see
I and Love and You
I and Love and You by The Avett Brothers
a year ago
a lifetime ago
i stood on this same step
i rang this same doorbell
i retrieved these same girls
i hardly knew you
i stood awkwardly
in your living room
trying to explain my taste in music
you cringed when i said folk
(perhaps you’d cry too
the first time you
heard their song on the radio)
we’ve made music since then
sometimes heavy metal
sometimes hip hop
just a taste of alternative
but you still haven’t heard my song
i stand on your doorstep now
you won’t answer so i walk in
(it is like home to me)
i pull them out of the room
three in a row, sleepy-eyed,
begging for breakfast
(they are starving)
you open your door
sleepy-eyed too
and there are no words
there are no lyrics
that can fall to the floor
in this awkward living room stance
as i shuffle our lives out the door
You Are
the teary eyes that mask sadness
behind a superficial smile
the gray clouds that just can’t quite
put out the wildfires
the kind gesture resulting
in an empty wallet
the me i fear
(small child filled with doubt)
June (2012) Daughters
Riona
we walk Venice Beach
we’re offered everything
from CD ash trays,
a strip-tease picture with a dog
in a pink bikini,
and endlessly legal marijuana
(doctor on premises!)
mostly oblivious,
you trot alongside
and point to the homeless man
sitting in the lawn, complete
with office chair and
sleeping bag
i explain. you respond:
he lives outside?
in ALL that grass?
well that’s bigger than our house!
and your five-year-old wisdom
has made this beach day better.
Mythili
the conversations
in the 2000-mile backseat drive
are circular and cute
none cuter than
sisters, learning about the Gold Rush
from historical mama, declare,
We want to dig for gold in these mountains!
with your usual no-nonsense logic,
you casually reply,
You’re going to need a drill.
Isabella
for you,
a trip to California
is no more than an excuse
for a brand new story
to share with all your friends
upon your happy return
that’s my girl
Free
it’s not pizza
it’s Beau Jo’s
and we pile on honey
drive across grid-lined neighborhoods
and pray our van won’t die
between Denver and the suburbs
the kids are free tonight
we are free tonight
though strapped down by
a mortgage
two semi-functioning vehicles
endless governmental fees
and a dream that breaks my heart
every time the sun rises
Pandora nor my Mac
will play my music loud enough
i still love them anyway
and though we go to Spain
though we put our lives on the line
to go to Spain
i will love you anyway
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