Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Advice From Ants

The grass is green here

In this field

With no leaves

It makes a cushion and bed



It’s a forest to the ants

And the grass to them,

Are trees



In it they are lost or living

In the forever maze



I’m sure we can take some wisdom

From the ants

Who work hard and carry

More than they weigh



I’m sure they don’t even

Know I’m here

In my own forest

The Town, The Fire

The mountain is on fire

And the burning horse

Is running across the hills

Spreading chaos wherever it goes

A man twists his boot on a cigarette

He looks at the mountain

And spits in the street



Smoke covers the town

People run to their houses

And flowers retreat back

Into their buds



Men and women suddenly strangers

Fend for themselves,

Kicking, Screaming

Trapped like a fox



The town is on fire

And there is no escape

And you have left me

For good.



All that remains is ash

With time only


Can it one day vanish.

Friday, July 1, 2016

The Wind

I was always scared of the wind

It throws me off balance, is loud

And never quit


I’m mostly afraid

That I’ll become light

And that it could carry me off,

Like a balloon


I’d be detached from the earth

Floating slowly up, up

Watching everything become small

Watching to see how far I’ll fall

When I’m…

DROPPED


Just like in my dreams.

Old Man

The old man sits in his chair
Waiting for what’s next
Waiting for death

The young man seeks his wisdom
And the old man tries
But it is a language
The young man doesn’t speak

The apple tree still
Stands in the forest
Where a farm used to be
Evidence of a way of life gone by


And it bears no fruit

One Spot in Particular

Mostly I miss
Sitting at my kitchen table
One spot in particular

From there I could
Wait for anybody
To come home
Or watch my mom
Make us dinner

I went far away from
That spot, that window, that chair
But sometimes I can close my eyes

And be there

Friday, April 1, 2016

Remember


Late night walks
And moving slow
I’ve never been gone
For so long

Hearing a familiar voice
That turns me to stone
I’ve never missed you
Or felt so alone

I am anxious
Deep in my bones
And I remember your joy
I miss your song

And I’ll come crawling back
Once I’ve reaped what I’ve sown
Keep your eyes on the horizon

Because I’m coming home

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Wounded

You came to me in a dream
Finally, after all these years

It was strange
And all I remember is you saying
"If it isn't my best friend!"
Followed by my name
As if nothing had happened

I shook my head in disgust
And dodged your embrace

You were my best friend
And the one I loved most
For a time
And being with you
Was like walking on air

But the wound you inflicted
Was deep
And all our promises were forgotten
As we grew older

Maybe I'll pass you one day
On the street of some city
Neither of us expected
Each other to be in

We'll look at each other in recognition
Shift our gaze
And walk away forever

All those years we spent together
Growing up
And becoming who we are
Passing between us like a mist

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Workload

The work felt good
In his arms and legs
And pumping through his heart

And for a moment
He wasn’t running from it
But feeling it all

Memory dripped down
His arms and back
In the form of sweat

And the pain of it
Was dulled
By the ache in his muscles

So he let emotion
Flow through him like air

For a moment he could see his life
Like he wasn’t living it
But reading it
In a fine piece of literature
Everyone just a character
And himself the protagonist

He saw his actions
And all his flawed motivations

In the midst of the jungle
Of life, he couldn’t see them

But now he could

And he realized
In his old age
He was weaving something

Beautiful.

Monday, March 28, 2016

Time Capsule

Laying there with you
Asleep but awake
Talking about nothing
Like the things we would
Put in a time capsule
And fly to mars

I can see myself
In a faint picture
Of my future
Settling down with you

I could build us a house
And you could fold my clothes

But we never seem to be in the same place
And I’m always leaving
And you’re always staying

I wish I could lie
In this twin bed with you forever

And I wish we could
Put that picture you want
Of a happy family
In our time capsule to mars

And I wish it could be ours.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Third Person View

I climb mountains
To see a third person view
of the world

All those twinkling lights below
All those feats of man

And the stars

All those celestial beings
Indifferent on us

I think of all those people
Sitting in their homes
Scrolling through facebook
Thinking of tomorrow

All those people
Driving in their cars
Thinking they're going somewhere

While the earth spins
And our planet remains indifferent

The Street

"I don't get this close to the pavement
often enough"
I told my friend
Longboarding
Passing 10th and Garrison

Smelling the dust from the
Street sweeper.
Inhaling it.
Making my mouth dry
Inducing
An apocalyptic fog

He was always riskier than me
Speeding ahead of me
On the downhills

But I always beat him
On the uphills
And the long stretch
Home.

The First to Think

Late night Talks about
Being enlightened
About our generation
Who changes it all
About everything crashing
Down around us
Like we haven't been operating
On the edge of chaos
Like most governments
For all these years

Late night talks about God
About oblivion
About our motivations for
Our actions and
How they effect others

Late night talks about
Starting, quitting, ending
Learning, building, working
And talking
Like we were the first
To think what we have thought