January 31, 2011

#705 practicing the preach

i stop
a trance-inducing song intro waltzes among the folds of my brains
kites dance at my feet
deflated like unwanted lollipops
collarbones chase mice through gateways to daytona
where blackholes swim them back to the center of the rectangle in which they ensnare themselves
amongst monkey milk and doggy-doo

January 30, 2011

#704 sharing poetry

nervous, i crawl into my head
escaping the audience
as i open the envelope for them
the one with my heart in it
my deepest and my shallowest secrets
when i speak the last word
silence echoes

then he says, read it one more time

January 29, 2011

#703 again

that backyard of possibility is gone now
one year ago i ran toward it
as in-the-moment as any person can be
Smack
i hit the patio door
invisible pane
blood and tears and shock and hospitals
some mine, some hers
trapped tears are just as wet as escaped ones

now i look at the backyard
longing
thinking
soon

January 28, 2011

#702 laissez-faire

we got problems
thrown names and hurt feelings
we got trouble
raised voices and ignored opinions
disagreements
cops called and sirens wailing
but at the end of tomorrow
we're still family

we do our own thing
separate beds and closed doors
we do rarely agree
laissez-faire and over-policied
but at the end of tomorrow
we're still family

we got our own gifts
beer-chuggin', nose-breakin'
but at the end of tomorrow
we're still family
still family

January 27, 2011

#701 glorious and somethin'


we have our freedom
so we forget our words
nothing helps people learn anthem lyrics
like censorship and unjust dictatorship
comfort and laziness are two twisted trunks
growing from one stump
the work of removing the original
forgotten

January 26, 2011

#700 habit moles

habits appear
like plastic moles at the carnival
mocking the chained mallet
i swing
hit black nothing
habit pops up, again
mocking me

January 25, 2011

#699 unity

unity by force, is not unity
manners by mandate, is not humanity
kind acts for prestige, is not kindness
if the cameras were off
the social pressure was gone
and no one knew
what would you do?

January 24, 2011

#698 trails and time

the mountain hike has become tradition
he and his wife climb the mountain each June 30th
this year is beautiful weather, though there is an autumn'ish breeze
below, in the valley, on their kitchen table, sit all the joke cards
staples for a 50th birthday
as they descend
the man tugs a lock of greying hair between his thumb and index
struck at how fast the trail passes now
the same distance up as down
but time is not as constant as we would believe

January 23, 2011

#697 inspiration on the fly

inspiration is an airplane
requiring more energy to start moving than to keep moving
and both hit turbulence, need fuel, and fly you above the clouds

January 22, 2011

#696 it's all good


i love the colour of bright-sky-blue on clean-mountain-white
when our footprints are hidden below fluffy white
nature's eraser, inviting you outdoors to play
walk, ski, x-country, snowshoe
it's all good
the sun is back from vacation
polishing everyday objects to shine new shades of colour
our truck, yesterday red, today is red
it's all good

January 21, 2011

#695 taylored

i promised the plane's bubble window
nothing would happen between us
my folks picked me up at the airport
i went home to bed
where i promised my pillow
nothing would happen between us
i woke to the smell of bacon
promised my ceiling
nothing would happen between us
but then the phone rang

#695 heaven almighty

wings and things
pearly gates and early lates
collection of earthly losses and one obvious leader among the bosses
cloud puffies and the bearded scruffies

is there abuse and violence and hate
is there music and drink and debate

January 19, 2011

#694 breaking news

i will not wallow in the world's woes
as cnn wants me to
i will not spend an hour after supper
learning the worst the globe offered today
i will not let my emotions spiral down
led by the suit-and-tie man and his this-world-is-somber voice

but you must care ask the eyes

i do
i care
i care enough not to watch
i have enough bad in my day
i will not invite negativity into my living room
instead i spend the hour making good news happen
news you never hear
too petty
too feel-good
too minor
but if all the newswatchers united to take
one hour (our hour) to spread good, how many hours would that make

#694 "a fairytale they say... but the children know"

the snowman stands in a short forever
forced too look happy the entire time
near-by rocks and two contorted limbs
i do not want his life, his short season on earth

or maybe the smile, though designed by the maker
is real
maybe he lives trooper's words
maybe that is the way of the snowman

#693 half-serious

a photo breaks the rule of thirds
altering realities that in turn
alter realities
beach stops sky or sky stops beach
in the middle-mark of the marked moment

January 18, 2011

#692 distinguishing voices

they all tell me
listen to the little voice
but does one know, the little voice's voice
from the masquerardes
fear, self-doubt, anxiety
all are "little voices"
listen or ignore
listen or ignore
how does one know, the little voice's voice

January 17, 2011

#691 chumba-wumba!

rain fills my bones
i forget the feel of the sun
i forget to check the weather out the window on waking
the pitter-patter
the always wet socks
the grey hue of everything

January 16, 2011

#690


i feel i am a child new to halloween
that people will believe my costume
that their compliment are kind patronization
i'll trade you a dumptruck full of self-doubt
for a handful of confidence

January 15, 2011

#689 "... caught on a barbed wire fence"


pride is a tiger in your living room
a barracuda in your bathtub
a hypnosis of power
that will end in blood
but pride is unavoidable
pride in not having pride, is pride
so buy a strong chain and protect your privates

January 14, 2011

#688 acceptance letter

i shovelled one load at a time
blind to progress
blinded by looking
and then
the pile was gone
i don't know where it went
how could so many little shovelfuls
defeat such a mound
yesterday's frustration
slips away, last night's dream
sugar in shaken water

January 13, 2011

#687 A Poet's Desire

Hush
Let me speak to you
let me state that which you've never heard nor read
yet know to be true

Hush
Let me write a new prescription
for your soul's lens
that views this world

Hush
My aim is but sacrilegious immortality
for if my arrangement of 26 symbols changes you
then I live forever

Hush
Hush
A poet has spoken

#686 shovelling in january

surrounded by the snow
piled along both sides of his driveway
the man stops, stretches, leans on the shovel
nothing a man does or does not do
is unrelated to his father
his eyes climb to the stars for a moment, to the great bear
he tamps the shovel, twice
and returns to the task

#685 685

they blur now
special, like very
has lost its meaning
still i plod
hoping for a masterpiece

January 12, 2011

#684 dear big guy (or girl)

why didn't you tell me you don't exist
i put holes in the knees of pants wishing for good grades and world peace
you should have been honest
not played the mysterious trinity card
now i'm left with anachronistic phrases and that's it
i swear to god

sincerely,
me

ps i didn't mean big as in fat

January 11, 2011

#683 breaking points

his hands are as big as his pay cheque
and as soft as his job teaching at the university
his hard childhood was a distant memory
then the Point brothers pushed him
he was okay until heard they'd called the house
his wife and kid had both answered on different days
something inside him switched to OFF
something else switched to ON
four men pulled him off
and sent him for a walk
he walked for hours
walking from childhood back to the present
to arrive at his front door

January 10, 2011

#682 august something-or-other


even her toes are objects of constant motion
she's talking on the phone, typing on the computer, cooking in the kitchen, and more
all at once
any one of these tire me out

she is the happiest tsunami on earth
and this year, on a marriage license, our names will be beside each other
like our bodies in bed every morning
forever

January 9, 2011

#681 street corner

as he sings, the man cries on his guitar
and the passersby succeed in not noticing
avoiding eye contact
fear of being spoken to by a stranger who's Luck-Meter
sits at "E"
his beard and his grime repel us
but we fail to notice our inhuman reactions to his humanity

#680 i am stuck

i play the same playlists
eat the same meals
employ the same verbs

i live everday today
like it was
my yesterday

i have taken the gift of life
and put it on a display shelf
too nice for use or human hands

January 8, 2011

#680 blue sky and bleeding hearts

cards fall around me from my life's dream-like sky-eye camera angle
royals and aces and numbers lit up by the shining blue sky behind and above
the king of clubs keeps appearing
float-falling, slow-mo
rotating and showing his red-and-white back
what's it all mean the poet asks the king
the king smiles, stoic and silent
reflecting upside-down
holding his swords still, frozen

to the left, his red enemy holds suicidal swords in his ears

January 7, 2011

#679


in bed, back to back
he hears her muffled sobs
ignores her
after an hour, he falls asleep
knowing he's in the right

he wakes to silence
turns to see the once-white sheets
made red by the hemoglobin
that spilled from her wrists
and he wonders

before or after i fell asleep

January 6, 2011

#678 2night needs 1

where are the poets
not the ones calling themselves poets
but the real ones
are they living in alleys and in bottles
dark places at the end of Truth Street
where are the Homers and the new Beat
are they dueting with rihanna
loving the way we lie
where are the poets

January 5, 2011

#677 technological advancement

she at the kitchen table
her fingers firing letters from keyboard to monitor
he on the couch
sloughing off a daily poem

January 4, 2011

#676 sitting on a swing

round and round and round i go
sometimes fast, but usually slow
life passing by under my toes

give me a mouth harp
and a sleepy campfire
you'll hear no complaints
and i'll never tire

January 3, 2011

#675 holiday wishes

santa is back at the north pole with the little people
he can only be found here on earth
in department store discount bins
our unwritten permission to greet strangers is over for another year
and soon
hallmark will lower the self-esteem of single people all across the country

January 2, 2011

#674 the pink book

the book sits closed and useless somewhere in the closet
buried by life and the everyday
clothes and bags, odds and ends
why
retrieval is a one minute job, now taking one year
something in my core is afraid
and so i live an empty life

January 1, 2011

#673 the last leaf


still she clings to the middle of the branch
brown brittle veins, crinkling in light winter wind
moisture, a childhood memory
gone with the tears dropped for the others who predeceased her
and like that
she lets go
and sails sideways to the ground
trusting that next year's leaves will fill the potholes in her soul