January 27, 2013

#1333 coronary scar tissue

...tell me
where you been?
two pounds of flesh who never sinned
tell me
how's it work?
how you leave a world who never let you in
tell me
do they stick you in a room full of your own kind?
or let you, a mask of substitution find
tell me
if we ever get to meet?
would you nod as you walk in shoes that belong under someone else's feet
tell me
what was my mistake?
my heart won't listen to my head, when it comes to that debate

#1333 idol no more

i will not worship logos and brand names
technology and gadgets
keep active your idle lies
but i will no longer idolize
we are an empire in decline


#1332 brownie points

keep your points
i see they add up to nothing but trouble
i'll choose the brownies
you keep your points
brownies exist
they taste better than points
so you keep your points

January 26, 2013

#1331 alone

her mumbled prayers
fall on an earless world
it's not that the world is mean
just that they don't care
insults would be welcome

January 24, 2013

#1330 what are the rules today?

there were three of us playing hockey
in a gravel yard
one goalie, and two one-man teams
the rule was you needed to clear the orange ball
past the line drawn by the biggest heel
before you could score
otherwise, your goal counted for the opponent
you had to work hard, in order to accomplish a goal...


#1329 time to sharpen tips?

shouldn't one hit the bullseye?
the last 124 darts i've thrown
have hit the wall
and i'm about to

how can i not begin to think it's me
think about quitting
now even if i hit the red eye
i will wonder... skill or luck

but still i throw
hoping
maybe this one

#1328 "talkin bout my..."

i'm sorry
for coddling you
for letting you think you could win all the time
for being too kind
for my well-intention mistakes
for not spanking
for over-providing
for letting you think a safe roof was a right that was owed to you
i hope you do better

#1327 argh

the driveway is shovelled
the dishes are done
tomorrow's lunch is packed
the bed is made and I climb in
then
i remember the load in the washer

January 22, 2013

#1326 say cheese

we used to fill about one photo album every two years
a photo album, a physical book with plastic slots
and pull them out, flipping, building new old memories
now, we take that many pictures in a weekend away
then never look at them again
just stress that we didn't back them up
maybe we need to back up

#1325 put the kettle on

visits, i love visits
without texting ahead to arrange a spot to maximize both parties
just plain old-fashioned visits
maybe dropping off homemade soup and cornbread
letting people know you were driving by and thinking of them
visits, that's what creates community

January 21, 2013

#1324 yes, it makes your butt look fat. because your butt is fat. I love you, and you have a fat butt. Get over it. Either do something (healthy) to make your butt smaller, or, be okay with having a big butt.

how do you tell a friend a hurtful truth
we grew up thinking the truth grew with flowers
but today it is an invasive weed
do i be a good friend and have her hate me
or do i play a role in the play, Nothing's Wrong

#1323 please hate me, not my dog

to the woman who yelled at me for having my dog off leash
you were right
yes, i was outside of the designated off-leash area (by less than 10 feet)
yes, i was breaking the rules
yes, my dog ran toward you, and get that must be scary, especially at night
if i knew you'd be scared, i would have leashed her until our paths passed

to the woman who yelled at me for having my dog off leash
there is a lot you (and I) can learn from my dog
Lexi (my black Lab) loves everyone, even people she's never met, she assumes the best
she gives them the benefit of the tail-wag
Lexi always lives in the moment
in Lexi's doggie brain, a simple treat or bum-scratch can fix any problem

to the woman who yelled at me for having my dog off leash
i will let her off leash again
nothing against you, and thanks for making me think harder about it
but i want to live in a world where dogs run and jump and play
i will put her on leash immediately if we share a trail again
if i see you in time

wag more, growl less

#1322 we are running out of change

the penny is an antique
people pay plastic
because that's what we've become
the man on the corner bows his head
and asks for some change
but the world is running out
and all he gets is avoided eye-contact and dirty looks

#1321 unless you're a pig

there are some problems in my life that bacon can't solve
...
i can't think of any on the spot... but i'm sure they exist
what better way to start a day?
cooked just the way you like
and the smell, the smell...
hard to imagine anyone having a bad day that starts with bacon...

#1320 echo

you sit in california
reading my words
counting my rhythm
in fourths and in thirds
i sit in the north pouring forth
crumbs and crumbles, bits and pieces hoping someone reads this
you keep me coming back hoping that
today the crumbles and crumbs, pieces and bits
hits
changes a soul, a sole soul
thanks for readin and believin
thanks for coming to my drumming
thanks for making me think the echo is a voice who cares


#1319 boutin' me

feelin holey
wantin to feel holy
wholly holy
wishin i could voice this feelin and
let it wash out through the scuppers of my mind
second guessing all my words and actions
wishin i could re-write a million moments
so i could build this world into one in which i wasn't an idiot
thinkin they're all thinkin, bad about me

#1318 ink

i see a word tattooed on her arm
chinese characters on caucasian skin
i imagine what it could say
gramma because that's the arm that carried the coffin
daughter because that's who she misses most
fuck because she has a sense of humour
taylor swift because she's a fan
"can i take a picture of you tattoo"
she plays it cool and says "Yeah, sure"
acting all better-hurry-i-have-important-people-and-meetings-to-see-to
but her interior shows through
proud and impressed that someone wants a picture of a tattoo
"what's it mean?"
"i dunno, i just like the way it looked"
"cool"
i show it to my only friend that can read chinese
(does that sound like i only have one friend?
anyway, she says it is a nonsense character, holding no meaning
but i want to believe that even nonsense characters, hold meaning

#1317 surrounded by crap

humanity trumps humans
humanity is predictable and kind
not random and mean
humanity loves all
humans love themselves
humanity is beautiful and admirable and holy
and there is nothing
to stop humans from becoming a living humanity

#1316 re-gret

you makin me gret again
and hopin my world can be, great again
make me feel good again
begin again
and again and again
you makin me gret all over again
and say, like ol' Blue Eyes,
i did it my way
but those words hold an empty achin, feelin
i'm home alone grettin in the chair again
please make my word great again

#1315 truth in sound

music changes time
time changes music
tune out the world with your headphones
or share your new best find with a friend you know will "get it"
music is for those who love to live
for those who struggle with the void between this world's reality and its potential
music identifies problems and solutions, and sometimes both
music doesn't make the world go round
but it does change the free ride

January 16, 2013

#1314 re:


motions to be gone through
like the lost&found bin
discarded, forgotten
what good is a single mitt
meaning is gone
time to rethink, re-envision, reinvent

#1313 13

the leftover uniform
the blame
the avoidance
how is 31 fine
even though its odd too
and two is even

January 15, 2013

#1312 1,2,3 up!

moving furniture makes old rooms new
new look, new perspective
spin a couch around
fill a corner
clear a space
making old space new

#1311 5:19pm

clouds fight sunset
fight with their dark story
against the light and the beauty
but, somehow
they only add to her beauty
as she shines through anyway

January 14, 2013

#1310 like monopoly

how did rudolph do it
the guy had a flashing nose
a flashing nose
like a zit that could be seen from the moon
he was the bottom
the other deer didn't even want to be seen sharing a carrot with the guy
and then, he made it cool
how did he do it
sure he had some help from the big guy
but he had something special himself
and not just a bright nose
something more special
something inside

#1309 the sound of a beer opening

somewhere is a quiet evening alone
a beer and a book
waiting
and maybe a snack
somewhere is a quiet couch
with no to-do lists
or guilt
or ringtones
and i need to find it soon
just for a little while
a beer
a book
and maybe a snack

January 13, 2013

#1308 blood

you are not my family
you never saw me in second hand diapers
never sent photos away in the mail to be developed, forgotten, and returned
you are not my family
we never played with pre-school sticks in the woods
we never played with adolescent matches in the same forest
you are not my family
but we build a fort
out of new memories instead of childhood couch cushions

#1307 white rabbit

smoke in my nostrils
too close to the fire
tires burning
smoke rising
with memories and stories past
smoke, filling my view of the night sky

January 12, 2013

#1306 on hinges giving way

somewhere
40 feet down in my mind
20000 leagues deep in my soul
is a trapdoor
on which i stood and jumped
nothing
i jumped higher
still, nothing
i jumped as high as i knew how
CRASH
now i'm learning to fall
i've been falling for five months that begin with J
the thrill of the fall disappears
when we give up on landing
with no landing, are we falling?
or are we falling?



#1305 here's to the school library, RIP, LOL

the school library seems to be going the way of typewriters and dodo birds
and common sense and fat TVs
of right-and-wrong and short-or-long
of clear morals and tidy consciences


#1304 not much really, just the secret to life and immortality

good music and fresh air
good people and fresh ideas
good food and fresh perspective
good drink and fresh days
good freshness and fresh goodness

#1303 stuck

music melts my bottom into the chair
musicians share a recorded moment
my head moves today
theirs did on the day of creation
they've moved on
so will i

January 11, 2013

#1302 10 to 2

playing badly and winning
feels better than playing well and losing
shouldn't
but does
you can tell me otherwise
but i can smell shallow lies

January 9, 2013

#1301 cutting the cheese

poetry does not hide under special leaves in warm rainfalls
it does not poor forth from secluded waterfalls
it does not fly on the wings of an eagle flying between the poet's eye and the sunshine
or at least not just in those places
poetry lives in the brick-wall grime rimming the the mechanic's calendar
poetry sings in the farting muffler of the teenager's pick-up ripping up the main strip for the sixth time since supper
poetry is the three day old mark left on the knife from cutting cheap orange cheddar

#1300 a small fire

candles don't dance, they fight
they fight for air
we judge them as "nice"
say the flame is "dancing"
sometimes fighters don't look like fighters


#1299 respect the sharp knife, fear the dull one

the knife slid along the pepper that looks like a rolling stones' tongue
then slid right off
onto and into skin
spilling a different shade of red than the pepper


#1298 poinsetta

when do we throw out the poinsetta
new years?
back to school?
when the petals go brown?
do we wait for rot?
why do we squeeze every moment out of good things
squeezing
choking
killing



#1297 in my bed, flopping like a dying fish

underwater
floating
fighting buoyancy and physics
watching my own face,
cheeks like Dizzy Gillespie
this mental activity affects me physically

#1296 sane serif

Normal
is a default font
to define Normal beyond that
is to call the majority crazy
which, thought maybe accurate, seems too simple

in addition to being a default
Normal can be a fault
if only we could highlight and click
as we please
then the world would be a simple
(albeit humourless)
place

#1295 old loves and old underwear

i have forgotten
old underwear
your birthday
our anniversary
your favourite colour
the last time i thought of you
your age
our secrets
your faults
the things i loved about you

i'm glad we met
you are one of the colours in the portrait that is me
and i'm glad i threw you out




#1294 despite good intentions

despite good intentions
i am the counter that can't remember being clean
the drain that's never been drain-o'ed
the dog hair-filled kitchen floor
the overflowing laundry basket
the stained toilet bowl
the grimy fridge door


January 5, 2013

#1293 white noise

i think the best qualified person should get the job
not to be racist or anything, but
i have this black friend who
it has a high "first nations" population
the chinese are stealing "our" jobs
she is a tribute to her race
so there was this guy, a huge guy, and he was black
white noise... is putting us to sleep

January 4, 2013

#1292 let's rethink

we are waste deep
buying furniture designed to look good on the showroom floor
replacing a year later
falling for disposable convenience
filling our landfills
filling our voids
emptying our morals
emptying common sense

#1291 10cm and still falling

snow falls
greying and shortening the sky
bootprints and brown flowers disappear
the latter only until spring
two weeks of action
are covered
the zen garden raked ivory

January 3, 2013

#1290 AKQJ1098765432

i am simple
i like to uni-task
i like heart-to-hearts
i like downtime
i like reading
and thinking
sometimes i like breaking things
like stereotypes and old ways of thinking
i am a traditionalist
but i'm (in theory) for polygamy and public nudity
i dream of simplifying
passing on 90% of what i own
i stress when the phone rings and when i get unidentified mail
i miss playing more solitaire (the old-fashion kind, with playing cards)
i am simple
i like to uni-task

#1289 solitude below zero

cold temperatures pull us into ourselves
closed hoods and hands down in pockets
closed shoulders and eyes down on our own feet
we climb inside ourselves
even when thawing in front of fireplaces
this is not good or bad
correction, this is good and bad
though
i am glad we when we go above zero
and i climb out of myself



January 2, 2013

#1288 deserving fudge

how can a soul connect to a weird box and six strings
how can such a strange invention allow a soul to speak in something more true than words
how can six chords sometimes trump 26 characters
the player's eyes close
his head moves like a bullrider's
his body sways
in and beyond time
he is somewhere between here and gone
he is connected to something after tomorrow and before yesterday

#1287 reflection

we would rather stand up and damn the man
than damn well stand up and be men
what's easiest:
to damn "The Man"
to admit you are "The Man"
or to be a man
we point fingers at obstacles
instead of using our hands to remove those obstacles
we complain
com plain
being plain together
let's stop acting and let's start acting
the fault is no longer them or it
sure, blame media and corporations
but guess what
WE control them
WE are in chage
this... is our fault

#1286 fact and fiction

favourite motherly advice (upon breaking up)
the best way to get over someone- is to get under someone else
 second favourite motherly advice (upon threatening to slit wrists during exam week)
okay, just do it outside, dear
third favourite motherly advice (upon choosing not to slit wrists)
don't worry dear, your average isn't on your diploma or your paycheque
fourth favourite motherly advice (regarding the importance of children experiencing nature)
get outside before i throw you outside

#1285 fewer than frowning

smile
as if you just found a $20 bill in last year's winter coat pocket
smile
as if, on the toilet,  you just found a roll in the cupboard, when you thought you were out of tp
smile
as if you just heard a song you forgot used to be your favourite
smile
as if you're greeted at the door by a lab-retriever puppy
smile
as if you're rushed and you go to empty the dishwasher, but she's already done it
smile
smile
smile

#1284 boogers and farts and boogers and farts

grow up strong
grow up wise
grow up independent
grow up forgiving
grow up self-aware
grow up kind
grow up generous
but most of all, never
grow up completely

January 1, 2013

#1283 a child is born

next year the tree's bottom will be nude
not just to avoid happy tails
but little fingers learning to clutch

new parents excited, new baby oblivious
around a tree
sheltering gifts from grandparents