#1381 it's not easy being green

during the eulogistic song
how did big bird not stop and cry
he must have stepped out of his big yellow self
as he sang about being green
must have disappeared to nowhere
or transported to somewhere
for those 110 seconds
before his big orange legs carried him away
surely, surely
he cried then

#1380 no siren here

as i headed to your house
i noticed the ambulance
it was driving at a relaxed pace
and the lights were off
unlike the lights in your house when i walked up to the entrance
i knocked
and knocked
had come so far to see you
across geography and circumstance

that's when i remembered the ambulance
and knocked harder

#1379 forgotten photos

i'm in a forgotten folder on my desktop
filled with photos
of a love i thought i had
the edges of the screen
hide all that wasn't in the shots
harsh words and selfish thoughts
disapproving glances and lonesome cots
and i wonder where she is
what she's think of me now
i am motivated to be better
but the motivation feels brown and black and grey and no shade of pure

#1378 nature's silent show

i could watch snow fall on snow for hours
like water fountains and campfires
the slow stacking of snow mesmerizes me
i sit on the railing between the world and my own head
unaware of the railing beneath me
unaware of my own staring
my gaze is pulled down
by the gravity of the white dots falling to the ground
i look back up, only to have my eyes pulled to the ground again

#1377 smiles

dear stranger,
i'm not good at first impressions
i'm awkward and unconfident
acknowledge me
smile
smiling helps me to relax
i'm more comfortable in my own head
but smiles, they convince me that its safe to come out

#1375 BM

1 kids misbehave. scratch that, people misbehave

2 understanding why someone is misbehaving helps with how to respond

3 humour is a powerful tool. use it for students, not against them

4 truth can be a form of humour

5 a caring teacher is an easy target for misdirected anger

6 a caring classroom is the result of countless decisions, and never happens overnight

7 learn from other teachers in your school

8 help other teachers (the ones who are down, the new ones, the guest ones)

9 push yourself to achieve everything you expect and hope for from students (respect for others and yourself, best effort)

10 find joy in your job

11 greet your students by name and with eye contact. learn what is important to them. not as manipulation, not as obligation, but genuine interest in learning about them.

12 tell people when you're feeling overwhelmed

13 teachers matter. i have never met anyone who didn't recall at least one teacher fondly.

#1374 i can canoe a canoe, can you?

let me begin with a cliche...
my life is a river
fast and slow and changing
and in this river
you are sometimes my canoe
and you are sometimes my paddle
i could survive without
by drifting
and being at the mercy of the river

#1373 twenty-something

hung on walls with darts, like hockey cards
we traded body parts, dog-eared our hearts in the dark
in the early morning our strategic clothes
grew out of the hardwood floor like flowers from the earth
we blamed booze for shared secrets and felt guilt for five days
until the next weekend arrived
when we chose clothes again
to go to hear the same thump-thump
in the same lighting that made us feel good
lose ourselves in the present
running from our pasts
ignoring our futures

#1372 hellmark moment

i want to send flowers
but i'm afraid of the awkward thank-you
i want to say the right thing that makes you happier
but i know i'll i'll insert my merrell in my mouth
i want you to know that i'm thinking of you
that my heart wants to take off its coat and offer the coat to your heart
instead
i write a poem you'll never read

#1371 american bobber

the paradise of river-rock shines now

between the water and the snow

a foot wide, a river long

the bobber does his dance

between graceful and awkward

finding life, along the edge

#1370 thermometer rising

we wash windows
speeding spring's victory
spread piles of snow into blankets
and wait for the sun to round the house
we pack away our biggest boots
optimistic
we fill with the feelings of hope
that new year's teased

#1369 until next sunday

cars fill empty spaces
cars
clean, expensive
well-dressed people
close car doors
clip-clop to the double-doors
for one hour, they show one another how Christian they are
then, the parking lot empties

#1368 max load

turning the wrench
twisting the bolt
spring-loaded
torquing
i feel the tension
in my wrist
in my arm in my life

#1367 building in bulk

the carpenter came yesterday
he arrived with a truck full of supplies and tools
he unloaded it all
set everything up
built me my door
packed up everything and left
it took most of the day
then he packed up and left
and i wished i'd had him build another door
to divide the cost
to make the effort worth the reward

and today i sit here
staring at my laptop screen
thinking how poetry is like carpentry
the effort to build one door
to write one poem
is more than to build a second door
or to write a second poem

#1366 flies buzz

flies buzz
lame attempts at coming to life
lazy and stupid
and i watch them
from the couch where i fell asleep

#1365 first world poetry

scarcity and deservedness improve satisfaction
the last beer in the fridge after a filling the howmow for next winter
but in this world of plenty and easy
how often
in houses full of junk and excess and comfort and ease
do we feel that satisfaction

#1364 out like a lamb

winter's feeble final attempt
fails to even hide the asphalt
disappears by lunch
except in the best of shadows

we can no longer ignore
spring is here
we wait for machines to clean streets
for restaurants to restore stored tables to patios

snow-plows slumber in hibernation
big flat shovels slink to the back of sheds
rakes and hoes and spades
eager to take the place of their winter counterparts

#1363 wishing you well

Dear Friend
i know we haven't spoken in two years
and i've owed you an apology since that night
i took your authenticity and generosity
and i hocked a loogie and spat on your kindness
i hope you take no offense to me calling you Friend
for you were more Friend than i deserved
losing my self in any moment
avoiding the thoughts and self-hate that filled my cranium
was more important to me
than recognizing the humanity in humans
living that life, surrounded me with people doing selfish things
you were different
i remember that
i can never undo what i did
and the word sorry echoes more empty than an abandoned wishing well
sincerely,
adam

#1362 the dory story of gory and glory

i thought i was strong
i was strong
in that small world
and as the old dory came toward me
i tried with every muscle i had
i found muscles in my toe nails
straight-armed and breath-held
i tried to stop her
and she hit the dock with a gory CRASH

the girl opposite me was tiny
she was tiny
a tiny girl in a tiny world
and as her dory slid slow toward her
i fretted with every muscle i had
i found fret in chest hairs i didn't even have
face-frozen and breth-held
i watched her
and her dory kissed the dock
as she guided it slightly sideways with a gentle one-handed glorious nonchalance

#1361 coalescence

i used to go with my dad to his work at night when he worked overtime at a job he didn't like
his hands were and are magic
able to fix trucks so big they needed special doors to fit them inside the garage
when he would weld he would tell me to look away
but sometimes i had to sneak peeks and steal glances
because his concentration was a beautiful thing
i had to look
because his focus caused sparks and light to ignite
between his hands and the object of his attention

that is how i am with you
your smile changes the sunlight on a summer day
changes the glow in our bed of the alarm clock
illuminates the miraculous magic in an ordinary moment
you are the extra in my life that makes the ordinary
extraordinary
your smile for life
is the rush that i'd get when watching my Dad build something from wood
that moment an hour into the creation process when i realized what the creation would be
your smile lights up the long-dark places in my being
being dark from not seeing light for decades
dirt basement rooms in old abandoned houses

the arc between your smile and my dark rooms
makes me smile in my sleep
makes me smile in my sleep
makes me smile in my sleep

#1360 the writing on the wall

in a house of walls filled with trinkets stating
LOVE
FAMILY
HAPPINESS
sits a kid
wishing the words were more than words on a wall

#1359 morning mountain (three sisters)

the clouds slide past her
evidence of the sun's existence shines through
a thousand hues of orange and purple
and i swear
i see the mountain stretch
cat-like
i see the mountain yawn
and i know the mountain is ready for today
and i know today is ready for the mountain

#1358 the ceiling

the dog snores
she gave up on finishing her to-do list hours ago
laughing in her dreams at my useless commitment
trying to climb over a brick wall that has no top
watching me climb above the clouds
scratching my fingers and knees to bleeding
still
i climb

#1357 1 a.m.

the eyes water
lids sink
thoughts slow
and zig-zag
and you know
you should go to bed

#1356 reading between the lines

we used to read between the lines
now we read online
we used to read for meaning
now we keep meaning to read
we used to have a table of contents
now we've taken content off the table
we are putting the sin
in syntax

#1355 second hand opinion

i used to read
and now i skim
to get lost beyond the clock
for hours
in a way that hours is but a misnomer
now i get lost in multi-tasking and busy-ness
in a way way that fills time
murdering time
killing time

#1354 larry

the bear spoke
and my tongue helped my ears listen
i sat in the office chair in front of his desk
he told me ugly truth
and made me hear something, i somewhere already knew
and i wish i said thank you

#1353 mastur of your own destiny

i saw you in line
you playing on stage
just you and your guitar
you were with all your friends
and i hoped you'd think of me
the next time you touched yourself

i noticed your hair
you were blonde
your hair was red
best brunette my eyes ever seen
and won't you please think of me
alone under your duvet

your clever jokes
you never spoke a word
we shared a look
we shared an aisle on the plane
and i hope i'm in your mind
in your hotel room tonight

my eyes fell in love with yours
i never saw your front
now let me be blunt
behind those closed eyes
picture me, as you touch your
self

#1352 like a baby birdie

when do you say, enough
when do you say no to a fellow human
and yes to yourself
when does too much kindness and patience and understanding
become a disservice to the receiver
there comes a time
when love comes
in the form
of a boot, in the ass
and we fly or we splat
but then the flight, or the failure, is ours

#1351 knight and day

i'm an old man in a young man's body
surrounded by things we don't need
and they hurt me
my first memory of feeling old
was in a playpen
and they rushed around me
i am a knight's armour
i am a day's sundial
and i don't fit here

#1350 dropping a sock from an armload of laundry

agh! i hate dropping things on the floor says she
leaving my mind playing with gravity
what if "what goes up must come down"
worked on people but not objects you see

what if everything you dropped fell up
soon the klutz's ceiling would be full up
we'd be sweeping and mopping our ceilings
only occasionally dusting the floors

the laundry socks, the carrot peels, the pen caps
would all fall
up to the rafters
why tall ceilings would need ultra-long mops and brooms

aren't you going to pick it up for me?
she asks over her full arms
and i notice that gravity has changed back to normal
and the furniture is no longer nailed down

#1349 the musings of a schoolteacher on June 22nd alone with his red wine and regrets and paycheques

1000 hours
and what to show
but some scribblings that will last less than a minute
in the june beach's bonfire
and maybe a few extra four letter words on inside-covers
and etched into desks
what did i achieve
1000 times 30
30000 human hours
3.43 human years
and what did i give them?
what did i give humanity?
what did i give the collective?

#1348 the institution

guard the exits
keep them in
entertain them if you need to
but don't let them out
keep them in lines
give them praise and give them punishment
but guard the exits
from 8:30 until 3

#1347 infinitely parallel

i'm the engineer on this here train
the train and i are friends
both relics of an age we miss
the present is a gift
but so is the past
these tracks
infinitely parallel
fit my life better than any information highway
my whistle may annoy you
or it may amuse you
but the whistle is a language that i will fight to keep
even knowing it will die

#1346 i am

a klutz

each day a bumbling stumble

and a bump into the furniture

with a bruise on the knee

but once in a while

the stumble grows grace

turning into an eloquent dance

such is life

#1345 happy february 14th (and every other day) to everyone

grating the cheese
stretching the fitted sheet into place
emptying the dishwasher
these are the ways that valentines
is not just one day
no what the marketers make us think

#1344 social not working

social networking
is not working socially
four of us sit in a room all stare at various screens
i throw my phone at the floor
out of frustration with the for of us and our society
the screen cracks on the hardwood floor
then the others text each other and their other "friends"
what's his problem

#1343 if you're gonna buy a 12-string, you better learn to play

fingers and strings endings beginnings
sound flows from string through ear to body
out the fingers to the air
again
again
again

#1342 shelter is a feeling

hampers and closets
under tables and inside cupboards
behind doors and on behind furniture
separate worlds
appreciated only by the young

#1341 now i get it

after days of cloudy
the sun slid out
spreading blue around it
a fresh breath of clarity

#1340 stercus canis

february snow melts thin in march
and brown flowers burst open everywhere
especially alongside trails
stemless, varying in size, with a distinct odour
i notice the juxtaposition, brown on white
but then a late snowfall
and the blossoms close and comoflage

#1339 why doesn't he want me?

anger is a door
and behind it
sadness
grief
regret
anger is the result of keeping tears in

#1338 4-foot purple rhino

honey, we are the biggest stuffy at the county fair
so big your arms can't reach around
we are what people spend all their money trying to win
they fill their lives so full, they go without happiness
but you and i know happiness is within
they can keep all their cars and view-blocking houses and money
i'll keep your smile at the end of the day any day

#1337 the hero's plummet

there is no trail to disappointment more great or more guaranteed
than to believe in people
as sure as people will breathe out less oxygen than they breathe in
stealing what they can for their own lugs
and claiming the act as a gift for the flora
as sure as that
people will let you down
they will strap on cramp-ons for the purpose of jumping on your heart
and still
i go on believing

#1336 he's a man

who believes
fingernails are for gettin dirty
not for no 60 a minute on qwerty
born two generations behind
he's a man
alone in his kind
in an age when honesty and hard work
are cobweb filled fables
he tries for the rule
of two ears and one mouth
but he's been waitin his turn to speak
since '79
and he's always waitin
behind
the back of the line

#1335 hay

with bales as balustrades
we spent hours in the haymow
building and controlling huge tiny rooms and tunnels
our bare arms filled with red dots
and when we decided the bales were hay, and no longer secret castle parts
we did backflips from above and landed on the hay
those bales are part of who i am
the part that will remind me
to let my kids get dirty

#1334 on reserve

alone on a flat road
running
knowing people are watching, even when they're not
ready to judge
some judge that he's too fast
showing up others
some judge he's too slow
still,
he runs

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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

#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