put beer in your mouth, not guns.
it’s much more delicious and
you’ll live a longer, happier life.
you don’t need suicidal thoughts
just good tunes, good people
and of course, a good beverage.
depression
finances
emotions
heartbreaks
relationships
­problems
troubles
and worries
will sort
itself out
in due time.

you can cope,
you can figure this out,
you can be happy,
you got this.

as the sun burns
bright and radiant,
it shines on a world
that keeps turning
under blue skies
that match the
ocean in color.

the wind will push
the swings on an
empty swing set,

the fences will
remain unpainted,

bicycles will
no longer parade
down the streets,

the elbows and
the knees will
remain unscathed

and somehow
they get by
without ever
knowing
the answers
that cell phones
can’t provide them

it’s all behind me,

the past,

like a dream,

a dream I once lived in
with vivid memories
of nostalgia and the
many people I’ve
encountered and
can’t remember
along the way

some alive,
some dead,
some gay,
some straight,
some drunk,
some sober,
some successful,
some still searching for success,
(no one is a failure)
some married,
some single forever
but the fragrance of
our friendship is gone,
past expired and evaporated.

I will never see them again
until I hear about their untimely
death and make myself present
to a funeral I wasn’t invited to but...

today is not yesterday,
today is not tomorrow,
today is today,
today is right now
and right now is the most
overlooked opportunity
to make something happen

so tonight,
just like the night before it
and many nights after,
the sun will settle down
leaving the clouds burning
red and the luminous moon
will leave a smudge print
in the night sky

I will not phone an
old friend and play
“catch up” with our lives
and speak of old times past,

just sit in my fortress of solitude
with the best strategy I know.....
to get drunk
without any.

it will remain
better this way

from this moment forward

I met a savant over the holidays,
she was about 19 months old
and her methods were profound.
while everyone gave her full
attention as we sat around in
the cozy kitchen, sipping on our
warm cups of coffee, she gave
none of it back to mankind as
she starred out the window to
enjoy the wooded backyard and
the color changing of the leaves
and how beautiful nature is
and if I were smart enough...
I would have joined her too.

Pay your obeisance to the Lord,
you'll be paid back with prosperity.

The priest towers above the throngs of devotees.

Within the Lord's precinct is a rush for repentance
the arrogant bows down here
the wealthy falls on the ground
the poor renews plea.

The priest preys on their prayer
the Lord's coffer is full.

In that heavenly scene,
all sins are forgotten.