I lean up
to kiss your nose
and beg for more
of the cinnamon-stick aura
streaming around you--
Such tantalizing tones
could tempt even
the most reluctant soul
Jan 15, 2017
Jan 15, 2017 at 8:23 PM UTC
The universe spoke
with me today
over sugar-free danish
and self-doubt--
I responded gratefully.
Oct 10, 2016
Oct 10, 2016 at 10:24 PM UTC
We six souls
sip warm beer
from backpacks carried
across rivers and rocks
to the secret spot
we found as kids,
a lipstick-stained joint
gets passed back and forth
and Gabby's old blanket
hides shivering toes,
our secret hope
that tomorrow never shows.
Oct 10, 2016
Oct 10, 2016 at 10:19 PM UTC
You and I collided
like fog over ground,
one solid and firm--
utterly immovable.
The other lightly
misting over
and through,
caressing this blade
and that one
before swirling away,
and above,
and beyond.
Oct 5, 2016
Oct 5, 2016 at 11:28 AM UTC
I’m too full to finish I whined,
After my last bite of Spongebob macaroni
In an Oscar-worthy toddler performance.
Granny reluctantly appeared from the kitchen
Reproach half-forming on her lips,
Until my near empty plate stopped her
And our laughter caused the frown lines
In her forehead to disappear
As she breathed a sigh of relief,
That first memory, so similar to my last--
In her final hour, Granny looked at me
And smiled, the crease in her brow
For one last time relaxing.
Sep 21, 2016
Sep 21, 2016 at 10:54 AM UTC
I managed not to flinch
at your gilded dismissal,
but even rain drops feel like bullets
if they're delivered with enough force.
Sep 21, 2016
Sep 21, 2016 at 10:46 AM UTC
I never liked cigarettes
unless they were smoked by you,
during the breaks we took
from your crowded bar,
melting into busy Roman streets
to steal a kiss or two between drags,
but I think after half a pack
you could’ve stolen more than that
Sep 21, 2016
Sep 21, 2016 at 10:40 AM UTC
Our favorite childhood game
was set to track #3
on Elvis's Lost Album,
Pops would press play
and Tony and I would close our eyes,
spinning around and around,
two tops twisting and turning
across our tiny den,
while Pops played
a more subtle game
of nudging us away
from sharp corners
and unblocked stairs,
while our closed eyes
robbed him
of the recognition
he always deserved.
Sep 6, 2016
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:39 PM UTC
you're my only friend
who hears I love you
each time you leave,
because your sunken eyes,
that empty stomach,
those shrinking thighs,
have got me suspended
in perpetual fear
until next time.
Sep 6, 2016
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:31 PM UTC
Listing barbaric behaviors in class, for example ****
It should be said first. It’s thought first ****
But the list goes on and on: ****** slaughter, holocaust ****
No one raises their hands to say it, never once ****
“What’s missing?” Professor asks. The answer ****
on my mind, on everyone’s mind, but no one says it ****
Silence falls. He’s waiting. But still the word ****
is left unsaid. Unspoken but echoing louder than ever ****
Finally a girl raises her hand and says it ****
But her voice drops on the word ****
as if she can’t quite get it out ****
Why is it that we can discuss genocide, war, but never ****
it, the word no one’s willing to say, to admit ****
the crime, the word, that is too shameful to even speak ****
Ripped shirts, bruised cheeks, eyes squeezed shut
Hands, stop, fists, no, screaming, fighting, giving up--
****
Aug 31, 2016
Aug 31, 2016 at 12:21 PM UTC