Wretched Beauty
Who were you?
Before the loathsome present.
Tonight you are
Stooped
Filthy
Rotting
Who were you?
Years ago, before the streets consumed you
Tonight you are
Abused
Addicted
Abandoned
Who were you?
Before this.
Before evil
Neglect
The world
Chewed away your dignity
***** away your humanity
Who were you?
In the springtime of your life
When love and beauty and possibility abounded.
You were mine
And my betrayal put you here.
I’m sorry.
Feb 3
Feb 3, 2026 at 8:40 PM UTC
Mental health
Is my favorite
Oxymoron
Jumbo shrimp
Is next…
Dec 7, 2022
Dec 7, 2022 at 10:45 AM UTC
Despair
It roils beneath the surface
Agitating
Provoking
Demanding
Hating
Me
It tells me that I ****
It tells me that I am worthless
It tells me that I should die
That I NEED to die
It feeds upon the dark things that I think about myself
When it hungers too deeply,
It explodes outward
exposing it’s hideous face
But mostly I can contain it under a façade of intellectualism and superficial positivity
But it is always there
Waiting to be fed
Jun 7, 2022
Jun 7, 2022 at 10:15 PM UTC
I am not ill
How am I responsible for your illness?
I am free
How am I responsible for your imprisonment?
I work
How am I responsible for your struggles?
I am content
How am I responsible for your disquiet?
I am my own master
How am I responsible for your servitude?
I am disciplined
How am I responsible for your chaos?
I am strong
How am I responsible for your weakness?
I am resilient
How am I responsible for your fragility?
I am faithful
How am I responsible for your infidelity?
My strengths
Like my faults
Are my own
And yours are yours
Jan 1, 2022
Jan 1, 2022 at 10:24 PM UTC
When minor acts of defiance
are guilty pleasures,
You are not free
Jan 1, 2022
Jan 1, 2022 at 10:03 PM UTC
It’s a glass half full
It’s a light in the distance
It’s the rising sun
It’s being away from home and hearing the language you speak
And it’s a dollar you find lying on the street
It’s 8 and a half yards on a third and 9
It’s a small tug on the end of the line
It’s writing a poem and finding a rhyme
And it’s the day she said, “Yes”, she’d go out with you one more time
It’s the half an hour before the exam
It’s the gallon of gas to get home
It’s when success follows success and you know
that you can do it alone
It’s finding a flashlight that works
And driving to the beach in the rain
It’s an all-night diner
And New Year’s champagne
It’s a homemade dinner
A dog’s wagging tail
It’s a small act of kindness
in a world of fails…
Jan 1, 2022
Jan 1, 2022 at 9:52 PM UTC
Yesterday we bumped along dusty farm roads together
Yesterday the packing shed was a beehive of activity
Yesterday I was the ring bearer in his wedding
Yesterday all of the cousins splashed in his apartment swimming pool,
fearing the wrath of the mean man
in number 9.
Yesterday I saw him at the pier
Yesterday we went fishing
Yesterday he barbecued tri-tip and we reminisced over old photos
Yesterday he cheered for the Giants and the 49ers
Yesterday he laughed until tears rolled from the corners of his eyes
Yesterday there was a tomorrow to look forward to…
Jan 1, 2022
Jan 1, 2022 at 9:51 PM UTC
I cannot go home.
Rather I cannot go where my family lives - that place ceased to be home some time ago.
I was a soldier during the Cold War and my neighbors there have become more like East German loyalists than American citizens.
They surrender their rights without question
They are eager to call out community members on social media for ‘social distancing violations’.
They use shame and ridicule to control others
They applaud the police for keeping children from playing in gigantic public parks
They trust politicians who ignore public defecation and drug use to look out for ’the public good'
They allow themselves to be labeled ‘essential’ and ’non-essential’
They carry ’traveling papers’ in the event that they are stopped by the police
They propagate the most inflammatory statistics without ever validating their veracity.
Because…
They heard it on CNN.
So I will remain 1098 miles away
Zooming
Skyping
Facetiming
Until the contagion subsides
And then I’ll return
To a completely different world.
Dec 24, 2021
Dec 24, 2021 at 8:58 AM UTC
In a caravan
Driving a beaten up Humvee
Down the road we go
pulling security (Pow, Pow, Pow)
See the villagers
hiding behind donkeys
Now it’s time to hit the gas cause
they’re shooting right at me
Oh, 7-6-2, 7-6-2,
bullets flying my way
Oh it ***** to have to drive
through Afghanistan today (Hey!)
7-6-2, 7-6-2,
bullets flying my way,
Oh it ***** to have to drive
through Afghanistan today.
Driving down the road
On a routine resupply
Did the bomb squad
clear this route
cause I don’t want to die (Hi, Hi, Hi)
Checking with HQ
to make sure it is clear
The 2nd Lieutenant in the TOC
says, “There’s nothing to fear.”
Oh, 7-6-2, 7-6-2,
bullets flying my way
Oh it ***** to have to drive
through Afghanistan today (Hey!)
7-6-2, 7-6-2,
bullets flying my way,
Oh, it ***** to have to drive
through Afghanistan today.
Dec 21, 2021
Dec 21, 2021 at 8:21 AM UTC
To the tune of 'The Dreidl Song"
(Can't leave out my Jewish Friends)
Claymore, Claymore, Claymore
You’re made out of C-4
Claymore, Claymore, Claymore
I put you out once more
I put in place a Claymore
For our security
And when I squeeze the clacker
Ball bearings they will see
Oh, Claymore, Claymore, Claymore
You make a big kaboom
Claymore, Claymore, Claymore,
You send them to their doom.
On our little Claymore,
it says ‘Front Toward Enemy’
And when they pull the tripwire
Their Paradise they'll see!!
Oh, Claymore, Claymore, Claymore
You’re made out of C-4
Claymore, Claymore, Claymore
I put you out once more.
Dec 21, 2021
Dec 21, 2021 at 8:20 AM UTC