Sometimes
I wish that I could sink
Back into the red earth that bore me;
Into the hard clay
That springs life into plants;
And I think to myself
That maybe this earth
Could finally force life
Back into this collapsing husk;
If only I could sink
back into the dirt.

My love for you is automatic
.45 caliber fire
As I dream of painting you
In broken ***** tapestry
Bathed in milk and honey
As I try to nourish
And you play a flourish
On your sewer pipe flute
I am every rat in this parade
Lost forever, infinite maze
Instinctual reaction
With automatic love

everyone
wants to play house
until they have
to pay a mortgage

everyone
wants to be loved
until they learn
they have to love back

everyone
wants to get promoted
until they find
their responsibility grows

everyone
wants everyone to be
real and genuine
but that just isn't
reality

It is this life that weighs me down
Like rain-soaked cloak-
Pregnant and heavy

Would that we could shed life
Cast our sodden cloaks aside
And float free through eternity
Whilst not violating
That horrible mortal sin

And could we choose to return
When our soul is well-rested-
And we are prepared
To steel ourselves against
The cutting of great insult
Led to sanguine injury
And sorrow deeply felt

But, alas, we are meant to toil
In wet cloak bound in iron,
In boots of heavy stone,
Riddled by blasts of insult,
weighted like beast of burden

But take comfort in your drudgery
Do not entertain that mortal sin
For though I am not with you-
I shall hold your hand in spirit
We are kindred in our journey

One will make you smaller, the other make you big
One will make you happy, the other make you sad
So take your pills, Darling
Eat, drink, and be merry
Before you end up crashing
We all crash in the end

We could all be 10/6ths worth of humanity
If we weren't buried in being 1/2
of a person

And I wish that I could get high
And float like butterfly wings
Fly through heavy jungle
As I crack through my cacoon
After every imagined insult

Don't you see, we're down the rabbit hole

There are monsters lurking
In hedge mazes made for you
Don't be afraid to walk through it
If you don't, you'll be late
We're always in a state of late

While you watch for monsters
You may not even notice
My disenfranchised smile
And feline eyes burning in the night
As you cry
"Off with his head"

We're down the rabbit hole, baby

I would pen you a love song
It's in my power, you know?
But today is not the day
The gray in my heart, it grows
And I write what I feel
Disingenuous isn't my style
No hollow happy verse
On makeshift paper to beguile

I want to write you a love song
It's not a line, but simple truth
But today the sadness aches
Like long ignored rotten tooth
And if I let my sadness fester
The pain will just grow worse
Today I write of tragedy
No ink for hollow happy verse

Oh sweet small sparrow
I did not mean to wound
'Twas cruelest of mistakes
That led me to break you

And deepest sorrow I felt
As you lay with broken wing
And my deepest regret
That you shall not sing

Your gorgeous sparrow song
Into my foolish ears
And this mistake I've made
Flavored by my tears

Were I a kinder man
I would have suffered through the night
With comfort and consolation
To see you again take flight

We, us, they, and them
dissolved in solutions
of I, me, and mine;
Selfish pink sprinkles
cover selfless vanilla cake
Like oil on oceans
choking communities of fish
choking community
choking me
I choke

No words
Describe today
Sunshine beating me
With warming rays
Sweat on my brow
As I plant some grass
Knuckles ******
As I bust my ***

My lips try to whistle
But no tune presents
Hard work in silence
Gray dust of cement
Ripped jeans
And muddy leather gloves
A heavy sky
No cloud above

My mouth is empty
Of moisture and song
Of well-wishing words
As I toil along
Each movement of dirt
By steel headed *****
Gives way to the big empty
As I dig my own grave

There is no exception
to being exceptional
based on perception

Soft and gentle hands
A cold and empty heart
Forked serpent's tongue
And your lies I wore like a blanket

They
Call out for me
Hunt me
Inhuman voices
Screaming
I feel their fingers
Reaching
To claw the dirt from my head
And give flesh
To my inner voices

Cassie Lane Gray, ever so slight of frame
Hit harder than a train, playing her martial games
Cassie ran eight miles a day, and she never strayed
Her routine was tough as iron, her boxing gloves were frayed

Her momma put her in ballet, but later on, she disobeyed
Strapping wraps to wrists, uppercut finisher each day
And when she said she wanted to box, her momma turned away
But she was gonna fight, with no one in her way

Cassie Lane Gray grew up poor in San Jose
Never had much to say, just wanted in the fray
Her ballet, in a way, made her opponents pay
As she moved with dancer's sway, they later would convey

Cassie's family prayed that she would portray
The sweet and simpering visage of a classy dame
But it wasn't in the cards, for Cassie Lane Gray
The "Bantam Weight Ballerina"
A strong young fighting woman
Was in the ring to stay

I see that look in your eyes
But your hands hang at your sides
I step forward just a little
And you inch away
I was respectful and scared
You tilted your head a little
But never moved forward
I touched your shoulder awkwardly,
Lost my nerve, and walked away

Years later we would meet
With coffee in our hands
On busy Washington streets
Our conversation warm as summer
Sunning my heart
Like a lizard on a rock
You asked me, "Why?"
"Why didn't you kiss me that night?"
I shrugged and touched your shoulder
You go home to your three girls
And I return to my empty house
Sitting at my desk writing poems
My life a necklace missing pearls

I love Poetry, in all of its forms
Though I never wrote a sestina
Have trouble with limericks
And never mastered the haiku
I still love Poetry
And if you write it, I probably love you too.

Continue to exert your influence
And savagely gather your power
As you watch your kingdom shrink
Until you rule over fields of ash
And crumbling infrastructure
Share your ideas and wealth of experience
And watch your nation grow

Everyone speaks with their heart
Leaving logic behind
But logic has a role to play
So keep your heart and brain
Working in harmony

Keep your lips closed tight
I know what happens,
When you open your mouth
Spitting bent words,
Crooked like a boomerang
And one day,
Your words will return to you

You are a majestic Pelican;
powerfully built,
graceful in flight,
free as you glide the sea

Yet the sea is fickle;
throwing great squalls,
slashing with rain,
unsafe for flight

And there I am, for you;
a large rock in the sea,
a point of safety,
weathering the storm

Every time your sea gets stormy;
I stay in the same place,
being the same way,
your anchor in a hurricane

Day after day,
and week after week,
I still remain a symbol of strength
for you to escape harm

I pray that you find
a place to firmly plant your feet
because one day, I may need a rock
As my sea gets stormy,
and I become the Pelican

Simply put,
Live the golden rule
And just be kind

explicit*
Roll over *******!
you're hot as an iron,
the surface of the sun
is cooled by your skin
and you stole
all the ******* blankets
this treachery is akin
to your lawnmower snoring
no truer transgression
or act of pure sin
is equal to your elbows
raining blow after blow
like we sleep on a twin!
...

...
Roll back over, please?
I'm cold as ice
your skin feels nice
and you're snoring helps me sleep
It's our flaws that I love
and pointed elbows and all
it's a love I'd like to keep

The weight of love is tremendous;
heavy like gold,
worn like manacles,
bourne by those
with or without it
The tragedy of love is catastrophic;
deeply rooted,
never gentle,
comes and goes
as it pleases
The world of love is pure savagery;
battles raging,
without survivors,
everyone is
love's refugee
The weight of love is tremendous;
Yet still a burden I wish to bear

Even greatest deeds
can not forever hide
our truest intentions

Tiny sliver of wood
placed in accident
beneath fingernail
or under skin
stings greater
in the moment
than gunshot or knife.
For a splinter
always pokes
at our carelessness
and pierces straight
our most useless
*****: pride

My fingers
caress the fuzz
on your lower
back

My hands
grip the fuzz
at the base
of your neck

Our
arguments
in my mind
are growing fuzzy

The day
that you left
out the door
is oh so
fuzzy

My fingers
caress the fuzz
on my unshaven
cheeks

My hands
grip the fuzz
of my long hair
I'm such a freak

How the hell
I got here
I don't know
It's so fuzzy

See your picture
through empty bottles
on the nightstand
it's growing fuzzy

Stop
hiding behind
rationalizations
and excuses
for your
cruel behavior,
savage taunts,
wicked ways,
life failures,
evil thoughts,
feeble resilience,
weak fortitude,
that have left
a trail
of those who
loved you
and face yourself,
by yourself.