how to cope? when
a smile seems too much
when it's a blinding poem
overwhelming and pure
but it's never enough
to build a world over

a thread, but not a rope
a thread, not a tapestry
a link, not a chain
a link, not a fence

hold the line
thread of life
everywhen
timeless encounters
visions and dreams
keep me moving
one more day

a silent scream in my bones
hollow harrowing thorns
acid rain cacophany
words whisp off hot sidewalks
vanishing into thin air
intentions crumbling
dried black roses

poison darts
my rice-paper heart
alert and acute
to the wrong signs
a child digging worms
for a sunny fishing day
freshly hatched baby vipers
deadly fangs felt like kisses
somehow betrayed
by youthful innocence

****** away
the opposing fighters
out of the fray
take them and
enclose them
within separate jars
where they cannot hurt
themselves or others
sitting stark still
forced to talk through
differences and
whatever assortments thereof

Sometimes I am petrified
at the mere mention of teeth
hinting injected infections, lies
it's a miracle when stones can walk
melt into a living creature
through revolving frames of mind
doors into the mystery mists
wisps of unknowable timeless destiny

Je n'ai goutte de vins
I have no drops of wine

I never know
when I am unhappy
but many are helpful
enough to point it out

I never know
when fears I feel
are mine alone
or helpfully imposed,
infused, injected deeply,
shot through my veins

sort the tangled threads
of oppression, repression,
suppression, depression,
recession, concession,
confession, obsession

black widow
on my table
inside of an
old-fashioned
canning jar

what have I
really rescued?
the hand from
the bite, or the
spider from being
squished apart?

liminality;
barely there
ask if it matters
care if you dare
believe in impossibility

mind framing liminal spaces
places of liminal mind-frames
filaments between contexts
capturing subtleties as moths

liminally reaching inwards
map of a shady threshold
twilight netherworld border
between now & everywhen
cusp of crisp discovery
intangible as of late
  
liminal during daylight;
stars, fireflies, lanterns
night itself being liminal
colors need brightness
shadow for textures  

whispering worlds
peripheral vision
vibes and feltsense
inner underworlds
embracing hell
reversing it

poems to fit on
postage stamps
letters in a bottle
small testings of
vibes to decide
whether to go or
put down roots

there is never
any helping
anybody, or
being helped
only fusion
collaboration

peddling purity distortions
cutting my face into a mask
my whole world is
varying flavors of pain
but outside of myself
let me observe the other
no one declares
the male body sacred
worth the love of respect
protection or nurturing
surely we are more
than either
desecrated
or the desecrator

heed the pitcher of behavior
mind the contents of your cup
do not censor my books
cut your concern
do not strip me
or lock me away
if you do not like my armor
stop thrashing at me
and remember one thing
you created this
your own perfect enemy
do not scream at my callouses
stop letting me hit the ground
when I fall next to you
it really is that simple