Algernon

Algernon Mar 2016

comet

hey there comet
sorry about throwing you away
i mistook you for a bad idea
i missed the can and you ended up in orbit
***** little snowball without a place to land
spinning in space without a ship
when i was little i did not want to be an astronaut
i wanted to be a teacher and a mom
i wanted to be responsible for shaping little souls
i thought it would be like play-doh
i thought it would be like dress up
because when i put on mommies sweater
daddys glasses
growing up was just about getting larger
so that this dwarf planet could become a sun
with a few more servings of vegetables
and some glasses of milk
stretching my bones by hanging off the monkey bars
gravity worked for me
and gravity kept me grounded
and gravity kept the planets in place
and gravity would grant me permission to grow
but i would never become a planet
because i was born a bit too fast
and a bit too cold
so just make sure
to orbit on back around this planet
my little comet
and I won’t miss it this time

#comets

Algernon Feb 2016

A New Knife

but if you had just shattered
wouldn't you make use
of your new sharp edges?

Algernon Feb 2016

The Drunk Man and The Priest are stuck on a stalled Train

The N-Judah is stuck in a black tunnel
the Drunk Man looks heavy
he drags his head to look around
his hands lag a little behind his words
the Drunk Man points to the The Priest
"you a football coach?"
The Priest corrects him gently
"I am a Priest."
the Drunk Man's eyes widened:
"How old are you, Priest?"
The Priest, his hands clasped in front of him,
and with a smile, "Seventy."
"Seventy?!" the Drunk Man exclaims
he's looking around the train
"You don't look 70," he smiles,
"You look beautiful."

the train was stalled for over 20 minutes.
a mans voice over the speaker informed us
someone got hit by a train
he apologized for the inconvenience
he lets go a heavy sign and clicks off the speaker

the Drunk Man asks the Priest first
"What's your favorite scripture?"

and then the whole train
"How intimate is your relationship with God?"

his gaze doesn't move, but he addresses everyone in earshot
"When nobody's looking - do you cheat?"

his gaze doesn't move, but he addresses everyone, even those who can't hear him
"When no one is paying attention - are you honest?"

Nobody responds to him except the Priest.
Finally, the train moves.
When I get off, I can see that
The Drunk Man and the Priest stay on the train.

Work in progress. This is a real event so I'm working how to accurately and poetically write it down.

Algernon Feb 2016

i do not believe in astrology

I do not believe in Astrology
but when you talked about the planets
I started to pay more attention to the sky

I do not believe in God
and neither did you
but your 8 years of Catholic school must have rubbed off on me
cuz when I prayed for the first time
I put you between my palms
and said "God, I don't know if this will work"

unfinished. I can feel there are several more verses brewing under this one.

Algernon Feb 2016

dartboard

the moment before I saw you
someone threw a dart at a dartboard
I didn't see where it landed
didn't want to
your hands were in your pockets
I was terrified
Still am
because I'm thinking about the dart when
you turned to look at me
and I could feel it hit the board
somewhere in the center

****, i thought
I gotta stop finding girls with aim

Algernon May 2015

Landed Love

amusement park rides are safe
the sheer force keeps you from falling out
roller coasters tilting you side to side
not quite upsidedown
but almost

I'm trying ******* a playground swing
to go over the top
but just keep falling back to earth
******* gravity

in between the trip and the crash
is the fall
That's when I think of you
when my hands are outreached
My feet are skidding
I'm trying not to eat ****
but there's no guarantee
because clumsy people fall a lot

Maybe I haven't landed in love
but I sure am falling

Algernon Apr 2015

**** fine.

This girl?
She’s So **** fine.
I mean so **** fine. And
This girl knows I'm bad with words
So
this will probably
Sound like ****
But here's what it is –

Right before I saw you
Someone threw a dart
I didn't see where it landed
I didn't want to
Your hands were in your pockets
You turned and I felt the dart hit
somewhere
near
the center
And I thought - ****
I gotta stop finding girls
Who got such good aim

So I opened my cabinets
And I started reciting all the foods
You're supposed to call lovers
Sugar honey flour
Why do I want to call you things
I could bake into a cake
Maybe it's cuz I want to eat you up
and eat you out
you know I didn't have a sweettoothe until
I met you

And now I've got these
cavities
Deep dark pits
of her
and Grand Canyons behind my canines
And swelling seas and saltmines…

You know that
I grew up in a valley
So when I run my hands down the *****
Of her thighs
It's a little like going home

I've found myself staring at maps
Books on geography
Cartography
Elevations
Latitude and longitude
How can I navigate
When her hips
are my east and west
but the roadsigns say
thank you for visiting
when I swear I just got here

And so I'm driving down your interstate veins
And I'm speeding, babe
I'm going way too fast
And –

At stop signs I think of you
I think of you I think of heavy blankets
cutting hair like snipping sorrows
pruning back bad days
kissing pretty little words into my mouth
Like candy hearts with pink letters
You buy for novelty

This girl knows I'm bad with words
So this will probably
Sound like ****
But that's what it is
And that's what she is -
She’s **** fine.
**** fine.