Moldy car, moldy car.
I have driven thee so far.
Almost up
to one-fifty thou.
So why should you start flooding now?

Egyptian curses? Fire, flood, and plague?
I saw a locust beetle the other day,
it chased me 'round the front sidewalk
and buzzed against my head.
I screamed and ran away.

But now empty, save for water,
I will smother you in salves
oils and vinegars and soaps and
dry, dry towels.
I will hug you warmly, crisply
scrub you of your mold.

I know you're getting old,
moldy, moldy car.
But I would still like to drive you
far, far,
far.

Oh to fill my face with grace
So patiently flowering,
Kindness growing in smiles and
Bright green streaks woven into
The murky coffee brown of my eyes
Like a timelapse of a million moments of wisdom and compassion
Guidance received and given like water rained and evaporated and rained and evaporated etc., etc.,
A cycle of beauty both physical and spiritual
Both reflecting one another
And the golden sunlight of healthiness dripping from my footsteps, lighting solar lawn lamps as I walk past,
Undying neverland my body so small will be,
If being so full of grace, I could achieve.

I am not open to new ideas
Though I believed I was
Just means I am gonna have to work harder
Or suffer the truth of death
Which is to be certain of all things

If I can't tell
if it's you, or if it's me
could it be
it is we?
The problem isn't yours
or mine
strictly speaking; It is ours.
Maybe you have changed
the way you view yourself
maybe I have changed.
Maybe you have grown
more secretive, more
affluent.
Maybe I have changed
my mind.
Quite a few times.

I still love you,
though -
ain't that just
the worst?

They ran along the side of the eroding asphalt road, gray pebbles digging rolling against the undersides of their feet

Freedom before freedom is remembered and truly needed

Just kids

When they got back to Ryan's house, Oscar said he needed a glass of water. Ryan ran inside to get a glass of water.

Oscar watched some ants eat a beetle by the front door.

I wake up slowly
like slow-motion, like soft jazz,
like every movie you've ever seen
about tragedy,
where the main character fades in from black
and
the sound of a cell phone ringing gets louder as the camera focuses
and the person,
let's call it a her, and let's call her Sally
Sally
opens her eyes
and it's like a mist or a fog still
for a few seconds
which are their own unique eternity and existence
and then Sally answers the cell phone
says "hello?" in that groggy, confused way people do when they've just woken up
and then the room is quiet
and then Sally's head is full of ringing
and you never know exactly what was said on the line
because of all the ringing
but you know it's bad news
because the next scene
Funeral
or
Crying in a bedroom
or
Blankly staring off into space.

I used to hate those scenes in movies.
I always wondered what was said
over the phone.

But now I understand.
Because bad news hits so hard sometimes
we can't remember the exact words that were said
only the dread.

Only the dread.

I love
I am loved
I do not like
I am not liked
I feel
I am full
I cannot feel
I am empty
I am all things ever
Stardust reincarnate
I am insignificant
I am no one

I am a poet
I write
I am illiterate
In many languages

Black or white
All these things still are.