Crayons almost always
draw outside the lines
and rub their colors
the right way

to make rainbows
from random strokes
of curves and
scattered lines

that somehow find
each other and
come to life
beyond the page

Shaky trees
stir the wind
and throw their
leaves into a spin
of sparks that
reach the clouds
before the ground

Their branches
are too restless
for climbing but
thrive as swings and
roosts for birds on wing

Like us
who found them
when our voyage
overwhelmed
our senses and direction
but not our spirit
as we let go
of what we left behind
and dreamed
of what we would become
before we took flight
anew

An Ace
in the hole
is just an
A-hole

against a pair
of twos

She was a fiction
of his imagination
and when she
beckoned he
would step out
sleepwalking

Destined for a fall
but not before
she vanished
in the waking hours

And then appeared
after the sun
before the moon
to catch him as
they lay down
beneath a blanket

of stars

There is no Central
in South Central anymore
just South LA incinerated
            at its core

What justice can there be
in violence defended
just because it's chained
to violence unrepented

No matter the degree
or source of blind-eyed
blame a match once-lit
will still result in flames

And shouts with rage
upon deaf ears cause
heels to dig with deeper
fear unlike the sound
of ebbing waves

That wash away
the tortured sand
and make new ground
where we can stand

I am a Beast
of immense proportions
with laser eyes and radar
ears my senses crystalline
escape distortion

And I have found
predators lying
in wait for you
I would have
eaten them but for
their bitter taste
so I fed them

To each other

I hear the
thumpetathumpetathumpeta
of chopper blades struggling
with an angry sky

And am somehow drawn
to a faceless stranger
once leanmeanandnineteen
lying in a field a world
away from where
he used to play
with ball and glove
on summer days

A rivulet of red
has pooled around him
and he is strangely numb
after cold and fear have
squeezed his ragged body
of whatever will remained
after his final battle

But he is not alone
for we are there
to hear his name
and see his face
and watch with him
the settling dust
reveal the evening sky