A statement phrased
as a question
how rhetorical
why ask answered questions
to see if I knew the answer
to show how much you know
cause you're obnoxious.

Not much time
for society
to take you in
but about enough
to keep them
from getting bored
don't be angry
all things hot
must cool down.

the new year is here
and I suspect
it will be much like
the last one
I would tell you
my list of resolutions
but I never bother
to make any.

it sounds so futuristic
by now
the world should be chrome
still time still just 21
things can change fast
could wake up tomorrow
having missed the revolution
movies from the 80s what do they know
less than me apparently.

Do we have one
A screen
Right in front
We just can't see
With someone
Lurking behind it
Enjoying popcorn
And our lives?

In half a decade
Where will you be
Well
Having consulted
My crystal ball
I can say with certainty
Somewhere.

I reached into
my skull
to fetch
A thousand words
I got a handful
and a headache.

I hope everyone
Has such a place
Or thing
Something
To defend against
The madness
That would cut through
The strings
That keep you
In one piece.

Stop that
hmm no
Stop that
oh okay
R r really
no
I want to
kinda really
but
no.

it's pitiful
in the darkest places
there's a light
it illuminates
so very little
really it just
accentuates the darkness
and eventually it burns out
fortunately/sadly
there's always another.

Walk or run
if the destination
is the same
does the pace matter
it does if your racing
it's not a competition
kinda feels like one.

A plain box
with an intricate padlock
quite mysterious
what's inside
a heart
gold
metaphorical treasure
you wont know
till the box is open
keep in mind
the box
will be nothing
once its contents are gone
except to cat's and box fiends.

It sometimes rains down
A revealing corruption
that burns away all sorts
of natural things
it may appear over you
you'll need a tough umbrella.

As all hoosiers must
I have been
To church
When I was
But a lad
So young my
Objections
were regarded
As jests
I was taken to church
Many times
Did I sit through sermons
And I don't get it
The love some feel
The spirit I just
Ain't got it
I had a suit
I had combed hair
I sang the hymns
But all I felt
Was agitated.

Actions speak louder
Than words
But words
To be heard
Must be spoken
And speaking
Is an action
One with
Great potential
Saying the right thing
To the right people
At the right time
Can make
All the difference
In the world.

Can do
i'll wear glasses
and carry a book
they'll never guess
I have no idea
what's going on.

You
Being eaten
By cabbages
I know I know
Cabbages
They don't eat folk
You crazy person
But you see
That is the fun of it
If cabbages ate you alive
That would be a sign
That God condones
My hate for you
And it would make
For a great photo
To put on my wall
A beautiful mix
Of emerald and scarlet.

that didn't help
admitting the truth
things aren't worse
but they aren't better
maybe they will be
someday in the future
unfortunately
patience
isn't my virtue.

Writing time and again
about the same old topics
Cerberus poet
an undying dog
surrounded by bones
can gnaw on these forever
is that healthy.
is being Alive.

Honor can't be forsaken
such an important form
of invisible currency
I fear the only solution
is pistols at dawn.

Not built for combat
but
you don't have to be big
to stab at an Achilles heel.

I love fighters
a beautiful tragedy
they battle
The way of things
by being
counter culture
or with simple bravado
and a knack for painting
I know they'll give
submit to the way
but for a while they shine
I do hope they succeed
but I don't think they will.

What come next
When your race
Has been run
Is it nothing
Is it clouds
Is it another life
I don't know
Many say one thing
Many say another
Some possibly the wisest
Say don't worry
Your living focus on that
Which is advice I wish
That I could follow.

the perfect device
that always points
to the truth
annoying then
thats it's so hard
to translate what it means
no wonder
everyone prefers
A GPS.

Dear God
Look at it
Up there
No hand made device
Could possibly compare
No building can truly overcome it
The sky the sky
Such a thing
Just a glance at it
And
I feel it stareing into me
I feel it grasping at my soul
Feed me small creature
It bellows it roars
Oh god
Is this what it's like to be high.

The words circle me
not like vultures
they don't care
what happens to me
it's possible i'm a vulture
waiting for the words
to fall upon the page
certainly no hunter
seeking them out
at the library
or wherever they flock
for the best really
all the best word hunters
are crazy or dead
which is awful.

I saw you today
For the first time
The hundreth time
But the first time
I really saw
Dam
you are not
Who I thought
Suppose that's my problem.

Simple embroidery
An elaborate  heart
sewn on your camo sleeve.

Does a room of marsupials
perhaps in wigs
come to mind
well
don't feel bad
I thought the same.

It is in fact a trial
A trial you can't win.

You can't win
because its not really a trial

It's simply a show for the masses.

Liquids and meats
Bones and lies
Make us
what we are
A seemingly
Simple recipe
With so much
Mystery.

you've wandered
into the wrong realm
her majesty is irate
and your family
is quite worried
perhaps
some tea will help
or maybe an
occasionally invisible cat.

Are swirly things
And monster faces
I'm not sure why
Perhaps it's a sign
Of discontent
Or an unwell mind
Could be drugs
Who can say
Not I
That'd ruin
The surprise.

you rushed through
and now your done

you may wish
for seconds or fifths
but you can't have them

So you must wait or work
for more

unless that really was the last for
ever

in which case your *******.

A thousand maybes
In every soul
You could have
Been great
You could have
been loved
You could have
been so very much
Or maybe not
Maybe you are
What you are
But you certainly
Could have tried.

Expectations are important
Too high and you'll be
Rather disappointed
Too low is just sad
Somewhere in the middle
Like many things in life
Is where your expectations
Should rest
Although what qualifies
As the middle isn't
Always the same
So
To each their own
I guess.

I'm gonna lose
Are my words
At the start
How surprising
Are words I will
Sneer in the end
I'm a psychic
Nah
I'm just a defeatist.

not always
A good reason
but sometimes
any reason will do
to do what
anything really.

If at first
you despise it
Give it time
Before you know it
You'll love it
It gets easier
After the first time
Soon you'll be a pro
So don't worry
It's just
An acquired taste.

As I look to the audience
and tell them my plan
I pray
that you really
can't hear me
if you could
i'd be quite the fool.

You might
Fall into the clouds
If you have no anchor
For most
All you need
Is your physical shell
The needs of the body
To keep you in check
But some
Need something more
Perhaps some one
To remind them why
The earth isn't so bad.

Late to the party
Arguably
fashionably so
what lies on the horizon
the same old woe
claims the cynic in me
in me
the cynic I am
the optimist I try to be
might claim otherwise
the optimist i try to be
Do I really want to be
Could be fun
A change of pace
The Optimist I try to be
might say
so long as you're alive
things can change for the better.

I need your attention
when you look away
I go somewhere else
somewhere lifeless and sad
so just keep your eyes
feasted on me
and i'll appear to be
whatever
you want me to seem to be.

another reason
to curse god
this and
especially that
it boils my blood
and
ruffles my feathers
not big stuff either
but little things
that seem huge
dam little big
things.

Life is short
so they say
they say A lot
billions of seconds
leaking from my hourglass
staunch the bleeding
thats not plausible
anyway it's just Tuesday
Life is short
so i'm told
but don't worry
it's only relative.

once upon time
we burned women* alive
once upon a time
we enslaved one another
once upon a time
we would throw you
down a hole and pretend
you never were
once upon a time
the world was controlled
by a privileged few
once up wait
i'm sorry no
not once upon a time
still
we still do these things
we are just a bit
more surprised when
we hear about them.

the end
a bland goodbye
no drums or drama
not even a curtain
just dull shades
a handful of people
expected more
for all that hassle.