A battered pair of soft leather shoes
    brown against gray cinder-blocks
        remembers the roads once traveled
  nights surrounded by forgotten
                       popcorn at the movies
      long afternoons spent embracing sweet grass

The casual passerby would not notice
            but the crease where
                                      had the topside been a face
               its mouth would have been
                      curved upwards in
                           fond recollection
                          of times long since past


blink


                      and it is once again
                  a battered pair of soft leather shoes
                      brown against gray cinder-blocks

Won't we all dance our ways to the fireside
             when it's particularly chilly

Fake wood on all these tables
Beautiful grains ebbing and flowing
Across a deep brown
It's all fake, didn't someone tell you?
A sticker, an assumed truth that peels off like dead skin
Proven later to be nothing close
To true woods

Sugar stings as much as salt
Poured in an open wound, if not more
Best to let it air dry, kissed by the sun
And not corruptible lips
And not corruptible lips

Stifled memories, memorized faces
Pop up at the strangest times
And assault with swords strung from quotes
Points of color that break the skin
Let it alone now
Let it alone

Lackluster habit
this day envisioned in green
framed between pedals
expulsion, extrication, ex
trials and f
reedoms

explode, expulge
entrance

enter

expository fiction, written
coals for eyes burning

watch where you build your
fires, we wouldn't want to

burn these trees

trails of smoke in the night sky
      where are we?
  the occasional glimmer of stars through the curtain
       it doesn't matter where
    each flower
       keep the pedal down
    a rainbow on your pillowcase
       *we are now.

I'm a bit of a ****-up, sure
definitely not a honed ideal, a little bit
askew around the rougher edges, with no
niche found as of yet to proudly call
my own in this humbling collection of
determined bodies, but I wouldn't have
it any other way

I must be me. Otherwise
there is no chance
whatsoever

      and every dream is
      worthless (which of
      course is miles from
      true)

stand up and start
up (you'd better get
up) with fiery eyes and
a wistful heart

Heavy breath, light
spirits
        as if my mind has at last
recognized the implications of not
   moving
           and decided to love and
                        love again.

From my vantage point
This vast expanse of land
Bare of any soul save myself
Separates you from me
And the sky hangs over
As if to laugh at our plight

Billowing clouds, faint smiles
This is no place for a wanderer
No place for a thief
Who steals smiles from
Beneath mother's nose
No place for a liar
Who corrupts this peaceful scene
Flinging time bombs as an afterthought
To bring an end to light

No, I'm not entirely sure who belongs
In this place
I am nothing but a visitor here
Come to drink in the beauty
The stillness
And soon to depart
From the hole
In an otherwise
Troublesome world.

It's ok to not care
      and pretend your eyes are just watering
   and pretend that it means something to everyone
  
             and not just to you.

It's ok because they
       don't really want to know if you are
     and you can't take admitting that anyway

that

  it kills you

I don't know what to say
Except that things are changing
All too well

We are not the people who once cried over ridges in our skin
We are not the same fools
I am not the person who karate chopped the head off the snowman
I am not he who is long gone

Too many flies buzzing in my head
Can't get myself to bed
Am I better off dreaming?
Am I better off dead?
Cease your breathing
And rise

Rise up to the forbidden
Reveal what you have hidden
And find what you have within
That lovely soul of yours

CRASH
              BAM
                       CRUNCH
                                         BOOM
                                                      SPLAT.­
My heart spasms on the table
Beside the silver and behind the fish
Serving up not a stew but
An invitation
A solemn mockery of it all
Why shouldn't you
         Do me a favor and
         Toss it out with the evening trash
Awaken me the next morning?

We don't tolerate trouble here.

broken
            but still smiling
     :)

Now is not a time for
Scissors

Threads woven here are not
     hampered by distance not
     distracted by the great bulk of
     time's slow passage between their
Two keepers

The prevailing viewpoint:
                      Life is moot
Stands to be swallowed by
     something
                soon

Something wonderful with a
Fuzzy heart

Be brave enough to tell that
    girl she doesn't have to cry, no, it's
   alright these are dry-erase markers
and there are not enough tears in the ocean

Candy love
          neon colors bubbling up through
     pink cellophane quilts

                  Voices that
                                 despite all logic
             pledge allegiance to the sincerity beside
                                                            roma­nce

You say it's hard to run on nothing
                          but it's harder with a broken heart

Happiness runs
          from where you need it most
    to places it should never dare to explore
        
but even feelings grow tired
  and this one is not the athlete she used to be

How do you **** an idea?

Find its weak point and
smother it with insincerities

When we see each other again, if
the skies and waters should allow

I will not let you go for a second

learned as we think we are, only
let me take you in once more

Enter night
  the first nights
        we wanted to die
    but we didn't and
  discovered ways to hold on

Enter night
  win grin night
          we rolled around and fell
    with purpose

Enter night
     crazed bonding night
  we ran from the cops
    and cried together

Enter night
   no reason night
      you left and I indulged
initially to cope

Enter night
  tonight
     I indulge
         for the sake of indulging
   and I'm reminded of us

Up and at 'em
whispered half-awake to a
sun that yawns above the window sill
from somewhere deep beneath soft pile blankets and
crisp laundered sheets to
present their fresh aroma as a
billowing of color in rich warm golden
vision and see what a thousand cameras could only
hope to find hovering in a periphery, hidden among
storm-clouds

inhale and
compose like wildfire, searing
words passing warmth like a baton between
minds, distance easily traversed by
a whisper, by a calling

"I am here"

and all is well.

The consensus is
Nothing matters

but love does.

It's late is it late
          already when the floor smells like cinnamon and
       welcomes you softly then refuses to let you up
                            and fire climbs streetlamps sheds
                                      orange-red light on this scene
Did you catch the
           entrance of our heroine by the stair
                 with patented uncertainty
                                 mystery's mark upon the air
                                           we breathe so
                                                       casually
I couldn't tear my eyes away
         wouldn't miss it for the world the
                       one I like to be in every
                             once and again

Twisted up in well-done lighter flames
I don't want the truth

Ambition
           as in
         where the hell do you want to be you
         can't be satisfied with where you are so get
             up get out get out get out to
Beauty
            holy like swiss cheese, all
        tricky to find but once you've got it
        it sticks for life, our redeeming quality
         exquisite fault for
Heaven
          's sake, rich warm liquor still
               coaxes words from reluctant throats
           did you think you'd make it did you
            honestly believe we'd let you slip
       away not a chance not a
         chance not by chance chance chance

    I've forgotten why I came
   *Let me help you remember

never sleep
don't want to waste a second

life is a blur and
                     then it ends
  so

<

never fade
         never fade
                 never fade
                       never fade
                 never fade
         never face
never fade
         never fade
                 never fade
                       never fade
                 never fade
         never fade
never fade

     stop that you're doing

     stop fading

Trying to write all day is beneficial, of course
But the only word that plagues my mind is
"explode"

They smoke, somber around us
    cooking phrases in our daily newspaper

dancers in their own right

     While I'm just trying to figure out how to
             breathe you in long enough that
                   I can float forever when you're gone

falling
  falling
        failing to remember
    amidst the joy of early mornings and
waking skies' company
                                             it's really good
    to have some freedom while
the world is sleeping except two
             who bring light with them
       and coax the sun from his downsized bed

let's do it again

You have to believe
    otherwise, there's
            nothing to be done

I do not have
time for the
   harvest moon
   tonight

Inside the water
crystallized memories like glass
fall head over heels

If you want to be productive
             Place socks over your eyes
and giggle
                at your dog's beard
                         and the bitter flavors of life

That little heart shaped from green?
                         as I am.
         love formed with time and care, growing
     stronger and more vibrant every second,
            
               immortalized
                    there with you.

velvet stains, sawgrass breath of junebugs over again

My vision is flickering
       which is strange

                   I want to be an artist
                                     a musician  
                                                      ­                no
                      I am an artist
                                     a musician
                             and what I want is
                                             to be able to share that with the people
                         to laugh and cry and live and die with you
                           to inspire you to take risks every now and again
                            to guide you
        
My vision is flickering
            but allow me to correct myself

    I'm perfectly content

Pages rustle past as I close my eyes
And begin

The history of those
Who cannot choose their own histories for
Fear of messing some crucial element up or
Adding too much salt to the batter on account of being
Far too distracted by that bird chirp chirping on the turquoise window sill

Jump on top, pillow, cartoon kerpow
A fort of us
Untouchable, impervious
Like every horror movie extra, only

To keep an open mind and recall times
Spent  below the technicolor roof we built one afternoon
And chasing the one member of your family that
Runs away for a romp each time I open your door

Yes, into the dreams we rapidly hunker down in
Anticipation of a bombshell

All choked up inside because
                             there is so much I never say, wanting
                                                    to share everything and grow up
           way too fast, that's not how
                           things work around here, not
               now under microscopes

                                  I love you to the point of
  not breathing, a precaution to
     ensure such radical notions remain where they
       are, but today you

                                           told me the greatest thing you could
                                               ever have brought to my ears, that you
                                                             ­          recognize
                                                        the simple truth, the difference, this
                                                wonderful knowledge you and I have of each
                                                 other, something others chase for so much
                                                            time­, and yes we have some of
that loosely-defined handhold on
reality, the ticking, but
                                           I need you to know, I
                                                               ­         
still cannot find words.

Let's meander down this
road
         flustered so wonderfully flustered by
you, taking the
time to pause and appreciate each little
intricacy along the way

so that some day, when we're older
we can breathe in and pop
evaporate, travel
only as vapor can, spread out and cover
(a part of us in everything and everything
apart from this)

say it louder and louder still, echoing
off your ribcage and shaking my throat
I believe in your words and
nothing slips away without so
much as a nod
that's not the given (not
even close)

Questing after perfection
never for a moment thinking
(it's not even a possibility)

the now
could be everything?

Change.

Have I woken to find
myself surrounded by
such stars?

Our world cannot stand still
when early morning silence only invites
remnants of thrashing nights to play
across lashes like dewdrops, a face like rain

I have witnesses similar shadows on the
moon, just as distant and untouchable, just
as hard to swallow in the fresh air, the
blank stare of post-understanding where we
don't try anymore

Our world cannot stand still.
     It's running itself raw.

Pointed tongues rage
Liquid illustration
For an often
Misjudged combination
Wounded station
And lately

They've raced a new direction
Embraced the bleak reflection
Erased their true protection
To worship their children
Eyes in the fire

I found a bottle in the attic
Beneath a film of dust it read
"Liquid Dreams" and "Do not consume if
you have a history of broken hearts"

A gray-green light shone
Through the tired glass

I popped the cork and drank deep of others' desires
And here I am

What is it that we as humans lack
To make us question our existence
And seek a meaning to our lives?

The trees live and do so
Splendidly because
They do not worry about tomorrow
Or what they should be doing, and
All would benefit from such a carefree attitude

Behind the shed
Lies the single thought that
May save us all

Allow me to investigate.

Upfront and personal
disclosure through windows, fingers,
twos and threes jumped outside, robbed
of their ingenuity, beaten for the sheer wonder of
sound, popular opinion tattooing
rhythm into their skulls

delight transforming destiny into
ranks of the destitute

I'm a washed up fool in flannel pajamas
And I bet that line got your attention
See I thought there might be, between one and three
A whole world for us to rent space in

While time rambles on, I'll still write my songs
And hope you will make your way home
To a warm wooden fire, a mug of hot cider
And a kid who still calls you his own

And who can describe the drive
that leads teachers to teach and
dreamers to reach for their
impossibles

I'm reaching, don't
stop teaching me the impossible
never taken for granted (you've got a
heart so big)

my weakness is not that which might
seem to take eleven years or longer, I
revere you and in reverence might
falter a time or two with the noblest
of intentions

and always the pictures I've shared through
words like hugs guiding me, granting
purpose and definition to each struggle
and success, leading alongside cliffs
watched out for to the end that is the
present and the start that is a future

God help me, I cannot imagine
the newness without you, let this
bumbling wordfall, this clatter of
heart assure, soothe

for I am real as the
bones of the oak, as the
glow of a fire on
timeless sand

and just as solid and
just as warm, let me
show you

the idea that roads are
necessary paths for
discovery is absurd.

exploration within
boundaries is a pre-
meditated dream,
worthless

let them fall into
disrepair, testaments
to our falsely-perceived
control

Continuation without meaning, meaning
Lacking merit, chains whose warders have
Long since deserted
Fallen prey to common gestures

There is no editorial for these thoughts
Of sound mind and sight body we
Press on

Some say it is the chlorophyll that keeps leaves
Green
I know it to be hope
I know, should hope grow tires and fail
To recognize her surroundings, leaves
Will drain to brown with
Worry

I challenge you, try to understand
Walk in the depressions left by the others
Feel their breath fueling your thoughts but
Keep them your own, always and
Forever your own, even as
Forever deflates and sags inward, a
Shadow of its former self

Reason, everything's about reason but to what
Ends, for what purpose and why?
A reason
Will not bring people together
A reason
Cannot solve a problem
A reason, a stupid ******* reason
Can't do much of anything at all

What is it for? What
Do we seek to justify somehow with this
Talk of talking we need
Three-dimensional speaking we need
Spheres of understanding not this
Circle we ride in silence without so much as a
Remark about the unchanging landscape

Fallacies will be present in all walks of life, hell
In every stone witnessed in all walks of life,
Hell,
Everywhere
And to dwell on them is to play the fool to
Succumb to defeat to rise above all we
Know and realize there is nothing else but
Cascading color waterfalls and this nub of
a pencil

Nothing crucial, no time for time when
It all is so vibrant, yet reflections adore
Our world because we invite them even
As we recognize the harm done, still welcome
Views built on the backs of the long dead and

Idealistic initial impressions of a
Flower before the wind steals it from the
Tangles of your hair and gifts pedals to
The breeze