Shiner beer in my hand,
the sun is shining on the sand,
gulf waves crash a Texas beach,
good times are within my reach.

Canopy up to block the sun,
tossing washers lots of fun,
truck backed up and radio playing,
oil heating for the trout I'm slaying.

Teenagers tossing a blue frisbee,
dolphin swims by wild and free,
dragon kite flies overhead,
naptime on a beach towel bed.

The tide falls time to crab,
catch as many as you can grab,
watch those claws they pinch like hell,
waters boiling ring the bell.

From blue to red the crab is ready,
trout is fried and holding steady,
grab a beer its time to eat,
fresh seafood is quite the treat.

The sun goes down, glow sticks come out,
the children run and scream and shout,
adults gather by a driftwood fire,
laugh and drink and conspire.

An eerie song bubbles from the depths,
not quite describable, but you can feel it,
a shadow emerges into sunlit waters,
growing larger as it approaches.

Suddenly like a volcano erupting,
a huge body covered in barnacles,
erupts on the surface in a balletic roll,
gasping for air and spewing water.

Several others join the first,
the majestic spectacle of nature,
the largest creatures on the planet,
move off in a group, just below the surface.

Sizzle, pop, and steam,
the butter melting is a dream,
the earthy smell of olive oil,
added as I begin to toil.

Garlic smashed and onion diced,
thrown in with jalapeno spice,
into the pan to saute
this meal is underway.

Add the shrimp and smell the sea,
turning pink as you can see,
the smell of licorice from anise seed,
my hunger is in screaming need.

Unlid the rice and yellow steam,
from the saffron trapped sunbeam,
carrot raisin slaw, smell the sweet,
will play off of the peppers heat.

Shrimp scampi and saffron rice,
pineapple ring and slaw is nice,
Finish it off with tiramisu,
smell the coffee, taste the brew.

though, so incredibly hard to say,
i think i killed myself today.

no, it wasn't the gun i thought it would be,
and it wasn't the pills i bought to be free.

it wasn't the candles or the gasoline,
it wasn't the running into a limousine.

i think it was me in my bed so late,
unwilling to behold my fate.

my eyes slipped shut and they haven't opened yet.
but that would be lucky, and i'm alive, i bet.

just wait until tomorrow, maybe we'll see
what i can really do to me.

I was wondering why
I can't get out of my door
I thought I was locked
And I couldn't get closer to you
I was looking at you from my window
A perfect soul I have ever seen
One more try and I have found out the truth
I was not locked
But it was you who was inside a cage
The walls around you
Set the boundaries
Of how far my eyes can look
Upon your soul.

i am homesick

or maybe just
                      sick
laying in my bed— which really isn’t mine

wishing i was in a house

that doesn’t feel the same

wishing for a place that never wanted me in the first place

where ghostlaughter of
girlchildhood
                    floats
around my head
the fumes of nostalgia
make me sick

and i feel pathetic
because i need my mom

we are always asked
to understand the other person's
viewpoint
no matter how
out-dated
foolish or
obnoxious.
one is asked
to view
their total error
their life-waste
with
kindliness,
especially if they are
aged.
but age is the total of
our doing.
they have aged
badly
because they have
lived
out of focus,
they have refused to
see.
not their fault?
whose fault?
mine?
I am asked to hide
my viewpoint
from them
for fear of their
fear.
age is no crime
but the shame
of a deliberately
wasted
life
among so many
deliberately
wasted
lives
is.

butterflies
and candy lies
that’s what your
silver tongue fed me
gobbling it up
i became fat,
greedy, and dependent
on your honeyed deceit
believing in that
sweet, kind voice
i was stuck in
your trap of golden tar
unknowingly, i was dying
suffocating
starving
trying to cut
my way out of
your sticky grasp


now, i’m finally free
and i’ll never let
myself taste that
false manna again