Alone, Lone Wolf,
Reticent and aloof,
Abstract thoughts,
Introspection taught,
Introvert innate,
Not a lonely plate,
Fun book friends,
Delights never end,
A pleb, for what it's worth,
On lonely Planet Earth,
Jewel of the Universe,
Cosmos a vast church,
Life is creation,
Have we found any aliens?
Reticent and aloof,
Alone, a lone wolf.

I can't remember when I starting running
Or what I was running from,
Just kept the earth under my feet
as I kept moving on

Be like the wind, go where you're blown too
Oh, twenty-five steps to the west,
I am bird without a sense of direction
Without a home, with no nest

Running away,
Saved me from loss and kept my self made wall intact
Only seeking solace from leather bound lines and spilt ink
When I look over my shoulder, nothing there, to look back at

These walls I have built, and these races I have run
Kept me safe from others,
Kept me whole, and running
Cities one right after the other

And now I am here, music for my heart
And words for my soul
Collecting memories I missed out on
And lovers that went wrong

Run,
I just run

She exclaimed an internal squeak,
feeling like nervous wreck,
surrounded by the tainted air
from the class of the juveniles

she left again
left me alone tonight
crying
shuddering
helpless

she left again
left me to wine
to razors
to dark thoughts

she left again
it's like she doesn't try
or need me the way
i need to breathe

she left again
perhaps its not late enough
to feel this sad

she's gone again

I'm standing where a tree once stood,
It's branches, leaves, and roots weren't good.
Perhaps they used it for a rood,
Down in Alabama,
Where skies are lit with flames,
And chants are raised to holy names,
As though they understood.

In the park, an empty swing
Is twisted by a changing wind;
I cannot hear the children sing
Of lambs gone to market.

In the class an empty desk
Draws one's eyes to stare and rest
On a sharpened pencil
That scribbled with regret,
The names we'll soon forget,
For they have gone to market.

What was here,
Now is missing,
It's as if no one's listening;
And it began with our christening.
Like a ship I too am listing.

Here's what they'll say of me:
*He stood once like a tree.

Ian was an only son,
Tethered by his mother's eyes.
He had a head of curls,
The envy of my sisters.
His skin shone like pearl onions,
His shirt buttoned like a zipper;
His shorts were knee high
With creases sharp as glass,
That matched his upper half.
His oxfords polished blue-black.
He stood on our sidewalk,
Looked indifferently at our house,
Looked skittish as a mouse
At enticing cheese.
As he approched our walkway,
Her eyes snapped.

My mother misses me.
She called,
But I wouldn’t pick up.

Something feels safer,
And everything else, better,
When I’m away.

And yet, I see her,
Head in hands; crying,
“Will he ever come home?”

But with not one picture,
If only nothing, left behind,
It’d never be real again.

Emptied, would be home,
Lost, lacked a moment captured,
The effigy, smoldering, at best.

And still, she calls,
Answered, only my ringtone,
She’d never take my name away,

She’d said, “Son,” and
I’d pray for her to stop crying,
So that I may finally start.

We need to talk to strangers,
If we wish to make new friends,
Get a date, find a mate,
A partner til our end.
My children were the strangest ones
Ever I did meet;
So I introduced myself to them
As they arrived, toute suite!
Some strangers become family,
Some life-long friends;
Some become your colleages,
Team mates and your kids.
And some become your enemies,
And that's good to know;
But we need to talk to strangers
Whether friend or foe.
The alternative is you're by yourself,
And that's okay too -
But you shouldn't talk to yourself,
And answer yourself too.

Drain me out

I am a flightless bird soaked in deep water
Hindered by the heaviness of my feathers
Constantly weighing down my flock
I am not my own burden
But a bag of rocks thrown into the ocean
A corpse to never be found
When meant to catch the eyes of the innocent
My body refuses to stay afloat
My mind is living under
And I have no choice but to hit rock bottom

So hear me out

Carry my withering bones and feathers
When my body decides to give out
I cannot keep living under water
I am not meant for this environment
My skin is meant to feed the clouds of freedom
Tracing linear passages and unsteady travels,
With my own people
We are meant to soar into oblivion
Of building dreams and vision
But my mind keeps living under
And I cannot escape what has harvested inside
I have no choice but to hit rock bottom

n.j.