I must admit:
I am unwilling to give
even a hint of consideration
to the thought of being anything,
anyone other than that brilliant,
briefly lit comet,
hurtling toward home.

It matters not
where I land,
or who takes pictures from the ground.

This is only a trip.
This is just a ride.
So fleeting, so fiery,
that you wouldn't want to pause to wonder
what you look like up there,
or else you might miss
the very things that make
your fires unforgettable
and your blast burn true.

In the dark
The beast,
The inward struggle
Is not asleep.
The cold creeps,
Comfort grows far away,
My heart doubts
But we arise with the day.

The rest of the world is totally shocked:
There is no refuting
That we have a serious problem here
With shooting after shooting.

Other countries attack the problem
By swiftly taking action.
Currently, Americans don't
Have that satisfaction.

Legislators beholden to
The gun lobby feel
That if they pass commonsense laws,
They won't have a deal.

A deal? What? Money? Donors?
The fear that they'll lose votes?
Look at all the deaths that their
Failure to act promotes!

Red flag laws? That's a start.
Background checks? A must.
Efforts to stop the violence
Must be more robust!

Assault weapons? They must go.
Instead of getting a boost,
High capacity magazines
Have to be reduced.

Strip the NRA of its power
And weaken its stranglehold
On politicians everywhere.
Weapons must be controlled.

Now THAT is what I call a start--
A commonsense response
To dealing with a deadly threat
And dangerous nonchalance.

We must wonder how many more
Shootings will take place
Before America deals with
The problem face to face.

-by Bob B (9-3-19)

Love is
As is is:
In the present tense.
Ergo,
Love is Love.

This is dumb
And I'm jealous
I wish you would leave me alone
I never asked for this
I just want to forget
All the things I never said
And after all this time
After everything you've done
There's this
I wish you wouldn't text me
I left you months ago
Let me move on
I'm tired of this
And you are too
I'm not here for you anymore
And I never will be
I know you have friends
I'm not one of them
So talk to them instead
I'm not interested
In your personal business
I do my best to play the martyr
But even I have limits
This is past pushing it
And I don't want to hear it
I understand
We all have problems
That includes me
You've put me through enough
I'm done with your hypocrisy
And your immaturity
Please just let me start again
I need this
This new existence
And you aren't part of it

I want to be buried
Next to the unmarked grave
In my town's small cemetery
Next to the football stadium
The grave that nobody notices
The grave I sat beside
So many times
The grave I collected flowers for
Not a beautiful bouquet
Bought at a shop
But fallen blossoms
Pale and delicate
That littered the ground
Beneath the flowering trees
I wiped away the moss
And the wind caked dirt
To reveal the slab of stone
The grave that only read
Unnamed