-
For all the binge drinking and swear words
Lack of formality
And general distaste for anything besides the bottle

Thank you
For the inspiration against conformity
The idea that I can win the crowd with my words
And the fact that I don’t have to walk on eggshells
And please all
For me to be happy

For your ideas on women that “walk the night”
I have been warned
They lie cheat and steal
Yet you just can’t help
Going back for more

Charles-
Can I call you Charles?
Thank you
For your deeply profound statements
On life, love and the pitfalls of alcohol
Even though it’s obvious
You weren’t sober when you wrote them

I’d like to quote you know
“A good poem knows when to stop”


Stop
-

I am not scared of leaves
the ground will be littered
but the chill
i fear
the wind of change
the coming months carry

i fear the next season
of life and love
loss and new beginnings
departures from what i know
what i find comforting

faces i find familiar
love that is easy
warmth
that i will try and recreate
in a future i find bitter

i resist change
i continue to forget all that is coming
all i must accept

i live now
as present as i can be

i pretend i control my life
that i am the ultimate decider of my fate

but
when i close my eyes
settle between the sheets
so warm
familiar

i am wrenched from my reverie
the nest i have made in my covers
is only sheets and blankets

nothing can protect me from the coming time

so i will sit and wait
decidedly oblivious to tomorrow
focused on today
the life of the minutes ahead
watching them expire
and turn into the hours i dread

i will learn not to fight it
acceptance is a calm visage

in between the sheets
peoples minds wander down
but dont these same people like the still of the sheet
or the slow up and down as it flutters
from another warm breath

i like the warmth
the heat that radiates from stillness
and the quiet peace
the security
of an arm thrown around me
as it holds tight
with the promise to never let go