I am a human squirrel
snugged away in my seventh floor cave.
Gazing out over the leafless trees
I watch the sky slowly turn scarlet and purple
As early evening steals over the city.
As I sip my hot chocolate,
I smile with bone-deep satisfaction--
The chicken is roasting,
The rice bubbles away merrily in its cooker,
Winter is here.
And my home smells good.

Five people only
I have one wife, four children...
One child eats outside.

He drove up from Federal Way
South of Seattle.
Federal.
Way.
I did not ask him.
But he did it anyway.
His intent is to be"my future husband".
I should be ecstatic.
Future.
Husband.
I do not want it.
But he wants it anyway.
I would be his dream wife.
How lucky I would be!
Dream.
Wife.
If only I'd stop thinking.
I disagree with him.
But I don't matter anyway.

the edges of my hatred for you had grown ragged
and i realized it was time to file them down,
i picked up the whetstone of contempt and weighed it carefully,
its blunt smoothness removing me to a higher plane,
And i smiled as i placed it on the table,
My pleasure almost obscene
As i slowly dragged the edge of disgust
across its surface, enhancing and restoring the original shine...

If only I could
turn my thoughts
into a squadron of paper airplanes and
fly them without care
from the rooftop of my imagination...