they call themselves.  witnesses.  or at least they did.  they may call themselves.  something else now.

they ring your bell.  and hand you a paper.  or a pamphlet.  and invite you somewhere.  you warn your neighbors.  about them.

as if they are threatening you.  and your neighbors.

but they are just sharing.  their truth.  it doesn’t have to be your truth.  if your truth is strong enough.  then them sharing their truth.  won’t hurt you.  or your neighbors.

you can converse.  and share.  and go about your life.  without them.  I have.  and they ask me.  if they can return.  and I let them.  

each month.  they hand me.  a paper.  or a pamphlet.  and we talk.  and then go about our lives.

you say.  they are why you hate.  answering your door.  but I don’t believe you.  if it wasn’t them.  it would be something else.

small sweaty room
tightly packed

with gyrating hips

loud sounds
penetrate our souls

his voice was
speaking tongues

make us scream
like hungry babies

we move as one
we feel as one

overcome by the
thinking machines

I reach edges

and fall down
it is not round

this world

I cannot get
back to the

place I started
and start again

and try again
try harder

I had one
chance

the child
felt space

the emptiness
that

surrounded him

he did not
feel the past

inside of him

he was not
connected

to what came
before

and the future
was formless

imaginations
and dreams

silly string

he could not
attach himself

to them

I am no longer
whole

I am separating
from my meaning

entering other worlds

smaller worlds with
smaller meanings

I can no longer
see the future

so I hold onto
the past

or pieces of the past

small islands that
keep me afloat

I look for other
islands to connect to

hoping together
we can create

a new world

but with small
meanings we

can only create
small worlds

the world is dying
the weight is heavy

we give our power
to stupid people

hungry thirsty
stupid people

who think not
of others

who care not
for others

they fight each
other through us

we are the dying

and as bob sang
so many years ago

we are the world
not them

cover me

in the sharp shards
of your ambience

I bleed

in your
presence

your words
were not meant

like stories
and morals

they live

like spiders
and snakes

and passion
and pain

and hey

I la la
love you

like smoke
mostly

I disappear
there is a

trace of me
somewhere

in you

I could be
a poison

or a moment
of pleasure

depending on
the time of day

she must want
me to succumb

she knows I
can’t float

I can only
avoid her

or drown

fragrant
flowers
wither
into
pixie
dust
blow
breath
be
wind
sprea­d
seeds
grow
minds
into
fragrant
flowers

we were
together

but we were
not connected

loose particles
living in the

same space

passing by
each other

rotating around
each other

electricity did
not pass

through us
it died within

us

he feels
himself

deep
inside

the devil
he can’t

express

the truth
he tries

to destroy

it is a
whack

a mole
popping

up

in so many
places

he will
destroy

them all
to not

reveal
the truth

he will
destroy

the world

as he tries
to hide

from the
truth

about
himself

she had big
brown eyes

deeper than
my thoughts

and when I
thought of her

I remembered

this body of
water from

when I was
a child

they called
it a mine

said it had
no bottom

said

if you sank
you would
never stop

and so they
scared me

her eyes

they say you
are neutral

can that be true

do you truly have
no point of view

do your people
lack thoughts

do your people
lack feelings

have you cured
humanity of

all their silly sins
of all their

conflicting desires
can you have

without holding
can you give

without wanting
can you speak

without telling
can you hear

without judging

are you really
as neutral

as they say

it starts
first thing

waking up
the sensation

is clear
the cause

is not

some thing is
amiss

the insides
have bugs

crawling
everywhere

and everything
everyone

says or does
sends them

into a frenzy

today you
have no

friends or
family

everyone is
your enemy

and you don’t
know why

you are irritated

I live
in the dark

a panther and
a pounce

with sharp teeth
and the taste

of fresh meat
I want you

to bleed

I am shaped
like you

I speak like you
I want to be you

but I am not
alive because

I cannot die
so I

cannot be
with you

so I

live in the dark
and wait for you

to come

let him dip you
don’t worry

he will not drop you
he is not evil

he is lost and
looking for a home

he is the other
side of human

like the dark side
of the moon

don’t be sacred of
what you can’t see

remember the moon
is whole

because it has
two sides

he entered
an uneven

world

a world
with sides

and no
balance and

when the
loud sounds

invaded his
bubble

he thought
himself to

sleep

and woke
up to face

another day

of trying to
find a way

to balance
himself

in an uneven
world

she was by
herself again

eyes closed
floating in

blue thoughts
they comforted

her and carried
her away

to a safe place
I closed my eyes

and looked for her

but I could never
find her

my thoughts are
always gray

it is crying.

this country.

you don’t hear.

the tears.

your brain.

is blocked.

filled with.

images of.

yourself.

you destroy.

everything.

to make.

yourself.

appear.

bigger.

because you.

are so.

small.

it was this day
you made me

a promise
about this day

telling me what
was going to

happen

you would
make up

make up
for everything

you did and
didn’t do

so I would
forget all those

things

a day so
memorable I

would forget
all those things

I did a count
down

a daily count
down

marking off
the days

until today

there are still
a few minutes

left

you still have
a few seconds

left

I don’t see it
but something

must be wrong
with me

I am

a leaking pen
leaving dark spots

everywhere I go

her sweet scent
an aroma

of desire
fulfilled

I feel the
satisfying
sting

a rush of
pleasure

for the first time
I am still

mind, body
and soul

wanting nothing
more I am

resting in her
blanket

I am dissolving
into dust

being nothing
more than

I am

the thoughtful
the clever
the deep thinker
the simple not simplistic
the idealistic
the insightful
the naïve
the lonely
the quiet
the detached
the curious
the stranger
the playful
the funny
the analytic
the learned
the complex not complicated
the aware
the pop-cultured
the scared
the scarred
the damaged
and broken

…me and
people like me

I run and hide
I always have

since I was
very young

maybe it is
depression

I don’t know

I don’t disappear
completely

I’m not a ghost

but I need to
go away

for a while

sometimes
far away

sometimes
to my room

never to return
to the same place

but no place
is ever the same

many people
have met me

but few have
known me

I’m not a mystery
I just need to be

alone

silver lips speak
electric they

touch in the rain
and explode

into particles
of light

changing colors
like the finale

of a fireworks
display

there is no
body part

or bodies

there is only
body

there is only
god saying

I am

angels sit on
the head of a pin

waiting to be counted
they are obedient

they have not moved
they do not want

to create confusion
they do not want

to make you
start over

they are not infinite
they have a number

we just don’t have
the patience

to do the work

is not just
revealing

everything
at once

to everyone

everything
has a time

and a place

when it
matters

when it
can do

the most good

if it is easy
it isn’t

honest

call him names
like dad

he is late again
or not coming

again

wait outside
for him

again

look down the street
for him

again

the sky is
filling with
stars

country silence
surrounds you

cricket songs
serenade you

wait for him
again

call him names
next time you

see him

she is rose
and white

moves like
liquid

rain and
river

dancing wild
in the wind

everything
is pure

and open

she does
not wait

or wonder

she cannot
be caught

time does
not exist

she laughs

a never
ending

echo
in me

I stopped
thinking

let the
moment be

you entered
me like

a hurricane

wet and
cold

thrashing
around
my insides

disrupting
everything

I thought
had been

settled

I suddenly
erupted

eternal
flames and

everything
that came

from me
became art

at the edge of
the garden

we expelled
the first song

a secret

ssssin from
scowling
scarlet
lips

screaming
every word

discovering
our voice

in these
animal
sounds

straining
choking
chords

swallowing
a snake

until nothing
but a hoarse

and in this
emptiness

we learned
about silence

she said

I am
a loner

borrowed
and blue

and if she
was a loner

then I wanted
to be borrowed

too

in the official room
sides are clearly drawn

it is trench warfare
no one dare stick

their neck out

the atmosphere
is filled with
twisted words

emanating
from knotted
tongues

beginning in
corrupt minds

truth is
an outline on
a sidewalk

the ******
weapon is
the quest for

power (or money)
(or both)

it always has been

into the skin

enough to bleed
not enough to ****

for some it seems easy
for those of us

who didn’t learn
to love

at the beginning
we know

when the first trust
is broken

the scars are deep
and never fully heal

the invisible
wave of misery

enters suddenly

it gets stuck and
bounces around

it wants to leave
but there is no way

out

the walls are
closing in

the space is
getting smaller

and smaller so

the bounce is
harder and

faster and
harder

and faster

there is no
escape for

the pain or
the container

what do you want to be?

I had a dream once.
when I was young.
to be a hobo.
I did not know.
hobo as a negative.
I only thought of.
a wanderer.
like Socrates.
or Jesus.
wandering through.
a land.
talking to strangers.
sharing wisdom.
I loved walking.
along the empty.
train tracks.
in my hometown.
travelling from.
town to town.
imagining I was a hobo.
sharing wisdom.
with strangers.

I didn’t
say a word

all day

I didn’t
speak

to anyone

the TV was on

must have said
something

in a certain way

cause siri asked
if she could help me

she couldn’t

big feet for my age

small stones and glass
stick in my skin

dirt dries
between my toes

the asphalt is hot
even after the rain

but I don’t really
feel any of it

I love walking barefoot

today was cold
I thought I saw

a flake on my
windshield

one of those
unique things

that nature creates
designing each one

to be itself

do they ever
compare themselves

to each other

do they ever think
they are ugly

compared to one another

do they ever want
to be just like the

other

or do they relish
in their difference

the way we
admire their

uniqueness and
individuality

I wake in a
feather bed

a song on
my lips

I spread
my wings

and fly

feeling
the air

as if it
is new

I feel clean
and I know

all is forgiven

you sit so easily
made of soft wood

life floats around you
and lets you be

the currents change

the strong and
weak forces

push and pull
against you

and yet

you remain
still bird

he sings
to a heavy
beat

digging
deep into
the strings

letting out
a howl

like he
needs

everything
at once

like he’ll
give you

everything
you need

once

up the sound
I am disappearing

into the harsh waves

travelling between
dimensions

with the speed
of speed

feeling like

a rubber ball
bouncing

between sounds

am I a particle
or a wave

am I dead
or alive

don’t look in
the box

one scream
two screams

we all scream
for *** dreams

the shadows
tried to hide

and mostly
they did

but we could

feel them
for months

lingering in
the words

we said to
each other

the space
in the room

grew with
the quiet

and we always
said we wanted

more space
in our rooms

and we lived
together until

the last day
of forever

nature’s dream
who she wanted

to be

a safe place
for life to

grow and
nourish itself

cycles of life
and death

where everything
gave itself to

everyone else
and everything

was alive as
long as there

was life

if

“you don’t want
to get into a

political discussion”

don’t make a political
statement

your preface meant
you don’t want to

be opposed

it’s true you didn’t
want to discuss

but you did want
to state

your point of view

the sun
one-eyed
demon
stared
directly
at me
blinding me
red
yellow
green
disappeared
so I
floored it
and gave
myself
to the
fates

remember when
there was not

as much

maybe you don’t
but there was

a time

when there was
not as much

and much didn’t
mean as much

as it does today

haves and have nots
were steps away

from each other
and played

together and
didn’t care

maybe you don’t
but I remember

I can feel
it happening

my brain
losing its

place

feeling like
I have to

catch up to
something

I can’t see

something I
don’t know

is real

things are
blending

getting soft
and slippery

nothing is
easily gripped

so it is
difficult

to escape or
at least find a

stable place
to stand

if I am quiet
will he leave

I do not want
a present

I do not want
to be present

the snow is
no longer

fresh it turns
to ice and

I am always
cold

winter seems
so long

this year