we sit.  on a branch.  of knowledge.  investigating truth.  we hold hands.  we kiss.  we laugh.  we create.  a philosophy.  a shared way.  of being.  a religion.  with one doctrine.  everything we believe.  
is open.  and free.

with my finger
I make small circles
in the air
I am conducting
something
before there was
something
the sound of cells
separating
it is the first music
instrumental
instruments
beginning the
formation
of space and time
the dividing lines
making anything
possible
but I do not decide
I am not right
or wrong
good or evil
I only create context
you fill in all
the blanks

each day that
passed

each time we
laughed

I held my
real words

inside my
mouth

I felt like
a squirrel

I always passed
as a friend

when I really
wanted to be

a lover

I guess that
made me

a liar

On the road again.  Escaping my captor…life.  I am looking for space.  Always looking for space.  I just want to pause.  I just want to wait.  My soul is a child.  

I am reaching for something.  Something out there.  Something just a little too far from me.  
Something guarded by danger.  Danger I am too sacred to face.  My soul is a child.

I almost fall.  I am almost swept away.  By a thick, morning fog.  I am almost lost in an adventure.  I could have never planned.  I almost give in…to my captor.

But truth is truth.  And I am not lost.  And I am not found.  And I am surrounded by nothing.  Silence is my only lover. And my lover is a parasite.  And my lover is a tapeworm.

And I am the tear that wells but never falls.

you can have
what is left

did we give
you enough

of the world
to build the

next iteration
can you

generate another
generation

leaving the trail
we do not follow

wanting to be
the first to discover

she sings a new song

her voice tickles
my ears

a bird we cannot
see tries to copy her

we listen

lost in the tall grass
we laugh losing

our sense of danger

in the field of
butterflies and bees

I turned off
everything

on the outside
sound and light

creating dark silence

the shadows
slow danced

teasing

first alone then
together

they have
mystic rhythm

without sight
or sound

casting spells
inside of me

my mind starts
to whisper

all its voices
in unison

a choir

reminding me
of those things

I tried to forget

every day I ask
for less

training my soul
for tomorrow

the world is
cracking up

creating more
sides and nothing

to connect them
so everything is

a line we dare
not cross

in the real world
the earth has

no lines or
borders or

boundaries
in the real world

the equator
is a man-made

myth

I am fall
the first

bite of
knowing

noticing
asking
taking

exploding with

the sensations
of hunger
and thirst

not belonging
to anyone

leaving with
nothing

but all this
time & space

to fill

eternal
creatures

inhabiting
small places

survivors
of all the

holocausts
replicators

hives
hills
tunnels
nests

societies­ of
the many

not one

our teachers
if we were

willing to learn

she holds my hand
when I cry

and strokes my head
gently like
a cat asleep
in her lap

she says I am
her sensitive fool

her court crier

feeling more than
I should

more than anyone should
shedding tears she

can’t

her position won’t
allow it

she says I keep
her soft enough

to lead humanity

it was one of
those days

and I needed
no one to know

so I opened my
mouth wide

and created
no sound

it was my
inside scream

letting go of
everything

letting everything
penetrate me

the vibrations
breaking ribs

I was caving in

happiness is
a butterfly

it lands on
us from

time to time
live in its

beauty and
peace

when it
chooses you

and grant
it the freedom

to leave
when it

is time
don’t worry

your time
will come

again

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

there is rain
in my brain

a thunderstorm
of words

freaking
fracking
crackling
cracking

starting
fires

I cannot
extinguish

asking
questions
giving
answers

in the same
sentence

who is you
and am I real

and what
in the world

is the big deal

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 spider web captures
and I am stuck

wanting to be liked
wanting to be loved

she in me

time and space
have merged

the world
is sleek

I feel the image
of her body

whole

I feel

there is no
reason for
tomorrow

she cuts me
bleeds me
weakens me

her words
eat me
seeds and all

and I know
I’ll never

be strong enough
to
pull myself away

in this country
there has always been

a force that does not
believe in democracy

like a virus
it is carried by people

from one generation
to the next

it lives
it hides itself
in many forms

but all it wants
is power

not freedom
it does not live

specifically on the
left or the right

but it can bury itself in either

it does not care about you

only one thing scares it
the human mind that questions it

that asks for definitions
that asks for facts

it cannot stand to be checked

if you let it define words
for you
it will control you

freedom is being
able to define for yourself

we experiment
with sounds

drumming on
our shells

trying to reach
the deep place

detached
lovers ache

and moan
whether

together or
alone

we use the
sharpest tool

in the shed
to cut out

our hearts
we don’t

use them anyway

we are brains
in a jar of vinegar

on a shelf
in the garage

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

she said it
wasn’t her

looking back
she went outside

to find herself

she loved her
shadow more

she said

it was always
honest with her

he cannot hear
your pain

his own voice
drowns out

all other sounds

he cannot hear
your advice

his own voice
drowns out

all other sounds

he cannot hear
your warnings

his own voice
drowns out

all other sounds

he cannot hear
he has no ears

We hold our arms out
as if we are
airplanes
and fly around
the yard.

Bumping into each other,
we understand
the excitement
of mid-air collisions;
the sudden explosion
and the heat
of new flames.

Then rolling around
we quickly
become alligators
our arms become
mouths
fighting over
a piece of fresh meat.

Then we turn into
professional
wrestlers
and I lift you
in my arms
and act as if
I am
going to body
slam your
body
slam your
body
to the ground.

The grass is freshly-cut,
loose blades
gather together
waiting to be raked,
we make it rain
green
and huddle
together,
my hands
become
your umbrella.

It smells like
summer;
it smells like
strawberries,

***** blond
strawberries

and my hands
become
your brush

and your arms
become
my belt.

information
is easy

knowledge
takes work

and wisdom
asks for

everything

I close my eyes
and move inside

wake up my senses
touching every nerve

feel them connect
to each other

intimacy

the beauty of
their simple language

they can’t see the
bigger picture

how they are
connected

to everything

they wouldn’t
care anyway

it is only the
closeness they crave

intimacy

her thoughts
sink to the bottom

where men cannot
breathe

where light cannot
reach

they become those
strange creatures

that swim alone
and glow in the dark

I was falling
for you

the feeling of
being weightless

the sky and
the ocean are
blue

like your eyes

your eyes and
Einstein’s brain

are the depths
I can never reach

but I will drown trying
to reach either or both

captured by a mouth
with no teeth

we are not chewed
we do not bleed

we are swallowed
whole

like a pill
like a cure

we are the
medicine

for what ails you

they wait for
us to reach

what they call
the bottom

but they are from
another generation

they do not
understand

there is a bottom that
cannot be reached

so we float forever
in the

dragon’s breath
burning away

what ails you
and become artists

making life with
our own colors

we were always
mostly alone

physically not
intellectually

we introverts
were made

for this isolation

I was born
without roots

free to land
in any field

and spread
myself

words and all

into others
find the other

lost souls
and create

a messy garden
wherever we

land and when
the others

want to clean
us up

we can follow
a breeze to

a more
welcoming

land and
spread our

simple seeds

you assume me
into existence

in your mind
I am

complete
not a human

a judgment
in your mind

I lose all my
nuance

my right to
be wrong

admit it
and grow

in your mind
I am a statue

an abstraction
a theory

this time
I’m happy

I don’t actually
live in your mind

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

the in between

past and future
are gods

behemoths
trying to squeeze

everything
into themselves

making the
in between

so small
as to seem

insignificant

is cannot
forget or

be remembered

is

is not a god

is

is what
gods fear

that one reason
humanity survived
so long is that
through being
close to each
other needing
each other
it was able to
work together
and build
civilizations
of millions

and now
it has met a
rival that
forces it to equate
“working together”
with staying away
from each other

what does that mean
for the future?

the nuts in
my head

are cracked
the squirrels

are feeding
getting fat

on the
smorgasbord

if all we said
we said
leaving nothing
unsaid
would we
understand each
other more or less
is there space
for space
between us
does space give
us more meaning
to play with
each other or
more space to
play with others

it was crawling down
my wall

a thin white strand
extended

it was escaping something
or breaking in

either way I didn’t ask
I just reacted

I thought I killed a spider

but when I went to
clean up the body

it was gone

now I am scratching
my skin

feeling bites
seeing red

checking my ears
for eggs

thinking about what
will happen when I sleep

experiencing every second
of its sweet revenge

she wanted to
be his escape

someplace he
could get lost

someplace with
no direction

or destination

someplace too
dark to see

where all speech
is touch

but she offered
him too much

so he never
wanted to leave

and thus it was

that she had to
break him

climb the wild
don’t hold on

to shadows
they will fall

if you let them go

they can’t
follow you here

reach up
punch with
your mighty fists

break the glass
the past is sand

that dissolves
in water and

can’t keep time

don’t worry
about the blood

or scars you
are stronger

than you know
trust me no

trust yourself

I asked her
where she
was going

I asked her
where she
was from

she reads soft
as one who lives

gently in this world
she only places

the exact amount
of pressure

required of each step
she is perfectly

balanced between
faith and doubt

she understands
but doesn’t need to

the world is
real to her

and so are
her dreams

the silky stranger
sits next to me

with skin like chalk
eyes like ice

her rose lips open
slightly

I hear a whisper
something sweet

and sinister
then a click

I feel a warmth
then a chill

I lie down
to rest

someone closes
my eyes

if I shave a
bit off my brain

will I be normal
will I see less

will I be shallow

and be satisfied
with small talk

will I carry less
weight

and ask less
questions

can a rock
be smooth

and raw

I feel her
voice like

it belongs
in me

every edge
meant to

cut me

every line
meant to

heal me
her story

is short
but her

power is
eternal

she makes
me want

more
every time

I hear her

we smooth
into the planet

feel all her
sensations

there is no
intention

or will or
will not

we let the
rhythms

intersect
as they

travel
through
us

and create
what we

call energy

Sun sitting high
breathing heat
a sky that sparks
with electric light
never reaching me.

I crawl along
the bottom
scratching
my name
her name
trying to erase
his name
from the sand

breaking bitter nails
too weak to bleed

Acid burns my tongue
I am the other sun
the one bubbling up
from
beneath the surface

Large, ugly birds with silver beaks
the lovers of old meat
wake and immediately
seek my death.

I let them think my death
think I am a carcass
as they circle me.

I eat them whole
when they land.

They feed my isolation
this feeling of being lost
and alone
broken in two
by a wall of ***** wind
***** words
her words
his words
living with
this waiting
for
the taste of wet
the taste of pink
the taste of lips

For a taste of someone else’s spit

this waiting for the
constant dryness of earth
to swallow me whole

to end this drying
of my insides out.

I collapsed

at the edge
of the ocean

with my soft
hands I was

holding onto
the space

between sand
and water

I could not
let them

meet

together they
would swallow

me

we are all puzzles
wanting to be solved

but we are always
missing pieces

that can’t be found

frustrating each other
because we can never

actually be completed

when I meet
a mind

I want to enter
there is a

mystery
I detect

a labyrinth
a laboratory

experimenting
sensorially

doesn’t matter
the sense

it is all
a natural

explosion
a big bang

ushering in
a new universe