the universe, vast and indifferent
spins in its endless ballet
I stand at the edge, an avatar watching
a silent witness to its grace

it’s given me stars to wish on
but never the one I longed for most
and alas my dreams are like comets
bright flashes, then gone

still, I wait
for a sign, a whisper, a reason
universe, what have you done for me?
left me here, counting shadows

but in the quiet spaces between the stars
I hear my own heart, steady and strong
so I’ll keep watching the universe turn
knowing it owes me nothing, but hoping still

I guess it's time
to take the trash out
everyone is gone
time to lock the doors

you came to me in a dream
where I saw you unraveling
piece by piece
a ball of string

till you got to the core
and found it empty
save for a tiny sign
on which was painted

four little words
YOU ARE NOT HERE
and we both had a good laugh
over that

but then you pulled out
your map to nowhere
and pointed to a spot a city
called Futility

and you asked me
if I would take you there
and you offered me a daisy
plucked petal-free

you told me that the petals
didn't have anything to say
worth hearing
so you ate them

but the evidence
you tried to hide
is now a part of you
gloriously incongruously

so the dog and pony show was cute
till the pony got too old
and had to be led
to the slaughterhouse

where the dog that once
rode her in the show
now had to be the one
to pull the trigger

put it out of its misery
but then the dog
put the gun to his own head
and took himself out of the game

so he could join the pony
so they could be together
and make the children laugh again
for another show

In The Beginning
Before
There was watermelon
And turquoise

Before
Kindness
Confidence
Honesty

There was NOTHING
And NOTHING was boring
So NOTHING decided
On a Plan

The Plan was simple
Create something
Out of NOTHING
A magic trick

So NOTHING decided
I am not NOTHING
From now on
I am DOG

And DOG was happy
But there was no one
To call Him DOG
That's not good

So DOG created something
And that something
Would become
CAT

time will grind these words into the sand
thoughts will join the detritus of solar winds
the inevitability of a reckoning is yet to be realized
for there is no stasis only chaos and entropy
we exist only within the parameters of a porous fabric of time
which in itself is only the figment of an imagination
of a universe unawares that it is only temporal
subject to the forces that slowly dissolve castles made of sand
only to be swallowed up by a rising tide and swept out to the sea

We met
We talked
We pretended
We laughed
We considered
We agreed
We exchanged
We left
It was like a kiss from a rose

sometimes there are times
when who you are
gets abrogated
by where you are
and that's unfortunate
because that may lead
to decisions
that you may regret
and what you regret
you may regret
for the rest of your life

I'm dead
I'll never feel
the wind blowing
against my face again
oh but to feel
the wind blowing
against my face
one more time

the brethren gathered round
after word had gotten out
dented ping pong *****
usually accepted the reality
of a dent and what it meant

no more ping ponging around
or getting flung around
at warp speed Chinese style

no more the thrill
of the short under-spin
or the super-wide side-spin
the kicker or the ghost serve
fast down the line

the hook serve
(Mirano and Ito) style
or the thrill
of just slightly grazing
the net ever so fleetingly
in a mad dash
to the corner
of the table

sure clipping the net
and going over
is considered to be
a faux pas
or in proper parlance
a let that serves no purpose
other than a let service

who knew it would all
be so transitory
so transactional
sure there was hope
the boiling frog scenario
that was possible
but not mid-game

the solution was more trouble
than it was worth
the core of a throwaway culture
is so embedded
that just reaching out
for a new three star
fresh out of the box
replacement with the bounce
and ****** only a virginal ball
could provide not unsurprisingly
so satisfyingly that who could resist

so as the brethren gathered round
and looked up at their forlorn brother
teetering on the edge of the table
they knew and felt the inevitability
another dent and there would be
no coming back

"Don't do it"
"Somebody get a net"
"Go for it"
"Boiling water will bring you back"

suddenly
as if in slow motion
the ball flung itself
over the edge

into the blackhole
of an uncontrolled freefall
of top-spins side-spins back-spins
under-spins back top-spins
reverse back-spins

there was some kind of tunnel
a rapidly approaching light at the end
a shiny bright and luminous light
it was getting closer and closer

the brethren scrambled
in a nanosecond
the reel had been loaded
its life flashed before it
on some kind of cosmic screen
then the put-away stroke
set over
game over

if the reason
for existence
is no longer
a thing
then what?