You know
I don’t know
and revel in the not knowing
because the pain of knowing
would mean growing
into someone
I believe is
not worth the knowing

I'VE SEEN THE MOON BEFORE

i was out in the backyard
finishing late season yardwork
it was clear and crisp, aptly cold
i looked up as i was finishing
to see the moon, high in the sky
white glistening, giving a glow

i've seen the moon before
but couldn't take my eyes off it
wife called me in for supper
we talked casual, usual small talk
i helped her clean up the dishes

we went to bed, before we did
i asked her to look outside to see
what i had seen, she did as i asked
wasn't it amazing?.. we made love
falling asleep in each others arms

i woke up some time in early morning
it was freezing, i closed the window
before i did, i looked to see the moon
shining so bright, so close almost to touch it
i got back into bed, she had rolled away from me

i laid there with my eyes wide open
thinking there are many things to be counted on
life death, a sensible spouse, a house over my head
was it enough or could there be more to this as the
loneliness i felt settled in the sheets between us

by Michael Perry

dear basil,

watch the sunrise
remember how lucky you are to see it
smell the morning air
keep it in your lungs because you can
water your plants
show them unconditional love

love yourself unconditionally
because you're lucky, because you can

love,
basil

All of my favorite things
involve your
face

or the way your hair would
naturally fall over your eye
as though it was the veil
that was hiding the only
woman in the room.

Everything else is
obsolete
when you open
your mouth,

the world doesn't
turn when you
move,

the rain doesn't pour
when you
smile,

nobody sings when
you talk

piano keys won't pla-

Or uh...
something...

-

they have figured out how
to numerically make a
chainsaw function in reverse

in order to restore
a tree felled by it
to it's original state–

and somewhere there is
an effort being made to
airdrop maple seeds into
the path of a tornado

so a machine inside of a
huge building has posted
on the internet—

for what it is worth
these wood probably
look good on paper...


.