if you were a drug i wouldn't have a sober vein left in my body.

one day i'd like to love somebody
the way i love a poem.

the way it seems to curve itself around
its own edges, with calculated precision, and jump
from line
to line
like
marbles
falling in a pin-ball machine.

the way it seems to stand up for itself,
self-construct and de-construct the space
in which it floats,
like the clouds that hug the air around the ocean.

the way it leads a wish, like a dandelion seed, into the world
gently and blindly.
and bears on itself the weight
of so many
human
sorrows
yet rises from the ground a flower.

the way it's purpose sits like a ribbon
on a christmas present,
beautiful both open
and contained.

I once knew a man
who said,
"Invest while you can."
I told him I didn't have any money.
"Well, I can't help you then."

I once met this kid
who told me his sins.
I couldn't say why,
I hardly knew him.
"You've a trustworthy face,
and you're leaving tomorrow."
But I never asked to be burdened by his sorrow.

I once loved a girl
who became my world.
I clung to her every single last word.
Then she was gone
to leave me in silence.
I replaced it with noises of hatred and violence.

I once had a choice
to make something new,
but I still hear her voice
telling me what to do.

I once spent a night
with a spirited punk.
Willful and passionate,
but down on his luck.
We painted the town red
and made Down the new Up.

I once read a book
that spelled out my life.
A real page turner,
though I know it's all lies.

Someone once told me
not to live in the past.
"Be here right now,
the future comes fast."
But I often look back
to cry or to laugh,
and on nights such as these
I'll write epitaphs.