June Storm

The Sun is being lazy today.
Night lingers weakly. Gray
smears the sky like melted ice
cream made of cinder blocks.

Is this a premonition?
Should I await heavenly tears?
It would be a welcome change
from days of perpetual warmth.

Bundled up on an overcast beach,
the bite of cold wind,
the anguished churning of tides,
small beach bars all but empty.

It would be a perfect day to be
together, to find peace in a storm
where others would flee
to rooms of warmth.

Nature is just as beautiful
in moments of distress.

under construction

There is a better version 

of myself

I have yet to create.

bridging

Mute transmissions
sent through psychic vibrations

you don't believe in any
of that

Stepping back
through antiquated means
of communication:
-fax machine
-rotary phone
-telegrams

though, morse code
still has its uses

bridging distant shores
one continent

cannot kiss
the sand of another

water serves as messenger
winding around the cape

of good hope-
reaching for another shore

Mid-daylight

Waking and falling back
to sleep. Waking and falling
back to sleep. Reading
a familiar book, finishing
quick, hold lines safe
from forgetful memory
with posted notes
marking pages.
The Sun has been out for
hours and hours,
but you've been home
reading and dreaming,
reading and dreaming.
Unblemished blue
raining down
as if night were
merely myth.

Drinking Amber

Nothing is as peaceful as an empty bar 

on a Sunday night.

The bartender walked over and asked

what I would like to drink.

I asked her for an Old Fashioned.

When she set the drink down

I noticed she had turned it 

into a miniature art installation. 

The cherry sat perfectly centered

on top of the large square ice cube.

The orange peel rested across the glass 

like a support beam for a roof that would 

never be built. I told her I had never seen 

a drink be so well presented.

She thanked me for noticing.

It's evident when someone takes

pride in their work, no matter 

how small it may be.

I drank it slowly, the ice gradually

melting into the rye.

The glistening cube towered

over the orange slice and cherry

as they moved within the glass.

Despite small measured sips

the drink was gone all too soon.

The bartender came back 

when she saw I was done. I told her 

she had done an excellent job.

She smiled. I asked her her name.

She said Christina. I ordered a beer.

The bar was just as empty as when

I arrived. I was fine with that.

Bored and apathetic is no way to live.

don't call this advice

They say it could be worse

and sometimes it isn't

though oftentimes it is.

They say things will get better

and sometime they do, though,

often they remain unchanged.

Let's not give hollow platitudes

in lieu of advice.

It will be hard.

There will be uncomfortable sacrifice.

There will be fewer friends and family

after large reorganizations.

The right ones will remain.

Take my advice when I say

stop listening to the voices

that populate our cities,

that fill our eyes with flash.

Turn off your computer,

your phone, your television,

your car, and walk outside

for a moment. It might be sunny,

overcast, rainy, nighttime,

it doesn't matter. Listen to the world

around you without headphones,

see the world around you

without a screen between you.

What you hear and see

will be more honest than

what is given to you, to us,

every day. It is not my place

to tell you what to do then.

There will be a voice speaking

once you have agreed to listen.

It will know what needs to come

next. It may be wrong, but more likely,

it will be right. Excuse me.

I need to leave right now.

There is some place I need to be

with someone I have yet to meet.

E without the accent mark

My Happiness lives by the ocean,
she is beautiful.

I don't wish to sound so cliche
but I supposed it's hard to sound cliche
without the appropriate accent mark
over the 'e'. In lieu of sounding cliche
I wish to say nothing of worth.
I wish to say that my time on this world
has been spent searching for something
beautiful that I have yet to define.
I know I have found it when my skin
bumps with geese, when my eyes close
yet see the world I have been seeking
with no map. I don't wish to sound
so scatterbrained but it beats having
no brain at all. I wish to not have to justify
my existence through socially defined
confines of worth. I don't recall seeing
crocodiles clocking in for work.
When I sit in traffic I marvel at red lights
marking my slow way forward. Other
creatures like myself sit, wait, wonder,
and hope to sit home, either alone or
with someone worth whiling the time
away with. I know she waits for me,
though, at this time we occupy two
places, for now.

My Happiness lives by the ocean,
I will go to her.

Not Every Lost City 

is Waiting to be Found

Broken Hearts and Spare Parts

Beneathe the Harvest Moon

We have yet to dance beneathe 

the light of the full moon,

still, I dream of this future memory

as though I were remembering

the last time I held you.

Actor

I am a flawed actor

playing out a role 

I was born into.