Every

Every day

Every morning

Every afternoon

Every evening

Every night

Every dream

Every nightmare

Every thought

Every action

Choice

Circumstance

Consequence

is ours

What will 

you make 

of it?

day

Hours of night
slipped away as
the morning came

The day is here
and will be gone
soon and sooner

If not for darkness
How would we know the dawn?

tied

to return from nothingness

night after night

this is our condition

morning daze

bright shining sun or

clouded over continents of gray

ever present wind coming in from the sea

water cannot stay still

continually crashes upon the shore

mind and body

together for as long

as the night holds the day

We carry on as normal
Even if the world inside us
Has changed. Morning
Routines continue even if
Grief has taken hold.
There must be food
And a shower. A return
To life and living.

nights of consequence
passing days of no import
eternal present

Destroying myself
One evening at a time
Rebuilding by day

It is morning

Open the blinds

Let the light in

The Preacher

I'm too deep in dreams to ever see the sunrise.
I have seen the sunset many times
over many places
and I never fail to find beauty
in the transition from light to dark.
Blue skies smear with pastels
that gradually darken and fade
until a singular eye
glows across the ocean.
Standing at the beach late at night
I have often wondered about the confluence
of sky and water.
If I were there alone in a boat
would I remember what was ocean
and what was sky?
Would I forget both
and feel only one plane
encompassing both fully?
What would it be like to see a sunrise
from there? Transitioning from dark
to light, to see the sky
give birth to our world once more.
After viewing that
I could begin a new faith
and preach,
not of god and sin,
but of a simple truth
found in an ancient order
that persists everywhere.

An Exercise In Memory

I feel bad every time I see the young woman
at the burrito place by my work

because I always forget her name. It's not her
fault. Today I asked her again.

Madison is her name. She's quite pretty
and nice, at least as far as I know.

Walking down the street to see a band
this evening a young woman said hello

and asked if I was going to see one
of the bands. I told her I was.

She introduced herself as Carrie, though,
that might not be how she spells her name.

I chuckled on the inside when she wasted
no time in telling me she had a boyfriend.

I felt like telling her I have a girlfriend
but decided against it.

Once inside, and in-between bands,
I ran into a former co-worker. It took me

a few moments to remember his name
when he came up to me, but I remembered

his name: Jeff. He looked quite different
than the last time I saw him. His hair was long

and he sported a beard. A nice enough fellow
to have seen once more.

I walked over to the counter to buy myself
a drink, a diet soda, and told the heavily tattooed

woman I was digging the venue. We introduced
ourselves. Her name is Robin.

There is no point to any of this. I just wanted
try and put some effort

                                     into remembering a few
names for once.

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.

Day of the Week

I woke up today and forgot what day it is.

This realization was not met with panic,

it was greeted with a casual indifference

that could only be met by most of the living

creatures on Earth. I eventually found out 

that it is Tuesday. This changes very little

about how I feel about the day. It will be

modestly busy, I will go to work, I will 

go home, watch a movie, and fall asleep.

It is a predictable comfort that wraps itself

around my neck, warms me like a scarf,

and could choke the air from my lungs.

Enough Rest

Fall asleep at a reasonable hour,
you're not getting any younger,
the decades are beginning to pile up.

It's not so bad now, yet. You wake
up, clear headed, life is in progress.
There are times when the Sun feels

like a stranger smiling at you as you
walk down the street, so you smile
awkwardly, maybe say hello.

There is no one in the house but you.
It's as silent as you want it to be.
There are dogs barking somewhere,

you can't ignore them as they echo
through suburban canyons. Your body
does not ache or thirst. No pain throbs

through your head, you are ready. For
what? For when? There is only one
person with an answer.