Don’t think you’re working hard enough?

Then wait till you can see your rib cage

Wait till instead of loathing

You begin to welcome sleep

Wait till your veal turns to porterhouse

Till your pennies turn to dollars

Wait till going home is lonelier than not

Till you don’t feel whole until you’re broken

Broken from the inside out so that no one can see

No one but

You

In the morning

In the mirror

In the gray light

Admiring your rib cage

Knowing you’ve worked hard for this

Hard enough to die—

But not quite

After a while

you’ll come to realize

that it’s these

needle thin problems, these

paper thin thoughts, these

failed salutations, and

strangers fiction bought

that keep us alive

and somewhere we ought

not dare go alone,

what a gift to feel lost—

my dear, rumination

what a privilege I’ve been granted

these feelings I have fought.

in LA

Are the women who drive

with dogs on their lap

Who at stop signs make

no attempt to stop

Cutting me off are these women

with Versace glasses to block the sun

Haunting amounts of eyeliner

blush, and lipstick the color of

raw meat

These are the same women who at home

have too many pairs of shoes

and never enough

And the fluffy little designer poodle

primped and propped high

on the lap of their would be master,

if these women weren’t blowing their

alimony checks on Princess’s groomer

They’re either on their phone at red lights

Cutting me off in the wrong lane

Or cutting me off at four way stops

Princess with her beady little eyes

And her dirty little asshole

Sitting like a queen

upon

the biggest assholes in LA

And she’s smiling at me

Cause even she knows

the irony

One of these days

I’ll have to say goodbye

It’s not that it’ll be too hard

It’s just that it’ll be time—

Throwing rice and waiting,

for the pigeons to die.

Please.

Don’t make me feel worse

as I just feel so poor already.

My limbs are weak and my mind,

mush…You can stay a while sure

but like the day you’ll go again,

sinking with the sun. Feeling forlorn?

And again my God! Frightened

to see the end? And frightened to begin?

Well that makes two of us lately til

tomorrow comes much quicker when

yesterday’s a passing feeling.

What have you doom and gloom?

Haven’t you been listening? Go away

I’m tired. Besides I’ve got a 7am call

and I plan on being paid overtime.

Yet you’re so tempting my dear

misery in waiting, and you’re knocking like

a hopeful neighbor.

Effortless is your kiss, it’s aim

a mother’s prayer before bed.