a flask & letter

Your life is filled with

(secret)

quiet alcoholics

(secret)

closet drug addicts

(secret)

depressed poetics

fearful dramatics

queer heretics

aimless combatants

insufferable habits

(secret)

little bunny rabbit.

Oh, my life is full

and filling up —

sure ain’t cheap these days —

3.50 here

4.65 a gallon there, thus

I’m riding on empty,

with a flask

& letter

returns

to send her

tucked gently in the glove box

(where my secret (secret) stays).

that old hotel

Each drive cross country

I’ve laughed, I have

Cried

Sang

Danced

Purged

Prayed

Lost and

Loved.

Etcetera,

etc…

So if you decide

to drive across state lines,

could you do me a solid?

Stop in Fayetteville.

See if that old hotel

is still standing,

the one I first told her I loved her,

—bedbugs and us—

before sleep took her away

and that cheap wine

nursed me tender

til morning’s

cruel light.

But how will you know

that old hotel? Well,

it’s just like all the rest now

I’m sure, remodeled to dust.

Another ghost among the many,

love’s whisper in the wind.

that old dog bark

A sweet chorus of birds

lingers in the air, as

the morning wains on

expectantly

that old dog bark

rings heavy on my mind.

Pulling the covers overhead, thinking

the day can—and most certainly will—wait for me today.

My feet are sore

and my heart is silent.

I’ll stand when I’m ready, till then

I’ll snore along till noon.

Seven months & Two days since

Seven months &

Two days

since…

Nothing really makes sense,

does it? Didn’t then,

doesn’t now!

Life just goes on until it doesn’t.

Like the envy of a caterpillar

for the beauty of a butterfly.

Everyone & something else.

If you’re tired,

don’t boast.

Everyone is tired

of

Everyone &

something else.

Farewell

Farewell yesterday

and thank you

for today

is tomorrow

already,

that yesteryear

is merely a mirage.

Goodbye.

I’ve always kind of been saying goodbye.

Even when I’ve said hello.

I’ve always meant,

Goodbye.

Memories

I keep coming across memories

in the background of my mind.

They say to live within the present

or else life’s a waste of time.

But presently these memories

have left me color blind.

And I can’t quite find my way out

of this never ending rhyme.

I keep coming across memories

like bicycles speeding by.

Their features blur together

with wind burnt summer skies.

How presently these memories

present themselves as I,

remember each one vividly

to whom each one I’ve lied.

How precious are these memories

kept sound within the dark.

Each one with their own melody

from which I’d never part.

Though presently these memories

which bear my open heart,

may one day get the best of me

for now are works of art.

the times I’d lost my mind.

The only time

I was ever certain, were

the times I’d lost my mind.

But even then,

I never had a clue — I did.

It’s all understandable. (for every no one who ever was)

To be honest

and be open

put yourself in

her hands like you’re a toy.

There’s a reason

for each season

pollen eaten

her wind cradles a boy.

They know nothing of us,

and we

know nothing of them.

We all

just sort of pretend.

We’re bitter still.

In the air there’s a bitter chill.

Like a car crash

I tell you that

it’s not too bad

we both just try not to stare.

In the glove box

there’s a snuff box

full of coupons

I keep in case that you cared.

The leaves on the ground,

remind me

how powerless that I am.

It’s natural to fall down,

we all

just sort of try to fit in.

Leave me alone, no don’t

leave me alone.

Memories fill my head

like waves

crashing down on the shore.

Just as soon as they hit

cast away

back to the ocean once more.

To be bitter

or be broken

understand that

this is for no one who ever was.