Negative Space

I could feel my body pressing into the earth

realized the earth had stopped pressing back



so I practiced being weightless

Metronomic

art and physics seem above me
nothing seems beneath

some thoughts I wish to attain
I pass the the goals I reach

look back from time to time
to see how far we've come

try to memorize everything around me
in case it comes undone

when I'm not writing
I can barely sit still

watch as the light fluxes in the room
fixate on anything I could do

to help you or make me feel better

Houses and Landscapes

just keeping moving them hands
bending them knees

don't be restless

do the things you have to do
as if you want to

and there are some things
you should never do

write a poem
or plant a garden of posies

share and share alike
worry less about your wrinkles

oh just have a happy heart
make a scene
with your happy heart

...within the confinements of my words...

Not once today did I notice my intentions
I noticed a rhythm and a thought

You, who I only ever knew once
Knew once that I loved you

Loved you with my whole body
Or heart or delusion or fantasy

But I am a lover
not a fighter

And am exceptionally skilled
at passing the time in front of me

you don't even know her

this town makes me think of you
because it feels like home
every time
I think of you


these words are very shy
and I am thoughtful to a fault
faultless
in some thoughts

I remember what you said
about my body and pretty girls
and love
how many lies did you tell that night?

I met some girl the other night
who said fuck every other sentence
and I cringed and felt violated

You met some girl the other night
who cringes and feels embarrassed
every time she wishes she knew your address 

I want to do something nice for you.

The Dress I Wore to Work Monday

I know one person who hates this dress
the shiny pink one with tiny flowers

the one I wore to your friends' wedding
on the way there we talked about life

I joked about my guest for sainthood
confessed I'd never been pretty before

I don't usually say such things
something about that dress untied my tongue

You wore a rented tuxedo suit
Crisp white shirt and shiny black rented shoes

I felt lucky to stand by your side
until you disappeared for an hour

You told me not to worry about her
She looked like me but alot prettier

I took off the dress you didn't like
Changed into something more appropriate

An off the rack overpriced number
that was given to me the day before

We left the afterparty early
you complimented me on the way home

Said the polka dots were much better
than the unflattering shiny pink one

I didn't feel pretty anymore
and forgot about my quest for sainthood

p a r a M E T E R s

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

PRETEND THIS IS A WHISPER

READ IT NICE AND SLOW

SLOW AND EASY

HOW LONG DO YOU THINK THE MUSIC WILL LAST?

me?

FOREVER.

i BELEVIEVE IN LUCK

AND TIMING


OBSERVATION

AND

ULTRAVIOLET RAYS

THAT YOU CAN'T SEE IN THE DAY

BUT IN THE DARK

THEY LIGHT UP

PURPLE AND BRIGHT

$96.83

There is a girl in Little Rock
not too far from where you live

Who wears a dress like a beggar
her smile like a sinner

Every minute she thinks of you
while the seconds pass you by

Accidentally disappears
appears again and again

Gets lost in the shuffle of hands
The unfolding of bodies

The refolding of two bodies
Tangled limbs and muffled sighs

You will wish you had called her back
she wishes you called her back

things we remember

things we forget

Twenty One Too

Same thing just different
We'll call it a couplet

A procession of pairs
Symmetrical thinking

Perpendicular lines
make crosses and exes

Something to praise or curse
but at least they crossed paths

felt the other's presence
For some lines never will

These lines are people too
Their lives, straight and narrow,

move in one direction
It is start to finish

Those ellipses you feel
(the ferris wheel you ride)

Is this (and nothing more)
-----> circular illusion

Curves, dodges and covers
roundabout ways and bends

A welcome distraction
from a very plain path

Oh now, forget about
what is chasing you down


Because the only thing
I'm trailing is one thought

I want to cross your path
Now or in the future

I'm twenty-eight years old
And know what vector means

(and what the fucking fuck)
(this doesn't seem like me)

My poems are people too
I'm writing about you

You, who does as you will
and hurts me as you go

I only think of you
Have you forgotten me

So what I'm saying is
say something already

unexpected

it still hurts

how could you not know

that it would hurt

loving

forgiving and forgetting

it hurts to always be the good guy

but it hurts no matter what

at the beginning of the day

remember

you are either absolutely wrong

a little bit right

or happy all the way through

Quickly; Last Night

I could barely stand up straight

My chest exposed (my heart)

Bare boned and purple hued

She tuned her pedal steel



Chased him across the room

One decision made

No more I could make

The barkeep picked the shots



I heard the music set in

My bones did move (my heart)

Secrets were told and heard

She twirled me for me



Sat in on my conversation

So pretty is she

We get lost in her wake

The drummer struck up the band



I danced to the music

Let him inside (my heart)

World lit up like a firecracker

We see the twinkle still



Followed me to the stage

One decision made

My gaze he did take

The universe collapsed in his arms

sex love vanity punctuation implied

My thighs are still trembling
Only an hour has passed
I remember the want
Between laughter shared with friends
Innuendos as blunt as a girl
That bares no razor edge
No hidden desire to hurt
Or bruise knees or make ends

All I know is love

I missed the purple lamp
The sun room that glows at night
Where I wait for your want
Between shared laughter with friends
My corner of the city
That knows no deed unkind
No words against our sisters
This corner screams with my amens

And I am screaming

I scream with a want
Not from pain or fear
Or some vanity to be seen or heard
For unity to be shared from sea to sea
And every corner of every city
To know no deed unkind
No crimes against our brothers
I scream for you and me

To only know love

And I am screaming

The Day After We Were Free

The day before was a revival
Yes or no
Believers and spirits
and the tortured eyes fallen in between
We sang for you, we sang for me

The night before was a battleground
Tooth and nail
Survivors and martyrs
and those who protected the old and young
but we all fought and we all won

The moment before was a silence
Heart and soul
Lullabies and sonnets
filled the empty night and choirs were formed
finally I stood motionless

watching the bullets pass by
each one closer than the next
I wondered if one could kill a man

and the moment passed

Some watched the sun rise against the dark
Night to day
Philosophers and artists
and the enjoyment of recognition
tiny heartbeats, small fists, and drums

Today we are free

Eleven Eleven

Between a thought

and a feeling

is freedom