Willow by the lake

you are
the willow by the lake
you sing
when it's windy
and cry
when it's rainy.

always leaning
to watch the water
dance at your feet

when birds
and other passers-by
make perch of you
you never ask for something
in return.
instead
you rest with them
and listen to what they have to say
and feel for them
if they're sad.

sometimes
when the water is still
you catch a glimpse of yourself
and remember how pretty you are
when you don't
the bugs and the creatures remind you.

everyone says you're weeping
when you're only standing
as well as you can
for a tree who can feel.

Speaking in parenthesis

It's like being held
By parenthesis
Only by the sides
Nothing beneath you
The feeling of weightlessness
Turning your stomach
Suspended in a vacuum
Of disbelief
Grabbing for something to hold you steady
As your head spins
Your heart races
And that familiar feeling
Creeps up your neck
And warms your scalp
And reminds you it'll all be ok.

It's like being hushed
By parenthesis
Making your words
mean something else
Cause they can't mean what they say
They cant end with a period.
Or an exclamation point!
like you want them too
Cause others are listening and
Reading along
Others might put it all together
And ruin the ending for you.

It's like speaking
In parenthesis
Knowing the subtleties
And nuances of our voices
But not speaking the same language
It's hard whispering my words to you
And all you can do is pretend not to hear
Beginning and ending my words
With a shrug
Taking their meaning away
And replacing it with
Secrecy.

It's like loving
In parenthesis
Only held by the sides
Nothing beneath you.
Let's fall.

the precipice

we ate pb&j's
sitting on the edge
of the grand canyon
in my dream last night

we squinted at each other
in the sun
i wiped a crumb from your mouth
and got a smile
our feet dangled there
they didn't touch the bottom

good thing i write
fictions at night
cause the reality of day
is far less simple
and far less interesting

i held your hand
that night it rained so hard
it felt like a mother's hug
or being woken up by the sun
or the smell of fresh laundry
it felt right.

the only reason i'd want the rain to stop
is to count the stars

neutral grounds

Summer breath
in the mouth of fall
sticks to my skin
makes it slick
runs in streams
down my hairy arms

i swat it away
i blow on myself
hoping to
evaporate

the air refuses to move
just stares at me
as i push out my cigarette
and finish my bread
i lean forward in my chair
and take a good long look
into the atmosphere
expecting it to say something
or apologize

it just lazily hangs there
like a vagabond against a light post
asking "qoui"?

how i loath this false season
the interstice of days between
hot and cold
and light and dark
give me the dark days
they're easier to
hide in.

What little i know

Drunk and high
ruddy eyes

you're right.
don't you deserve better.

it's only poetry
cause i can feel it.

we don't have to talk
A G A I N
i done wrong and know it

I'll never not care
same goes for you,
if we didn't
my canvases would be blank.

everything seems so much more painful
under the tooth of drink
what might have been a passing thought
becomes a major stink

checked the clock
it's about time i disappear
A G A I N

no need for my left arm anymore

It's all your
inequalities, and
asymmetries that make you
interesting, and human

It's the way
your love brings
it all together
that makes you beautiful

We have to contradict
ourselves to grow
and contradict each other
to continue
being brothers