Thursday, November 29, 2012

Training Day

Because I am
white
male
and middle-aged,
I'm center stage
in terms of
risky demographics
for suicide

And because I have had
close contact with others
loved ones and
clients
who have died by their own
hand,
we multiply that risk times
eight

Algorithms

The instructor
was talking about black
males and their
comparatively low
suicide rate
asking if any of us (all white)
had any theories about that

We were too frightened to offer any
so he told us that a black man
in a past class
spoke up and said

Because we strong.

Right on.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Such a Long Way From Home, Just Me and The Moon


Silver Moon and Star

It's winter now
but gentle
sometime before the scheduled
end of the world
and the moon shines
so brightly I cannot
help but love it tonight
and there is a star shining
just above it
a planet more likely which
I cannot name
ignorant but reverent
I stand and see.
 

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

In The Driveway

Stillness and white unsullied ground
silver lit by the glorious moon and stars
a thin blanket of white clouds between us
in silent Eastward flight.

Winter, you arrive
in elegance.

Jack's Shadow

First Snow For Crow

Black crow steps sideways
looking down from the street light
playful in first snow

Monday, November 26, 2012

Not Yet Blanketed

It's maybe a day or two
before snow
watching through the window
the contrasting white gulls
gliding over black roof tops
and brown bare trunks

There's no ocean for you, not yet,
so what drew you here
besides the garbage
and the parking lot french fries?

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Winter St.

Enter, sit and order alone
no, I'm not waiting
for another party

Outside is better
the moon wrapped in clouds
pass the red brick mills
reincarnated
into expensive lofts

Catch a glimpse
of the old place
a ghost in a doorway
hear indistinct voices

There were bright hopes
here and murderous hearts
too
 

Monday, November 19, 2012

Children Are Not A Protected Class

Sitting in the dark with heartburn
wondering about dopamine
an open bottle of wine couched in
a running shoe

I'm trying not to think about
the children of Gaza
their silent recriminations
a scolding line of brown and crimson
soft rubber bodies, faces smudged obscene

What must they be thinking?
those with brains still in their heads
staring up at the moon ,
those with eyes remaining ,
a slim and perfect crescent
ground to two sharp points
over watching the streaking F-16s
and the rocket rain

Why do you hate us?

Today something happened
that made me remember
a portion of last night's dream

They are sitting in a van
waiting to converge upon me
and I sense it

I remember why I didn't
want to let her
go to the mall
in the first place

Put me
in a small room
now and
close the door



 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Temporary Cease Fire

No words to say tonight
alone
it's unseasonably warm
and nothing's
any clearer
quiet and I guess
one might say
peaceful

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Hope Merchant

Squinting at the stars
blurred, sure,
but I can still see
they're bright.

Here's to every waiting seed
the sun is still there
despite this long, long night
hold on to the picture

Remember
or if you've never seen it
don't give up
on the notion.

The Misfits - Static Age


Monday, November 12, 2012

Wine

Nightmares continue with eyes open
although there is really no cause for such things,
I mean relatively speaking.

You think madness might offer release
a certain drunken sweetness, for just a moment,
staggering and completely spent
taking in the whirling panorama of everything
smashed, burned, upended
at last, addressed

Spinning, sickening
you fall,
but that moment,
it was necessary.

Malediction


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Destined

Jack and his new best friend, Soren, wrote this song at recess. They're in the first grade.

 
Every single day I'm looking for my way
All I can find is your eyes
 
I told you once and I told you twice
Please don't interrupt me with your eyes
 
Every single day and night
I try to find my destiny
To shine in your eyes
 
But I can't find my destiny
Because your eyes
Won't shine

 

Mumford and Sons - White Blank Page


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Elect

The low late afternoon sun
and the beginning of night
winter moving in quietly
under the cover of darkness
slowly, it's a bad time to have
to find a place to house your family
which I don't have to worry about
yet

Don't feel too safe, it's inadvisable,
but know and appreciate it if
you've got it, all in all,
it's rare down here

Today we vote, as a people,
divided maybe,
but according to the reports,
most of us are getting of our asses

And that's probably good,
at least I hope
so.

Friday, November 2, 2012

I'll Remember This

Trick or Treat is not something
he's been very into the last couple of years:
overstimulating, I guess -
it's a lot to process and
well, frankly, that kind of thing
bends reality a little bit, you know?

So we head out for the night
in a new town with a whole bunch of
people we don't know,
and he is the youngest among this
group of masked marauders
dressed as a wizard, close beside me,
holding my hand

...for a moment,
and then he's off and running
leading the group up
every darkened driveway
past skeletons and scarecrows
ghouls and graveyards,
and he never once looked back.

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