I smelled a whiff

Of caramel

Graham cracker smell

My senses shift

And like a gift

A brown leaf fell

And, by its spell

My toe, it twitched

So? With my toe

Or with my arch

Shall I descend?

Between the two

A match was met

Goodbye old friend: CRUNCH!!!!...

The sighs and roars of the rolling deep

Quiet the ones in my head

Who typically shout and growl and weep

Out of existential dread

The betrayal I feel at missing out

The fear of choosing wrong

When I feel that I have zero clout

‘Cause no one asked me to come along

But lying here on the cold hard sand

And listening to the crackling foam

The bubble and snap and the ocean’s roar

I feel li...

Promise me you won’t laugh at me

When I get the assignment wrong

They tell me this and tell me that

But I rarely join the throng.

The sorts of things I care about

The kinds of things I dream

Don’t fit inside a storyline:

I stitch a jagged seam.

I tie them all up at the end

Whether or not they rhyme

You’ll get no flash or style from me

Just what’s in my mind.

So when this app a tale dem...

Calling for you in shades of blue

My hands shake from the cold

Calling for aid in boldest jade

My lips, the lies unfold

Dreams of your bed in shades of red

My eyes the passage paid

Dreams of your love in palest dove

My desperate body laid...

It wasn’t if she stood up straight

Or if she could retaliate

It wasn’t if her eyes burned red

Or if she flashed her claws instead

It wasn’t if she didn’t cry

Or if she hated long goodbyes

It wasn’t being lithe of limb

Or fit and strong or quick and trim

It was that, deep inside her heart,

Where treasured things lay in the dark

Regardless of how her world turned:

She let an ember of hope...

Every day seems to be the same:

Smile, nod, squinch eyes, lift shoulders, wave goodbye, turn on heel, get in car

Let face fall

No more mask for a few minutes

A few precious minutes

Then in the front door

Sigh, agree, nod at the right time, say yum delicious, clear the plates, retreat to room

Let face fall

No more mask til morning

When the charade will start again....

When he was around

Silence was a priceless gift

It was something stolen

Or something craved

Now that he is gone

Silence is a stone in my stomach

An empty buzzing

Something to chase away...

One note. Plunk. A chord. Pla-la-lunk.

What is that song he’s playing on the radio?

No. Plunk. Pla-la-lunk.

Let’s do the second bar.

Plunk. Pla-la…no.. pla…

Did he pick up the banjo, is he playing along to—

NO.

Third bar. Third bar then go back.

Plunk. Pla-la-lunk. Pla-la-pla-la…

Did he say something about a tree?

STOP IT.

Plunk. Pla-la…

Neighbor kid is crying.

STOP.

Plunk.

Car is blast...

This morning

Lying in bed

With the sun in his face

For the first time in weeks

He looked over and asked

Was that your phone going off?

It was birds singing in the tree outside....

They say

We are hurtling

Down.

I still wake each morning

Put on my coffee

Read my paper

And sit at my window.

They say

We are hurtling

Down.

I still call to my neighbor

Walk to my car

Motor to work

And sit at my window.

They say

We are hurtling

Down.

I still drive home in darkness

Order in pizza

Turn on the tv

And sit at my window.

They say

We are hurtling

Down.

I still clean up ...