tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4632324800158179712024-03-17T20:59:30.988-05:00on writing chapter fivedavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.comBlogger1667125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-23733801088438412652024-03-17T20:58:00.001-05:002024-03-17T20:58:29.922-05:00Hydrogen & Helium, Ingratiated<p>Sunbeams </p><p>chopped</p><p>by each tree </p><p>along the highway.</p><p>Every ray </p><p>hits eyes</p><p>like Morse code </p><p>for "torture".</p><p><br /></p><p>Closing them</p><p>doesn't help;</p><p>orange warmth</p><p>through eyelids.</p><p><br /></p><p>Love was finding</p><p>a mole with your tongue</p><p>in the dark</p><p>and no one flinching.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-25417311841655904392024-02-25T23:29:00.003-05:002024-02-25T23:29:37.929-05:00Floundering Over Rice<p>Undesired</p><p>creature comforts:</p><p>her favorite meal;</p><p>not mine--</p><p><br /></p><p>delivered to</p><p>my doorstep</p><p>while an old friend</p><p>bought me time.</p><p><br /></p><p>The laces of these boots</p><p>have strands of gold </p><p>entwined.</p><p><br /></p><p>A weekly sweep</p><p>will miss some hair</p><p>like this gaze</p><p>dodges eyes.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-18933257905113581982024-02-18T00:38:00.000-05:002024-02-18T00:38:33.462-05:00Fair Play<p>Beware of the man</p><p>robbed of purpose.</p><p><br /></p><p>He leaves his pistols</p><p>where home was</p><p>these days</p><p><br /></p><p>since he's poised</p><p>like a spring</p><p><br /></p><p>indecipherable</p><p><br /></p><p>hungry headlights</p><p>stabbing into</p><p>the night.</p>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-5865151830459930632024-02-14T22:30:00.003-05:002024-02-14T22:34:17.929-05:00How Violently American<p>Our Maker's</p><p>lath and plaster</p><p>a ribcage and skin</p><p>barely conceal</p><p>the stubborn organ</p><p>that feigns </p><p>the most precious emotion </p><p>that we </p><p>as a failed experiment</p><p>were given.</p><p><br /></p><p>This commercialized day</p><p>to signify its gains</p><p>is, for many, a spectator sport</p><p>indecipherable to those</p><p>who loathe</p><p>the smell of their own skin</p><p><br /></p><p>but we've forgotten</p><p>to care for one another</p><p>and so we deserve it.</p><p><br /></p><p>It's wasted surveillance</p><p>on palliative care.</p><p>You can eat thrice daily</p><p>and still starve to death.</p><p>Don't find yourself</p><p>counting on rain</p><p>that ain't coming.</p><p><br /></p><p>Honey, you're golden</p><p>but we can't speak </p><p>in code</p><p>for much longer.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-46439542835055864572024-02-10T23:57:00.005-05:002024-02-11T00:34:55.045-05:00Apples to Apples<p>My father's killed</p><p>two deer in his lifetime:</p><p><br /></p><p>one intentionally</p><p>with his bow</p><p>on state park land</p><p><br /></p><p>and one accidentally</p><p>with his sport utility vehicle</p><p>on the Palisades Interstate Parkway.</p><p><br /></p><p>I was present for neither</p><p><br /></p><p>but at ten years old</p><p>I followed him into woods</p><p>along an apple orchard</p><p>in the shadow </p><p>of the Shawangunk Ridge</p><p>where he had permission</p><p>from a farmer to hunt.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was so cold</p><p>beside that tree</p><p>where he waited</p><p>for the buck </p><p>that wouldn't come</p><p><br /></p><p>and I waited </p><p>for the sun to rise</p><p>while it was darkest</p><p>before dawn.</p><p><br /></p><p>It's the same now</p><p>three decades later:</p><p><br /></p><p>Love is being </p><p>someone's plan.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-21341578185964865002024-02-07T22:37:00.007-05:002024-02-11T00:14:49.515-05:00Celestial Association<div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a" style="background-color: white; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Listen, I don't make</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">the rules or whatever</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">but my favorite book</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">as a toddler was</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Stevie's Tricycle".</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">No, I couldn't read it</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">but my mother did</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">since I was in</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">the womb or whatever</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">and so it was my favorite</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">after I foolishly left</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">that warm, safe place.</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stevie rode around</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">his neighborhood</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">back when a kid could</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">do that unattended.</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Its golden spine </span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">legitimized the action.</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I remember most</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">were these peaches</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">on the trees.</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">They were this warm orange</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">color with red rubbed in</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">for ripe emphasis.</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We could talk about this</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">and we could talk about that</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">and your therapist would</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">reference Freud</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">while mine echoed</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">from the bottom of this bottle</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">but at the end of the day</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">that you're willing to give</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">here and there</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">when we're running low</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">all that matters is that</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">your cheeks</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">when I gaze down at you</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">form the same warm mixtures </span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">of hues as those peaches</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">in "Stevie's Tricycle"</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">and if that ain't enough</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">then bottom's up.</span></span></div></div></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-88005516295503126652024-02-04T23:01:00.001-05:002024-02-04T23:05:41.400-05:00Sparring Partner Parlor Tricks<p>My favorite place</p><p>to see you's </p><p>on mountaintops</p><p>since I know</p><p>that's where </p><p>you belong</p><p><br /></p><p>though I'd suffer</p><p>a nosebleed</p><p>via horse height</p><p><br /></p><p>as you would</p><p>if I could</p><p>thread a tether</p><p>through those </p><p>two rings</p><p>I gaze at</p><p>more than </p><p>you'd like</p><p>to admit.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-30160191133015809462024-01-28T22:13:00.001-05:002024-01-28T22:21:05.877-05:00Tag, You're It<p>You tally the hands</p><p>that have touched you</p><p>this week:</p><p><br /></p><p>the deli lady</p><p>taking eight quarters</p><p>in her leathery palm</p><p>for commute coffee;</p><p>a coworker</p><p>tapping your arm</p><p>mid-story, for emphasis;</p><p>a misled combat nurse</p><p>or two, God bless 'em;</p><p>an old friend who tried</p><p>to cheat on his wife</p><p>after your handshake;</p><p>that off-duty masseuse</p><p>in fishnets and leather.</p><p><br /></p><p>None of it adds up</p><p>to what you deserve</p><p>and</p><p>none of it adds up</p><p>to what you once did</p><p>and</p><p>none of it adds up</p><p>to what they say</p><p>a person needs</p><p>to persist</p><p>with paying the bills.</p><p><br /></p><p>"You'll be fine," she said</p><p>on her way through the door</p><p>but she was only telling herself.</p><p><br /></p><p>Forgiveness is a nice idea.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-33543146809600325012024-01-24T21:00:00.006-05:002024-01-24T21:02:25.967-05:00Left on Read<p>Your body's quite the temple</p><p>As far as I'm concerned.</p><p>All it guarantees, though</p><p>Is to hurt and learn.</p><p><br /></p><p>This Club of Sleepless Nights</p><p>Soon will have inductions.</p><p>Our members mask the pain</p><p>With cheap laughs and production.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sharing fluids and our time;</p><p>A destination we all know</p><p>Assessing one another</p><p>Like piss-holes in the snow.</p><p><br /></p><p>The hardest thing to do:</p><p>Return the energy you're sent.</p><p>Prepare to convalesce</p><p>In this beginning of the end.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-25451791008706238222024-01-10T21:18:00.001-05:002024-01-10T21:18:25.973-05:00Curiosity<p>I found your lost</p><p>earring in a room</p><p>I never showed you</p><p><br /></p><p>and while that might</p><p>deter most</p><p><br /></p><p>I've played the dead</p><p>cat, as well.</p>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-87776781333856897162024-01-08T21:37:00.000-05:002024-01-08T21:37:03.333-05:00Jupiter's Boulder<p>You can try</p><p>to talk us down</p><p>but I'll walk us down</p><p>from the gallows.</p><p><br /></p><p>You can say</p><p>that it's been a fight</p><p>but the best fish do</p><p>until they're caught.</p><p><br /></p><p>You can laugh</p><p>from a distance</p><p>but you can't keep it</p><p>any more than I can.</p><p><br /></p><p>You can tell</p><p>your dad I said this.</p><p>I'll shake his hand.</p><p>You'll see.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-63843149607483847552024-01-07T01:01:00.005-05:002024-01-07T15:14:44.425-05:00Smash Cake<p>A bearded farce</p><p>the ringleader</p><p>puts his best foot forward</p><p>for the motherlode.</p><p><br /></p><p>You don't even know</p><p>her favorite tree.</p><p>Can you feel</p><p>me nipping at your heels?</p><p><br /></p><p>How do you change</p><p>your signature?</p><p><br /></p><p>No dog to save</p><p>the bone for</p><p>with the elephants</p><p>in the room.</p><p><br /></p><p>It's a low-speed chase</p><p>so lawyer up.</p><p><br /></p><p>That hand on my back</p><p>at two in the morning's</p><p>the only thanks</p><p>I'll ever need.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-90297107134084687992023-12-26T21:56:00.002-05:002023-12-26T21:56:54.613-05:00Nor Be Forgotten<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZJmnIA6vry3xu7VOgIGu-CbQ46_7ihPX_wB3XH6iN-3s3AFCJ-HBGnyNdekgouorUlAsyRws-ttyuCVuMqu6Kbzo4T1S_ZvZAiuVqefQWrvAFXdv0ojKbhj_PgD3fJVNjhDYGJ9MG-oA6NoP2oafxTAzTT0ayviodv_0103jgG2TXOYG5xEXS9cY5Vk/s4028/image-26-12-23-09-53%20(1).heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4028" data-original-width="2988" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZJmnIA6vry3xu7VOgIGu-CbQ46_7ihPX_wB3XH6iN-3s3AFCJ-HBGnyNdekgouorUlAsyRws-ttyuCVuMqu6Kbzo4T1S_ZvZAiuVqefQWrvAFXdv0ojKbhj_PgD3fJVNjhDYGJ9MG-oA6NoP2oafxTAzTT0ayviodv_0103jgG2TXOYG5xEXS9cY5Vk/w247-h320/image-26-12-23-09-53%20(1).heic" width="247" /></a></div><br />For lack of a better response<p></p><p>upon opening his final Christmas gift</p><p>he mentally calculates </p><p>how much of a mess it'd make</p><p>if he were to spontaneously explode </p><p>of irony</p><p>in that crowded living room:</p><p><br /></p><p>Considering that the adult human male</p><p>is 60% water</p><p>and that his six feet weigh 240 lbs</p><p>he estimates the blast radius</p><p>and volume of red goo</p><p>dousing the walls, ceiling, furniture, floor</p><p>and mostly innocent family members.</p><p><br /></p><p>The projected matter</p><p>lucky enough to land in the fireplace</p><p>would cook off slowly</p><p>its sizzling sound serving</p><p>as an eerie counterpart</p><p>to the silence of astonished relatives</p><p>coated in what'd remain</p><p>of a man they somewhat knew</p><p>who'd just unwrapped a framed photo</p><p>of himself, alone on a fishing boat</p><p>after nearly dying nightly</p><p>from a year of solitude.</p><p><br /></p><p>Centering his stance on his sea legs</p><p>he thanks his well-meaning bestower</p><p>extends the frame's stand</p><p>to face his grinning countenance</p><p>for half a glass of wine</p><p>then walks the gift of a lifetime</p><p>to the trunk of his father's car</p><p>lest it be forgotten</p><p>in the revelry to follow</p><p><br /></p><p>though knowing himself</p><p>he's not one to forget.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Currently reading:</p><p>"Raymond Carver: Collected Stories"</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-1962664696884877312023-12-17T16:28:00.001-05:002023-12-17T16:30:12.635-05:00The Holiest Act of the Sabbath<p>The second best way</p><p>to spend a wet</p><p>but unseasonably warm</p><p>Sunday afternoon</p><p>once the pile of dishes</p><p>has been washed</p><p>in water just shy of scalding</p><p>and your plans have been canceled</p><p>thus saving you from sin</p><p>is to listen to the compilation</p><p>of sentimental songs that an old flame</p><p>assembled for you</p><p>ten, fifteen, twenty </p><p>years ago </p><p>back when there was more</p><p>of you worth loving</p><p>if only to remind yourself</p><p>that you were once deserving</p><p>of that sacred gift</p><p>from someone you should've cuffed.</p><p><br /></p><p>The best way, however</p><p>to spend the aforementioned </p><p>type of afternoon</p><p>would be lazily in bed</p><p>with that ghost of a composer--</p><p>your children off being spoiled</p><p>by glowing grandparents</p><p>for a few hours as precious</p><p>as each note and line</p><p>heard now</p><p>like belated reminders</p><p>of what could exist</p><p>in a parallel universe;</p><p>not bitter, but grateful</p><p>to have have lived it.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-7193981708999581372023-12-11T22:34:00.004-05:002023-12-12T07:09:22.836-05:00The Meat Sweats, Decoded<p>It starts the same:</p><p>We see a swan killed</p><p>by an 18-wheeler</p><p>or the people</p><p>designated to protect us</p><p>prove their humanity</p><p>too soon.</p><p><br /></p><p>We meet the smell</p><p>of blood; our own</p><p>and that of others.</p><p><br /></p><p>Our turn comes</p><p>to return the favor</p><p>that is pain.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then we're taught of blades</p><p>and where to stab them.</p><p>Next we learn when.</p><p>(Years later; decades</p><p>sometimes.)</p><p><br /></p><p>None will get out</p><p>alive</p><p>and we'll all receive</p><p>spam emails</p><p>from the hacked accounts</p><p>of dead folks </p><p>like ghost ships</p><p>in cyberspace </p><p>eventually</p><p><br /></p><p>but the blessed </p><p>will come to laugh</p><p>when the priest</p><p>can't sing to save his life</p><p>at the funeral mass</p><p>of the departed</p><p><br /></p><p>and embrace that the daggers</p><p>we're born to thrust</p><p>don't have to be</p><p>as buried</p><p>in flesh</p><p>as us.</p>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-54583861228194816182023-12-02T00:38:00.002-05:002023-12-03T20:07:31.592-05:00A Silk for Your Filth<p>You can quote scripture.</p><p>We're playing with fire.</p><p>You can hope she</p><p>never called</p><p>another man "Sailor".</p><p><br /></p><p>A cello</p><p>that we can't</p><p>choose to ignore</p><p>plays loudly.</p><p><br /></p><p>There's enough</p><p>of our bloods</p><p>in the wood</p><p>of these floors</p><p>to claim it as kin.</p><p><br /></p><p>We wanted that</p><p>too.</p>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-7889185502491088032023-11-24T22:21:00.005-05:002023-11-26T12:16:32.157-05:00Closure's Overrated<p>A siren whom you've despised</p><p>took it upon herself</p><p>to tell me of your</p><p>engagement today</p><p>going so far as to send photos</p><p>now burned into my corneas</p><p>for the plot, the reaction</p><p>the proof that mankind</p><p>is cruel by nature</p><p>despite my hardest protest.</p><p><br /></p><p>There in the background</p><p>across the river</p><p>that's been my only home</p><p>lay the mountain </p><p>we tried to move</p><p>and its foothills </p><p>in which we lived for years--</p><p>the perfect backdrop</p><p>for what you left </p><p>twice, without warning.</p><p><br /></p><p>I'm still there</p><p>behind a tree limb</p><p>outshined by your innocent grin</p><p>that's delighted by the thought</p><p>of children I would have given.</p><p><br /></p><p>I can tell you this</p><p>without flinching</p><p>without wincing</p><p>without the aid of my gin:</p><p><br /></p><p>I'm sorry I failed us</p><p>and I pray that he deserves you</p><p>every day.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-17200052303820679502023-11-22T21:13:00.003-05:002023-11-24T22:21:01.597-05:00Knock 'em Dead in the Photo Finish<div><div>It's been a year.</div><div>Too old for kids now</div><div>or to start over.</div><div>Apprentices'll have to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>A Rubik's Cube;</div><div>the 9 of swords;</div><div>at 39</div><div>suddenly afraid of rainstorms</div><div>with headlights reflected.</div><div><br /></div><div>Found snapshots depicting</div><div>the red sands of Bar Harbor</div><div>conduct recreational autopsies.</div><div>It's a town that doesn't forget.</div><div>None of us do, really.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's been a year.</div><div><br /></div></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-43113301550875703362023-10-27T22:01:00.001-05:002023-10-27T22:02:06.598-05:00Insinuated Mutineers<p>For three long days</p><p>that patch of hardened mud</p><p>was cordoned off</p><p>by the Department</p><p>of Public Works:</p><p><br /></p><p>One to fell the tree</p><p>whose roots had lifted</p><p>the sidewalk;</p><p>one to demo the concrete</p><p>that posed a tripping hazard;</p><p>one to plant a sapling</p><p>and pour a fresh slab.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the midst</p><p>of local turmoil</p><p>for the lesser half</p><p>of a week</p><p>we all became</p><p>amateur urban planners</p><p>unable to manage</p><p>our own little lives</p><p>easily forgetting </p><p>what the City</p><p>and the calendar</p><p>had in store:</p><p><br /></p><p>A full moon</p><p>that had us all</p><p>off our paths.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-66947308066780077432023-09-24T20:46:00.004-05:002023-09-24T20:46:28.025-05:00Propagated<p>I pluck the forked twig</p><p>from her potted rubber plant's</p><p>soil and thrust it</p><p>into my aloe's earth</p><p>hoping it'll persuade</p><p>its growth back to center</p><p><br /></p><p>where we all strive</p><p>to be</p><p><br /></p><p>unsure of whether</p><p>or not</p><p>what she used</p><p>to prop the former</p><p>will help heal the latter</p><p><br /></p><p>but it's important</p><p>to come off as being whole</p><p><br /></p><p>when you're trying </p><p>to help fix</p><p>what's broken.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-62465910978379367382023-09-19T18:54:00.001-05:002023-09-19T18:54:46.684-05:00Champagne Toast<p>What it sometimes</p><p>means to be</p><p>a friend</p><p>to the friendless:</p><p><br /></p><p>weaponized sex</p><p>for strategic advantage.</p><p><br /></p><p>The cigarette</p><p>ruined the photo.</p><p>The rest of it ruined</p><p>the rest of me.</p><p><br /></p><p>I need you to leave</p><p>because I don't want you</p><p>to hear it.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-66590150565322873442023-09-10T19:16:00.002-05:002023-09-10T19:16:22.815-05:00Stalemate Understood<p>My head rests on his shoulder</p><p>in the Sunday stillness</p><p>of his bedroom.</p><p>I stroke his broad chest</p><p>back and forth</p><p>like the tide of the river</p><p>he's always lived along</p><p>waded into</p><p>and may or may not</p><p>have returned from</p><p>depending on who's asked.</p><p><br /></p><p>If my hand stops moving</p><p>he'll assume I don't care</p><p>so my fingertips skate</p><p>across skin and hair.</p><p>I make the mistake</p><p>of stopping</p><p>and he shifts</p><p>half-an-inch.</p><p><br /></p><p>"Sorry," I say.</p><p>"For what?" he asks</p><p>without opening his eyes.</p><p>"I'm not him,"</p><p>but in saying so</p><p>he's more "him"</p><p>than he would have been</p><p>in silence.</p><p><br /></p><p>He swims in my stomach</p><p>until we both nod off</p><p>temporarily distracted.</p><p><br /></p><p>What wounds to bear.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-22119092605089500962023-09-09T19:51:00.003-05:002023-09-09T19:51:43.806-05:00Outriggers<p>Between measurements</p><p>and cuts</p><p>at one of </p><p>our many vices</p><p>he blurts </p><p>what he shouldn't</p><p>with me </p><p>as his only witness.</p><p><br /></p><p>I remind him</p><p>of his transgression</p><p>as only </p><p>a brother can.</p><p><br /></p><p>"I'm an asshole,</p><p>but I'm your asshole,"</p><p>he reminds me</p><p>in the same way.</p><p><br /></p><p>Together, as always</p><p>we throw rocks</p><p>from the shore</p><p>at an island.</p>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-63074792405937420362023-09-05T21:02:00.001-05:002023-09-05T21:02:24.606-05:00Shortchanged<p>Few want the truth</p><p>partner</p><p>(as my newly departed </p><p>uncle used to call me</p><p>a la spaghetti Western)</p><p><br /></p><p>but you ain't </p><p>the only one</p><p>who bunches up your blanket</p><p>at night</p><p><br /></p><p>and tosses an arm over it</p><p>pretending that it's someone</p><p>who's worth a walk through coals</p><p><br /></p><p>though a captain should know</p><p>survivor's guilt be damned</p><p>that loose lips</p><p>sink ships</p><p>with strange ejaculations.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-463232480015817971.post-74704955730109473802023-09-03T19:35:00.001-05:002023-09-03T19:35:07.457-05:00Brother's Keeper<p>The garbage can stank</p><p>like meat juice on styrofoam</p><p>so I took it for a walk</p><p>to the dumpster behind my building.</p><p><br /></p><p>After chucking the trash</p><p>I swung by my truck </p><p>in the adjacent parking lot.</p><p><br /></p><p>Half in the bag</p><p>I asked the guy</p><p>who's living in his car</p><p>if he's living in his car.</p><p>"Nah, man."</p><p>"Need anything?"</p><p>"Nah, man. </p><p>I appreciate you."</p><p><br /></p><p>I finished my smoke</p><p>and walked upstairs</p><p>to my lonesome luxuries.</p><p><br /></p><p>We'd both reached a point</p><p>where it didn't make sense</p><p>to hide it.</p><div><br /></div>davehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06166447626193499467noreply@blogger.com0