Poems

NRL NEW

it’s like vegas in here

Too Much Room

staple 'em down i say the stars and the moon

How to Summon the Sun

stain 10 cups tap water with 5 tablespoons coffee

First Night in the New House

Because the furnace was broken, we turned on the oven

All 88 at Once

i hear your music through the walls

The Usual Bricks

rebuild from coffee up the morning that collapsed

As I Wade Back Out Into the Shallow End of the World

let me also remember the joy of floating upright as far from the ground as from the sky

Old School Empty

the moon fails to put a shine on these lustless unremarkable hauntings

Orion

follow the tic-tac-toe of his belt that’s his dog that bright one right there

Grenade

where am i what am i doing here why am i holding this hand grenade

Among the Ashes

one layer at a time the sky collapses till a dark gold ring surrounds the earth

Where the Dust Gathers

prematurely gone to dust there i fell and there i stayed

Salaryman

bless this home and all those employed here

Match Head

i’m taking you back out of this dark and forgetting place into the daunting glare of the stage lights

Swerve

long overdue long look at yourself

Quiet Little Ruckus

finally got around to raising that ruckus took me long enough am i right

Chokes and Warbles

My loveliest chokes and warbles fall, rise, echo unheard, return to earth and die.

How to Write a Poem in a Single Sitting

crack your knuckles pray for insight play metallica

Moth and Me

a moth flitted around my phone as i fired up a game

Miracle of the Pond

ducks waggled through like tourists kids the same left footprints in the muck like the ones on the moon but deeper

Secret Reading

i lean against my car for one more bukowski poem

Come Again?

there will be birds who know you by name not a one of them can be trusted

Rag Quilt

thought he was praying but he was scrolling through his phone

Lemon Juice

you overlooked the path of my fingerprints highlighting the secret message

Workaround

what if it hurts forever?

Sutures

my daily mouthful of blood

Formerly a Bird

this used to be a bird

Frogs

thousands of tadpoles attempt to ripen into a throng of frogs

Plague in the Time of Love

make love to the virus

Somewhat of a Miracle

no one posts a facebook congrats on my minor reincarnation

The Bag

i broke free on a tuesday

How Much?

the weave of color that heaves up over the hill like flags of a safe and welcoming country

The New Weird

rules have changed and nearness is the new weird

This Breath

plunge your face into the petals let the scent absorb you

One Road, Separate Storms

my storm dropped around me as i drove

My Tremor

some genetic gear slipped its strand announcing my decline

Skein

dying is the ugly scribble of yarn wasted as you learn to loom

Without Knowing

this is the day you'll find god

Drugs I Could Never Say No To

i get the shakes if i go too long without

Undone

you savage your errant words with a pencil’s unforgiving end as if to punish the paper for its lack of oversight

75¢

it seems every year they up the price of a dream

Parking Lot

when you have nothing to write about, you write about writing

Before the Clouds

it all seems heavier at night the rage of all those eons heaving down upon you

Acorn

an acorn remembers its future

Indifferent Sky

your eyelashes and birthday smoke fetch nothing from an indifferent sky

Commencement Address

i have no advice to give no pearls of wisdom to disperse

Umlaut

it lives on basement dank and starves its own dreams just to make them stronger

Game On

the dice drop nothing but eyes

Like Button

oh the rush of accomplishment that comes with that click

Alone

what you find you keep to yourself what you love you love alone

Hope Fled

hope fled and i sped after in a '98 taurus shaking like a wet puppy and reaching out the window every twenty seconds to wipe the rain from the windshield

Block

you leave all the pages empty the ink unspent

Eleven Haiku for Ella

How can a perfect stranger come into your life and hijack your heart?

Overhead

above the broken dunkin' donut promises

Rock-and-Roll Haiku

All the girls swooned for A guy who could play guitar. I took up the bass

Anthology

poor aurora like a sunflower heavy with lovely bent by the weight of her own light

Example

write down a word quickly the first that comes to mind

Reflection in Barstow

i looked into a truck stop mirror and saw

Next Time

next time i say no i'll mean it

To the Child I Hope to Have

we fully expect you to hate us once in a while almost as an after school hobby

Drive

into and out of the parking garage through the front door with a card swipe the elevator is waiting to eat you

A Month of Haiku

tight black power lines cut the sky into ribbons the clouds do not mind

My River My Woman

my river is a woman as beautiful and fearsome as any i've known

Hard to Find

i will never be a rich man but i can give you poetry

Scrapbook

now reach again into this fire it is also your heart

Roost

a loud and lonesome bird has built its nest in my heart

Wink

far greater than any sunset i've ever seen or any ocean i've ever challenged are the soft weapons of her eyes

The Tree Outside My Window

i prefer my tree dressed in april

Debt

his eyes follow me i sit only a few feet away and tell him it's not safe here

Restless Toy

when it begins to break hold your heart in your hands feel it kick like a restless toy

January Lies

january lies and says you're forgive

Dark December Elves

dark december elves scuttle cross the rooftop tuck and pitch down the flue

Right With the World

unfamiliar with the usual posturing i prayed from my chair over coffee

Rainbow

i live with a black cat named rainbow

Teach My Kiss to the Cactus

the sky rolled like a funhouse barrel and she fell tumbling to unfold at my feet

HA!

everything was easy cash like a pad of post-it notes and time enough to ramble and pause

This Weekend

don't come calling this weekend my phones will all be melted my doors will all be dumb

Nothing Wrong

astronomers and meteorologists are hard at work even as i speak to find a perfectly good explanation for the rain of blood

Exterminator

all junkies must be destroyed

Firefly

one remains between granny's nails blinks and buzzes and worries its wings

Sleep 13

My heart moves like a shuffled deck.

God Damn America

i believe if god touches us at all, it will be with the back of his hand