hurry we have
to warn the whole complex
lock your doors
and hide your kids and pets
later i saw the tiger in question
curled up by the pool
a collar for possession
just a fat orange tabby
looking bored as hell
while everyone is stressing
i went and checked the mail
old mr whats his name waved me over from his parking spot
said “the national guard’s been called out!
word is there’s a tiger stalking about!”
i says “you people really need to calm down”
he said “it’s already killed three dogs and a man!”
hurry we have to
warn the whole complex
lock your doors
and hide your kids and pets
tweaker dude came pounding on my wall
said “the police are on their way”
he thinks it was a jaguar, loose in his condo
he said “it was spotted by the elementary school!”
i says “neither one of you are allowed to be there, dude, i’m glad you called the cops”
hurry we have to
warn the whole complex
lock your doors
and hide your kids and pets
brenda came running from the parking lot screaming “wait!”
said her “uncle’s friend saw a panther” faint
said “it leapt across the road in a single bound”
i says “since 1901, they’ve been hunted to extinction in this town”
she said that “it must’ve escaped from the zoo grounds!”
hurry we have to
warn the whole complex
lock your doors
and hide your kids and pets
mark was walking griffy down the sidewalk
stopped at my front door
said “hey neighbor we gotta an alarm ordered,
that lady saw a cougar we just heard it growl”
i says “ain’t no mountain lions here, mark. just take a look around!”
#poetry
Neighborhood Watch
lady down the way stopped us
said she “saw a bobcat”
i says “it probably wasn’t a bobcat”
she said “lock your doors and windows”
i says “i won’t be doing that”
hurry we have to
warn the whole complex
lock your doors
and hide your kids and pets
3/3
dreaming of alexandria
and how they cooked the books
marbled bodies of greek gods
and how no one even looks
they’re waiting in the break room
i’m disarmingly amused
again
i might skip lunch
2/3
you’re bragging at the water cooler
portfolio busting out the folder
you’ve never felt this cool before
you’re rug pulled in that order
that your standing on..
in the line for firing squads
that’s fun
probably gonna skip lunch
Take My Thirty
kinda crazy when i say shit
i know i shouldn’t get away with
they stay face value
and algebraic
i stay in mania and pretend
to be on the road to rehabilitation
ok
think i’ll skip lunch
1/3
3/3
i crawled out, past the sidewalk
bleed me dry
clocked in for the vampires
keeping me alive
there’s a drawer, with some cash in it
just past the front door
this is why they make me
take the medication for
2/3
point fingertips half baked like “fuck you..
fuck you.. you too, not one of you here is cool”
first to emerge from the boiling heat hella mean
all hit points and nondescript balls of meat
“hey P why won’t you eat with us?”
like their gravity affects my radius?
Pot Luck
broken box full stock pop art and layman’s terms
shaved down three blades deep soothing burns
pot luck lunch full of abrasive views
smoke break before i warm up the barbecue
1/3
sleep caught in the corners of my eyes
windows weep with nine to five sighs
i was made for mist not this melancholy
pressed wildflowers in my lunchbox
unclaimed gold on the timeclock
coffee tastes like i have to fucking work..
O potpourri of morning dew
purple melt into zinc white and sky blue
but i have to fucking work?
Petrichor
rain lied to me again
said it would come last night
then whispered maybe today
as clouds rolled high
waving goodbye
i still wait
knowing the rain lies
reeds don’t ever ask for water
reeds don’t ask the wind to dance
counting shapes
forgetting colors
the best smells never last
#poetry
idolatry in dollars
worshippers of wealth
power, greed
ignoring the needs
of those who bring
about their profits
soon to discover
their business is
only as successful
as the way they
treat their employees
and patrons
advice from a former
small business owner
August 9th is coming.
#vss365
(4/4)
making hope just another four letter word
#poetry
now they say:
stop making pennies
too inefficient
too expensive
not worth the metal
but that was never the point
it’s not about worth
it’s about hope
and it feels like they’re cutting that too
pressing it out of circulation
like we can’t afford small kindness anymore
(3/4)
maybe to buy a coffee
or just to feel less forgotten
maybe they don’t take it at all
just see it
and remember we’re not all gone
i leave one anyway
when i can
like planting a seed
a mystery
of what might grow
(2/4)
Take a Penny, Leave a Penny
i bet they’d ban that too
saying it “encourages loitering”
by some misread law
like hope could ever be a crime
but i still do it when i’ve got the cash
one red cent, copper bright
gleaming little beacon
like maybe it’s down to nothing
and this is just enough
(1/4)
(6/6)
hands held tight
no prayer to grip
reaching out
as visions slip
tongues go still
in the snake’s den
smoke rolls close
and i whisper
“amen”
spiral stairs
that never end
calls from something
mocking friends
disembodied bones
on steady beat
laughter echoes
down the street
ink runs out
from holy lines
knees gone raw
since ancient times
(5/6)
names scratched out
on window panes
teeth in jars labeled
“REMAINS”
clocks rewind
with not a sound
dust stirs up
from cur-sed ground
nails tap soft
behind the glass
eyes blink once
as shadows pass
(4/6)
