Bliss-ter

Raw nerves
rubbed wrong
agony
a hummed-out song
this friction
inflaming
so much better
than fiction
burn
second degree
pain as
a pedigree
wounded deep
craving salt
dislocated
memories
hurts so good
blisters clarify
two more lines
to hide my crime

Truth or Dare

A man’s daughter at 4,
a man’s daughter at 15;
Truth or Dare, two very different games

Rx Ad Vice

Don’t want/need pharmaceuticals
I can die when I die
on my own time
for my own crimes
I don’t need help
to correct course
right horse
I will ride boat
when tides are right
I will pay the ferryman
when dues are due
I will live my life
and die when true

I will not swallow that kind of advertised vice

Advertisement

Heads Nod

My mind
is aligned
w/ exit sign

I’m falling asleep
while everyone else’s
heads nod
I’m laying sod
while you pretend
to be god
I’m sound asleep
while you dream sweet things

drum machine
is streaming

wires in your ceiling
cease all feeling
in my feet
my self-esteem

provocative
and talkative
and lacking any
intellect

I cannot betray even the thought of you

First Aid Station

String me up
till I can’t breathe
pull my teeth
comforting
motherly
deity
come to me
come to me early
steal my words
steal my faith
I got it
I got it made
so long as
I know where is
the first aid station
direct me to
my best intentions
I should probably stop here
this is my stop
I should probably get off
here

I’m slipping through the cracks
through the pores in my skin

I would gladly host your panic attack
in exchange for my apathy

Violent Streak

Violent images
streak across
mind’s tv screen
like a buzzing fly
destined to be swatted
to leave behind
worse red mess
violent thoughts
inopportune time
a shaking hand
just a nervous tick away
from a car crash
a brilliant flash of
splintered plastic & glass
shards of misgivings
left behind

Neon Yawn

I’m living
a daydream
and sleeping
through
my greatest traits
while you are
awake
and living life
to its fullest.

Treading

treading quicksand
on this
break-neck quest

to find truth and
who I
am and all that

keeping
head
above water

excelling
at one thing
at least

Ganesha

Anomaly

I am
an
anomaly

it’s funny
how little
I care about sports

football
Sunday
Broncos are on

third game
of the season
2-0, that much I know

first game I’ve
bothered
to even “watch”

I listen
to the
announcers’

play by play
4th and 12
means nothing to me

instead, I bury
my eyes
in laptop

try
to write
some poetry

the only thing
that captures
my attention

is the intentional
loudness
of the commercials

screaming at me
with music
the same kind

of music
steadying heartbeats
at Starbucks

prompting me
to buy
shit I don’t need

shit I can’t
afford
shit I need to be real

telling me to buy
the official
beer of the NFL

so I might drink
and forget that football
players are human too

they drink and drive
and do drugs
they beat women

and get concussed
and are carted
off the field

a slap on the wrist
a few games off
and an 8-figure penalty

yeah I am
an anomaly to think
such things