the way a map lies, as though the earth were ever enough, and the existential stare across the green-blue painted paper, there, where ‘x’ marks a spot, and this thin, leaflike page cannot fathom depths of the oceans or the mountains high, and the pale blue of this ink knows little of what I think […]
Category: Poems
From poetry to short prose, a list of current creative projects
A Safe Flight
“This is your Captain speaking – we have now reached an altitude of 10,000 feet, so you may turn on any electronic devices other than cell phones or other radio-equipped devices. We are expecting a pleasant flight today on our way out west, as we chase the sun. Please remain in your seat unless the […]
Abner
that warm spot on the ground, the one where the sunlight floods the floor from through the blinds, left little light lines adjacent the hardwood pine paneling, and it’s your favorite place to rest your head, or instead, maybe you just want to shine and pretend, with precious eyes closed, to sleep a peace I […]
Jerusalem
center of the world whose birthpangs never end, dusty streets and chimes that know no peace, save what’s left from hope: you are a city of too many walls, a rat’s maze for cheese no longer there, yet still rank with violence. oh my gods of this world, or a god of another, bring to […]
Bill Placher
a monument to humility, he’d lean back against the chalkboard, always to dirty his cordoruy blazer unknowingly, and with a deep interest, he’d posit a one-word response, beckoning more out of us, students – no – friends, a casual chat in the classroom – no – the living room, as it were, our scarlet house, […]
Hey Diddle Daddle
the man in the moon, awake in his cradle had lost all his friends, save the dish and the ladle, while the little ole’ pup was a-struttin’ to-and-fro, and the cat with the fiddle played a tune for the show. though, the man in the moon who had diddled back-and-forth, had his eye on a […]
Nashville VI
quiet lights about the city, twilight till she goes to sleep, one-by-one, they dim in pity, as all good people count their sheep. stars might mingle with the metal, the towers lost within the sky, nighttime Nashville starts to settle, but as for me, I question why. the pacing of the sun and moon, a […]
Nashville V
oh Nashville, Athena’s wrath teases you, like some game with mortal lives is all it is to goddesses, no matter how tall your glory stands in steel and glass, I, too, cast lots with lies, while winds still blow down from Olympus and chill us straight to the bone, do not let this heart harden […]
Pinocchio
I walked my sins around the block and ran into Pinocchio, and we had ourselves a little chat about all the things Geppetto fucked up. He said he wanted to be a real boy, and his nose grew a little, and I wished I could be wood, but if I were, my nose would’ve grown […]
Satiate
I wanna eat with you, fancy dinners, enlightened dining halls. I know there’s some logic to what you’ve said. And every mountain you’ve placed before me, I haven’t climbed well. I haven’t used the bones that lay there inside me; I’ve had a scrawny body. And I’ve been quite out of shape. I refused the […]
