The path forksI retreatInto the vacuumOf my whirring mindDetermined to polish my decisionTo a high sheen of certaintyTo imagine a futureSo controlledI can see my own faceReflected in its surface But the faster I spinThe more lost I becomeIn a black holeOf my own creationMy core feels empty, expanding(Was that once a bellybutton?)To a fathomless …
Category Archives: Poetry
Tin
For Zachary Ten yearsNamed for tinBecause after that all timeIt is strong and durable, so they say But I find myself thinking of tinkersWith hammers and shearsPerhaps marriage isThat too There is beauty in the dented, mended watering canThat can still hold water, that can still nourish life Note: I wrote this poem on 20 …
The bird’s nest
For Holocaust Memorial Day PreservedAs a necessaryMonumentTo brutality A wind blowsThroughThe draughty Barracks ShelvesFor piled bodiesOn the cusp ofSilence EmptyExcept memoriesJust walls nowFloor People lived hereDiedSurvivedHuman souls DeathShadowsWatchingWitnesses And yetIn the raftersLifeEndures A bird’s nestEmptyPreservedLife Photo by Serafima Lazarenko on Unsplash Note: Many years ago, I visited Auschwitz with Zach while he was living in …
Beware
Beware the ones who sayI’ve read thatTo every book you mentionWho always have a counterexample Or a riposte, who are never caughtWithout a ready answerAnd exist in a state of impermeable poise Beware the ones who file awayKnowledge like munitionsTrapped in an intellectual arms raceWho consume to increase their powerRather than to appreciate their ignoranceAnd cannot …
Fairytales
If deathIs an unhappy endingThen all our storiesHave unhappy endings That is not howI want to see my lifeViewed through fogged glassOf grief and loss Happily ever afterDoes not requireImmortality or denialWe choose it every day Photo by Cederic Vandenberghe on Unsplash
Where’s mama?
(This poem / might be triggering / for some people) Where’s mama?She’s workingWhere’s mama?She’s in the bathroomWhere’s mama?She’s cooking dinnerShe’s writingShe’s busyWhere’s mama?Tonight she’s meeting a friend Where’s mama?She’s off on a visit to the doctorWhere’s mama?She’s cleaningIt makes her feel calmerWhere’s mama?She just needs a moment aloneSometimes we feel betterAfter a good cryWhere’s mama?She’ll …
Drifting
Before I slipBeneath the surfaceInto the world of dreamsI just want to sayI love youAnd did you rememberTo put out the garbage Photo by Matheus Vinicius on Unsplash
Luxury
What would our ancestors thinkIf they could see our palatial homesTaps with cold and hot waterThat doesn’t have to be carried in a bucket Would they marvel at the microwaveHeating a TV dinner at the press of a buttonAnd the magic of mobile phonesThat let us talk to loved ones across the globe What would …
The Load
My day is a backpack Splitting at the seamsStuffed to the brimWith countless tasks and dreams My life tries to struggle onTeetering from the weightI cram more time inside itI’m still somehow always late Set it downLook aroundFeel the ground Birds take flightBecause they travel light Photo by Adam Hornyak on Unsplash
Chicken Swimming
Oh yeah, he said, you justDrop them right in.Excellent exercise, swimming.Good for the joints. The surface of the pondWas still and clearExcept for a singleFeather floating But won’t they drown?He smiled.That’s what I’ve gotThis pole here for,To fish them outAfter a good workout. You see,The tricky part isn’tThe swimming.Those scrawny legsHave a powerful kick. The …