Current Events

the Kings are winning
and everyone else is not

man's impulses manifest in violent
uncivilized
unhealthy
unloving
ways

fear is the most human trait
and those that feel it the most
are the best

and those that feel it the least
are gods

you don't have a chance

you never had a chance

this
and more
at 10 o'clock
and until the end of us

hell vomits angels
recovery is prayer
god is just the maid

It's Okay Just to Think You're an Artist

beautiful blank canvases get ugly
real quick

so you dip your brush in the water
swish it around
real good

wipe your fingers over the bristles
to make sure it's clean
and set it down

look into that endless white
make up a story about how it's good for you
and keep telling that same story with conviction
for the rest of
all you got

Halloween

she looked
like a Reese's peanut butter cup
and she kept calling me "pumpkin"

it wasn't until after my lips were bleeding
that i realized my mistake

always check your candy

Writer's Block

the small difference between the writer
and the clergyman
is what's on his
page

and sometimes
the writer
knows when nothing is there

That's an Old Email Address

she ran into him in a south side bar

meeting her coworker for a cocktail

he looked like

the dogs of every day

had been taking bites

like

he'd been taking way too many bets

and losing

"what are you doing over here?"

she asked him

he didn't answer with a lie

but just the longest way of

saying "i don't know"

there were lost birds nested on both of his shoulders

but the dirt under his fingernails looked right at home

he was working

he wasn't broke

he wasn't homeless

so she wouldn't have to feel too bad about cutting it short

a tentative coffee date

to be determined in a tentative email

it wasn't until it was too late

that she remembered

she forgot to give him

her new address

People put far too much emphasis on the relationship between strangeness, and artistry. I don't believe that normalcy has ever impaired the creativity in any of my moody personalities.

She Always Looked Like a Saturday Night to Me

even on a tuesday morning

i used to stand behind her in the bathroom
as she got ready
for work

i was off on tuesdays
so there was no better way to start my day
than smoking a joint while i watched her
put on the day's make-up

she didn't need it
but she knew how to use it

she had
more to offer than  looks
inspite of the times i told her she didn't

when we talked about music
it was always great

her paintings were beautiful
but she had a hard time believing it

a worthy Scrabble opponent

plenty to offer
other than physical features

but she
did
have the looks

and she looked better
getting on a bus
than most girls
do in the club

big bad eyes
tight thin lips
soft milky cheeks
and a body dressed for the dance floor

hot
gorgeous
fine as hell

if it wasn't for
alcoholism and low self-esteem
i would have never had a chance

This Dark Stage

ac/dc's
Back in Black begins

she steps out
in stilettos and fishnets
a towel and a bottle of Windex

she wipes down the pole
and i hate that she has to wipe down
the pole

maybe some of the men enjoy it
because one pole reminds them
of another

i get that

other men might like it
because they're bullies in their hearts
and like to see a woman clean

but i'm a performer
and watching a dancer wipe her own pole
reminds me of all the clubs i played

putting yourself up on stage for someone else
baring it all for someone else
and not being appreciated

it's not about the money
i know this chick's getting paid
sometimes i even got paid

it's the being up there
and feeling like you're on your own

i want to say
"Hey, i'll do that, you're the talent!"
but i know that would be weird
so i just pull out my wad of ones
and keep my mouth shut

A Dead Thing Laughs

each fiber tickles
   helpless black comedy

joke around a neck
   hilarious last breaths

punchline of the noose
   funny little goodbyes

An Ax That Refused Destiny

the blade
has always
been dull

how it was made

never
good at
what it
was meant to do
or maybe it
was meant to do
something different

nothing at all

maybe this one ax
not fashioned to swing

maybe this one ax
cast only to sit
observe
the growth
and destruction
of the world around it

without ever growing too fast
without being destroyed too soon

for this one ax
perhaps
rust was the only fate

Nosferatulip

no matter how damned everything is 

i keep a flower in my coffin 

to remind myself that 

the sun

still offers me something