POEM A DAY 2020

countdown poem

i have 9 minutes to write this poem
it seems i'm rushing always lately
and i like to slow down
but now when i slow down all i want is sleep
and i can't sleep now
i have 8 minutes to finish this poem
it seems i have no idea what this poem is really about
and i wonder why i bother writing it
but i suppose the act of writing makes me stronger
and i'm better for it now
i have 7 minutes to find a way to end this poem
it seems my countdown is in line with the clock
and each section takes exactly 1 minute
but now i'm behind schedule
i have 5 minutes to write this poem
it seems i really don't have anything else to say
and it's just dragging on now
but i've started it so i'll finish it
i have 4 minutes left to write this poem
it seems that's all there is
and i'm done
but i still have 3 minutes left to think about what i wrote

No Loitering

LEISURE WORLD,
my grandfather's store
still unerased along
the main drag, never re-
claimed after he went to
jail for tax evasion and
found the lord.

Unlike Fred's where my
mother hid from her classmates
while shopping. She found my
father in LEISURE WORLD,
knew his family name, walked through
aisles and racks with aspiration.
"There is still time for me," to
learn how to ski, to buy these
shorts, to wear those Nike's, to
do whatever people do with the
things that bring them to this
store.

"I am at this store!" my mother
screams, and my father's father
takes notice. "Not Fred's where my
mother shops, not the liquor store
where my sister meets the love her
life on Tuesdays and Wednesdays."
I can walk here. I can get a ride.


My father's father looks at my mother
his customer and asks, "But for how
long can you come to this store?"
My mother searches her pockets,
and buys baseball cards and football
cards. She asks for money from her mother.
She buys a pack every two days, and puts them
away, never opening.

In the mirror

Standing naked next to you
I feel
Thirty-two
Hovering around 145 pounds
Five foot six
Hippy and thighy
Pale and moley
Ever hairy
Ever horny
And sort of excited
About all of it.

Lucas Ave Ext (Wedding day)

the firemen come drop off the tables and chairs
the soccer team sets up the tent
there is a moment behind the house
with the autistic cousin
where everyone is bonding
in a positive way
but also feels like it must be
at his expense
like with the shy red haired kid
the popular boys started to call
buff after he left the outside of his
identity paper bag blank because
nobody sees me
and the cousin's name is duff
and the old high school crush
from the soccer team
tries to hold my hand
what future scenario could be beyond
imagining?
(that marriage didn't last)
what union is infallible?
how many tables will you need for
the next wedding?

Half A Haze

DEATH WISH

Stakes Is High

Looking weak,