surf another wave
of cyclical maturation
I am who I am, you
are who you are–
static trust– your white
noise a velcro
loosening of being
unhinged– I leave cities
faster than lovers, cruise
the interstate in blindfolds
before rumble strip sobers
me beyond the paved path
(originally published in Bindweed Magazine, Summer 2021)
in darkness we wade
into this shimmering orb
a crystallized common
ground beneath the palm trees
in this desert spanning the time
since I saw you last I lived in my car
when you went on vacation
and handed me the key to your home
for the week wood panels covering
your windows blocking light
I remember thinking I’ve lost
my sense of place like
sleeping through a daydream
staring at the ceiling
from your pond-sized bed
I could not wait
to leave the key
in the top drawer
of your dresser and
never see you again
because I didn’t
want to tell you
your home was more
like a prison at least when living
in a car there’s the
illusion of motion
with nowhere else to go
I find myself with you
now in this outdoor pool
swimming on its own
(originally published in Ariel Chart, Summer 2019)
I had been eating like shit living
in my car, fingernails full of fungus.
We agreed to meet in Japantown
to enjoy a fancy ramen
but this would be my first
in many years
that wasn’t Maruchan
(cheap crinkly plastic,
cancer-flavored beef-dust
in a sawtooth packet)
& you must be aware the body
struggles to digest it.
During our meal,
two years since
we last talked,
the cheap ramen must have
intermingled in my stomach
with the pork-broth
real deal. I put an egg
on top for authenticity
when you told me you had
just bought Coachella tickets
for yourself & your brother
& I didn’t want to know the
price because I was living
on wages made on the days
I was lucky enough to
find work. Umami
lingered on my tongue
as we ruminated
in silence over
how vast the distance
our lives traveled
in different directions.
(originally published in Triggerfish Critical Review, Winter 2020)
I am reliving and reliving the remote
control buttons then buttons
in your bed, golden room of silk
and how many times did we drink
like that? Dropping beer after beer
at Zeno’s then groaning summer sleep
right after. What were we dreaming
about? The cat was snoring and
what an endless loop! Blinking
awake and wanting to crush
night back with aluminum eyelids
(originally published in The Drunken Llama, Summer 2021)
grow fonder, or so is said,
but I’ve learned it as distance
makes the heart forget us–
the equation is miles plus
time equals a greater radius,
as between words dangling
on a phone line, or inflections
slung from mouths through
the atmosphere onto a satellite,
far removed from its origin,
home now absolute zero, cosmos
cold and steel, this floating coffin
a language of longing, your voice
massaging my eardrums through
silence
(originally published in Academy of the Heart and Mind, Fall 2019)
Happy to announce my third chapbook, Count Seeds With Me, is now available! These are poems written in 2020 during the height of quarantine. The books are beautifully handmade and offered in limited quantities, so get your copy over at Ethel’s shop for just $9!
What I was telling Kurt
was the danger
nostalgia
of loneliness
too close to the wound
a candle drips
old-timey tunes
still fresh
like traveling
through the pinhole
of a new vortex
I say I am alive
and someone new
knows there is
disagreement
in the leaves
how this fall
they are not
changing
only pulling
by the shoulders
saying you
will come
along
whether
you want to
or not
(originally published in Pretty Cool Poetry Thing, 2019)
bedroom, black Walkman
spinning CD-Rs of Mega Man
music. I want to dance–
anything but obsidian.
Scraped knees learning
to ride a bike– bloodstained
handlebars leaving the woods.
I can handle myself better
now, not always falling into
potholes I noticed yesterday.
Last week, driving home
from work in the city,
my tires hissed
as they failed to replicate
their cells, then blew out
in the middle of the road
in the warehouse district.
But I had music going–
OverClocked ReMixes
from Chrono Cross,
which got me thinking
about the Winds of Time,
parallel universes,
the inevitability of Lavos–
I had to call for help.
I spent green youth
cooped in front of
the basement television.
Now, if I were to fetishize
anything it would be
no real consequences–
to the cyclical parallels
of the universe.
(originally published in Dear Reader, Summer 2021)
Our world is made
of water, of sadness.
Blue hues in a
supermarket’s faces.
Green bills,
blue hills.
These are wings of sky,
the mechanics of flight:
sidewalks float bugs
that gently illuminate.
There are no more
fireworks, only quiet
landing of legs
onto concrete,
the resting a belief
you do your best,
you try.
(originally published in The Sunlight Press, 2020)
After Mikko Harvey
I don’t
want you
to be
scared. Maybe
thinking of
a cat
would help.
Have you
seen
the video of
the one
waddling into
the ocean
to be with
her friend?
She swims
onto his
head
and they stay
afloat.
When they’re done,
she beelines
through sand
to the towel
he set up
on the
beach,
and he pours
sun-warmed
water to
heat her up
before he rubs
her down.
Sometimes we
have to remember
the world before.
We don’t know
what’s going
to happen.
Kingsford and DQ
are especially
tender
at a time
like this.
What
are we
supposed
to do?
Not pet
them?
Right now,
DQ is snoring
on the blue
blanket of
the futon
without
a worry.
Our first
three years
have been
that soft.
I hope
this passes
soon.
Until then
we will squeeze
each other–
holding
our cats
close, all of
us afloat.
(originally published in Pendemic, Spring 2020)