Henrietta
we would go shopping in Henrietta
the sprawl near our town
parking lots stretched forever
watching from the left side of the car
it felt like another planet
fluorescent and asphalt
its monotony broken by signs
the kind you’d find in airports
I’d get nauseous in Henrietta
from the traffic and ice cream
the dazzle of a new toy to take back
to Penfield
we all now live in Henrietta
mom’s gone with the sheen
we find occasional pleasures
amidst flash food warnings
Men
I will do the wrong thing
I’ll do it with style
just to prove
I’m alive
of course you’re correct
of course you’re clever
that’s why I’m burning it all down
just to start over
Like a human
love takes off our pants
leaves on our masks
settling on lands
claimed by earlier peoples
running our rackets
offering blankets
reading histories
to learn about our evils
as Sinatra plays
we go on our way
smirking at prayers and players
in the chapel
We call it a day
robbed of our fates
unsure if anything we did
was ever helpful
On Vibrate
vibrate the metaphors
fly the songs
attack tomorrow
with all you’ve got
sex the silence
dazzle the verbs
eat the film
cos there’s no cure
Situations Circumstances Complications Consequences
where does time go
in these times
like to get some back
yours and mine
I can read the news
almost make it rhyme
but I get so tied up in
this life of
situations circumstances complications consequences
there’s no confusion anymore
you’re expected to know
what it’s all for
and the things you learned
don’t add up to a future
what do they expect out of you
I know something about you
I know how we feel
how we move
further than that it’s all
a trap do you blame me for not
believing the truth of
we might never get our day
but we’ll fight to make it change
moving in a möbius comic
Beautiful Objections
there’s what you want
what you need
what you feel
what you believe
what you eat
what you breathe
darling we’re
living things
with beautiful objections
nice problems
keeping us occupied
within this life
there’s your time
your need for space
your desires
your need to be correct
your morals
your parents’ photos
that symbol
around your neck
your dreams
what you think of me
this fucked up
reality
beautiful objections
a great mess
hidden logic
patterns undetected
what we do
how we dream
the weekend
my money
another meal
another kiss
things on your mind
sudden flowers
Favorite Films
I’ve become someone else again
under the influence of a film
something I’ve read
and the weather
I just can’t understand how
I do this job
pay the rent
why we’re still together
leaving is always strong
quitting never feels wrong
familiar disappointment’s
my secret drug
my favorite superhero movie’s
the one about people
who wake up happy everyday
and do their lives
Not yet
they’ll get
all they got coming
watch them gloat
with a satisfaction
bordering on sadism
give them their moment
let it get into your blood
so for when we strike
late at night
you won’t feel
the slightest
hesitation
Promises
Where did it go-your promise
to yourself or the world
you’d held it; protected it
for all those years
to release to
an audience of fools
it flew like an untethered balloon
or a deli bag on the wind
the sense of loss or regret
tempered by the beauty
of the dance
of life’s currents
all promises to the wind
as you wake up
and recommit yourself
to the present moment
Limited Edition
this is a limited edition
short print run
there’s only one
extant copy
you’re the one
there’s an invisible mission
you can’t understand
you get a few breadcrumbs
that fall out of your hands
and most won’t know
a thing you’ve been told
and many can’t see
what you can truly be
this is a limited edition
it can’t sell out
it only goes up in value
with all you’ve done
we can speculate
they can counterfeit
but when you’re gone
there’ll be none left