Reunion Reduction

I see less of these people whom I know.

I know less of these people whom I see.

I have tasted a reduction of reunions –

Each of them seems to mean more to me.

Each of them seems more meaningless.

Subject-Subject Agreement

I have heard it argued that love knows no object,

That it will not stop for distance,

That it will not stop for money,

That it will not stop for time.

I would agree that love knows no objects.

It makes subjects out of all those acquainted with it.

Why They Don't Let Poets Be Scientists

Scientists see a call for research.
Scientists see something to publish.
Scientists see a jurisdictional dispute
Between the arachnologists and entomologists.
Scientists see a reason to argue.

I see tiny things dancing
Around a tiny maypole
Inside a tiny fence.

Fall in Montana, Pt. 2: Unseen

It arrives a pleasant surprise. It leaves unseen.

With hindsight, we may know where it came from.

The clever may even know what it is made from,

But it cannot be summoned or commanded,

Nor can it be stored and kept on hand,

Because a cool breeze is happiness,

and happiness is a cool breeze.

Coincidence Sucks

Your hair was looking its usual self.

Translated: It looked good,

and you walked with that swagger I've no doubt you learned

In a kinder, gentler hood.

and I even recognized your shirt.

I've seen you wear it before.

Then, suddenly you turned around

and it wasn't you anymore.

On This Site In 1897

It looked like it could have rained today,

But it held off.

The manager looked like she'd hire me right away,

But she held off.

The guy in front of me on the road today

Looked like he might actually use the gas pedal,

But he held off.

I think I would have liked a beer or eight,

But I held off.

It was a crazy day today.

Nothing happened.

A Poem About Nothing

I ate the same breakfast as last morning.

I ate the same breakfast as every morning,

and I felt nothing.

I ate the same lunch as nevery afternoon.

I tried a new place for lunch today.

I still felt nothing.

I had my first job interview in months.

It seemed like an exciting opportunity,

Like I could go to some exciting places.

It seemed like it went pretty well.

It certainly went somewhere.

I still felt nothing.

I went to the restroom. In the stall

Was written “don't piss it all away.”

I felt that it was pretty deep

For men's room graffiti, anyway.

Belief

I am a man of appetite,

But I believe I have forgotten hunger.

I am a man in want,

But I believe I have outgrown greed.

I would tell you

That I think you're something to look at,

But I don't believe I'll be taking you home.

I believed the officer when he told me

That I don't ever want to do drugs,

That I don't ever want to be half-alive.

I believe the officer was half right.

One-Pixel Visual Hallucination

Staring into the brilliant blue

Of a reflection that shouldn't have been,

I saw the universe flash before my eyes.

Galaxies of possible implausibilities

Inspired an accidental smile

and had my heart's switch halfway to 'on.'

Then it was gone.

The Writer's New Clothes

I was born wearing emperor's clothes,

With both shoulders intact,

The skin still on my nose,

and then life came and taught me the rest:

To fight for the wrong things,

To settle for less.

A good student, I learned my lessons well.

Sometimes knowledge, as power, corrupts.

This sent me halfway to hell.

Enemy/Creepy

Evangelists of many religions seem to see

Humanism as an alternative, and thus an enemy,

A perception which never made speck of sense to me.

Nobody could love our race the same as deities,

and even if they do, it's not dangerous, just a lotta bit creepy,

But maybe I've known too many humans.

With a Capital 'A' (pt. 2)

I know girlfriends as traitors who sometimes steal things

and leaders as elders with clippers for wings.

I've long known to keep to and fend for myself,

'Cause a stranger might rob me, but no way he helps.

My avatar has been shot in the back at the spawn.

I've been cheated, and I've been cheated on.

Those pitfalls, the falling, are part of the day,

But you are a hole with a capital 'A'.

With a Capital 'A' (pt. 1)

Sometimes A Girlfriend,

Or A Coach, or A Teacher,

A Mentor or A Muse,

A Tool that's especially easy to use,

Or even A Spectacular Sandwich–

Any example of greatness–

Deserves a capital 'A'.

Your Old Stuff May Vary

Music orders my very life.

It's civilized and it's primal.

Music keeps me breathing, keeps time.

Its memory is chronological.

The old stuff, which is whatever I first heard,

Is the strongest nostalgia hormone.

What I hear now has only the power of words.

The old stuff is always better.

Politically Correct, Just Plain Wrong

In order to better serve the needs of a public,

Among which there are two acceptable opinions,

We will now be introducing, in alternating years,

Job Creators Day in September

and Conscientious Objector's Day in May.

Cooperation is mandatory.

We thank you for your cooperation.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

You can spend time, but not invest it.

There is no place to put hours and earn seconds.

I can only ever see so many things.

I can only ever see so many sounds.

I can only ever be so many places.

I can only ever think so many thoughts.

My budgeting starts with you.

Who Was That Guy?

I think I could still be that guy,

The one with windows all the way down,

The one with the music all the way up,

Who has a long way to go nowhere,

A way with the pedal and the steering wheel.

I wish I was that guy,

The midnight picnicker,

With people who don't mind

The cheapest beer,

and the cheaper laughs,

The like-minded.

I don't know that guy.