On not disappointing.

For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. -Habakkuk

Brian and I are getting married! Tell all your friends.

Forgive my negativity.
It has been too long since I have written any sweet words.

"On Cities"
I have not come across a place
as difficult as you.

Your parks and sidewalks
sparkle,

But tear up my boot's soles,
challenging me to take one more step.

So I climbed to the top of all the no-name bridges,
and sailed away to the jail at sea.

I cannot seem to grasp the congestion of square miles
or the vastness of one urban block.

He has fallen into your rhythms so well;
and I, bow my head in peace,

and command my troops
surrender to your composition.

la deuxième partie, so to speak

and i suppose a welcome is in order.

you there!

In Defense of the Canis lupus

I was born into the fold of black sheep.
Therefore, I believe I am allotted at least one major pitfall or setback in the next few years.
I have yet to cash in my token, but believe me, I am sure getting antsy.

Baa.

on holly avenue.

I
know
that
atonepointisaidthati
neverwantedanychildren.

Well, throw that cutie pie in a bassinet & call me a sucker.

water babys

It`s hard to believe
that you are coming
home after a day
at the lake.
Your cheeks swollen red,
your tiny fists sticky
&grabby for my
snarling hair;
your lips pucker &
eyes squeezed tight
taking a lion-sized
yawn...

It`s hard to believe
you have only been
here for 377 days; a
little sunlight, a
little rain, a little rest,
&hours of anxious nights:
I spy your papa in the
corner there--proud of
his accomplishments,
the feats of that day.

So, whisking you upwards
and releasing you to the sky;
I wait for your
heart to fall back in
to my rocking-chaired arms.

stream

droplets form on the freshly sliced cucumber`s edges, &i dip them in ranch because it`s my worldview, even though my sister is allergic to it &gets red rashes around her lips when the chicken nuggets are over-exuberantly dipped.
&i did see you walking on the sidewalk, looking smugly sheepish grasping that pink-striped bag in your left hand, most likely wandering home to its eager recipient, or maybe the gesture is not that sweet, but it is only a wednesday, and i like to think we save most of our sinnings for the week`s end.

the little things

bologna, italy.

to: all

2 days, pigeons.

"What`s that noise up the stairs, babe?
Is that Christmas morning creaks?
&I said I know it well,
I know it well."
-j.v.

yawn.

We forget the need &the desire &the comfort of communal solitude. how it comes so easily to our little bones to stay &work &work&work-ad nauseum.
but you wake up a little bit too early, &drop off your dear at the plane station [you secretly hope it leaves without them], &drive back home, &fall back asleep.
&wake up again.
then you drive&drive&drive some more...to a significantly inconsequential town that had a winning high school baseball team in 1999 or 2000. &you make jokes about the paved road in the middle of the red, packed down dirt-clay road that "someone had gotten a little too ambitious over."
&then you wait&wait&wait for a greying Vietnam veteran to explain to you that wolves are not, in fact, agressive. &then you watch one jump on your little sister. because she had gum in her pocket.
&then you walk&walk&walk to the coons, foxes, &skunks. &it has been overcast all day, &secretly you have been worrying that it is going to start pouring and ruin your shoes.
&then you sit down and someone hands you a skunk. So you hold her. Because she is sleepy. [&for the most part, she does not smell bad.]
&most of this time you are wondering how your plane-flying dear is.
But then you remember how you are.
So you ask the woman if it`s legal to own a pet skunk.
"In Florida..."

yip:

back to back with blades touching,
heel to toe and so on &so forth.
you near north;
i scream south.
he met a man, &shared his lunch,
she found a pup, &bandaged her paw.
the middle meets him:
"you don`t know whom i met today."
the middle greets her:
"i don`t know whom you met today."
they tiptoe backwards, till shoulders touch-
heel. toe. heel. toe. heel. toe.
&so on
and
so
forth.

d.l.s.

there was some thing about you last evening,
it was just, just...
what was it again, exactly?
there has been some thing about you,
for these past years now, even.

i couldn`t help but think on you &me

then you, you were up there,
unrecognizable, dressed in things you do not wear
but i could still read you,
like the oldest of stories,
&my favourite ticking clock of a book.

you flew back down to meet me, [you all ways do, you know]
smiling and thanking me for thinking of you

oh! the beauty &wisdom that seeps out of your weathered, faith full soul!
&my heart
like a forlorn wanderer,
that has stumbled upon such a peregrine oasis!

what child is this, sir?

"The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf &the lion &the fatling together, &a little child shall lead them." -Isaiah 11:6

Real Hero

"Anyone can slay a dragon, he told me, but try waking up every morning &loving the world all over again. That`s what takes a real hero."

september 3,2006.

Technically, mules (a cross between a donkey and horse) are unable to reproduce.
Technically, it appears I like to put limits on what You can do.
I hope to change that.

she put on happiness like a loose dress.

You dance inside my chest, where no one sees You,
But sometimes I see You
Rejoice.