Category Archives: poem

the night before i died

before I left work
the temperature dropped
a good twenty degrees
in a fit and frenzy of a storm.

one hand smiled content in
a pocket while
the other called “home”
on speed dial.

walking, kicking leaves
blown down nonchalant
restless corners
yellow brown and dying

my mom talked about Christmas
and I talked about my cat
and with a “say hi to dad”
I hung up.

Ripples (i dreamt i saw you drown)

she shook him hard in his blankets
“i was dreaming –
i saw you drown”
she breathed hard, continued,

“the haze blurred
our overgrown backyard
the humidity oppressing
the few purple wildflowers and
the strange cat beneath the willow
we walked to the river.
you yelled for a swim but i couldn’t–
leaving fast for the fire
burning our old family photographs
our memories, our life,
so i blew out the flames and
i … i couldn’t see you
the sky was thundering dark
the waves devoured the shore
it was then i saw your eyes
you didn’t smile as you sank –
i was trapped on the shore – then i woke.
i… i had to tell you.”

she took a deep breath, waiting
but he had rolled over
snoring waves beneath ripples of
a blue-green quilt.

[circa 2002, maybe]

night crawler (the moon and people like me)

where darkness
leads a whiskey shot
with no chaser
claw the burn and the dizzy

where alone
with moans of an E minor
strokes my thin camisole
that dews see through with sweat

even the moon
is submissive on a Tuesday
settles for the blackout
spills out ‘cross the street

where the devil says
i am your sweet tooth baby
i am your lizard king
waste your days, feel whole again —

that’s
where
I
wait.