stopped at the
liquor store
after work
for a couple
pints of
beer,

dying

sweating bullets &
shooting blanks

saw a girl
i used to know
put my head
down,
not from shame
but from an
introverted
desire to
avoid conversation
or a reunion
or any
“what have you
been up to
since i saw
you last”
bullshit

none of it
matters
really
i’ve been
living fine
since i
saw you last

but that’s neither
here nor
there
or anywhere
actually.

& this isn’t really
a poem
but more of a
journal entry
of some kind

just another

shit stain.

Trying to talk to people on here is like pulling teeth. What’s up?

met a man
who couldn’t
find love
so he sold
himself
to a dream
& woke up

happy.

there’s a woman
who drives the
bus
& we see each other
every day
but we don’t know
each others names;
just a “good morning”
or
“good afternoon”
depending on the
time of day,
but it’s a good
relationship I’d
say.
(she even said “i
should know you
by now” this morning)

& there’s a guy
waving his arms
for her to stop,
so she stops
and picks him up
out of pity
or necessity

whatever

and now he’s
staring at this
hot blonde
pumping gas
in a mini skirt with
a cotton/polyester
mix climbing
up
well into her
danger zone

& this bus driver
says
“no bike today?”
and he says
“nah, just walking.”
and she says
“oh, i see”
& she
shuts the doors &
keeps going on,

but in that
split second
his mouth is watering
to run his
tongue
up this woman’s
legs
(& she has no
idea that I’m
writing a poem
about him & her)
but you can tell
that she
wants the compliments
but doesn’t realize

that this
sonofabitch
is going to
stain his sheets
because of her
attire

& i wish i
could slip him
a few bucks
because i smell
the liquor on his
breath
& i’ve been there

i am there

& i know he’s really just
misunderstood.

black bat tat
on her back fat
her name’s pat
crazy about cats
always wears a sun hat
& right now
as you read this
she’s fucking some
sleaze named matt,
but she’s
been on more cocks
than a dog pecker gnat.

can’t blame her though
because when they
tell you you’re good
at something,
you just want
to do it
all the fucking
time.

Please check out my friend Caterina Fedyk at onlytwentyseconds.tumblr.com. She’s currently on a photojournalism assignment in Ho Chi Minh City & shooting some really amazing shots.

inhale life
exhale death
my ears
pick up
absolute thresholds
of a heartbeat
concerto

circles of sinners
playing violin
marches for
the damned
destruction
outside
my window’s
a
still life
picasso
painting waiting
to come alive
like
poetry bouncing
off
ginsberg bellies
& the birds
screaming
at each other
until their
lungs bleed
but it sounds like
mozart to
me

so i
pen something strange
& procrastinate
creation
withholding details &
leaving literary owls
hooting mystery into
a night full of
untied ends
untied shoestrings
left to trip
on & i’m just a little
boy
still.

Little boy hanging on to a red balloon; lived too fast, died too soon.

Gave a pack of squares to a panhandler with alcohol on my breath.

riding my
bicycle
on the way
home from work
i saw an
old man
pushing 90
standing by
his car
in an old
state trooper uniform-
tie & all,
pressed
& slacks
with perfect creases
and on his
feet he wore
shiny
black shoes.

“nice day out!”
he said to me

“sure is!”
i told him

& all i could
think about
was what he
had eaten
for breakfast
this morning.

all of that
is bad

sex
drugs
rock &
roll-
bad

had an
oedipus complex
fucked her
dad

now the
mailman
carries on
toe jam
jock itch
like a
son of a
bitch

slinky sunshine
slap happy
hour
drink
your
beer sour
jump off the
eiffel tower

party with some
college kids
date rape
drug of
choice
who makes the
most noise

drop bombs
dirty dreams
wet from sweat
sixteen

cash
grass
ass
all for free
birds fuck
bees
see the trees hang
low
because it’s
spring.

the house
at the
stoplight,

yeah,

someone’s getting
the shit
fucked outta
them
in there
right now.

kids walking
down the sidewalk
& old lady’s
on their way
to bible study

& i knew
a guy who
blew his
fucking brains out
but i see
his doppelgänger
everywhere

so i wonder
if that
sonofabitch
is still alive
somehow.