—BUT THERE’S ICY FRINGE ON EVERYTHING

 

…“Those faces you see every day on the streets were not created entirely without hope; be kind to them.” Charles Bukowski

 

…I know this is dark, but I’m pretty proud of it:

…https://ghostparachute.com/issue/january-2026-issue/see-through/

 

…I really miss John right now.

 

…Careful now, don’t get caught in your dreams, look out Baby, this is not what it seems.

 

….”Some things look dead, but they're just resting to get ready for whatever lies ahead.” Jay Halsey

 

…Maybe that’s it.

 

…Okay, that’s a little tricky.

 

…You know, I hate this tune because it makes me think of you.  

 

…It’s complicated, learning who to trust enough to share something that private.

 

…I don’t really know. Is it true?

 

…There’s always another level.

 

….I guess it always boils down to this: What do you want more? To give joy or get joy?

 

“…Be curious.

Speak your mind without fear.

Be social.

Care about people less fortunate than yourself.

Walk fast.

Be financially frugal.

Don’t be a schmuck.” Benjamin Emanuel

 

...Here’s the thing—shut up once and a while, and it won’t hurt so bad.

 

…Eat your fucking ice cream and I’ll eat mine.

 

…“Your family—love them or hate them—that’s all you’ve got.” Everybody Loves Raymond

 

…A song can be great but if the video for it is bad, well, the song then kind of sucks.

 

…I was 23 when I had my first dentist appointment. True story.

 

…I would say the majority of my best friends are very optimistic, despite everything. And so, I’m envious.

 

…We got enough, is it enough to stay?

 

…The thing you have to remember is you’re really not as hot as you think you are.

 

…It all went so fast. Why couldn’t it last?

 

…I believe in Jesus, but most times when I hear other people talk about him the way they do, it’s like Charlatans who are possessed by something almost demonic, and then it scares me to be a Christian.

 

 

…Stevie Nicks might bark an entire week if you didn’t come home and feed her.

 

…Apparently, I have “massive potential.” We’ll see about that.

 

…If you have someone who’s been like the sister you’ve never had, and you find her, and then she’s basically trying to kill herself for no good reason, well, you only have a few choices, none of which are good.

 

…You know what I don’t want is this.

 

…“Remember the first rule of life: We’re all going to die.” Ezekiel Emanuel

 

…I should probably just stop writing so much stuff down.

 

…Just cook, Bllll!!! Start your own channel. I'll watch it religiously, whatever that means. Brick.

 

…There’s no magic if you don’t believe.

 

…“WANT TO LIVE LONGER? Ahhh, not really.

 

…It is crazy, and I can’t explain it, how as I start to write something that seems sort of beautiful or wise or happy, it always takes a dark twist. Yeah, I can’t explain why that always happens.

 

…In the end, you have to ask yourself, “What’s most important?” and did you almost make it there?" 

 

…You know what? That’s pretty good.

 

…They just shot her. She was in her car. I saw it. They just shot her for having the wrong color of skin.

 

…It’s hard to toggle, but sometimes it doesn’t seem like there’s any other choice, and besides, I’ve gotten pretty good at it. (Not that I’m bragging in any way.)

 

…I’m not quite sure what I did, but it must have been something.

 

…Can you be a cheerful pessimist?

 

…Okay, well, that was something I’ll have to ruminate over.

 

…Yeah, it’s not okay.

 

…Yep. It’s me after all.

 

…*Every second we live can never be recovered.” Ezekiel Emanuel

 

…Life expectancy on the eve of the Civil War was 39.6 years. By the start of the 20^th century, it had increased to 48.2 years. Today it’s 78.6 years.

 

…If I really have to explain it to you, well, maybe we shouldn’t be talking.

 

…I don’t want it to be a hoax, but I’ve been listening, and it sure seems like it is.

…It still feels like something’s missing. 

 

…Americans are a peculiar species.

 

…It’s almost impossible to read the news now and not throw up in your mouth.

 

…We can pretend we don’t, but, really, doesn’t everyone judge everyone else?

 

…The three fundamental fears that all humans experience are:

Fear of death.

Fear of abandonment.

Fear of failure.

…“Happiness is not a goal. It is a by-product of a well-lived life.” Eleanor Roosevelt

 

…Nobody wants to hurt someone they love.

 

…This is really tough, but it’s worth it.

 

…Maybe I need to talk to someone.…

 

—THAT’S A DAY WE’RE NEVER GETTING BACK

 

Reunion

We’re in the middle of nowhere, everything barren, flat and spread out like a used dish towel, a few dumb souls standing next to a crumpled RV.

My oldest brother has driven all this way to Dakota, and he unlatches a storage unit in the back of his pickup where a set of AK47s sit gleaming like metallic baby seals.

My brothers each select one, but I can’t move my arms because my bones are disintegrating by the second. 

I still remember Vegas, the rat-a-tat, the chaos, the random slaughter.

“Grab a fucking gun, Lenny,” my oldest says, as if it’s that simple—a choice.

When I say I won’t, No way, he calls me a Fag. 

It’s been years since I’ve heard that slur, but it still stings as do the bullet casings that pop off around me as my brothers shoot at nothing just to at shoot something, our parents or failed ghosts maybe.

When the quiet hits and the smoke rises, my eldest says quite seriously, “I miss killing people,” his eyes fixed on something in the distance.

 

—RIGHT DOWN THE LINE IT’S BEEN YOU AND ME

January is the Cruelest Month

 

You told me the truth this time 

as if it was a death threat 

though your words were folded like origami 

when I fell again, another Autumnal collapse.

No one reached down or held me up, 

or even cared. Why would they?

But the geese went flying by, 

boisterous and doomed,

and the beaver might have too, 

though he was sunk and underwater.

It was winter after all, 

though I never saw a 

single snowflake fall that season,

not one chip of ice.

 

–SAY YOU WON’T LET GO

 

 

…“And I thought: This is what language does. This is why we live.” Tsipi Keller, Waves and Tonics

 

…“I can just tell.”

 

…If I’m being honest, I’m not really sure why I did that.

 

…A lot of my shit is just that—shit.

Shooting • 6 mi from your home 103XX 242ND AVENUE SE Shots were fired on 242nd Ave. SE in Snohomish County.

…There are only so many things you can say about a fried egg.

 

…Please don’t make it what it’s not…

 

…The secret to life is paying attention to the little things.

 

…I really love the way you put that.

 

…Let’s say our goodbyes before it gets out of hand…

 

…Unless you’re dying, no one can be sick for four months. You just can’t.

 

...Is it worth it, living in such a cruel world?

 

…I thought we’d agreed on what we need?

 

…Who would think it doesn’t matter?

 

…You got me wrapped around your finger.

 

...So, what do you want from me, what do you need?

 

…Maybe you were right all along.

 

…Yeah, but here’s the real life—the windows and the ducks.

 

…We’ve come a long, long way, but who’s to say where we’ll be tomorrow?

 

…Kinda wanna call you out all the time.

 

…Well, my heart says, No, but my mind says it’s so…

 

..."Maybe you should take a nap. Maybe you should sleep it off."

 

…Maybe I walked too far.

 

…I can think about it all I want, but it’s still going to be the same in the morning.

 

…Didn’t know that I’d fall so hard…

 

…That’s pretty spooky.

 

…Say you won’t let go…

 

…If you’ve taught me anything, it’s never send a song that’s most likely to get scalded.

 

…Yep. I think I have enough willpower to withhold that.

 

…In the words of Kenny Loggins, This is it. Make no mistake who you are.

 

…I think someone’s going to win.

 

…I’m not sure when I got so defensive. 

 

…Wow, those are some cold hands.

 

…How in the hell did I get so lucky? I mean, why me?

 

…Maybe, I don’t know right now.

 

…Passive-aggressive much?

 

…I remember the first time you called me.

 

…“If that’s love, count me out.” 

 

…I think it’s time for a walk. 

 

…It seems so bizarre to just throw out thousands of dollars for nothing each day when once $2.37 for lunch was a massive splurge.

 

…I can kind of see it now.

 

…How many contests can I lose?

 

…“You seem out of sorts.”

 

…“Who hasn’t had a bad childhood?”

 

…I guess I missed that part.

 

…Yeah, I saw that, and I’m really tired of people.

 

…Is this thing on? 

 

…Maybe we could just go to bed.

 

…I’m not looking to get anything back, trust me.

 

…Why should you care? What’s in it for you?

 

…“Flying off the shelves,” is something you don’t hear anymore.

 

…It’s hard to forgive the Slap, Will Smith at the Oscars, but if you want to know about the future of AI, watch, “I, Robot.” It’s very prescient, especially since it came out in 2004.

 

…If we’re both being honest, this sucks. But what’s the alternative?

 

…It’s not a competition but I’ve got you beat in the flaws department. Mine are pretty ugly, but I’m working on them still, after all this time.

 

 …You know you can stop, right?

  

…One thing I’ve learned is, never introduce new music to an old sob who will never hear it the right way.  

 

…God, it feels good to laugh. Doesn’t matter what it’s about, it just feels good.

 

…Why did I not learn the piano?

 

…I’ve never felt a rush like this.

 

…I can’t push you down.

 

…You’re the calm inside the chaos.

 

…This is the first time, in a long time, that I haven’t done any New Years resolutions. I feel like they’re always the same and I always accomplish the same ones or don't reach the others. Maybe I’m being lazy, or maybe I’m avoiding pushing myself. I don’t know. I’m still not sure what I hope happens in 2026. How about you?

 

…I was good for a spell, but now I’m a little out of whack again.

 

…I wonder if van Gogh was ever happy.

 

…It’s hard to imagine a world without birds.

 

…I know I shouldn’t give Satan any of my energy, but it’s really, really hard to avoid his crazy bullshit.

 

…You can’t ever underestimate someone’s hurt, even if it looks  the same as yours.

 

…At Christmas, one of my nephews, who I scarcely talk to, came up to me while I was doing the dishes and said he thought he’d like to be a teacher but he wasn’t sure. I asked, “What was the name of your third grade teacher?” and he told me her name. I asked, “What was the name of your fourth grade teacher?” and he told me his name. I said, “If you love teaching, for God’s sake, be a teacher. No one remembers what they did in third or fourth grade, but they always remember their teacher because, other than family and friends, no one has a bigger impact on your life."  

 

…“If you can breathe up there, it ain’t steep enough.” Clipse

 

…I’m not sure what I did, but I must have done something.

 

--I didn’t feel like an adult.

--Me neither.

--Do you think you ever will?

--No. I don’t know.

--Me neither.

 

…If I met a version of myself back then now, I’d think, What an awful person, but maybe deep down I'd think he’s actually decent.

 

…I haven’t even packed a single box.

 

…It’s juvenile, constantly trying to sell white lies. 

 

…Fuck it. Let’s go.

 

…In order to produce art, you have to see the leaf, the wave, as more than the leaf and the wave.

 

…I don’t like them whatsoever, and I would never wear one, but I sometimes wish I was the kind of guy who looked good in a bowling shirt. 

 

…Leon Bridges, now there’s a talent.

 

…“It might benefit your writing if you weren’t so wrapped up in yourself.”

 

…“Fuck you doesn’t have the impact it used to. Which is why I say, ‘Fuck you, and fuck your family.’’ The Book of George, Kate Greathead

 

…Nothing can change hearing one noise, and then another.

 

…Sometimes the door tries to close.

 

…I get it now. Thank God I get it now.

 

…When a friend asks: How are you doing? and you can tell they really want to know, well, that’s something to be grateful for.

 

…To calm my anxieties, I sometimes remind myself that everyday people are sometimes blown to bits.

 

…Time isn’t getting longer.

 

…“The central truth is, my life is not made of what we classify as reality. It’s made of books, reading them, handling them, hunting for them on bookshelves.” Tsipi Keller

 

…What do you say when someone asks how you are and you’re not good?

 

…Expressive suppression, now there’s a term for you.

 

…So I learned that miracles really do happen. 

 

…Don’t wanna get ahead of myself, feeling things I’ve never felt.

 

…Emotions are meant to be expressed. That’s why you have them in the first place.

 

…We go through so many emotions in a day, it’s a miracle we survive.

 

…We all push and shove. We all want our voices heard.

 

…Life can be a bit unreal at times.

 

…God only knows why people say the things they say.

 

…“Reality is under no obligation to be interesting.” Borges

 

…Here’s what I’m going to do—I’m going to take deeper breaths and not let them out, like never.

 

…In case you were wondering, I still hate him more than I hate or have ever hated a person before.

 

…But I guess you have to gauge someone’s capacity for truth before you’re honest with them.

 

…Do you want the long or short answer?

 

…It’s not just what you say, but how you say it.

 

...Isn’t it funny, or strange, what once seemed so important and permanent, now seems like a joke?