--I HAVE BEEN A FOOL FOR LESSER THINGS

...I wrote poetry today.  These (I think "Bullies" is my favorite):

Eighteen

That broken bottle in your hand

Looks a lot like me

Eighteen and angry

Too much useless sunshine

The summer’s endless reach

A noose around my neck

Home no option

Only alleys and freeways

Places to unwind and wither

You should

Look at yourself right now

Pull out a mirror

Or find your reflection in

What’s left of that bottle

Realize that if anything

You don’t want to grow up

Swollen with regret

Misery eating you whole

Like your old man

Bullies

But you think

What if it’s true

The things they say

The labels, slurs and insults

Texts on your phone

At school

On the bus

Online

Everywhere you look

But you think

What if you fight back

With some ranting of your own

Throw some hateful darts their way

Or buy some guns

Go all Columbine

Make them pay

What then

Or what if you simply

Tuck your chin and dart your eyes

Take it

Every hurtful word

Swallow it down like you have

Every minute of

Every day

For the last three years

Or perhaps you take that one guy’s advice

And do it

Kill yourself

Like he said to

It’d be easier that emptying the trash

Yes, that would be

A major accomplishment all right

And possibly you’d feel

Better when you’re dead

But maybe you think

There’s another way

What if you found a friend

A mom

A dad

Someone

What if you allowed yourself

To crumble inside their embrace

Just this once be vulnerable

Tell them what’s going on

What you’re up against

What if you did that instead

Wouldn’t that be a pretty good option

Wondering

Is it warm where you are

Is there fresh fruit and linen sheets

Do the mornings make you feel special

Like a princess

Who is the one who makes your tea now

Is he handsome and well-built

An athlete or scholar

Your best friend and secret-keeper

Does your laughter still shake the walls

And do you still mumble to yourself

When you’re nervous

Has my dog stopped missing me

Has the stain of my imprint worn off in the rain

Is there ever a time in the day

When you wonder how I’m doing

And if I think of you

You always claimed I asked too many questions

Do you still think so

Is it fair for you to go your own way

While I’m still tethered to the past

Like a junkyard dog

No longer angry

Just desperate and very

Very lonely

Climate Change

But really

There is no moon

The dogs have all left their masters

And the assassins keep missing their mark

In the wink of the last few stars

We find the guilty party

Our names written there

With the high tide

The oceans swelling

Whole cities sinking

While watch complicit

Congratulating ourselves

On having had

A pretty good run

Cell

There is proof somewhere

That you once loved me--

Pawnshop ring for sale

Record of an unwanted fetus

Prom pictures with big 80’s hair

Blood on the sand

The surf coming in

Loud and violent.

But I’m doing all right now

The warden is friendly enough

And this cell’s going to keep

Me safe from you

For years