Wasted
"and I thought
surely wasting time and being
wasted are not mutual things"
surely wasting time and being
wasted are not mutual things"
I Was A Groomsman at a Friend’s Wedding Once
My friend didn’t dance at his wedding,
not at the reception at least. He smiled
in the way goofy boys do who think
they’re in love.
not at the reception at least. He smiled
in the way goofy boys do who think
they’re in love.
Youth
Candy bar wrappers and Mountain Dew cans
and packs of cigarettes we’d sneak down
a Carolina back road. The days of our youth.
and packs of cigarettes we’d sneak down
a Carolina back road. The days of our youth.
Billie Holiday in Four Poems
When Billie Holiday sang about
Strange Fruit
everyone craving
Fresh citrus from orchards
suddenly lost their appetite.
Strange Fruit
everyone craving
Fresh citrus from orchards
suddenly lost their appetite.
Jackie Kennedy Looks Out of an Eighth-Floor Window One Autumn Morning
Birds sling themselves
from the branch of the
Yoshino cherry
from the branch of the
Yoshino cherry
That Time You Met Bill Murray
There you are, story in hand, ready to shock and awe. You rip it from the walls of your memory and prepare to recite it. You see it, your time has come. You are now ready to make the ascension to the top of the office social totem pole, at least for the day. You are to be crowned master of the story. You wait for their close, and just as you open your mouth, some jerk from accounting spits out his own story…
Trailer Park
I used to date this girl from
the trailer park. Her denim jacket
always smelled like cigarettes.
the trailer park. Her denim jacket
always smelled like cigarettes.
Control
I hold the hand of my daughter
until she reaches an age where
holding hands with another man
is more appealing.
until she reaches an age where
holding hands with another man
is more appealing.
Tell The Babysitter We’ll Be Home Late Because a Jagged Edge Song Just Came On The Radio
It would be easy, truthfully,
to compose a note with flowery words.
I could plagiarize Shakespeare or Neruda
or an old R&B song.
to compose a note with flowery words.
I could plagiarize Shakespeare or Neruda
or an old R&B song.
Slow Day at Stamie’s Swimwear
Stepping behind the register, Canaan found her nametag in the basket. It read Canen, a misspelling Mr. Rollins couldn’t care less about. He was more interested in moving merchandise out the door than he was in the spelling of some 16-year-old employee.
Since 1981
When I tell you that I have looked in the mirror and viewed
life weighted with regrets like anchors and I remain unmoved,
I mean that I am simply getting over the past.
life weighted with regrets like anchors and I remain unmoved,
I mean that I am simply getting over the past.
Young Men With Dull Axes
The men who no longer see youth
when seeing a mirror chop wood
with dull axes in some distant winter
when seeing a mirror chop wood
with dull axes in some distant winter
Alumni Magazine
Under our graduation year, your name wasn’t listed,
so I assume you are doing just fine, working a 9-to-5,
picking up kids from daycare.
so I assume you are doing just fine, working a 9-to-5,
picking up kids from daycare.
To Be An Ocean
I’ve wanted to cover the earth
in a way that forces the rich
with their yachts to cancel plans.
in a way that forces the rich
with their yachts to cancel plans.
Mr. Jones and Me
“In the song, he said he wanted to be Bob Dylan.”
A Conversation Between Two Slaves
The young man looked at the old man like someone had taken a shovel to the back of his skull.
Junior High Dance, Spring 1992
The boys gazed awkwardly at the equally shy girls. Which one of us are they giggling at? they all wondered.
The Things We See
“Love is blind” I heard the
blind man say. The irony
not lost on his sheepish grin.
blind man say. The irony
not lost on his sheepish grin.
Running Into an Old Girlfriend in the Poetry Section of a Bookstore
“I threw away all the poems you wrote about me.”
Last Flight to Atlanta
Before placing his bag in
the overhead compartment
he passed the stewardess and said
the overhead compartment
he passed the stewardess and said
Favorite Color
“You just gotta get away from me.”
“What’s love got to do with it, Eric?
You knew my situation, that I was leaving.”
“What’s love got to do with it, Eric?
You knew my situation, that I was leaving.”
Boring Love
When I called you last night
I could have said I did so
just to hear your voice.
I could have said I did so
just to hear your voice.
Memorial
All the poetry
of men who lay
in far off battlefields
of men who lay
in far off battlefields
The Second Second After The First When You Catch Her Gaze
Happy is not a place.
It’s the feeling when
she stares at me like
It’s the feeling when
she stares at me like
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