That closet game, when you were about to stop being a kid.

In the bonus room,
Kissing the new girl,
The children snicker and,
Tap on the frosted window outside,
The fire,
Leaps at mixed feet,
And mixed thoughts,
Of love and the Super Bowl.

Long Trip

It's hard,
To miss the dust on new failure,
To stand before a burden so used,
And shoulder up again,
And look up again,
And have courage.

A Room

You're on tip toe,
I am half closed,
The ceiling fan in circles circles,
What is it we were supposed to do now?

Float

And you stand so still,
Beside pale blue orchids and breaking tide,
The tips of your left hand electrically,
Reverently,
Dance over your thigh,
And move through water,
Out of shore.

Waterfight

From the corner of my eye,
It's looking about like,
We could all jump the same bridge soon,
And shoot the breeze on the way down,
All the way down,
And have fun for once,
Before we're put in time out for ruining our clothes.

Mmm Pancakes

Making breakfast,
The sizzling coming from behind my shoulder,
The slant of even dawn onto the counter,
Your coffee mug writes 'All you need',
This is,
All I need.

We'll Leave by Noon

They talk of plans,
And planned jealousies,
And believe that this is it.

Please someone escape with me.

Responsibility

I'm going to let it beat me,
For a little while,
And stay in bed,
Until I'm needed at work.

Mars Teaser

**PRELIMINARY DRAFT**

A Divine April Fools

On April 1 at 22:13, the Orange Air Force base in Tuscaloosa detected nothing abnormal on the surface of the planet mars. A full sixty seconds later the planet's red, coarse wrapping was dotted with 16,242,070 white beings, all of about the same height of the earth equivalent to 5 feet and 9 inches. The researchers at the Orange Air Force did not at first detect all 16 or so million creatures. They did not have the appropriate ranged telescopes for such a discovery. What they did notice was the pale patch that now lay over a portion of the upper hemisphere, created by the creatures close relation to one another. The researches at the Orange Air Force base at first took this to be a mass of water newly exposed and promptly frozen. A full eighteen minutes passed on the planet earth before it was discovered that the ice was in fact alive. It was still not known that the life was sentient, but rather obvious as the patch began to move and spread. It would be 48 hours before the professional world would admit that an exceptionally large number of, for lack of a better word at the time, people now existed on the planet mars. They made this distinction very clear. Immediately plans were made to investigate closer and a number of astronauts who before had no launch expectation date were trained and prepped for the mission. They were to orbit the planet first, and use special instruments to discover just exactly what the people were doing. Upon relaying this back to earth, the astronauts would be advised either to, if they showed any signs of hostility, return home or else proceed to land a safe distance away from the borders the people had spread to. The radio communications would be aired live on both Fox News and CNN. The launch date was set for April 30th.

Rancharoo

I tried,
One day,
To be free as the birds,
And was kept from their sacred communions,
So I returned,
And found I was shut out by my fellow man as well,
For trying,
To be free.

E

Everything is right,
Everything is serene,
Everything is better,
Everything is in your dream.

And So It Begins

And so they begin,
The slow concessions of the night,
Amidst pallid stars,
You will give me less and less,
More and more of what I deserve,
The disposition of the lonely,
Sit alone on their hillocks,
And wait.

Ren

I'm feeling your face,
The grooves and lines,
The wrinkles around your lips,
Your downing brown hair,
Rises and falls in streamlets,
And your British blue eyes,
Know everything that is.

String on Your Little Finger

It's been a bust,
But what hasn't been lately?
You laugh,
And I forget about most things,
That I need to.

Sleep In

Four wooden windowpanes,
With the dew of tomorrow,
And the sun of a century,
Do well to give me reason to rise,
Do well to break the spell of this city.

Thum Thum

The drums,
Still ring in my ears,
Leaving the auditorium,

Thum Thum

You're left wanting,
One leg against the bare outside,
Maintaining face,

Thum Thum

You've never seen me,
I've never seen you,
This is evident,

Thum Thum

The moments break like glass,
Jagged moving to the electronic night,
My head is pounding

Thum Thum

You have too much eyeshadow,
You have bangs,
Your black hair glosses under the florescent light,

Thum Thum

I can't maneuver through the eager crowd,
You were about to leave,
I tell myself,

Thum Thum

Things break and form,
A beer bottle from your right hand,
Distractedly collapses on the concrete,

Thum Thum

You see,
I don't want you to see,
I tell myself,

Thum THUM

I'm tired,
I touch your cheek,
The broken glass crunches under me,

THUM THUM

You,
Mean,
Everything,

THUM THUM

A kiss.
.
.
.

THUM.

And then it's all out on the table so take your pick.

Brief

To put it quaintly,
Your lips on mine,
Hands at our sides,
That new yellow bird,
I forgot what kind,
Was chirping incessantly.

Violet

Violet,
Pale-skinned,
Gracing the world with her touch,
Of supple coercion,
Dark fawning hair,
Your thin hips float across the room,
And things are never the same,

Things are never the same.

Bring Her Home

Drink some wine,
Watch your children play,
And think of old friends,
That your old eyes saw in another life,
There you find it.

Triste

The Delorian rests at the curb,
I am so far away,
So much the weaker in this,
The tire swing rocks in the rain,
My knuckles are showing white futility,
What was control?
When I was the child,
Impenetrable infant,
Resting in something else,
Than everyone else's feelings,
No knowledge of that first fruit,
Of her uncursable _____ eyes!
It wrenches,
Tears with abandon!
No, this is not living,
This is an end in all certain terms,
It is slow but it is there,
Idling away into the street,
Yes tears,
Streams of spent effort,
To hang myself,
On another's decisions,
Gas down,
It lurches forward,
I seek tree,
Post,
Ditch,
Anything to stop my head,
From hurting so Goddam much.

Can't

This one I only see with a fireplace,
The one from our first house,
And the blue cotton blanket,
With your bare ankles,
Resting on the frayed edges,
Vivid,
As I pull the pillow over my ears.

Melancholia

Serving only,
To disenchant,
A problematic stratosphere,
With every broken,
Raven shore,
Disembodied translucents,
Chanting your march,
To the dry coast,
To the edge of melancholia.

Heyeveryonelookthisgoesattheendofyetanothernewstory

And then everything stopped mattering. The harmful effects of cigarettes, endless court battles, bottling up emotions; it all quit. It was as if reason was sick of trying, had packed house and left. Everyone else was still working, still earning thin slips of colored paper that they then gave in exchange for things, or put aside for later until they boasted a mountain of thin slips. When the week started again, everyone else complained about Mondays as they heaved off of their mattresses. Nez was unaware that it was Monday again, or that he should complain about it. He sat in front of the four-pane window in his room for most of Monday morning, then was asked if he wanted anything for breakfast. Nez said that he would, and promptly forgot all about breakfast. A tray of eggs, toast, and bacon with a glass of milk was placed on his lap and he ate until his body told him it didn't need to eat any more. Some people came by to visit Nez, but they only peeked in through his open door and Nez was still at the window. The people had come to visit with Nez, but every time they saw him they told themselves it was too hard and promptly left. Nez, because he was facing the window, never knew that anyone had visited him in the first place, and so was never saddened at this. What was there to be sad of anymore? What was Monday?