The Summer Trees Disappeared

Even the evergreens,
tall and majestic; blushed out of existence
before the empty-eyed public noticed;
too busy walking + talking & driving and listening
to artificial music, blasting
when one day all of the trees, down to the smallest weed
sank through the cracked pavement, retreating
miles beneath the electric city.

No green leaves left for anyone to remember
what they actually looked like.

A few focused minds, set on escaping the system,
stood watching in horror, blaming the breed
of ruthless, oil-driven vampires
creating invisible jails
full of jagged criminals, victims to themselves-
known as the working class,
who are allowed to leave whenever they want,
but will always be trapped: when ultimately all they need is
simplicity.

Happiness, buried deep down as far as
those lost trees, is stronger than you believe,
Sanity is found when suddenly
that shrubbery bursts through your chest,
staked in such a way
it makes you invincible
even in the midst of an apocalypse.

Inspiration: Charles Bukowski

Writing

often it is the only
thing
between you and
impossibility.
no drink,
no woman's love,
no wealth
can match it.

Charles Bukowski

Ode to Roses

Velvet petals shaken from their stems

lie helplessly on chilled cement,

absorbing the thumping beat

of tramping feet as they mindlessly scurry by.

‘Valentine’s Day is a curious place.’

Curled up and waiting for the day

I won’t be afraid to ominously gaze

at the shards of youth

strung on iridescent moon beams,

reminiscent of all the time,

trusted panes of distant realities

Harshly crashing,

crunching under hurried feet,

the radiant waste is stirred up in a flurry

on black tourmaline.

The gritty, metallic swarm

shreds my vulnerable heart;

Oh, what love

will do to a Romantic.

For the Missing Piece of my Aching Heart:

In some distant dimension

She is waiting,

perhaps at this very moment

we are happy,

sinking into each other’s embrace &

lingering in love,

dismissing this lonelier time and place.

The present is then and the past is now,

everyone who came before was just a way

of killing time

until you

met I.

Evergreen Sanctuary

Hidden behind stolid shrubbery and weathered bark,

a radiant universe drowning in solitude teeters above

small, unbalanced feet. Staggering toward

an open, foggy wood with morning dew

spewing through buoyant,

stagnant heat.

Limp blades bear the weight

of life, slumping over unfettered soil,

Atlases of water,

bow to solder the wounded terra,

trampled by breakneck travelers; like wind,

crashing by with only debris left behind.

Plants grow and trees flourish,

crystalline orbs caress nature’s current

in an eternal embrace.

Blending

into twisting vines

a matronly silhouette

captivates my curiosity.

I search her warm, familiar eyes;

proclivity pierces my evanescent mind.

She is the water to my existence;

the sunlight for my photosynthesis.

To touch her is to grasp a piece of myself.

Let the mystery of her intentions spark

the rusted rotor of contentment.

This statuesque deity is your guide,

all you need has been with you the whole time,

trust the beating behind your eyes;

and follow her

into the plush forest

and find

enlightenment.

Boarderline Love

As the years trickle past,

my blood thickens,

I can read your attacks.

Your glass wall of protection is cracking.

Vicious and juvenile, she

casts a lightning streak, a clouded fog

burning my eyes as she barks taunts

into reddening ears, I ache

to release one—hard—swipe,

one good crack

that you so deserve.

But I restrain the golden-glove

boxer within my throbbing heart

waiting for the emotional

beatings to stop.

‘I know she’s going to leave me,’

She’s the grandmother who bakes nails

into her cookies,

“I love you unconditionally…”

under one condition

I am her punching bag and her ‘sweet girl.’

I’ve lost count of how many times her barb caught

on my weathered heart and tugged

a little too hard.

I will always love you, forever