Bonded paper
ballpoint pen

so much to write to you
about

although

the wherefores
and the whys

still inconclusive

sorry to leave you hanging
like this

maybe someday
we'll both understand

whit howland © 2021

blue VW bug with
a tiny dent in the front fender
starting to rust

the scrapbook
on your front seat
and some canceled checks

fanned out
like a poker hand
I followed you

chased you
maybe stalked you
over hill over dale

not because
I was crazy
in a bad way

it was because
in those days
love didn't come so easily for me

until I learned
the rules of the game
those being very simple

love
is no game at all
it is serious business

whit howland © 2021

I climb in and out of you
like a jungle gym
slide down your slide
spin on your merry go round

what makes you tick

passion and intensity
is something I get

but the other part
is just so foreign to me

whit howland © 2021

something to swivel
in my mouth

to use to pick out
food for thought

lodged
between my teeth

before I whittle
it/you down to size

then sweep away
the splinters

with my tongue

whit howland © 2021

Once popping crackling
flashing

now burning down
to an orange ember

soon to be spritzed
followed by hissing

then sputtering
what just happened

we had so much
promise

whit howland © 2021

Close my eyes
let go of fear?

I fear

if I do,

I will look up above
and see

a black anvil
hanging  by a  thread

over me.

whit howland © 2021

All it took
was a March
Chicago wind

to turn you
inside out
and show you

how fragile
you really were
but not us

not you
and not us
I'm not talking

about us

no

maybe I am
about how it will
take more than

a stupid icy wind
to tear us
asunder

whit howland © 2021

just one minute
in the microwave

and watch it bubble and
sizzle

greasy

slabs of fat
and all

Lord please

let me be forever
guilty

and gladly  and
eternally

doing
my penance


whit howland © 2021

the crack that started
as a chip
is fast running
up the side

and there's a rattle
in the hub cap
like a ball bearing
going round and round

good problems
so they say

whit howland © 2021

Rainy

again
and they're calling for more


and they say
it will be this way
all week

but like every other time
I will do my best
to beat back

the blue Monday

as well as continue
to try and keep

in front of the eightball

whit howland © 2021

these fits
of cognitive dissonance

we're having

from exposure
to the snow and sun

egads

we have way too much more
to explore

about each other

whit howland © 2021

Bubbly soda
fizzing
to the top
and up over the lip

of the glass

so much poured in
and so much gushing
forth

but

why stop there
why let this just float off

into the beyond or the

ether

whit howland © 2021

Oh how you ran the bow
across my strings

how your voice
was silky smooth

and how even though
I was a fish

out of water
you convinced me

I was right where I
belonged

but you were wrong
and so was I

the fool that I will always
be

whit howland © 2021

No more test patterns
at 2 am

or TV Snow

the world
is open all night

a convenience store
for the mind

replete with chips
Ding Dongs Twinkies

and don't forget
soda pop

whit howland © 2021

One of up on high
where I look down

and people cars and other
things

seem like plastic
figurines

and all that troubled me
now distant

or shall we say far
far away

whit howland © 2021

a miss miss miss

fire

a dis dis dis

connection

snow falls and looks like
puffy fluffy cotton
on the ground

do i stststutter do i
do i have a sspppeeeech impede

impediment

ssstop stopp the the
world the world
from sppininng

I want to get off

impediment

the pipes clank
and the sink drips

in a syncopated
rhythm

whit howland © 2021

If we just start
the conversation
you have my word

that all will be
okay
one day at a time

we can and will
stitch and suture
sweep

and broom away
the broken
pieces

I swear

whit howland © 2021

A swatch of sky
literally blue

a patch of green
light to dark

swirls and flourishes
impressions of flowers

red brick
and the color of stone

eyes ears hands feet
and a nose

is it deep
it is not

and it isn't really that
complicated

it just takes time
and patience

whit howland © 2021

I am flattering you
as I paddle this plastic
ball across the net

and back at myself

in my dream I can play all-day
the sounds keeping  perfect beat
and time

melts away
like that ubiquitous
stopwatch dripping off the table

he said you were not the best
but you were his
and now that I've read you  

I think that you are mine
as well

whit howland © 2021

"But baby it's cold outside"

and now that
I'm older
I feel it deeper

in my bones
like little jabs
and icy pinpricks

that turn
to thoughts
and syntax

and words like
affairs house
and order

are what come to mind

Bright
but not hot
light

neutral
might describe
it best

or
perhaps
indifferent

to the snow
swirling
around it

he who cares
about very little
controls everything

whit howland © 2021

you say
old flames can be rekindled

I say

with a little spit
and a pinch of the fingers

they can be snuffed

whit howland © 2021

but that photograph
and how it now fades

and how that shirt I am
wearing

just one day
up and fell apart

whit howland © 2021

Overtime
all absurdity and parody
turns to serious discourse

picture this

a red white
and blue box
with a boy on the front

in a sailor suit

but
he's not a ******* Jack
instead

he's a ******* ****

whit howland © 2021

Legal tender
coins banknotes

return to sender
address unknown

the expectation
of something great

my garbage
your gold

big league
raw deal

anticipation
moolah

your hell
my happy place

whit howland © 2021

a request
an urgent plea

not to focus
on minor details

to see the forest
for the trees

not to get
shall we say
lost

in the weeds

oh
what we can cobble
together

from all the  brush
we cut **** and clear

whit howland © 2021

Let's talk about
mustard and burnt orange

while we sprinkle a couple
of flakes

then let's move down
to brown

slugs snails

and after that

melt

fade
to black and white

blobs

but pity them not
they were here to destroy

our gardens our
trees

ok,
I'll stop beating around the bush

us

they came to destroy

us

whit howland © 2021

What comes to mind
is death
and the afterlife

and unraveling
the mystery
of what it's like

red white
white red
red white

vegetable
beef
vegetable

sometimes
just a dab of silver
to let you know they are cans

whit howland © 2021

It's what we're drawn to
and what we draw

a teapot
painted face
a plain table

along with muddy light
from a ***** window

and the rest of the canvas
only there to encourage ownership

is it a dream
personal memory

or does the mind
surely jest

whit howland © 2021

pale
but bluer than
ashen

not dead just cold
maybe numb
sad

a little yes

but the ice
keeps the heart frozen
and in check

whit howland © 2021

White but dark
its face

is like
a sinister heart

and its eyes
are the black marbles

little kids shoot
in the ally behind the drugstore

friend or foe
can we even tell the difference

anymore



whit howland © 2021

The glow of the cigarette
still bright orange

but yet it droops
and blue smoke curls

upward causing
a set of pale blue

watery eyes
to blink rapidly

apathy
is a powerful force

that sets many wheels
in motion

whit howland © 2021

Screeching tires
and years of rubber left smoking
on the pavement

arms flail and sneakers scrape
the asphalt at an all-night basketball game
in the rain

a phone's rings
is like the staccato report
of a machine gun

a weatherman
through a scratchy transistor radio
forecasts a storm

fight

or flight

whit howland © 2021

But what made it so strange
were the things that vanished

from our sight and our lives
coupled with the notion of progress

becoming

more a hollowed-out promise
or a pipe dream


so it seems

whit howland © 2021

Tracks
in the snow now crunchy

big feet
and the pitter-patter

of little feet
crisis crossing each other

and no need to ask
what it all means

with no scheme
rhyme or reason to this thing

whit howland © 2021

What is it about
us

we sail
without charts

we run
between the drops of rain

and we fly
not only by the seat

but sometimes
with no pants at all

charmed yes
we are very charmed

though it's hard
not to wonder

if there isn't someone
out there

who's
keeping score

whit howland © 2021

but not for Sal
you or

even me

these droopy white flowers
with dark

blackened blue
tasty berries in the middle

whit howland © 2021

Silver
bubbling
in the sweltering
heat of the afternoon

pigeons
flocks of warbling
pigeons
eating morsels of bread

I know when we see
each other again
you won't remember me
and I won't recognize you

but I woke up this morning
looked in the mirror
and asked myself
what is missing from my life

I know

A little girl who deems
it necessary to
take it upon herself
to point out

all of my character flaws

whit howland © 2021

did he
or did he not

write his great American novel
on a roll of toilet paper

so many questions so
many conversations

so little well
time

is what you make
of it

you and i had time
and then we didn't

whit howland © 2021

between
green and violet

as of the sky
or sea

on a sunny
day

but  i won't talk
about sadness

or melancholy
because this picture

was taken at a time
when you were the happiest

whit howland © 2021

You are no longer
here

but in my mind
you're the one point

I focus on to stop
the dizziness

when world spins
like a top

heading for the edge
of the table

whit howland © 2021

HONK
HONK

it jolts
the synapses

but oh yes
PEARS

and BANANAS

whit howland © 2021

amongst the faded
and yellowed green

of wintered
grass

and slightly
beyond the horizon

a spec

slowly
coming into focus

it's moving parts
becoming

more visible more
mechanical

whit howland © 2021

we flailed
we spoke

in tongues

and with thunder and lightning
it rained

you had me scared
that night I cried

you raged

but we rowed and rowed
and we pressed on

through the stormy
night

whit howland © 2021

Small
portraits
of life the universe

and everything
in between
and so sweet

when you lick them
before
you paste them

but save them
you must
because

we humbly ask
for so little
and a pittance

is what we get

whit howland © 2021

Sturdy
cardstock
with glitter and a gauzy
image on the front

and no metaphors
to describe the feelings inside
only words

plain heartfelt words

read
and spoken
over
and over again

whit howland © 2021

This is just
a friendly reminder
to take out the trash before you leave

love you

a plate of eggs
bacon
sausage

and ham

so fast
it moved it was a blur
and so loud it howled

throughout the night

whit howland © 2021

Dribble
care
luscious

against
a blinding white
refrigerator door

no

I don't care
that juice is dribbling
down my chin

it was so luscious
tasty
and flavorful

whit howland © 2021

a light
quick
burst

metallic and shiny
purple flesh tones
corncob pipe

bubbles
rising
fizzing

so so much fun
but
so so short

whit howland © 2021

A short one filled
with three cubes
of ice

cracked from
a tray
metal not plastic

and what we
drink
is a mix of things

fruity
tarty
but mostly sweet

making us that
of many masks
and a thousand faces

whit howland © 2021