The drone swept silent
between the maple tree
and the shed

zapped my dog Shep
with an electric bolt
that vaporized him instantly

while Mr. Stone next door laughed
I told you, Hoffman
to shut that **** dog up

just as my drone
launched a fire grenade
up the exhaust pipe
of his new Lexus

yet somewhere
in the akashic record
of my sweet country
a muleteer helps
pull his neighbor’s wagon
out of the mud
that follows
a torrential rain

What happened-
Along the way
To reality, insanity
Nothing, everything
Confusion

Sitting outside
In the freezing cold
Refusing to return inside,
To another world
Where nothing ever is better than the last

Looking for comfort in ignorant friends
Absent friends
Not existing
On the inside
In the parallel universe

Needing alcohol, drugs and cigarettes
Hugs and kisses
To forget
When there is no reason for it all
Everything can seem so strange
It might be hard to understand
Maybe you’ve never been to the parallel universe

I can’t escape
On the way
I accidently locked the door
And threw away the key

It’s safe in here
They can’t hurt me like they used to
It’s unpredictable
Your logic wouldn’t work
I can’t be responsible
For my own actions

It’s lonely
But I can see everyone
Like through a window
There you are
So close
So far away

There are two tonight-
two ambulances,
red lights illuminating the dark neighborhood
as they make their weekly trip to the old folks home
at the end of the street.
This could be the end of eight decades for someone
for a neighbor of mine.
Could be one less crazy old woman
walking down the street shouting at the neighborhood dogs
(and mailboxes).
The lights fade from view as they cross 9th.
A tear falls to my desk
as I wonder
"who was that?
what ended tonight?"
and as I lay down and roll over to stare at the wall
I imagine who they could have been.

coated in black tar
a rat by the tail
pull it out from your throat
it's too weak to scurry
pried from it's home
let it go
pick your poison

drown it

in a stream of ethanol
the ghost of a rat

No.

clean the little creature
feed it some crumbs
watch it not grow
make it yours
house it in affection
watch as it tames, no longer craving black tar
let it go

I use a flashlight
Shine it
Shed light
On what?
On me?
I'm not creative
I don't deliver any talents worth mentioning
Keep that spotlight off of me

My words don't shine bright
Stand out
Its the same thing over and over
Repeat after me
I am not creative
My words don't shine bright
Stand out
Its the same thing over and over

I'm like that annoying cd that skips repeatedly
The same phrase, the same verse

I can't mold something new out of already hardened clay
I can't dream up beautiful rhyming words
I can't make a trending poem
Not one that paints a gorgeous portrait in the mind of its readers

We can talk about roses all day long if you want
Or tree's and sunshine
And blue sky's!!
Oh and rainbows and butterflys
If that's what makes a poem worth reading
We can talk about love
And hearts
We can hold hands and blows kisses
Peace and harmony

Or we could talk about the real stuff
The Shadows
The dark stuff
Teardrops
The shattered mirrors
All of our fears
The things that bring about nightmares
The truth
The ugliness
The misery
The dark and twisted stuff
They say the mentally disturbed are the most creative

Its up to you
Dear poet
Person sitting there at the steering wheel
Staring at the road ahead
Put the car in drive
Steer it in the right direction
Or is there a right direction?

Its all just space
Blank space
The pen just sits there in your hand
Waiting for an idea to take shape
Hope its going to be worth the struggle
The self loathing
Worth picking and prodding at your ego
Telling you, you **** at writing
So why bother right?

It's more than just a poem
Its more then just a page in your story
A direction in your life
A struggle
A meaning
A life
Its your life