Faces

young hard faces

uncomfortable with joy

unable to differentiate

between conditioned stimuli

and authentic simple pleasures

sad in ways

even they don’t understand

While

this is a place where

we build fences around empty lots

and board up empty homes

and leave them to rot

while children and mothers

shiver in rainy doorways

while I pay nine dollars for coffee

and go about my day

Dazzled

Sometimes I wish I had perfect vision
but then I wouldn’t be able to transform the world into
dazzling scatters of rainbow glitter at any given moment

In transit

Strangers bumping into each other uncomfortably
in close spaces and public places
toggle between ignoring scenes
and starting awkward conversations
with dirty fingernails and unkempt hairs
in cold loud echoing train stations

Krinkly

Some days feel like endless hurdle-jumping in junior high P.E.
running when I know I can’t make it
tripping and busting my knee

But then I stop and breathe
and cuddle with my puppy
and the krinkly forehead leaves

Tepid

The watercolors give me the cold shoulder at first
asking me why it is I only come around when I need something
but I manage to sweet talk them over a nice cup of tepid water
and some well-placed brushstrokes

Prickles

Finding myself resenting the sunlight

I suddenly realize I prefer to experience life through barriers

 

Filtered through gloomy clouds

Removed behind dirty glasses while contacts lie idle in the bathroom

Sheltered by a full buffer of blubber

 

and wonder why that is