As she discovered
Over many years of
Resisting change,
There isn’t much
You can do about it,
If anything at all,
It just happens and
You have to deal with it
As you see fit,
Which determines
How your life transpires.
A group of men converge, a raucous
Interplay of competing smiles and
Fables. Towels snapping, quips
Flying, one-upmanship obligatory,
Manic talking, absent listening,
The rustling of business cards being
Exchanged on the fly with
Assurances earnestly attached.
I’ll call you soon, we ought to get
Together for lunch, I like what you’re
Doing, that’s interesting. The phone
Lays silent at his side, unringing,
Unblinking. Useless. A sour
Reminder of broken promises,
Confidences offered in jest. Lack of
Depth, sincerity, meaning.
You could feel the
Moment when she
Realized that what
She needed to be happy
Was not the approval of
Some outside person
But her own love.
I turned my back
On art and she,
Knowing more than me,
Waited patiently while
I sorted things out,
Struggling day to day,
Existing as another
Until I finally
Saw her as she
Had always been.
From nothing, something beautiful,
Vulnerable, sublime and extraordinary.
Venture where others dare not travel
For fear of encountering hidden
Truth. Thrive on tenuous line, between
Reality and imagination. One moment
Here, the next vanishing, replaced
By new creations born from suffering,
Discomfort, confusion, ecstasy.
Hours spent pondering,
Musing, mulling, meandering,
Committing entrails to paper,
Canvas, string, embouchure.
Kaplunk of feet on boards,
Voice filling the voids,
Light beyond which one
Can’t see; the frown, shrug,
Raised eyebrow of disapproval,
Smile of fulfillment and
Ecstasy, connecting to the
Essence of all that matters.
Lachryma lingering on cheek.
Transcendent gleam,
A bird flying because it can.
A creeping foreboding insinuating
Itself into an otherwise cloudless day.
A serene outdoor picnic where the only
Visitor is a breeze and a mountain lion.
Take a moment to resolve whether
You’ll sit still or run, then decide to
Flee and find that your legs are like
Noodles in a delicious Asian soup
You enjoyed one time in a small
Place in a distant destination.
An intimate lunch in a hidden corner of a
Bustling city. Gazing into each other’s eyes
Moments before the check came and
Overburdened your credit card causing
Waves of shame, a loss of face.
There’s a particular
Kind of low-grade
Headache that insinuates
Itself whenever I have
To do anything remotely
Related to math or
Have to watch or listen
To something that I
Find excruciatingly
Boring. It’s not awful
Enough to scream but
It is annoying, draining,
Sort of like when I
Have to spend time
With certain people and
Pretend I’m enjoying it.
Walking along a familiar
Path, I look up and
Marvel at the leaves
Of a particular tree
I had not noticed before.
Later, In a strangely
Serendipitous coincidence,
Someone asks me a question,
I respond that I’m the guy
Who looks at the leaves.
