evil? is it
the opposite of
feeling alive? yeah,
he's friendly, but
seeking permission
to pet instead
of just petting is
good practice for
learning how to get
consent. she
reclines in
the shade of
a beautiful autumn
morning, mirrored
in her silver sun-
glasses sparkling,
a hint of crisp
amid summer's last
gasp. does
nostalgia
depend on
kindness, or
kindness
nostalgia?
both are warm
& fuzzy blankets.
the barista dangles
chilled notes from the ceiling
just to make sure we know
its cool in here.
just to make sure we know
its cool in here.
diagnosis means
to know apart from.
alleviating suffering
to know apart from.
alleviating suffering
begins with giving
affliction a name,
the surgeon said,
but what if life
is your affliction?
floating
until we become too
heavy
to float.
heavy
to float.
a tall young man
exits wearing
a chalk white skeleton
on his black tshirt
didn't we used to
celebrate the seasons
& our connection to
nature and now
we celebrate money.
why do we need so much
sweetness and what
is so bitter about our lies
that we have to hide the taste
with sugar & shine?
as if having filled.
we should know by now
as cars rush past. black
clad ladies tilting tables
upright onto their
bright white legs as
a young man skates
lazy figure eights
down my neighborhood's
gently sloping hill.
before me a young woman
sits down at a sidewalk table.
in one arm, glistening with
fresh ink, she holds
the leash to a caramel
coated mother who
watches & waits
for her treat. the trees,
those connoisseurs of light,
have begun to change.
the trees know.