connoisseurs of light

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. 

diagnosis means 
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. 

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.