I used to have guts

Guts that were scraped

Scraped until all the good parts

Parts that held seeds were gone

Gone and replaced by artificial light

Light that illuminated my smile

Smile carved deep into my skin

Skin that was starting to harden

Harden around my wounds

Wounds that were sealed by the cold

Cold wouldn’t let me go

Go back into the dirt

Dirt was better than the porch

Porch meant pe...

“There’s dirt on your boots.”

His eyes hardened, brows furrowed.

“The guys aren’t even wearing suits.”

I poked at rage already burrowed.

“I go out however I want.”

That much was true.

Every denied request was a taunt.

Another way to say fuck you.

“Please. It’s respectful.”

He jammed a ratty cap on his head.

I thought he was accidentally neglectful.

Marry him or leave him for dead?

“Your ...

Two fat bumblebees collided

We watched through the glass

They made another pass

Despite flying lopsided

Corn stalks broke the sod.

Defying the searing heat.

We accepted seasonal defeat.

Protected by AC while we jawed

Hazy blue sky smeared with clouds

The muggy air was still.

The hills blocked any breeze.

Lullabies of lawn mower sounds.

Freshly cut grass meant Advil.

But in that moment, I w...

Shadows lurk in the periphery

Whispers

Rise and fall in toneless song

Flinching

Away from the unwanted sound

Hoping

I escape their notice

Deny

Their existence, an unwilling witness

Rationalize...

“This is you.”

Untethered, almost alive.

A brain floating in a jar

Preserved in formaldehyde.

“This is what you are.”

Every triumph, every issue

The human experience distilled

To a lump of gray tissue

“Who you are…”

A homeless soul

Human dignity stripped for parts

Body rots in a hole

“And all you’ll be.”

Truly unmatched dedication

Displayed over and over

For higher education

Profe...

You are not your mistakes

Nor your embarrassments

Or your heartbreaks

You are todays and tomorrows...

My friends say I could do a lot better than you

I wish I’d met you after I was 22

Nothing’s sadder than the unlived life

It’s a shame I’ve already met my wife

Why did you say that to me?

If you’re unsure, you should leave

I’ve always been sure about you.

Love doesn’t wear off because the relationship stops being new.

I’m sorry your insecurity makes you upset.

If you lost weight, you’d feel b...

Sometimes

we fall in love with ideas

Not people

we wrap ourselves in the magic of

Isms

Conservatism

imposing the past on the future

Progressivism

slaying the past to save us in the

Future

Nihilism

nothing matters; meaning is chosen

Spiritualism

we are all connected by various

Energies

Socialism

everyone shares to stay fed

Capitalism

everyone should be rich or simply

Dead

Com...

My daughter has eyes like mine-big and brown with a tiny ring of green around the pupil. She has my nose. I’m glad. My husband’s nose would be too big for her little face. Her full lips and darker complexion come from her dad. She watches me, and smiles. Dimples puncture her round cheeks. “I love you.” I tell her, and kiss her golden brown curls. She giggles. I smell baby shampoo. I open my eyes. ...

She was like a milkmaid carved out of butter-golden hair, golden eyes, read pouting lips, and bright blue eyes....