suspicion comes

suspicion goes

suspicion confirms

what everyone knows

suspicion reflects

suspicion suspends

suspicion won’t break

suspicion just bends

suspicion controls

suspicion withdraws

suspicion reverbs

what the mockingbird calls

suspicion lays down

at the foot of your bed

suspicion will twist

all the words that weren’t said

suspicion compares

suspicion denies

suspicion continues

when ev...

“you write for ego, no?”

“don’t we all?

but, i do NEED to write”

“do you?

or are you aware

it is your best shot

at fame?”

“is fame a bad thing?”

“it was for Salinger”

“a lot was bad for Salinger”

“at least he wrote for himself”

“yes, he gave up publishing

after he was a millionaire for life -

how brave”

“more examples than just him”

“and they all get divorced”

“and they all get divorced ...

“Where is Uncle Derek?” the little boy asked. He had on a conical paper hat that was bigger than his head itself. The hat read “Birthday Boy” with a big number four.

“He is probably still outside.” His aunt said to him. “I am sure he will be back in soon.” She bent down and took the boy’s hand, leading him into the kitchen. “Would you like some chips?”

“Yes.” The boy said with a big smile. As he g...

“you like Woody Allen?”

he asked me

love him

i said

“do you know what he did?!”

yes

“how could you like

that monster?”

he makes good movies

“that is awful.

do you listen to Kanye?”

yes

“Michael Jackson?”

king of pop

“so you only like

criminals and predators.”

i like artists

i said

and ordered another beer

so you do not

separate the artist

from the art

“no.”

he said

“why should they ...

i sit alone

at this

bar

and drink my beer

and love

away...

i went up

to the counter

and ordered another

black coffee

i gave the young woman

a few bills

and got my coffee

and sat back down

at my laptop

the blank page

stared back at me

taunting me

that the woman

half my age

makes more than i do

by pouring black coffee

into a cup

but

that is my choice

because the page is

still blank

because

instead of making

the croissants

and the coffee

i will just orde...

cold water

feels warm

when you’re freezing

the way

sixty degrees in the summer

requires a hoodie

and

sixty degrees in the winter

requires shorts

the way

nine pm

feels early

in your twenties

and late

in your seventies

the way

you love every job

for the first month

and then hate it

forevermore

the way

cold water

feels warm

when you’re freezing

is the way

you show me

your love...

we sip our cold beers

on another weekday night

feeling less alone

together in the silence

then with the ones we married...

“It’s hard to be inconspicuous when you’re hanging upside down.” Johnny said and we all let out a hearty laugh. He took a swig of his beer, then continued. “It was the first time I ever got caught, man! Can you believe that shit?”

“Luck always runs out!” Tom said and laughed at himself. I opened another beer.

“Yeah, but like this? My pants catching on the gutter? I have jumped out of so many win...

the wife

cheats on you

the friend

drunkenly spills your secrets

the babysitter

molests your child

the publisher

tells you no

the boss

lays you off

the boss

hires somebody else

the government

continues to steal from you

the beggar

does, too

and

you go through life

fighting through betrayal

fighting through

trust and hope

and the overwritten

fear and loathing

but you fight

through

because...