Oh, you burn so bright

Oh, you burn so bright
Dark as night
Take your flight
You burn so bright.
Disband yourself
Renew yourself
Trust yourself
To burn bright.


    (inspired by Say Anything's "Do Better")

Waiting...

for love,
for health,
for charm,
for wealth,
for suspects,
for crime,
for space,
for time.

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun (Sonnet 130)

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
     And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
     As any she belied with false compare.

--William Shakespeare

The Truth

Tears plummet.
Falling faster,
further,
farther,
onto his sweater.
But we were meant to be together,
was the lie that did wind
into his mind.
Four breaths in,
four breaths out.
Then comes a faint whisper,
I loved you first.
He straightens his tie,
and continues on.

Nikorette

I'm just trying to stay a human being
Sitting in the sun eating ice cream
Texting my friend about a bad, bad dream
Just had to tell someone who knows me

But I don't got time for this cuckoo clock
And I don't want to go to your Mason Lodge
There's nothing more sad than a lynching mob
Full of rational men who believe in God

But nothing makes sense when the wave rolls through
Nothing makes sense when the wave come through
So it coulda been me or it coulda been you
Whatever's in me is whatever's in you

My neighbor dreams big because his house is small
Says all he needs now is some capital
It's a pirate world, it's a free-for-all
They steal your bright ideas and they make them dull

Now everyone I see I think I've known before
From the opera house to the grocery store
My love for them, I cannot ignore
Like a human voice in a quiet morgue

But I don't want to wear no dead man's suit
I don't want to wear no dead man's suit
I don't want to wait until the moon gets blue
I don't want to wait until the moon turns blue

Well, it's all just a fix
Just one little hit
You'll hold it in

Sitting on a plane chewing Nicorette
Paradise lost, haven't found it yet
Will you talk me down if I get upset?
Be the cool washcloth to my fevered head

'Cause I don't want to dream if it don't come true
I don't want to dream if it don't come true
If there's something in me, well, I guess it's in you
If there's somewhere in me, then I know it's in you

Well, it's all just a fix
Just one little hit
You're holding in
You'll hold it in
You're holding in
You'll hold it in

And I don't want to dream if it won't come true
I don't want to dream if it don't come true
If there's something in me, then I know it's in you
If there's somewhere in me, then I know it's in you
If it happens to me, it's going to happen to you
Whatever happens to me, it's going to happen to you 

--Conor Oberst

The Riots

I've watched this city burn twice
in my lifetime
and the most notable thing
was the arrival of the
politicians in the
aftermath
proclaiming the wrongs of
the system
and demanding new
policies toward and for the
poor.

nothing was corrected last
time.
nothing will be corrected this
time.

the poor will remain poor.
the unemployed will remain
so.
the homeless will remain
homeless.

and the politicians,
fat upon the land, will live
forever.
           --Charles Bukowski

I Did Not Die

Do not stand at my grave and forever weep.
I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn’s rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and forever cry.

I am not there. I did not die.

                               --Melinda Sue Pacho

Take the Highway

Loosen your tie.
Relax.
Motivate somebody.
Don't get too comfortable.
Sing.
Out loud.
Laugh.
Out loud.
Dance until you're sweating.
Sweat until you're dancing.
Smile.
It's not the end.