Stumbling along the sidewalk

Fine

I’ll be fine.

Just give me a chance

To fill my prescriptions,

Snack on those potato chips,

Make a Walmart run,

Fill up the tank

Of my gas-guzzling SUV,

Smoke my cigarette,

Drink a couple of beers,

Go hunting with my pals,

Take my dog to the park,

Take a ride in my boat,

Zoom around on my motorcycle,

Take a hit of acid,

Chew a bite of snuff,

Go to worship at my church,

Feed the homeless in my community,

Read a book,

Lay out on the beach,

Jog for a couple miles,

Sleep in a few extra hours,

Have a cup of coffee,

Get laid,

Collect my paycheck,

Say a prayer.

Yeah, I’ll be fine.

Walmart Pariah

A woman stands at the entrance

With a shopping cart full

Of her cherished belongings,

Waiting patiently on the generosity,

Or, rather, pity, or worse, guilt,

Of the passerby, to convict,

To shame, or maybe, on the rare instance,

To inspire, to give a gift.

Aren’t we all like her,

Dragging our materials

From house to house,

Packing them away

For that rainy or cold day,

That is sure to come?

Aren’t we petitioners

To passing angels or demons,

Or a god that plays favorites,

To have mercy or just indulge us,

One more time,

So we can get our fix,

Spoiled children of a wealthy parent,

Taken a few wrong turns on the streets,

The pariah or prodigal reduced to

Yearning after the feed of pigs,

Coming out of Walmart with

Their baskets full?

Spirals

Drifting through despair,

The emptiness tingles.

My soul quivers

At the tickling breeze

Of meandering routine,

The repetition of work,

And the high-pitched whistling

Of idle conversation.

The circular motion

Of a life without purpose,

A mind without focus,

And feet without direction,

All come together for an

Absurd account of a life lived

Without meaning.

Freedom comes with its own

Heavy chains,

And a weight that is a

Painful, woe-some

Burden to bare.

Laughing through a lemon on top of a tank top of the heap wound care miscellaneous rowdy cousins flippant comments in sardine can elephant sneezes mooching for mulch around a holy tea kettle spaghetti blues slack tangle tango beliefs train tracks on keepsake friends

Open

Open box walk out try on T-shirt lose lunch read book look in mirror dance a jig lay down on the couch kick a ball change channels on the television look across the plain empty cat litter box balance math equation explode chemistry set laugh out loud yawn and stretch.

Smooth

Dapper stop wallet crane cat house lizard up

Ivy walk eat honeycomb Mars marshmallows

Reef tampering smooth street pickle helmet

Jade qualms strings succulent beneath swatch

Deer wacky arrangement Tupperware cattle

Order

Link sound real pat skink and bounce talent

Maneuver ancient check van take qualms

Belief swarm bleed sock street tube smell ape

Weird eerie smooth range small wound soul

Cookie spot babe wall eat sort battalion order

Happy Apple

Happy apple cling to a limb but fall when it’s

Time. Nasty worm carves a tunnel in my apple.

I don’t see it, so I take a bite. Nothing fazes me,

For a while. I am strong and I am free. I

Express myself in a jolly, meandering way.

That is the solution to my desolation. Aargh.

Stay

Close happy turn run don’t leave come back

Realize remain you will never believe in me

You will be mine no I tried we are together

Change is hard going back is not possible

We can only go forward I only want the best

For you and the rest come with me stay here.

Spring is here!

Today is the day for returning to the grave it is a lovely day to spring to life it is a good day to play outside the sun is shining and the sky is blue and this is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!

I like to walk across the grassy fields and roll around in the dirt and go swimming and play in the pond and run through the sprinkler and jump into the air and slide down the slip and slide and climb on top of the hills and up the trees and out on the limbs at the edge of the limbs, waving in the breeze. It’s fun!