what fills the orange barrels on the side of the road?
sand, water, gasoline
“let’s hit it and find out”
poem
Poem #770
when they initiated the launch sequence,
I couldn’t move
the metal scaffolding caged me
I spat out steam
when my body contained enough rage,
it rattled the cage.
I left the ground behind,
burned away all the excess fuel
and dropped the external tanks
I made it to space
much lighter than when I started
but the core of me withstood the journey
Poem #769 – mariana trench
the cold creeps into my happiest moments
everything is going right
I’m doing everything right
but I’m still sinking deeper into the water
Poem #768
I wish I was a man
with his shirt unbuttoned
and his breath stinking of beer
swaggering down the street
without a friend
but without an enemy
Poem #767
I don’t want to come home
you’re busy
I’m fragile
Poem #766
I swim far out into the ocean
farther than my arms should take me
the waves are pushing me violently
but I wait, cold and sad,
for the giant squid to wrap me in her tentacles,
pull me down into the heavy, dark water.
the pressure will be a relief
as my skull cracks, I’ll leak out
free to float in the abyss
shapeless
Poem #765
my brother grins sheepishly
he’s 28, I’m 25
I work inside the building
while he paints it
I wonder if he stopped teasing me,
because I’m in here
or because he’s out there
Poem #764 – worm
I built a fort in the closet,
padded the shelf with two layers of blankets
and laid my body out
I read books until the sun set
and the closet light made my eyes hurt
I flipped through children’s encyclopedias
learning about spiders and elephants
I hid in there
secretly reading comic books
so my family didn’t know I was childish
I grew up in that closet
Poem #763 – wishing for more wishes
my brother set up a system of wishes
10,000 wishes for doing his homework
80,000 wishes for doing the dishes
100,000 wishes for not telling Mommy he was being mean
2 million wishes for getting his food from the microwave
I don’t know where he got his wishes
but I had five
I never could figure out how to spend them
Poem #762
I live to see your arms in fishnet sleeves
your shoulders peeking through spaghetti strap tank tops
your hair in various stages of decoration
I live for the mole surrounded by the flowers on your leg
your freckles spotting your face
your lips in a sultry pout
most of all though, I live for the calm of your voice
your patience seeping through every bit of you
your humor in a stolen moment