technology doesn’t just watch us
upgraded human in a smart home
digital devices sewn deep in my flesh
titanium screwed into my bleeding bone
artificial memories for deep fake love
from a blu-ray box set of Babylon 5
upgraded human in a smart home
digital devices sewn deep in my flesh
titanium screwed into my bleeding bone
artificial memories for deep fake love
from a blu-ray box set of Babylon 5
All summer long,
the grass drinks the rain, then
crisps brown when the cup runs dry
and cracked mouths open
in thirsty fields.
But for today
(maybe just for today),
the cup is a trough, overflowing.
I crouch low in the green shimmer,
where light draws fish scales
on blades of grass, and yesterday’s storm
sings in circles around my boots.
I stay there
in shimmer and song.
I watch the rain
drink the earth.
Speak to me in the language of sirens
Reveal to me your golden light
Stand with me as I embrace desire
Allow me refuge in your Sight
Release me from self-loathing shackles
Dear Aphrodite clutch me tight
Please heal me from my fear of love
Signed:
Your newfound acolyte
For those songs that are not sung
Ones that beg to be given voice
Only to be forgotten . . .
Now’s the time to sing them
Wellspring of community
And make them heard
Constantly
I sink to the floor,
tired of holding my body up.
The tears consume me,
and my body starts to shake.
He kneels down next to me
and takes me,
holding me tightly
into his arms.
“Everything will be ok,”
he whispers in my ear.
I’m not sure who he is trying to convince.
I want to believe him.
I want to hide
in the safety of his arms.
Wrapped into his embrace,
my shelter from the cold.
But, the comfort of his touch
doesn’t shield me
from the sound of my tears.
His touch doesn’t save me
from the searing pain
in my heart.
we sat in disbelief/
there was a catch in Billie’s voice/
she mixed up the lyrics during her delivery/
steadied herself holding on to the mike stand/
seemed in another world/
people started leaving the theater/
I wanted to stand up and shout at them/
you fools how can you walk out on her/
a great legend such a unique voice/
tears troubled my youthful eyes/
we all have a bad night now and then/
There is a place where
words fit comfortably
like a thumb returning
to a worry bead or
river glass, handled
until it forgets its edges.
Words mark their borders
and call it understanding.
I send them out not as letters
but as signals, so what I want
and what I say are the same.
Phrases that fall into grooves
worn down by recitation.
No one can explain
in the hearing of it,
rough edges smoothing
like a pacifier
for an infant and still
the sentence leans forward,
asking to be carried farther,
still something in me
keeps making sense of it.
This is a song of repose
In these times that are
Anything but peaceful
The center cracks and
We spin out of control
For we are nothing but
Form born of menace and
Provocation shaped as it
Pushes us to expand like
A galaxy whirling through
Space with arms spiraling
In luminous bands of stars
And gas and dust amid dark
Matter from our formation
Dying stars rupture hurling
Explosive remains to seed
The universe while this
Lullaby soothes the din
To help us find quiet
Among the uproar
Well he’s six years younger
But somehow 10 times more sophisticated
He should look down on me but for no reason he looks up instead
Puts me on a pedestal that I deserve to be knocked off of
But he wants me so I decide to play along
Why does he want me? Why does he want me?
Is it just because I’m older he assumes I’m more mature?
Will he harbor much resentment when he finds out he was wrong?
I’m a dumb little fool, just a silly little goof
I’m so awkward no elegance to be found around here
Yet he wants me oh how he wants me
Is it wrong to say I want to have him too?
It almost feels predatory to go after someone so perfect when I’m worse than ordinary
Oh but the way that we speak of stuff that nobody else around seems to know much about
Or maybe they just don’t care or they just don’t know how
He’s six years younger
But somehow 10 times more sophisticated