01.01.09 (day 22)

they are the only
people on this earth
who could make me
take a trip through the bible
via christmas light display,
turn my knees into ponies
willing to carry the weight of two children,
and put down a mimosa to play tag in a good friend’s living room.
i never thought much of small people
who shit on themselves
and can’t tell me what’s wrong when they cry,
but now i see what i’ve been missing.

12.31.08 (day 21)

inside the house
they kept thirty years
worth of history.
it wasn’t under
lock and key,
but hidden carefully
in the folds of blankets,
and standing quietly behind
cabinet doors.
it was in the cracks
between oak slats
on a hard wood floor
that has never been softer,
and thus,
never louder.
each creak is the sound of past indiscretions,
the path worn
by feet
stumbling toward rebellion.

12.30.08 (day 20)

glasses of wine
and gramercy park
remind me of five years ago
and my brother.

i wish he were here now.

12.29.08 (day 19)

i returned home
on the kind of sunny afternoon
that makes me want to roam
brooklyn streets
and write poems
in my head
so i can forget them
in the joy of each moment.

12.28.08 (day 18)

she thought
doing lines was easier
than writing them.
didn’t see the difference
between
spilling secrets on mirrors
or stages.

12.27.08 (day 17)

tired of writing poems
but need to reach a goal.
there are crumbs on the floor,
the weather is too hot,
and cincinnati is no different.

12.26.08 (day 16)

a haiku
hey would you believe
noah friday night southgate house
nothing more i want

12.25.08 (day 15)

once you make
a decision like this,
looking
(in the mirror)
becomes an entirely new experience.
have you ever noticed
the way eyes shift
when confronted with their own lies?
it’s an exhausting exercise
in patience;
half-truths
replace silent ones
and this is not how it is supposed to be.
what do you do
when it’s too expensive to be you?
complications consume situations
until intonations
fall down
my spine
like raindrops
in spring.

12.24.08 (day 14)

“you’re on the 5th floor”,
she said,
“so you should have a nice view”…
which sounds funny
when you’ve just flown in
from new york.
but it’s true,
from my room
i can see
the cincinnati skyline
and it is a welcome relief.

12.23.08 (day 13)

the ice must be
at least 6 inches thick
in some places
even more
i’m sure of it
making it hard to tell
what your feet are gonna do

i don’t really mind
being semi-stranded
for the “holidays”
and the only reason
for the bags
under my eyes
is the consecutive 6am
wake up calls

i’m leaving my computer
at home
this time
i miss simplicity
and have decided not to work this vacation