Family is like water,
the original stream
The bottom bunk again,
his slumber verses
A grace and a toughness,
the safe border between
The fires of the Bronx,
sunlight through the girders
Recklessness and temptation
written on the ceiling
A colossal illusion,
sawdust on the floor
Some sort of revolutionary act,
a motherfucking ambulance chaser
-Found Poem
All lines are direct quotes from pages 57-59 of Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin
22 Jan 2021
Look at us dancing
with gleeful abandon
as the tape
of your childhood
plays
Your dance unreserved,
no matter who
was watching
We were partners,
companions
Now you step
in front of a mirror
and you no longer see me
You only see flaws,
imperfections,
never beauty
The mirror never
bringing a smile
The world told you
you didn’t deserve me,
you couldn’t have me
That self-confidence
was only for others
That whatever you were,
it wasn’t enough
The echoes still
play in your mind
every time you
tamper your joy
You shouldn’t dance,
you’re embarrassing
You can’t sing,
just mouth the words
Save the world
from your shame,
your inadequacy
But I remember
when we danced
25 Jan 2021
1. I didn't yet know hope could just explode, without a warning sing
2. But I knew Julie Paolano was the cutest girl in school
3. I wasn’t in school that day
4. I was home with my grandmother watching a television with the screen built into its wooden stand
5. The flash lit the screen
6. I was naïve enough that even when the rocket burst into flames in front of my eyes, I believed it was only a test run, because it couldn’t have happened if people were on board
7. My grandmother had to tell me I was wrong
8. My illusion was not the only thing that shattered that day
9. My grandmother lasted eleven more years than the Challenger, but her demise held warning signs I had since learned to recognize
10. The warning signs failed to make the loss any easier
28 Jan 2021
I want to point out to the Stop the Steal folks that someone stole my backpack when I was in college and I think it is really insensitive to try to highlight one theft while not acknowledging all theft. Why single your theft out, like my theft didn’t matter? So maybe your sign should read Stop Stealing or something so I don’t feel left out.
#AllTheftMatters
Your political sign,
the horrifying
Halloween ornament
still decorating
your lawn,
even as the calendar
continues its
repetitive cycle
into the holiday
of colonization,
lingers obliviously,
like a child in
November hoping
his Trick-or-Treat bag
would now
suddenly and
miraculously refill
26 November 2020
