1000 Ways to Write (part 1)

#1   One
Word
At
A
Time

#2   Pain
=
Scars
=
Armor

#3   Life
Is a canvas
Breathing
Is an
Art

#4   Write
Your name
With every
Crayon
In the box

#5   All my life
Has been
Leading
To this
Moment

#6   I
Will not
Be like
My
Father

#7   2 A.M. driving
On the parkway
The world reduced
To the length
Of my headlights

#8   In darkness
I'm willing
To believe
What sunlight casts
As foolish

#9   I want strange lights
In the sky eyes
Burning in the forest
Shake me awake
Frighten me alive

#10  This road always
Unwinds the same
Always bends homeward
No matter the turns I take
Trying to be lost

#11  3 lines
When the boss isn't
Looking--why
Waste the day
On work

#12  I wonder if birds
Covet my hands
As much
As I covet
Their wings

#13  These
Pages
Are
Not
Feathers

#14  Ditch snake and
Ancient wyrm
Taste and
Carve
The same dust

#15  Bullet
Chambered in my heart
Sharpen my eyes
Haven't yet
Tasted blood

#16  Look at him
In his red shirt
He thinks he's so great
My father said
And closed the curtains

#17  How many skies
Have gone unrecorded
Lost
Like this hour
Like this hour

#18  There should be a man
Who films
Every sunset
Then I could catch up
Between now and the next

#19  Has anyone seen every
Day of his
Life end
Or do they die
Without our notice

#20  Breathing
Its final asking
For you
You missed
The best part

#21  He said my words
Were almost poetic
I smiled, flattered
And thought almost
Almost

#22  I'm still trying
To regain at least
One thing the boy
I used to be
Lost

#23  I'm too old to name
My possessions
I still talk to them
But I don't know
Their names

#24  The rain today
Washed the trees
And fed the river
And soaked into
The soles of my shoes

#25  Do you remember
The name of that one
Guy at school
Shaved half his head
He never knew you

#26  My mom spent half
A minute locked
In a freezer
And eight hours that night
In my father's bed

#27  I've
Missed
You
My
Friend

#28  I can't
Remember
Which of Us
Ran
Away

#29  When he bit
My hand
He never
Stopped wagging
His tail

#30  We
All
Touched
Him
As he died

#31  I hope
Whitman
Was right
About
Death

#32  Stay
Awake
You
Useless
Fool

#33  I've
Been
Away
Too
Long

#34  I want
To go to bed
And let
These 5 lines
Be enough

#35  How many nights
Have passed
Without writing
You don't get them back
And you can't catch up

#36  Now I'm trying
To coax 5 more
Lines about
My father before
I fall to sleep

#37  This night is a
Set of clothes
Inked into my skin
A mask
Around my eyes

#38  Today I saw
A man who
Broke his neck
Stand up
From his wheelchair

#39  And children sang
With their voices
And with their hands
And I
Nearly wept

#40  Now
I
Wish
I
Had

#41  In the apartment
Below me
A man's tv
Is loudly
Beating him to death

#42  I wish
I was as
Funny
As Douglas
Adams

#43  I wish
I was as
Angry
As Henry
Rollins

#44  I wish
I was as
Driven
As Stephen
King

#45  Someday
Maybe
Someday
Maybe
Now

#46  I think it
Was when I
Picked up the bat
Intent on
Breaking his arms

#47  I could see
The bridge
From here
If the blinds
Were open

#48  Enough
Tomorrow
Something
Brighter
Promise

#49  I helped
A kitten
Find
Its mother's
Milk

#50  There
You
See
Promise
Fulfilled

#51  I remember her
Across the room
Unknown
Speaking shadows
With her eyes

#52  I remember her
A green blur
Unshaded
Reading rocks
Between her toes

#53  I remember her
A bent laugh
Unguarded
Shaping daises
In her hair

#54  I remember her
Watching me
Unhidden
Something fisted
In her heart

#55  I remember the memory
Of the who where she was
And the question
Answered un
Of she remembering whom

#56  Or maybe it was when
I put the bat down
And slipped into bed
And let him
Take the vcr

#57  He waved
When he saw me
In the back row
Of the theater
Today I'm a teacher

#58  It's late
I worked all day
I'm at the keyboard
Anyway
Today I'm a writer

#59  Taillights like
A drop of poison
Smeared across my window
And a radio says
Brbrbbrbllbrlbpt

#60  I
Write
When
It's
Dark

#61  A Writer
Must
First
Fear

#62  Build his own sun
Shield his own ground
And cup his heart in hand
The comforted
Never dream

#63  Everyday is like
Everyday is like
Today
Even my tomorrows
Are familiar

#64  I perform for cats
They hide in the closet
Till I'm done
And silent
And the air is still

#65  I am not this thing
Of quiet and safety
Nosiryessir
Rightaway in fear
And out of respect

#66  No, it was when
My mother took us from
The safety of my cousin's
Because I begged
To go home

#67  I want to be
A fool and fall
And laugh like
The fourth
Of July

#68  At
Least
I
Laugh
At myself

#69  It's hard to think
About tomorrow
When today is
An unraveling
Two foot piece of rope

#70  New simile:
Red
As the inside
Of a seagull's
Mouth

#71  We were both down to
Our underwear
When her dog
In the corner
Had a seizure

#72  His claws scrabbled
Against the walls
His legs locked
The pain and the fear and
The haunt in his eyes

#73  He crawled into my lap
And I talked in the same
Hushed tones
I used
With her

#74  That was
The moment
She
Began to
Hate me

#75  The moon
Is a
Pale
Brass
Bullet

#76  That night
My mother took
A beating
Because I wanted
My bear and my bed

#77  I'm afraid
I'm unhappy
I'm restless
I'm lonely
Just like you

#78  My brother
Says he's not
Sick
And throws
Away his medicine

#79  I swear I'm
Doing fine
And buy one
More game
I'll never play

#80  That burning sensation
On the back of your neck
That
Was me
Judging you

#81  Around the block tonight
Barefoot in the wet grass
I found an empty
Snail shell
Escape is possible

#82  I tried to sell the shell
To a homeless slug
Low mileage
Only one owner
He wasn't buying

#83  Stopped at the dirt pile
In a vacant lot
To dig a tunnel
Wish I had
A GI Joe to bury

#84  She lives
On the other side
Of my kitchen wall
With a cat
And a pink light

#85  I stood outside
And wished the cat
Goodnight
Hoping she
Would come to the window

#86  That night my innocence
Died
I stuffed a blanket
Down its throat
Until it stopped moving

#87  She
Is
Every
Raging
River

#88  She
Is
Every
Silent
Pool

#89  She
Is
Every
Angry
Cloud

#90  She
Is
Every
Healing
Rain

#91  Every
River
Is
My
River

#92  The
Ocean
Knows
My
Name

#93  I woke up
With an erection
But I can't
Remember
The dream

#94  She hides
In my poems
The empty space
Around
A rose

#95  When I
Was young
I had faith
In a great
Many things

#96  All my dandelions
All my stars
Wasted
On the same
Wish

#97  I stopped
And let the shadow
Of a tree
Fold around
Me

#98  Stepped
Into
The rattle
Of a bamboo
Grove

#99  The night's
Perfume
Was faint
And
Fleeting

#100 I listened
To the insect
Bells
Chiming
For Church

#101 Every
Wound
Is the bloom
Of
Another poem

#102 Every Poem
An antiseptic kiss
Upon
My
Fractured Waters

#103 My brother
Gave me a bullet
And told me
When he needed it
He'd call

#104 I hope
I never
Hear from
Him
Again

#105 Go till it hurts
Then keep
Going
Till it doesn't
Hurt anymore

#106 My father
Never hit me
With his hands
Still every night
I took my beating

#107 I can't
Get angry
So I listen
To angry
Songs

#108 This is how
I heal
She said
And made
The music louder

#109 To rest
And dream
Upon
Winded
Waters

#110 To
Be
Only here
Only now
Only this

#111 To release
The waxwork
Of what
I
Ought to be

#112 The tree branch above me
Drips its darkness
Into my eyes
I am filled with empty
Hollowed out by moonlight

#113 A row of sprinklers
Waters the sidewalk
Which in summer
Will sprout beercan bushes
And cigarette trees

#114 One must end
When another begins
End
Begin
End

#115 We
Can
Always
Use more
Butterflies

#116 My father
The junkie
Taught every kid
In my neighborhood
To ride a bicycle

#117 I wake up sometimes
Poems restless
Beneath my skin
In another room
Whispering to no one

#118 Quickly
Loudly
With rage
With hunger
And with spite

#119 Softly
Slowly
Like a feather
Like a sigh
Like a blinking eye

#120 But when she comesv Always listen
Always be ready
And never turn
Your back on her

#121 When my bod
y Wants to rest
It gives me dreams
To entice me
Back into sleep

#122 I'm writing a book
That frightens me
With its insistence
That I be its
Father

#123 Who wrote these
Previous stanzas
Was it really
Me
Then who am I now

#124 Does it matter if
Other people like
What I do
As long
As it makes me happy

#125 Sometimes just
Finishing something
Anything
Like these 5 lines
Calms the waters within

#126 My father tells
My brother
What he wants to hear
That's why
He loves our father more

#127 How can I
Not write
On the first
Day of
Spring

#128 How can a heart
Beat for years
Without stopping
And not be expected
To break

#129 How did one god
Rise so far
Above others
Who were all so much
More interesting

#130 Why am I
Always
Afraid
To
Write

#131 Why do I
Sometimes
Want to go
All day
Without speaking

#132 Are there really
Other people
In the world
Or am I
Only imagining them

#133 I've stopped
Wondering where
The stories
Come
From

#134 I fear instead
That they'll
Die if I
Don't
Help them across

#135 Or worse
Find someone
Else
Who
Will

#136 I guess
I owe
More than
One story
To my father

#137 Sometimes I'm a camera
Watching myself
In a movie
That has
No ending

#138 Two cars crumple
Glass captured in flight
Change flies
From my
Pocket

#139 Sudden rush of sound
As the radio changes
Stations and the steering Wheel
Greets me

#140 In the ambulance
The EMT worries
That my heart is too slow
It's always like this
I say when I'm writing

#141 I'd flip the driver
A quarter
But I left all my change
On the floorboard
Of my car

#142 The first ride's free
He says
And shows me his teeth
And one's missing
There in the back

#143 They look inside me
I am filled with weather
And rivers and stones
There are fingerprints
On my bones

#144 No good
Story
Ever
Truly
Ends

#145 One
Should
Always
Applaud
Fireworks

#146 Fathers are not
Necessary
Ditch yours
As soon
As possible

#147 Good
Art
Should
Offend
Someone

#148 Sex is
Not a trophy
Nor a weapon
Nor a band-aid
Nor the end to your search

#149 If you say
I love you
To someone
You owe that person
At least a poem

#150 You
Are
Immortal
At least
For a while

#151 Just in case
You need to know
To a cat
An open jigsaw box
Looks just like a toilet

#152 Don't listen to bad music
Or watch bad television
Or read boring books
But bad movies are okay
If viewed with a friend

#153 Never
Pray
To anything
You can't
See

#154 A person can
Be smart
But people
Are usually
Dumb

#155 Jump out of a tree
Scrape your knees
Laugh at foolish people
Risk looking
Foolish yourself

#156 There are no
Good fathers in
My stories
And no good
Sons either

#157 I looked down
From the plane
And saw
The handprint
Of god

#158 But inside
The cloud was only
Blind nothingness
And god's signature
Disappeared

#159 Beneath, I saw
The shapings
Of a million
Smaller
Hands

#160 Highways
Like
The veins
Of a crippled
Leaf

#161 And houses
All alike
Like the tick
Marks
On a thermometer

#162 Tractor
Trailers
Scattered
Like sticks
Of chalk

#163 All
These
Were
Beautiful
Too

#164 Then we landed
And all this
Beauty
Swallowed me in
And disappeared

#165 When I don't
Write, all
The stories I've
Begun begin
To die

#166 I asked Charlie Chaplin's
Tramp to be my dad
I can't, he said
I'm a fictional character
That's ok, I said, so am I

#167 We'll take turns
Forgetting
Our anniversary, she said
Next year
Will be your turn

#168 Occasionally
I'm stunned by my own
Words and I stare in
Wonder, fixated, which is
Just as bad as quitting

#169 I am a thimble
Attempting
To capture
The
Ocean

#170 I was the only one
On the plane
Stilled
By the miracle
Of sitting in the sky

#171 Work is something
I do
While
Thinking
Of something to write

#172 I owned a werewolf
Made of plaster
A coin slot
In the part
Of his perfect hair

#173 He guarded
My fortune
Behind
His
Fangs

#174 One day he fell
Shattered
Spewed
Copper moons
Across the floor

#175 I couldn't
Spend
One
Single
Cent

#176 Henry Rollins refused
To beat up my dad
He said to me
The best revenge
Is to live better than him

#177 My brother is back home
He can do
Anything he wants
He just doesn't know
What he wants

#178 We talked
Video games
And let the big
Things be big
And trusted small words

#179 He said
I was mad in the hospital
And I said
I know
And that was it

#180 I bought him a video game
Saved it for Christmas
But Cindy said to send it
Before he sells this
Player like the last three

#181 Self
Doubt
Is
My
Enemy

#182 Stillness
Is
My
New
Hell

#183 I raised these
Walls
Trained this
Fire
I am my own Devil

#184 Can I put these
Prescriptions on
Credit she asked
And smiled
A new gold tooth

#185 It's important
That I get her
Pills he told me
And unfolded one
Of four prescriptions

#186 I asked if Walt
Whitman would be my dad
I already am he said
And bit into an apple
And curled his toes

#187 So far no one's asked
Me to do
A commercial
So I can
Righteously refuse

#188 I'm high right now
On Rollins and caffeine
And my thoughts are loud
Enough to wake the
Neighbors

#189 It was a small
Adventure
But it was mine
And I was loud
For a while

#190 I want to die
Being eaten by an
Endangered animal
And have it choke
To death on my bones

#191 It's odd
To learn
My hero
Has heroes
Of his own

#192 Sadness is
The default
We all return to
When other emotions exit
Our orbits like comets

#193 My head is on fire
My limbs would like
To fall off
Think I'll try
To write in bed

#194 Pain spreads like
A blanket
And we ask others
To lie with us
Beneath

#195 Go hungry
Force yourself to stay
Awake and tremble
Stretch the barbs of
Your spine

#196 Forget it, kid
Harlan Ellison said
When I asked him
Now get your writing done
Before I hafta hit ya

#197 Cat:
Touch me please
Eew what are you doing
Get away from me
Where did you go

#198 For some reason
I love you
Is
Never
Enough

#199 We're all
Equipped with thorns
To snag
And capture
An uncautious heart

#200 Everything
Is a
Clock
Winding
Down

#201 Her
Breasts
Were
Perfectly
Conical

#202 Her shirt
High enough
To reveal
A half-inch
Strap of skin

#203 You remember
Her lips painted
Black as if the shadows
Had smeared when she
Kissed them

#204 And the jangle of chain
And the lighter flick
The smell of cloves
And a tightness
In your chest

#205 This is what you feel
At night
Under the heaviness of now
And the lonely
Whisper of why

#206 Kurt Vonnegut said
Take all that anger you
Aim at your father
Distill it down to whisky
Get drunk and write

#207 On the top bunk
I raised my legs
And punched my feet
Through the ceiling
Of our trailer

#208 I boiled
My own urine
Trying
To make
Phosphorous

#209 To make my brother's
Glow-in-the-dark
Toy super bright
I left it
On a light bulb

#210 There are
A few things
I've learned
Never
To do again

#211 The weather
Doesn't care
If it
Kills
You

#212 Snakes
However--
They
Hate
You

#213 One day
Your body
Will resent
Your abuse
And revolt

#214 One day
The universe
Will blink
And wipe us
From the corner of its eye

#215 But that's a long
Time from now
So take your vitamins
And an umbrella
And watch out for snakes

#216 Of course I'll be your
Father Ray Bradbury said
And we looked up at stars
Fat enough to fall
Like fruit

#217 At most
Sam will have
13 years of life
I wish there was
Someone to blame

#218 Before he learned
That such things
Were impossible
He wanted to
Be a Muppet

#219 A few years later
If you asked what he
Wanted to be when
He grew up
He'd say a superhero

#220 He waited for the
Lightning
For the chemical glow
Of his true
Destiny

#221 But every
Day was
As normal
As a day
Could be

#222 He gave in
And stopped
Wearing his
Cape and mask
To school

#223 He learned numbers
And 5.paragraphs
He told time
Diagramed sentences
And dissected frogs

#224 He learned
That most of the things
He dreamt
Were childish
And silly

#225 Reality is
Kryptonite
For
The
Soul

#226 Happy birthday
Dad
I'd give you something
But you owe
Too much

#227 Adults don't know
Anything
They're just better
At pretending
They do

#228 There was a girl
In college who
Sucked her thumb
Everyone make fun of her
But me

#229 I still
Remember
The time she
Hugged me
For no reason

#230 No one blessed me
At work
When I sneezed
Now I'm full
Of demons

#231 There was this time
I picked up a penny
And it was tails-side
Up and I know that's where
It all went wrong

#232 The dandelion seeds
All went up in one
Breath
And I'm still waiting
For that pony

#233 I had my fingers
Crossed the whole time
So why
Are you
Mad at me

#234 My time
Is almost
Paid
On that mirror
I broke

#235 I live with a black cat
Who hunts spirits
And shakes the rain
From behind
Her ears

#236 Don't you
Wish
Sidewalk cracks
Worked
On the other parent

#237 A man died today
Last month
I got one opportunity
To be
Kind to him

#238 I didn't really
Make his life any better
But
At least I did
No harm

#239 We
Should
Use
Poems
As currency

#240 Your total
Comes to
One limerick
And two couplets
Sir

#241 Got
Change
For
A
Sonnet

#242 Instead
We pay
For everything
With small and large
Amounts of pain

#243 Here's your check
Thanks boss
And your kick in the
Crotch
Thank you sir

#244 Everyone should get
A tube of lubricant
Every year
Along with
Their tax forms

#245 This
Fire
Burns
Away
Weakness

#246 I can't thing of one
Thing my father
Taught me to do
Except break things
He was good at that

#247 No one remembers
Your victories
But your defeats
They laser
Those in stone

#248 I want to leave
Something behind
To let everyone
Know
I was here

#249 You are
A machine
This is
Your instruction manual
There is no warranty

#250 On every atom
Of your structure
There is a plate
Bearing the name
Of your manufacturer

#251 For further
Assistance
Please consult your
Handbook entitled
Leaves of Grass

#252 There are other guides
But they are
Inferior
And should not be
Trusted

#253 Yeah I know Pink Floyd
He's great
The boy told me
I got all
His ringtones

#254 Drink poetry like
A tall glass of ice
Water after a long
Pounding
Run uphill

#255 Whenever the paper towels
Give out my mom must bonk
The nearest person on the
Head with the empty tube
It makes her happy

#256 Well he did
Teach me to ride a bike
And how to keep going
Even with two scraped
And graveled knees

#257 She grew beyond
The boundary of her body
And I tried to stay
Compact
And live in a corner

#258 Somehow a grocery
List
Snuck into
My little notebook
Of poems

#259 I don't know if it's
Trying to diminish
My dreamings with its
Structured, cautious
Normality

#260 Or if my poetry
Slipped off its pedestal
And is adding metaphor to
The unsure part of me
That needs to make lists

#261 Ever notice
That wanting to be with
Someone forever
Is the perfect way to
Drive her off

#262 Sadness means
You were
Once happy
That's a small
Comfort

#263 All I can
Do is
Write
That
Seems to be it

#264 There's a man whose heart
Won't work on its own
And a woman with one eye
And one breast
So quit your bitching

#265 My mom and I
Would record songs
From the radio
Play them back
And wonder at that magic

#266 He also taught me to fish
To dig worms bait a hook
And to pack and run
When the snakes
Get too thick

#267 Eyes are mouths
That can only drink
They can sometimes
However
Gasp

#268 A poem slowly
Slips a knife
Into the reader's gut
And ends with a twist
Of the blade

#269 Cummings
Could
Murder
Most
Sweetly

#270 Even with a body
Warming the other
Side of the bed
We all sleep
Alone

#271 We all
Have friends
We let drift
Or drove
Away

#272 There's always
Something
We can't forget
So we laugh
At instead

#273 The endless nights
The tedious blood the urge
To run back to better days
I know
I know

#274 My
Hands
Are
As bloody
As yours

#275 We
All
Dig
Our own
Graves

#276 At some
Point
Our parents
Became
Human

#277 The moment
You let yourself
Give less
Than your best
You lose yourself

#278 This job is killing me
He said as he tightened
His tie
And went in
Early

#279 One day
I'm gonna leave
Him she said
As she fried his steak
Bloody as he liked it

#280 I began to doubt
The church
When the preacher
Denounced
The smurfs

#281 What harm can a smurf
Do being only three
Apples high
Aren't there other enemies
To point your finger at

#282 I fell asleep in church
My head on the pew
In front of me
And awoke to find
Strangers praying over me

#283 After a moment
Of confusion
I joined their prayer
I didn't want them
To be disappointed

#284 I wondered what god
Had against comic books
Or cartoons
Since he made me
With the need to make them

#285 God didn't want my mom
To wear makeup or earrings
But she couldn't take off
The ring my father
Made her buy

#286 They told her not
To leave my father
So she left
Their church
Instead

#287 She only wants
To go home but
Her daughters
Sold her trailer
Last year

#288 She kept
Falling
And would lie
For hours on the floor
Without complaint

#289 Now she sits in
A tiny room kept
Company by
The scent of her
Own decay

#290 She doesn't
Know
The growth
On her face
Is cancer

#291 She let me drink
Coffee
And eat butter
And cream
Straight from a spoon

#292 She once beat
A snake to death
With a garden rake
Scaring me more
Than the snake

#293 She'll finish her life
In a room that isn't hers
And leave it
To the next
Dying soul

#294 She kept a box of toys
And taught me peek-a-boo
I see you
Grandma
Now I don't

#295 Hating someone
Only
Makes
Him
Stronger

#296 You'll
Get no
Strength
From me
Dad

#297 Leaves
Are falling
On the mountains
Even though
I'm not there

#298 The city
Still
Sings
Without
Me

#299 The kingdom
Can do without
One more
Maudlin
Jester

#300 And the ocean
Will always
Make room
For one more
Draft of tears

#301 You don't get
To make the story
Up you
Only get to transcribe
The words

#302 But what
A godlike
Feeling it
Is
To be chosen

#303 In the beginning
There was
The word
Remember nothing
New is ever written

#304 You find the words
Buried like bones
In the earth
Or in the air
Like ashes

#305 Hold your
Breath
When
They speak
To you

#306 I only found out
After he left
That
My dad was
In the hospital

#307 I proclaim myself
To be
Holy
And every day
Sacred to me

#308 As soon as I am
God
I see all that is
Mine
Slowly die

#309 How simple
The needs
Of every human
And how often
They go unmet

#310 How frightened
They are
Of the talents
Given
Them

#311 How eager
They are
To pay
For what never
Had a price

#312 How clumsy
They see
Themselves
In thoughtless
Flight

#313 Miracles crushed
Daily
Like the bulb of a tulip
Under
A boot

#314 Tears have
Given me more
Poems
Than
Laughter

#315 The world should
Learn to bend
To fit
Around
You

#316 I wanted to feel
Fear
Or at least concern
That he'd made it
Through the operation

#317 There are times
When safety
And familiarity
Are the most
Frightening things known

#318 When you need the alien
Chill
Of unknown
Winds whispering
At the open window

#319 Other than this
Usual
Opium haze
Of every
Day

#320 Still
Every
Day
Ends
In darkness

#321 You will always
Be ugly
In someone's
Ugly
Eyes

#322 There will
Always be
Someone
Happy
To hate you

#323 Let them
And know
That anger
Is a wine
That sours with age

#324 What fiends
Immortals
Be
Preying on
Our prayers

#325 The best
We can hope
Is that our trespasses
Aren't being
Tallied

#326 It was like I read it
In the paper
Local man has back surgery
Recovering
On lots of pain pills

#327 At the open mic you threw
Back your red hair
Swayed your tattooed hips
Chanted an Ani
Difranco song

#328 And I fell
In fascination
Which is larger than lust
And as you can see
Lives longer

#329 We were both
Into girls
Which gave us
Nothing
In common

#330 Yet somehow we
Ended one evening together
And I confessed
You made me love
That song

#331 And my fascination
Which I still carry
In my
Pocket
Like a penny

#332 I remember
You said
You always
Found me
Fascinating too

#333 If my memory
Lies
I will let it
Be a
Liar

#334 Don't believe
For a second that any
Amount of suffering you
Endure will reap
You any reward

#335 Think twice
Before shouldering
Anyone's
Home-whittled
Cross

#336 I have his eyes
That's all
I'm willing
To
Admit

#337 The river full of
Copperheads and alligator
Gar would sometimes
Rise and lick
The front porch steps

#338 Sometimes dwindled
To a trickle
Of stones
Drowning
In the air

#339 Often stank of fish
Liquefying
Under the sun
Wasting
To a smear of bone

#340 Broke from its
Bank and
Followed me
Into
The mountains

#341 Fell from the sky
And gripped the
Trees and shook
The doubt
From my eyes

#342 Sharpen your tongue
Poison your eyes
And point your
Profanity
At the proper enemy

#343 A nemesis
Need not
Be mad
Or armored
In flame

#344 With plans
To cleave
The world or
Bend it to
His will

#345 Call the boring
Pinkly scrubbed
And harmless
Your enemies and lock them
From your life

#346 And
His
Crooked
Broken
Smile

#347 I can
Hear
The traffic
From
My chair

#348 Rain in my head
Reflects
Crimson
Brake
Lights

#349 Thoughts
Collide
And
Scatter
And scream

#350 A blue light
Swirls
In my skull
Like a prayer
For the broken

#351 Rick's drums
More duct tape
Than skin
The splash cymbal
A jagged weapon

#352 Joe's amp
Beneath a blanket
Of electric fuzz
And spitting sparks
At every attempt to unplug

#353 My own amp
Dwarfed
And washed out
By the echoing
Roar

#354 We shattered the sleep
Of every owl
In the woods around
Our island of garage light
And kerosene warmth

#355 I still hold this
Music made of sweat
And sleepless desperate
Youth
As my anthem

#356 I kept
Half his name
Because I've gotten
Used
To the damned thing

#357 I once dreamed my best
Friend and I were taking
A bath together
And he shrank
And washed down the drain

#358 In another dream
I let my friend
Get bitten by a rat
When I failed to shoot it
With a bb gun

#359 Even in
Sleep
I let
Everyone
Down

#360 We all took
Trays from the cafeteria
And slid down
The snow-covered hills
Of the campus

#361 We left
Angels
In the
Parking
Lots

#362 Afterward
Robin
Broke the ice
From
My beard

#363 That's
What
I
Remember
Most

#364 Why Such distance
And time
Before anything
Can mean something

#365 Let this book
Be born
Walk straight and speak
With all its senses
Among those better than it

#366 And the anger
And random
Destructive needs
Let's not forget
Those lovely legacies

#367 It's
Nice
To be
Envied
By someone

#368 To hear about
His rewarding job
All the wonderful
Toys
He affords himself

#369 And to know
My mst3k
Collection
Brings him
Begging to borrow

#370 The same crazy thought
Born into both
Our heads at once
Bob and I laughed
Out loud in private

#371 Cindy arched
An eyebrow
I returned a reddening
Grin and shifted
In my chair

#372 I'd much
Rather
Enjoy the shame
Of a shared
Secret sin

#373 This poem
Must
Be
Every
Thing

#374 All of life
Is burnt
As offering
On the altar
Of art

#375 Paint
An animal face
Over
Your own
With the ashes

#376 I'd hate him
More
If I wasn't
So much
Like him

#377 At my funeral
Light candles
And walk as a river
Of flame
Through the mountains

#378 Collide your fires
Into a huge
Crackling
Heart
Of kindling

#379 Fly kites
From the treetops
And shape
Handfuls of dirt
Into castle walls

#380 Everybody play
An instrument
Everybody play
A different song
Bring toys everybody play

#381 Dance around
A central whisper
Add
Your pulse
To the rhythm

#382 Read Whitman
Dylan
Open your hymnals
Cup water
In your hands

#383 Remember my faults
As much as my merits
And know I fought
Bravely
With them all

#384 Everyone write
A poem
Folded with a kiss
And let them tumble
Like leaves into my grave

#385 Then lower me
Into earth
Cover me with soil
And wait
For my return

#386 I'm not saying you can't
Love your father
It's just not something
I can
Relate to

#387 Remove the rings
From your eyebrows
Comb the wildness
Out of your hair
It's time for work

#388 Scrub the doubts
Of death
And accusations of evil
From your brain
It's time for war

#389 Bottle your questions
Put a pin through your
Mind's eye
Settle
It's time for school

#390 Box away
Your dreams
Sell
Your innocence
It's time to grow up

#391 The scrabble of dog feet
And the rush of kisses
To greet me
At the door
Of granny's house

#392 Always freezie pops
And a bowl of hard
Candy melted
Into one sticky
Lump

#393 The scent
Of cigarettes
Exhaled
Into
Everything

#394 The hallway closet
With its spy entrance
In the back
I was safe
With a puppy or two

#395 Granny and poppa
Got to drinking
And forgot I
Was
Their favorite

#396 This is
Where
My father
Learned
It

#397 Comic books on one side
Of the attic
Playboys on the other
I always made the
Good choice

#398 There was
A history
On the walls
But it wasn't one
I could read

#399 Poppa's typewriter
Granny's dictionary
The greatest
Toys
They could provide

#400 When granny
Left him
Poppa
Filled the house
With hate

#401 The pecan tree
In the back
Planted by my great
Grandfather
Cut to splinters

#402 When poppa
Died
The family
Looted
The house

#403 I took his desk chair
Scrubbed the smoke out
Wheeled it up to my desk
And wrote
A fine memorial

#404 They sold the house
Voices soaked
Into the wood
Memories
Long ago packed

#405 Now it's just
A house
On a patch of lawn
In a town
Smaller than it used to be

#406 My father called
Me at college
So I'd talk him
Out
Of killing himself

#407 Life
Is a game
And if you quit early
You'll be ridiculed
Like that wimp Hemmingway

#408 Roll the dice
To determine
Your parents
Place of origin
And starting health

#409 In your first few turns
You'll manipulate
Others into caring for you
You have two skills to
Start: cute and guilt

#410 You will develop
New powers of observation
Use them
To learn
The game board

#411 Remember
Other
Players
Can
Bluff

#412 Things that may cause you
To lose a turn:
Talent shows
Churches--mirrors
Family reunions

#413 During the game you'll
Belong to many teams
Remain loyal
Even after
The membership ends

#414 Don't curse
The dice
They are fair
Though often
Unkind

#415 If you draw a goal card or
Receive one from another
Player
You may draw another
At any time

#416 Sacrifice
An abusive parent
To move ahead
Three spaces
And gain two extra turns

#417 If you give
One of your turns
To another player
You will not
Get your turn back

#418 Keep your own
Score
Assign
Victory points
As you see fit

#419 When
Your game
Is over
Roll
A new character

#420 If you wish to reuse
Your old character you may
Keep 1 level of experience
For every game
That character has played

#421 What if there's
No judge
And evil and good
Alike
Are sorted the same

#422 What if heaven's
A wal-mart
Salvation on sale
Mass produced
By starving children

#423 What if everything
In existence is a product
Of my imagination
What if I'm
A product of yours

#424 I know
I didn't
Imagine
This world
I can do better than this

#425 What if the christians are
Right or the jews or the
Muslims atheists wiccans
And everyone else is wrong
Including me

#426 Not
Everything
Is about or because
Of my father
Goddamn it

#427 I started
Writing this
When all these
Emotions were raw
And exposed

#428 I peeled
Away
The wounds
And put them
On paper

#429 I'd see my face ghosted
In the passenger glass
Sliding over fields of ice
And darkness and feel
Unlimited possibilities

#430 The stars
Spoke
Of
Wonders
To come

#431 Houses dressed
Their windows
In warm
Soft
Light

#432 My forehead cold
Against the glass
The car breathed
Heat
Into my flesh

#433 I
Saw
And felt
And contained
All things

#434 The silence said
To me
All
This
For you

#435 Now that I
Drive
Noise and light
Blind and drown
My dreaming

#436 When my mom
Fled my father
We pulled up roots
And drifted
West

#437 I had my teachers
All sign
A sheet releasing
Me from school
One refused

#438 Another
Said next year
She'd miss me
And all the arguments
We'd most likely have

#439 Me friends were shocked
I hadn't been
Allowed to tell
Them
We were leaving

#440 I gave Joe back
His video game
I hadn't had
Much time
To play it

#441 At the new school
I acted weird
Weirder than usual
To attract
Anyone's attention

#442 I called one teacher
An idiot
Under my breath
He asked me what I said
I said he was an idiot

#443 My brother
Acted out worse
Smoked
Got kicked out
Of school

#444 When we came back
I reunited
With my friends
Made a couple
New ones

#445 My brother dropped
Out of school
Went crazier than me
Punched holes in the wall
And through his heart

#446 I would scream too
And throw
And break things
The way
We'd been taught

#447 I argued with all
My teachers
Even if I was wrong
Other students hated me
Which always made me right

#448 Cindy says
She likes this poem
These poems
Which means
I have to finish it

#449 Behind
Every
Pair of eyes
Is a
Foreign country

#450 Every fist
An army
Every
Smile
A treaty

#451 My first possession
Was a wristband
With my
Name on it
I still have it

#452 I used to cry over
Lost toys
Not because they were gone
But because people
Had given them to me

#453 I'd keep everything
And hold them one by one
And remember that person
And the life I shared
Closely long ago

#454 From day one
People gave me things
And with those things
They gave me
Themselves

#455 Life should give
You a reason
To write
Not an excuse
To avoid it

#456 Am I healing letting
All the anger and hurt go
Or am I just running
Out of things
To say about him

#457 Writers spend
Most of their time alone
Writing preparing
To write finding
Reasons not to write

#458 Being
Alone
Is a most troublesome
Convention
To sunder

#459 We also
Like to demonstrate
Our
Mastery
Of language

#460 We carry out phantom
Conversations between
Fictional characters
Sometimes in different
Voices

#461 There we are
Talking to ourselves
Occasionally answering
Driving away
All potential company

#462 Yet we
Fully expect
Millions
To read every
Word we write

#463 I miss the snow
I miss coming in
From the snow
And seeing my tracks
Across the empty

#464 I miss
Watching the world
Change
And affecting that
Change in me

#465 Flowers tucked into sleep
Trees unburdened
For the winter
And I wrote songs
In the lengthening night

#466 If my father hadn't abused
And stolen from
And terrorized us
My mother would never
Have taken us to Tennessee

#467 Every kid should
Have a small tight space
In which to hide
And pretend
To be important

#468 Below the house
Under the bed
Under a blanket
Draped
Over a table

#469 Remembering
When
Your universe
Was
This size

#470 Before the world
Unfolded
Wide and tall
And shoved you
From its center

#471 Don't be afraid to write
The words will always
Be there
They need you as much
As you need them

#472 Everything you'll ever
Write
Has already been
Written
But not by anyone else

#473 The stories sit
Fully formed
Beneath what you can see
Waiting
For you to reach in

#474 I carried poems
In every pocket
Of my trusted
Jacket
Like armor

#475 I still write my fears
Into words
Making them easier
To carry
Or to drop

#476 I never
Would have met
Tony and Tammy
And my great friend
And kindred spirit Bob

#477 I would have fallen
In love and broken
My heart
No matter
Where I ended up

#478 Bob wouldn't have
Introduced me to Rush
I have found them myself
But it wouldn't have been
As momentous

#479 I wouldn't have bowled
Or played Cosmic with Bob
Or broken the couch
Wrestling
With Tony

#480 I wouldn't have the memory
Of climbing up to
Tony and Tammy's balcony
To weird out his
Visitors

#481 Those crazy schemes
Tony and I spun
As I grew older
And he slowly
Let go of his youth

#482 My basement room
Shadowed and quiet
I wrote about the dead
Men my father
Knew

#483 The songs and stories
About sons without
Dads
Or dads without
Souls

#484 Playing games with Bob
When sleep
Was a drug
I could say
No to

#485 Our lives are still
Bonded by weird
Alien radio
Over miles
And through years

#486 So thank you father
For the pain
The fear and disquiet
The anger and the void
That built me

#487 And mom is finally
Happy
Stronger through
The crucible
Of you

#488 My brother is
Shaking off
The fingerprints
You pressed
Into him

#489 When you unraveled
I built a wall
And left him
Under the arrows
Of your influence

#490 I remember trying to
Change him with teenage
Wisdom
But he was drunk
On yours

#491 He figured
He had to choose
You or mom
And you had
The loudest voice

#492 Now
He knows
He can
Choose
Himself

#493 We're larger
Older
Now
And we know
How not to live

#494 We lived
Through you
Found ourselves
On the
Other side

#495 The flash burned off
Our eyes and our
Souls sharpened
Lean and hungry
For a better reality

#496 I'm letting
You go
Father
Just don't
Expect forgiveness

#497 I am conformity
And structured
Predictability
I hate
Michael

#498 I am top 40
Mediocre
Manufactured cool
Michael
Is killing me

#499 I am the unfettered
Bird that wings
A winding tune
I love
Michael

#500 I am a random
Ragged
Uneven song
That sings itself
Michael is my friend