August

The last days of summer wind down and I find myself wound up something fierce. Huh.

Uploaded some poems to make up for my lack of blogging.

Apartment Cleaning

I hold back the sun again
 as I soap up the windows.
The daylight kept at bay.

Each Sunday brings reprise of
this most mundane ritual:
a regular exercise,
but one in futility.

Yet if not for my efforts
we'd be tsunami victims,
drowned in glossy magazines
and new credit card offers.

Everything was clean once.
Now, I am down on my knees,
sweeping up loose hair and crumbs.

Statistics

Today, 150,000 people died of natural causes

                        because starvation is natural when there isn't enough food to eat

                        and the immune system's natural response to abnormalities is to beat

                                    whatever it is to death, despite damage to the self

                        and fire was discovered, not invented

                        and jealousy is a natural response to wealth.

Poem About Abraham Sutzkever's Child

Mameh is looking at the men with the big black boots

She is not blinking and I,

I am so hungry

I ask for something to eat

Tug at her pant leg

and I win a fish

The fish tastes good and I bite in

It is slimy on my teeth

I begin to chew

But there is a loud sound

Something warm hits me in the head

There is ringing and my fish has no taste

I go into the big hole without Mameh

She is not blinking and I,

I am not hungry anymore

First impressions matter

Swing your best foot forward
into a sewing needle

Under the big toenail it slips,
punctures flesh on the underside.
The needle eye's thread, long and white,
stitching together two red lips

immobilized but all the while
are oh-so-desperate to scream.
Yet instead, the ends of the seam
lift awkwardly
into a smile.

Top 20 Reasons to Do Anything

Top 5 Reasons to Hate Someone
5. Money (a lot)
4. Infidelity
3. Revenge
2. Obligation
1. Musical tastes


Top 5 Reasons to Love Someone
5. Money (a lot)
4. Fidelity
3. Religion
2. Obligation
1. Loneliness


Top 5 Reasons to Murder Someone
5. Money (a lot)
4. Infidelity
3. Revenge
2. Survival
1. Mario Kart


Top 5 Reasons to Marry Someone
5. Money (a lot)
4. Fidelity
3. Revenge
2. Survival
1. Disney movies