Consumed By

I don't know how to react anymore.
And I wouldn't even be able to
Fake it if I did. So when I saw your
Silhouette on the horizon I knew
My only option was escape. And so
I fled, flying fast from memories that
Played like a painful, perverse picture show
In my mind. The way we both saw combat
And called it love, our pitched battles that left
Nothing but casualties on every side.
All that we gained was the mutual theft
Of each other's happiness. So I hide
     Myself away until you have passed through.
     To avoid the fact that I still love you.

Lamar Ped Bridge #1

I suppose I will write a sonnet. On
This bridge overlooking the beautiful
River, watching the rare midnight stroll drawn
Past my vantage point. Lovers in the full
And furious act of discovery,
Each new exchange giving another chance
To find that they are matched so perfectly,
To dream about the day they'll visit France,
And quickly walk away from the weird guy
Looking at them from the ledge. I can hear
The city's slumber, I can feel it lie
Down for a short break, to shake off the fear.
     And now the bridge asks, as I stand on it.
     Will I jump, or will I write a sonnet?

Belated for Her

You're an endless source of smiles, a fountain
Flowing free with waterfalls of wonder
Cascading like rivers from the mountain.
Your voice can bring my glee out from under
The darkest of clouds and cause it to soar.
And I know that I'm overstating things
Right now, making caricature of your
Grace, complicated and true. It still stings
When I consider that, if not for my
Misplaced desires, I might still be with you.
You've found happiness now, and I just sigh.
When you see me, just know this much is true--
     Of those whose love has pierced my heart's great wall
     You'll always be the fairest of them all.

Fashion Plate

This is the outfit I've been waiting for.
The couture that can propel me from dull
And dreary to sharpest man on the floor.
The clothes that cause ladies to pause and mull
Their chances of getting me out of them.
Oh yes, they'd look as fine on your floor as
They do clinging to my form. From the hem
Of the pant leg, all the way up, it says
"I look better than you, I must admit."
So I approach my love, and with a wink
And a smile I allow her to take it
All in. Then I ask "Well what do you think?"
     She looks me over and says with a sigh,
     "That's a lot of purple for a white guy."

The Love Letter I Shouldn't Write

This is the love letter I shouldn't write
A mistake in the making, each pen stroke
Sending me further out into a tide
That will swallow me. I'll go up in smoke
When I fall into your flame. I will waste
Away when I find no sustenance so
Sweet as the fine flavor that I can taste
On your lips. If you ask me, I will go
To the sun and mock it for not shining
As brightly as you. In your lightning storm
I'll stand taller to see silver lining
And if you strike me I will feel so warm.
     I hope you can hear this love that I shout,
     And I hope your boyfriend doesn't find out.

Do Something

I know what I can do. I can feel the
Force of all my potential energy,
Like champagne waiting for its cork to be
Twisted just a touch so it can push free.
But so far that little twist hasn't come
I sit idle and unable to make
Use of what I have. I simply succumb
To my weaknesses and let the time take
Away my dreams, every second a thief.
Every minute a monster, consuming
My future as I sit in disbelief,
Too scared of the risk to begin blooming.
     I've got to do something. I've got to try.
     This is not the way that I want to die.

Two Against One

They call me a wolf, and they aren't lying.
I never said I was anything else,
And I'll tell you right right now that I'm trying
To get you nude and pleasure all the cells
That have blessed the world by becoming you.
I want to put a smile on your face and
A wet spot on your sheets. You know it's true.
But what do they want, the couple who stand
So close to you, who try to put me down?
Yea they're your friends, but then so am I, and
They say they just want you to hang around.
They'll invite you home, like it wasn't planned.
     They share in my goals, they want the same fun.
     This isn't fair play, it's two against one.

Embrace

The first time we embraced I couldn't tell
Which was was up. I was delirious
With possibility, hoping like hell
That you were right--this could get serious.
The next time we embraced the planet stopped
Moving just long enough for us to share
A night that you told me couldn't be topped.
I knew what that implied, I didn't care.
The last time we embraced I wanted to
Know why I didn't know and how you could
Keep it from me. Some stupid secret grew
Into proof that you never understood.
     Now you are leaving and I will not chase
     Because I reject your shallow embrace.

There Is No Synthroid in the Apocalypse

Nine pills rattle reckless at the very
Bottom of their bottle. Four-and-a-half
Days supply, and then no more. I carry
Their container, held together with gaff
Tape that covers a label that once bore
My name. Four-and-a-half days, then they're gone.
And I will wander this wasteland no more.
I have five more mornings to catch the dawn.
Four more nights of moonlight bathing my skin,
Comforting a heart that's destined to stop.
But I have an advantage, I know when
It's last beat will come. I'll dance 'till I drop
     Celebrating sunset. Know this my friends--
     Life is a gift no matter how it ends.

True Romance

The most romantic thing I've ever heard
Escaped from her lips during the orgy,
Her voice raspy, shuddering every word,
"You're the only one I want inside me."
And it was as though pleasure suddenly
Had its own gravity, and we became
Mere satellites in orbit around the
Hands he used to take hold of her hips. Flame
Filled up the ever-diminishing space
Between them until it was smothered by
The collision of want and need. Her face
Full of joy, new clarity in his eye.
     Years later they're together, no regret
     Though they don't tell the children where they met.