Smiles

Her hair’s so short
And I’ve so much to say,
So much to explain, so much to appreciate
As the lights flash and the people laugh
And my eyes are focused
On nothing but the center
Of the fast closing yet ever expanding universe
That’s no larger than our smiles.

Coke Bottle

I was looking at the coke bottle
I drank out of the day I had
To tell her I no longer cared.
There was a bit left,
All flat and without sweetness
And I felt I probably should
Toss it out too.

Wanting To Share

So drunk and so so
So many pretty people
Talking over one another
Trying to be heard
Not knowing what to say
Just knowing they’d like to
Reach out and grasp the nearest stranger
And tell them everything,
Every thought they had the previous night
And the night before that,
All having nothing and wanting to share.

Rising Steps

When she walks down the road
The streetlights bend their arches
To catch a longer glimpse
And just knowing she’s on her way
Gives the night its radiance
As I sit on my bed waiting
For the sound of rising steps.

Soon

Far down in places we seldom speak of
Where the air is moist and the ground is soft,
Where thoughts linger about lonelier moments
And the quiet pain of reflection,
I use memories of better times, of kinder people,
Of days and nights spent laughing with friends
To keep the spirit moving, the lid from closing,
To help relax the grip dark times have on my heart.

College Green

It happened on College Green
surrounded by people but very alone
I went to ask what I already knew
and I got my answer
and it hurt just like I knew it would
but in the end it felt good
to wipe the slate clean
of someone mean
and set sights anew on the future.

Warmer Underneath

In the city of rain
the sun brings out the beautiful
or rather they uncover themselves,
shedding their scarves and their woolen coats
to reveal that which is warmer underneath.

Before I've Buttoned My Shirt

In the morning
I behold wondrous things
and I've yet to button my shirt
and the day lies before me
like a glittering city
and the first face I see
is likely to be as beautiful
as any I've ever seen
because I'm alive and to be alive
is the greatest of gifts
and all I'll ever ask for.

Plumbing Depths

Certain thoughts and feelings
Darken the night and thicken the clouds.
In these long hours
I plumb the depths of feelings I’d rather not have,
I try to stare whatever it is I can’t speak in the face
In the hopes that doing so will make it go away.
Of course it won’t, of course my jealousies
And my anger and my petty fictional vengeances
Play out before a mind that even if I open
Is doomed to be so human,
Is doomed to be nothing less and nothing more
Than exactly who I am,
A boy with jealousies and anger
And petty fictional vengeances
Racing through his mind.