An eye for an eye

He closes his eyes and
tries to forget
all the times it was someone
else's eyes closed
forever in front of him


--

April PAD Day 30 - calling it a day

Fool's gold

Sometimes I see her
at the corner of
those deep brown eyes

in the flecks of
gold flashing like ore
in a miner's pan

beckoning you back into
the arms of a
love as cold and

dangerous as those High
Sierra rivers and as
fleeting as the boomtowns

left in the wake
of men's search for
their happily ever after

--

April PAD Day 27 - monster

The settlement

Before we settled
into our own corners
of the house

walking past each
other in the hallways
and politely chewing

our dinners at
the table each night
we filled this

place with so
much laughter that we
thought it might

just lift us
away from the lives
we have now


--

April PAD Day 28 - settled

The science of magic

Anyone who's seen
the universe unfold
beneath the lens
of a microscope
knows there is
magic all around


--

April PAD Day 29 - realistic or magical

Waterworks

I've never been one
to dip my toe
into the shallow end

I'd rather feel the
cool rush of slick
on skin as I

sink into a weightless
world buzzing in my
ears with quiet wonder

--

April PAD Day 26 - water

Longitude

I'm not sure
where I am
on the map

as if life
could ever be
navigated that way

the only latitude
I need is
to be freed

from my own
expectations of where
I ought to

be by now


--

April PAD Day 23 - location

Full glass

It's hard to see the
glass as half
full or empty when it's
filled with the
blood of those you've loved

--

April PAD Day 22 - optimistic or pessimistic

Ink blot

There are nights

when I look up to

see the sky

dripping black and blue

like an ink pen

that's exploded in 

a shirt pocket ...

which makes me think

of those NASA nerds, 

whose job it is 

to stare at the

sky, and who poorly they're 

portrayed in every movie

--

April PAD Day 19 - color

 

Socks don't suck

Lay in bed
Consider getting up
Cry if you feel like it
Acknowledge the anger
Stare at the ceiling
Remember what it was like
when she was still in bed next to you
Remember that she is now in
bed with someone else
Fight the numbness
Try to feel anything
Close your eyes
Consider staying here all day
Instead sit up and put on your socks
Walk down the hall
glad for the cushion against
the cold hardwoods in the morning

--

April PAD Day 21 - back to basics

Thicker than blood

You say you don't know
who your family is
that you were
given away
or
taken by
those afraid your
mother was unfit to
love you like we could


---

April PAD Day 20 - family