Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Chops"
because that was the name of his dog
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and a gold star
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door
and read it to his aunts
That was the year Father Tracy
took all the kids to the zoo
And he let them sing on the bus
And his little sister was born
with tiny toenails and no hair
And his mother and father kissed a lot
And the girl around the corner sent him a
Valentine signed with a row of X's
and he had to ask his father what the X's meant
And his father always tucked him in bed at night
And was always there to do it
Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Autumn"
because that was the name of the season
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and asked him to write more clearly
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because of its new paint
And the kids told him
that Father Tracy smoked cigars
And left butts on the pews
And sometimes they would burn holes
That was the year his sister got glasses
with thick lenses and black frames
And the girl around the corner laughed
when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
And the kids told him why
his mother and father kissed a lot
And his father never tucked him in bed at night
And his father got mad
when he cried for him to do it.
Once on a paper torn from his notebook
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Innocence: A Question"
because that was the question about his girl
And that's what it was all about
And his professor gave him an A
and a strange steady look
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because he never showed her
That was the year that Father Tracy died
And he forgot how the end
of the Apostle's Creed went
And he caught his sister
making out on the back porch
And his mother and father never kissed
or even talked
And the girl around the corner
wore too much makeup
That made him cough when he kissed her
but he kissed her anyway
because that was the thing to do
And at three a.m. he tucked himself into bed
his father snoring soundly
That's why on the back of a brown paper bag
he tried another poem
And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"
Because that's what it was really all about
And he gave himself an A
and a slash on each damned wrist
And he hung it on the bathroom door
because this time he didn't think
he could reach the kitchen.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
School's out, Earl Reum
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Now that it's done with
I felt like some kind of a hippie;
pondering life and being sorrounded by nature.
But I enjoyed it.
After all of this I'm a little more aware of the time we have on this Earth, in this lifetime.
I can't say I like it.
I also can't say I hate it, time going by so fast.
It's all so complicated, and now that I'm thinking about it, I can't stop.
This is all starting to be all jumbled up, words and thoughts all mashed up together.
Thinking too much is crazy.
crazy crazy crazyyy
Day 5
Sitting on the bank of the resaca, I try my hand at skipping stones.
After failing multiple times I lie down and gaze contently out at the ducks and turtles, minding thier own businesss and paying no attention to me.
Everything's quiet, no sirens, traffic jams, helicopters.
It's times like these that I'm truly at peace.
It's also these times that I'm terrified.
I don't want life to pass me by.
I want it all to stop.
Just press pause on the remote of life,
to sit back and actually watch for a moment.
To take it all in.
Day 4
The light shines through the window panes, glaring into my eyes.
I raise my head off the couch armrest and blink several times to push away the sleep.
Shuffling to the balcony, I'm greeted by cool air, a nice feeling.
A sweet change.
I curl up on the fold-out chair and look out at the tall buildings.
I'm kind of saddened, that the sun is pretty much obscured by these manmade slabs of glass and concrete.
I go back inside and settle back onto the couch, my spirits dampened.
Day 3
Family trip to the aquarium.
I'm terrified of marine animals.
So I slouch around the place, sticking to the walls.
We enter a brightly lit blue room, and my littlest sister pulls me over to a small tank.
I peek into the water filled tank and see dozens of five pointed critters.
I laugh softly and tap the glass, thinking over how different out worlds are.
And how we don't even know the other exist.
The starfish and I.
Opposite parts of the universe.
Before I know it I'm the last one in the room.
Once again, I've been lost in thought.
Day 2
I'm jogging down the block, my iPod blaring Nancy Sinatra's "bam bam".
I hear nothing else besides my heart thundering inside my ribcage.
Everything's quiet, peaceful, and calm.
I love evening like this, where it's just me and the night.
I see the lights, bright and blinding, zooming by and I realize.
Time is passing me by.
Encredibly fast.
So I slow down.
And I walk the rest of the way home.
