Trip poetry stuff

A couple of poetry bits taken from my Summer 2013 Trip.

Virginia Beach - (This one was kinda bad)

Footsteps on the beach,
Lights flicker,
looking behind the cardboard cutouts
it's barely held up by the endless lights
which line the murmuring boardwalk.
How does one be real, when immersed
In the capitalist frivolities of our
modern age?  will all this crumble
and be washed away by the waves
of time, like all things we build in the sand?

Knots (somewhat better)

Our hearts tie us into knots
How can we breathe when
feeling has its hands on our throats
and the air is so thick that all
we can do is scream into the night
and wait for it to let go?

Palmetto (A haiku?)

Together for now
Three roses of Palmetto
Will they ever grow?

more angst

how hard it is to hold up this cut out
when the wind blows up from the depths
from where the foundations should be

look at me smiling isn't it great
i love life and everything is perfect
i'm having a great time and i even love myself

except i don't. the wind catches the billboard
and flings it up into the blue sky
what do i really look like now?

stream of consciousness

a homage

please, don't let me forget
when we laughed, and walked in the rain
we weren't worried about getting wet, or being cat called.
when we were in the know, and were the funniest guys around.
or when we stayed up all night, not to study
but for it's own sake, and because
what could be better than getting breakfast
first
thing
in
the
morning
slipping and and sliding down the ice frosted hill, holding on
to each other, while we could.before time
sent us flying apart like dandelions in the wind.
going together to make a costume at the thrift shop
eating together and feeling great not because
of a costume, but because of the feeling of being truly loved.
by being buried in love,
where chance meetings had  infinite possibility.
when life wasn't a thing that took people away, but brought them together.
to run and dance and scream into the night, the same lame songs, but together.
to lie on the floor and to sleep. and dream of love.
And sandwiches in the park. being chased by squirrels.
and all the little moments that i might be just around the corner.
Biking in the rain, and electric candles that flicker in the darkness~
illuminating the possibility that maybe we'd be able to write lousy poetry together forever.

Huddled together side by side
in the darkness of being alive
our candles barely illuminate
the world around us, keeping out
the cold, flickering weakly against the night.
keeping warm but things are still no brighter
is this just the feeling of being free?
with nobody to hold about yourself?
maybe our eyes are just closed.
maybe it's not really dark at all.
what would that make us, then?

shameless autobiography

i had two sets of puzzles.
above the mantle-place
one of sky and one of night.
why did you knock them down
off the shelf and onto the floor
with unrelenting force.
they've fallen from their neat boxes
and have scattered together
into each other and beyond recognition.
some into the fireplace, now smoke rising blind.
others into the silent bedroom, where i dare not venture
for fear of what i might find.
now that the pieces are all on the floor
i can't tell them apart anymore.
the dark blues and lighter hues
coming together - no edges will save me now.
and i can't merely put them away
for the differences that i do not sort will be there to stay.
until someone else forces my things onto the floor
and i'll be forced to struggle through them once more.

Flash Fiction Episode 1: No More Running

“Humans were here. Find them.”

The ‘men’, or what may have once been men, kicked in the door of the empty house.  The small rental looked abandoned, and was scattered belongings were the only remaining residents. A broken cord phone. A bed with a toy story blanket. A Car. The forecaster babbled about clear skies despite the light drizzle outside, until one of the men put a heavy boot through the screen. The only sound was heavy feet on hardwood. One of the soldiers held up a stuffed animal to his mask, examining the dampness. The uniformed man turned to his superior, dictated by the numerous shiny badges on his uniform.

“Tears. They couldn’t be far off, Sir”

“Excellent. Soon we’ll finally cleanse the last of the human scum of this region.”

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the room

. Glass flew skywards, and a tattered skinny man jumped out of the thin wood paneling.

“No”

He swung a heavy fist at the captain, who parried the slow blow with ease

“More”

The man pushed the general and began throwing punches wildly. The other men dived in to pull him off, but it all seemed to happen in slow motion

“Running”

The only thing they found after was ash.

Senior Sermon

Alright, so a quick recap before I post this. I went to a Jewish high school and one of our graduation requirements was to write something called a Dash. Basically, it's a sermon which you have to write yourself based off a piece of the old testament in which you take something from your own life and tie it all together into something you can present to an audience, and possibly even teach them something. My dad passed away two years ago on the 26th. This is for him, and for me. If you have any questions i'll answer them in the comments.

[Currently being rewritten for publication]