How To Spend A Hot Summer Day

We are well in the throes of Summer, and for me, that means limited outside time. Which I kinda master. As a writer, I'm naturally inclined to be a shut-in.

One recent afternoon, while aiming a fan at me and setting the A/C to Ice Rink, I decided to visit my poetry archives. Ain't cloud computing grand? The entire hard drive of my old laptop, without having to dust the old box off! Five hours later, I was still going through files, laughing at some, shaking my head at others, even offering an outburst of, 'Dang! That's good stuff!' 

The rest of the evening was spent organizing what turned out to be eight years' worth of unpublished musings. Pretty much all of the Naughties. I found one I had performed in 2005 for friends in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It's better in spoken word than in print because of a routine that goes along with it. I'll set it aside and find an open mic to re-introduce it at.

The ones that had me cracking up were the poems that were in reaction to relationships at the time. So much time has passed, and yet, in reading these passionate pieces, I remembered who it was dedicated to, even surprised I can remember some of their full names. 

It's significant to run into these “love” poems, as I've recently commenced dating again. But it's nice to see where my head was at then, and perhaps, if the dating season deems successful, I'll be writing love poems again. I can hear your “awwwww”...stop it!

It's vacation time for lots of you, so I wish you safe and fun travels. Here's a couple of original pieces from the archives for you to read, as you wait for the trolley to pick you up from the parking lot, and escort you to your theme park of delight:

(From the “I Hate You” Folder)

All Gone Wrong

I am so disenchanted by you

 Unthrilled

 Nonplussed.

 Not so long ago did I quiver at the thought of your name

 And now…

 You’ve proved yourself to be

 the type of man I wish I never was attracted to

 That I regret giving my body to

 That I would never allow the hope of being a wife to

Thank you

 Unsatisfying taste in my mouth

 I liken you to lichen

 Building thick and burdensome against the mighty pine

 Be gone and

 be a man and

 by all means

 Let me be. 

 4.25.2006

(From the “I Like You” Folder)

Forgive Me

Forgive me for being so forward

that night so long ago

when I asked you to lie down for a while

when your hand was wrapped around

the door knob

You see, all I wanted was an instance of

being a part of you

wrapped in your arms

and becoming one like

Voltron

where we would be more than two individuals

in like of each other

we would be two individuals

in search for one another

We could be the two

that others boo at

that others sneer at

for being oblivious to our surroundings

as we grace ourselves in mutual

sexual

bliss.

Forgive me for being so forward

but I needed that opportunity to know

that the emotions I felt between my lungs

between my eyes

and between my thighs

were even-keeled

with yours.

 10/3/2005