in 5 minutes you can have your peace

at the end of the day,
teenagers are like everyone else.
they just need someone to care.

an entire day of
copying and grading
is still
not enough
to get caught up.

teachers to administration:
"support!"

American blood yet
runs deep with patriotism.

hope leads to
a city of peace,
one day of ceaseless smiles
and carrying baby strollers
through rocks and bushes
and learning about your
neighbors.
one day of love
that blots out the distrust
that is ever waving in the background.
#obama2013

vodka
comes from potatoes.

at large, public, televised events,
the government gives handouts:
free American flags,
bright,
overstarched,
and cheaply stapled
to a wooden pole.
we put on a good show,
waving our red white and blue
for every word that left the President's mouth.
and for beyonce.

no matter how blessed you are,
there will always be a dream
that makes you want to drift into it forever,
loose your hold
on reality.

when someone is taken,
it is always too soon.

1/20/2013-1/26/2013

when life = work

the spider that was on the ceiling
is not dead.

1/13/2013 - 1/19/2013

island magic [or: when the blood comes home]

a tableau:
mortality picks at salad bars.

it is true:
what is not done
haunts longer and more deeply
than what is done.

geese are magical.
overlooked.
underesimated.

40,000 germs.
100,000 miles per hour.
the mathematics of the sneeze.

humor can be a lonely game.

i must be pretty.
one of my mom's students said so.
and my server ex-friend.
and a slightly drunk man
heading to the ruby tuesday bar.

music
is the story of the soul.

i can't always bend the rules.
sometimes i actually have to follow them.
and, sometimes,
that's okay.

dreams are as tangible as dandelions.
they are there,
free and beautiful,
whole.
but as soon as you reach them,
they drift away
one by one,
like tears.

to be human is to need.

two beasts rule in the food industry:
the desire for home -
comfort, familiarity, couches -
and the drive for money -
bills, tuition, alcohol.

spiders parked on a spot on the ceiling for a week
are preparing to molt or die.
so it goes.

expectations and disappointment
go together.

somerset is a watering hole for
grey-speckled hair,
warm family eyes,
soft, tired cheeks,
shiny ties,
kind eastern european accents,
and lonely, homesick hearts,
yearning for the land.

God always gives what is asked for:
not when it is requested,
but when it is needed.

i am probably a workaholic.

1/6/2013-1/12/2013

title credit:

reindeers and garland

the worst place to explore the world is the couch.
parents are not easy to surprise.
less is more.

spilled chicken soup and Christmas require
a lot of furniture pushing-and-pulling
and stubbed toes.

rules are rules,
even for grown-ups.

matching words and actions
are still difficult
for adults and systems.

a child's hug is the ultimate symbol
of pure trust.

balloons are instruments of happiness.

rv's on fire
repel following cars with a thick cloud of smoke,
heavy and grey
like the dead atmosphere above a living factory.

if ever i am to have a heart attack,
it will happen on i-81
with red and blue lights dancing in my rearview mirror.

tulips evoke a simple and elegant whimsy,
like fairies.

life is not complete without a puppy to love.

sometimes a quiet evening at home is best.
with my feet propped up, of course.

even after twenty-one and a half years,
Creation still steals my breath away.

contrary to cultural assumptions,
i do not "die" when my phone hides or runs away
for a few hours.
i actually like it.

every moment is the opportunity
to empower both myself and others.

i am still a work in progress.

12/30/2012-1/5/2013