21 April 2023

and then i blinked

what a conundrum growing is

it just occurred to me that there was

no caution sign with flashing lights


warning us of the dangers ahead

as we sped forward with fervor

going 99, our faces to the sun


i don’t like to reminisce 

the memories are blurry and fogged, yet

a handful of vivid images play on the horizon


just yesterday we were downtown

our shoes claiming miles of pavement

diet mountain dews and a nikon d3000


just yesterday patriots park

was a hazy escape of cigarette smoke

and laughter under starry, summer skies


just yesterday the river glittered

just for us from our solace of a shady tree

on the bank as frank played on the radio

and then i blinked


and your words tug at my heart

as bitter sadness flows freely like 

twin rivers from your green eyes


it’ll be alright, go pack your suitcase

leave the laundry and the dishes

i’m on the street with the engine going


in the getaway car and we’ll fly west

to the blue coast with an old nikon d3000

and let the stars watch over us again


and the speakers remind us that

“we’ll hate what we’ve lost but

we’ll love what we find”


so even for just one, tiny

thrilling, ephemeral moment

pretend like it was before


without a thought for regrets or heartbreak

just give me one more second here

before i have to blink again



13 April 2023

vickery park

maybe keeping my eyes shut will stop me
before i think too much

because the swirling rainbow pinpricks 
behind closed lids cannot distract me

from the buzzing neon reflected there
in your searching, inscrutable gaze

the haze of a scuzzy bar and glittering bottles
did not prepare me for

your fervid sigh into the dark of my room
or the longing brought on by miles on an odometer

and i’ll think of your hands
while mine grip the steering wheel

and i’ll wait for my phone screen to 
light up again with a 2 a.m. drunk text

and as state lines pull us apart i’ll pretend not to notice
your fingers crossed behind your back 

as you press send on the empty promise of
“i won’t be forgetting about you anytime soon”