Poems

The Mall Eats Summers Verse 1Big glass box on the edge of townall bright logos and promises of air-conditioned escape from bug bites and boredomFood court fries scent the tiled airarcade bells shriek over pop songsmannequins freeze mid-stride in outfits no one here can affordKids roam in herds, pockets lighthearts heavy with crushes and secrets […]

The Dragon Under Harbor Nine Verse 1 Harbor Nine smelled like diesel fuel and saltCranes picking at the hulls like it was their fault. Kids riding bikes along the rusty chain link fenceCounting up containersmaking little sense. Then the sirens started howlinglow and long, Gulls took off screamingknowing it was wrong. Men pointed at the

The Field Behind the Store Verse 1 Behind the loading dockthe forklifts beep and backPallets stacking high like bones along the track. A patch of stubborn grass coming through the stoneUnderneath the plastic bags the wind has blown. Kids walked the shortcutkicking at the can, Arguing on musicacting like a man. Now the fence divides

The Calendar Written on My Face I stare down the mirror, counting every lineOld wounds and mistakes written in the grindHair thins out, the focus wears thinEvery year just carves deeper in my skin.It’s the calendar written on my faceEvery wrinkle keeps the score, Time leaves its markdemanding more, What the long years decided for.

The Ache of Wasted Potential Teachers wrote “gifted” on every single pageNow I’m pacing the bars of a minimum wageThey promised me the world if I just applied my-selfNow I’m gathering dust on the bottom shelf.The ache of wasted potential, a knot in the gutStaring at a door that I slammed shutHolding onto a spark

The Beauty in Everyone They told me growing up that every person holds some hidden lightsome spark of good if you look long enough and squint past the messBut they never mentioned the predators with clean fingernails and easy smilesthe bosses who joke about layoffsthe lovers who weaponize tendernessNever mentioned uncles at weddings who drink

Ten Minutes After 11 Ten minutes ago you were halfway out the door with a backpack and a fuck-this-heartready to vanish just to prove you could, Shoes untiedkeys in handreplaying every stupid failure till you swore you were done for goodNow you’re on the kitchen floor with your back to the cupboardbreathing slow, counting tiles

Thank You For Holding Headset digs a groove behind my earsstale coffee cooling by the keysAnother ticket on the dashboard blinking red like some diseaseScript taped to the monitor tells me which lies to say in which soft wayOut in the world the server’s downin here I’m just meat for the day. Line one lights

Teeth Marks on the Wheel Verse 1 Learned to drive in a wreck that shouldn’t passMuffler held by wire and looking like trash. Dad gripping the dashhis voice getting highWith every stalled engine and every heavy sigh. Said I’d kill us both if I drove that wayPredicting the crash on a rainy day. Heart beating

Teeth Out You smile and the whole room bends, my gut twiststhe rage ascends, You rise in the lightI just stall and sink, You raise your glassI just watch and drink, You stand there feastingwhile I just crawl and wait. I watch, I burn, I want Your turn.I want your teeth out on the floor,