223/365 - Settle

 

I met someone once

who liked to say

cats weren't smart enough

to seek out the sun's rays

Instead they'd stumble

upon a warm spot

and settle there

without a thought

But if you know cats

then you've seen

cats won't settle

for anything

222/365 - Barn

 

Is there anything more perfect

to a photographer's eye

then a decaying barn

by the roadside

Is there anything more tantalizing

to a storyteller's mind

then a place abandoned

to the by and by

Is there anything more transfixing

to a wanderer's soul

than a deserted dwelling

and the stories that it holds

221/365 - Root

 

And so

by the sea

I see

The depth

of the roots

is not necessary

it's the

tenacity

of the flora

and it's want

to be

220/365 - Nadir

Just because you're lower

then you ever thought

you could go

Don't forget

to enjoy the view

those up top

will never know

 

219/365 - Whole

 

Lead the way

it starts today

waiting out there

is everything

and more

The entire world

ready to explore

just around that bend

your whole life begins

218/365 - Rump

 

Wasn't there a poem

about peaches in an icebox

and how silky sweet

plump and juicy

lusciously decadent

they were

Doesn't that seem a bit

you know

Oh wait

No

They were plums

Well never mind

then

I don't know

where my minds been

217/365- Lead

 

I shouldn't be here

but I'm stuck

trying hard

to give a fuck

or maybe I 

care too much

My arms

my legs

my chest

are lead

and I can't

get out of bed

and I can't

get out of my head

216/365 - Worriment

 

When things don't go your way

just slap on a little sunshine

and go about your day

Nothing quite like

a giant carboard shaped band-aid

to fix up your worries

No need to think

about it until later

But don't forget

later's motto

is you ain't seen nothin' yet

215/365 - Endoskeleton

 

Is it weird to think

that the main thing

that holds my life together

is metal, and plastic

and rubber, and grease

and bits of decorative fake leather

Is it weird to say

that my soul is simply

a colloid of sun and sea

and breezes blown through trees

Is it weird to know

that my heartbeats so

because of the energy

it devours from wandering free

across the great wide world

I cannot wait to see

214/365 - Pennyworth

 

Some people bestow kindness

as if it's free

as if there is an unlimited supply

enough for everybody

Some people sprinkle

joy on the ground

they just leave it there

lying around

No thought

No regard

to who may find it

as if they know

just a tiny little bit

of unexpected, unsolicited

unconditional sentiment

can go a long way

to make someone's day

more magical, and less shit

213/365 - Bathe

 

The warm sunlight

on my skin

Cleanses me of the things

I don't want to think about again

They penetrate the soul

you know

the sun's absolvent rays

They infiltrate every cell

and push out the malaise

Reborn, recharged, renewed, repaired

skin warmed

heart ablaze

212/365 - Domineering

 

If I just do a little

everyday

I say

But when do things

every work

that way

I know why

they call it crabgrass

because it makes me crabby

the way

it keeps

growing

and growing

and growing

It takes over

everything

But today that ends!

It may have time

on it's side

but I have other weapons

it will abide

With my weed whacker's whack

WHACK!

I'll take the power

BACK!

211/365 - Combo

 

A one two punch

to begin my day

The alarm screams

the cat pounces

and I'm on my way

And so it goes

so they say

love, then hate

work, then play

until the risen sun

goes away

and the night falls

the end of the day

The bed is soft

the cat purrs

and in that same way

the one two punch

to rest we lay

210/365 - Situs

 

Connect

to the earth

at least once a day

Breath

devour the spoor

of life all around

the saline sea scent

the rich verdure blanketed ground

Feel

the sunlight

run it's fingers

on your skin

feel the rain

and the snow

and the blue moon glow

This

is where we begin

This

is where we will end

209/365 - Own

 

The early morning streets

are wrapped in

a whisper hushed blanket 

of night shaped morning

I am the ghost of a shadow

slicing through the black pavement river

While faceless lights

hover across it's surface

like fireflies on a millpond

The pre-dawn world

is mine alone

The roads, and sidewalks

and trees, and homes

From rivers to streams

to the bridge on the Bay

I chase the ruby red glow

catching up in time to see

the sun that rises to meet the day

The world begins anew

I whisper

as I turn my handlebars

and pedal away

208/365 - Handsel

 

I'm awoken

in the usual way

start your day!

start your day!

get up and play!

get up and play!

It's a new beginning

for many this week

The start of school

Oh, to start anew

Though for me

its just another day

Still

I can feel the change

A promise on the 

morning air

The summer is

finally here

Only a few months late

So I accept the gift

Gus has brought me

to mark the start

of another season

another day

207/365 - Itself

 

It's not going to play

with itself, he said

while he stared at me

longingly

Or at least

that's what his eyes seemed to say

because, of course

he cannot speak

unless "woof"

is what you want to hear

but I throw his ball anyway

because his message

is quite clear

206/365 - Marsh

What does your soul look like anyway?

I think mine looks like the marsh

at the edge of the Bay

Whose waters run through my soul

from generations

and generations

and generations ago.

Only instead of the aquamarine

reflection of the sky

It's squishy murky brown-

tinted by red-tide

and choked with trash

discarded through the years

Is this a healthy place for life to thrive?

Who's to say

But probably long enough to think

everything is doing okay

 

205/365 - Direful

 

We're killing each other

because it's more convenient

that way

Robbing our tomorrow

to save 10 minutes today

What's that you say?

We'll be long gone

before that happens

Before we have to deal with

the repercussions of our actions?

It's true

if the fires don't get us

then the floods 

will wash us away

204/365 - Fleck

 

They say the eyes

are the window

to the soul

So please don't look too deep

Because then you'll know

all those things

I don't want you to see

that's why I 

look away

when you're looking at me

But when I pass

by a mirror

and catch a fleeting glimpse

I know there's something

hiding there

so do you think

you can take a peek

because to me it isn't clear

My darling you say

don't be afraid

I see that flash of glitter

It's a little girl

hiding in there

who wants to come out and play

so take my hand

let's skip away

into the endless

summer day

and make a new home

for us to stay

203/365 - Summon

 

The wind

doesn't give a shit

it continues to blow

but does it really not care?

Or does it know

how I didn't want

to get up today

How I didn't want

to go

How I didn't watch

the sunrise

coax the day

from the night

How I didn't win

the battle

or even the fight

How I couldn't find

the reason

to find the reason

not to stay

in my bed

just a few more hours

(just a few more days)

But I did

somehow rise

and the workday passed 

And I did

somehow make it 

out of the house

(and on my bike)

at last

And the wind

somehow knew

exactly what I needed

and it blew and blew

and forced me to

reach down inside

and find the thing

I feared had somehow

been depleted

202/365 - Tester

 

The alarm rings

and in that moment

the questions begin a new

What will you do?

What will you do?

But I've always

tested poorly

so I hit the snooze

and with the first

answer done

I know the time will come

when I am again

forced to choose

201/365 - Infusible

 

I'll try my best

to act like I belong

though I've been dancing

on the surface

all along

But if you look close

then you will see

I've found myself

where I shouldn't be

And no amount

of muddling

will help me blend

Still

as long as I'm here

I'm happy to pretend

though if you catch

a glimpse

from the right

place

right

time

right

light

you will see

I'm not quite

the same you as you

and that's alright

200/365 - Pane

 

The cat

has teleported

from the window sill

to the living room floor

a rip in space and time

but what for?

And then I see

the window looks strange

where his paws rested

while he watched bird t.v.

The pane has 

snap off

What a pain

to fix

this is going to be

199/365 - Necromancy

 

I feel a brush

against my leg

"Notice me!"

but there's nobody

And in the stillness

of my bed

a dimple of footsteps
disturb the sheets
but when I turn
on the light
I am all alone
in the night

But I know
that it's not true
I'm not alone
because it's these moments
that you still talk to me
and I can talk to you

198/365 - Boorish

 

Oh

I see

so that's how

it's gonna be

You know

the trash can

is under the sink

Of course

you do

And yet

you choose

to refuse

to toss

the refuse

Wait

Oh

I see

the person

who left it like that

was me

(sorry)

197/365 - Learn

 

Ouch

you'd think

after two score

(and a couple more)

I would realize red

isn't my color

and yet

every summer

I manage to ripen

myself like a tomato

well beyond

a healthy glow

I ought to know

But not this time!

'Cause I've got my SPF50

and I'm

shifting the paradigm!

196/365 - Done

 

It's time

I've been watching the clock

tick

tock

tick

tock

You've been nursing

this conversation

for nearly an hour

Is it the power?

A sense of control

is that the goal?

NO!

It's time to GO

the plates have been cleared

the wine bottle is empty

the staff is locking the door

It's been nice

but we passed right by

nice

30 minutes ago

and if this drags 

on much longer

I'm going to think twice

about ordering the souffle

because it should have been ready

forever ago

195/365 - Contradistinction

 

Its always darkest

before the dawn

and the bad times

last twice as long

After the storm

the sky's impossibly blue

and next to the brown

my hair is now too

These silly rhymes

are quite bad next to Poe

some days the words

just refuse to flow

194/365 - Situated

 

I'm just trying

to find my place

in a world that wasn't

built for me

But truthfully

it wasn't built for anyone

unless your name

is corporate greed

We jockey for space

on a one lane road

while they soar 

in private jets

far above

They want us fighting

on the ground

so we won't look

up in the sky

But seriously please

give bikes three feet

when you

drive by

193/365 - Murder

 

Excuse me

for being so rude

I have taken you

for my food

I tenderly cared

for you everyday

I bet you didn't think

it would end this way

from seed to plant

sun!

soil!

water!

once so wholly alive

now reduced to fodder