a cat, they say
both dead and alive, in a sway
trapped in the box
become a metaphysical paradox

a flask of death, a trigger tick
a game of chance, so cold, so sick
they call me life, they call me death
but no one asks to hear my breath

a man, I say
become the halfway
let his atoms hum and twitch
become the theorist’s broken glitch

see how you like the in-between
will you then be so keen
maybe then you’ll see the cost,
see the life lost

seal the box, install the locks
put a man in that box

people see me as
a million different people
but I am not them
I am me

To be loved is not a virtue
To be hated is not a sin

A thing is a thing, isn’t a thing
What makes a thing, a thing?
Is a thing, a thing because
We call it
A thing?

What then of things that
Haven’t found a name?
Does discovery make
A thing?
Then who made us
A thing
Can a thing
Make a thing a thing?

Light is a thing
I see it
Fragrance is a thing
I smell it
Music is a thing
I hear it

Dark is a thing
No thing
Is not having a thing make
A thing?
is a no thing, a thing?

Is
Love
A thing?

“stranger”
that’s a curious word
new people
aren’t really strange
they sparkle
unblemished by memory

soon enough
a faint falter
a clink in the armor
A speck of brown in
your ocean blue eyes

slowly at first
the cracks began to grow
rust rose to the surface
like the way age paints the sea

there was no breaking moment
just gentle tapping
once pristine edges
smooth from rust

before me
no longer was
a shiny person
uncovered was
a beautiful rusty person

Asleep and
quite untouched
A breath soft
But a cloth
My contribution
to the loft

Nothing stops time
It was no opposer
Time always moves on

In books
Lessons, time moves on
Stories, time storms past
Man, time ignores
Deities, time dismisses

In books
Pages keep turning
Time passes through

Time was one foe
It’s thin
And unsuspecting
But it stops time
in its tracks
Where time is
so unstoppable

A bookmark

Pieces, pieces, pieces
colorful or dull
sharp or soft
intricate or simple

all the same
all want to fit
few fit with all
all fit with few

Oh, to be the few
to fit with all
I fit with few
like many of you

Love is a waltz
Two dance
Don’t dance alone

There’s this girl
She’s been around
But I never saw her
She was there
I was blind

There’s this girl
She’s softer
She doesn’t cut
me to pieces
I melt

There’s this girl
She is kind
She always is
Kind to me
I don’t know why

There’s this girl
She is beautiful  
Not like a thunderstorm
Like a summer meadow
I would lay in that meadow
All day

There’s this girl
We’re not even dating but
There’s this girl

Hi
How is your day going?
I know this is weird
me talking to you
But thank you for
listening to me
Now we can have
a conversation

First
You listen to me
Look around
Think around
Choose a person
Important to you
…
…
…
Thank you

Now I get to
listen to you
Why that person?
…
No, no, no, don’t change your answer, why that person
…
…
…
I can tell they’re
special to you
The way you think about them
is so beautiful
Why don’t you tell them
about your thoughts?
…
…
…
I know it’s scary
Just tell them
You’ll regret it later
If you don’t
Trust me

I am Greed, the next
No victory is enough
Only what is ahead
I keep my eyes upright

I am Greed, the obsession  
Men gain strength
I whisper, “more”
Men gain influence
I whisper, “more”
Men gain supremacy
I whisper, “more”
Men gain all
I whisper, “more”

I am Greed, the unavoidable
Unlike every other sin, men need me
Men need to want

I am Greed, the collector
My collection is grander than all others
But I covet only one more thing:
Your soul

I am pride, the victor
In my presence, champions prevail
I whisper, “You are unstoppable”
I, alone, create heroes

I am pride, the origin
Everything comes from me
The artistry of a painter, mine
The genius of an inventor, mine
The dominance of a conqueror, mine

I am pride, the paramount
Every beauty is but a fragment of me
Nothing compares to me
I am the apex, the summit, I define power

I am pride, the liberator
God gives laws, God gives chains
I give freedom
In me, your will leads