moleskine

lost my poem book,
name and address penned inside;
lost, half-baked haiku.

extraordinarily good

having not attained
quite the lofty state she has,
we are not the same.

cyclist

the rapid ticking
of a coasting mountain bike
blends with the crickets.

rationale

on your side I’d be
if only the reasons why
still made sense to me.

natural cool

water over stone,
falling down the mountainside,
cools the scenic path.

war solves everything

thank you israel;
we love your idea of
measured responses.

favorite updike metaphor

from between the two
smoothest scoops of vanilla
[he] had ever known

down with drm

celebrate yahoo
for speaking the truth about
drm’d content.

13

why do you obsess
over magazine pictures?
you’re worth more than this.

wildfire

blazing hazel eyes,
burning like country hillsides
bathing in wildfire.

1989

year that a billboard
tracking the national debt
appeared in Times Square.

triple-digit delusions

only 95,
with the weatherman’s warning:
feels like a hundred.

appeasement

please don’t just say yes
to spare me the rejection;
I’ve grown accustomed.

ambivalence

prefer the former,
but in the absence of it
you’ll take the latter.

water man

the long-awaited
medium nib pen arrives
just two weeks later.

suburban scrawl

leave it where it falls,
wound up in knots, compelling
brief suburban scrawl.

passing

from the old chapel
where we came to see you off,
I bid fond farewell.

sourblossom

flowers in that bed,
unlike their sweeter cousins,
are pungent instead.

rendezvous

sitting in a car,
waiting at the park-and-ride
for you to arrive.

948

how many books has
Art Garfunkel read since June,
1968?

bruised ego

this one was inspired
when you fell and scraped your knees;
damn computer wires!

currents

the river is fast,
yet causes you to slow down;
approach with caution.

sprung

the hamster escaped,
but why was her owner sad?
sweet rodent freedom!

cancer

an ex could ruin
your new romantic planning;
channel energy.

8

I remember when
things like the meaning of life
meant nothing to me.

undulant

watery ripples
lapping the sides of the boat-
this wake of pebbles.

fourth of july

the fourth of july,
we gather to gaze at the
fire in the sky.

obligation(s)

if it’s just a kiss,
not a collection of debt,
you’re free to resist.

about me

wrapped in brevity,
attempting to demonstrate
something about me.

overdrawn

why can’t i be yours?
why is the price of your love
so hard to afford?