Getting Away from the Pressure Cooker

Our breakfast nook

where 

one 

small 

step 

outside our kitchen 

and we’re miles away, 

taking our time 

(fast breaking slowly) 

savoring the start 

of one more day. 

Reading Dynamics

Having run through 

Ten thousand years of history, 

And finding myself 

Myriad pages ahead of where 

I would normally have been, 

I now felt strong enough 

To demolish everything— 

Even that immense blank wall slowly

Building up inside me. 

Dressed to Kill

From a distance, the well-dressed 

Man approaching was an unknown— 

As he came closer, I couldn’t believe he was 

That shepherd in galoshes I saw 

Each morning hard at work at his stable, 

Up to his knees in mud and manure. 

Holy shit—this man now walking 

The streets looked so unbelievably 

Clean-cut and innocent he looked 

Just like one of us, 

A sheep in wolves’ clothing. 

Doppelgänger Ascendent

So far, so good but 

There's one thing I have to tell you 

Before I leave the summit— 

You’re going down with me. 

Trying to Find the Right Word

No— 

In the bureau of the abandoned, 

Stark is not the word 

For these photographs, 

Stark is never 

Stark enough.