The Ferryman on Upward Mobility

No matter how hard you tried 

Mate, you’re still here

Being taken down a river 

At low tide— 

So put up your obol and shut up, 

Hold your hands over your eyes,

Enjoy the rest of your ride. 

Love is More Than a Series of Hackneyed Rhymes and Worn-out Clichés

That is 

Only if you save it,

But not for a rainy day— 

Remember 

There’s not a cloud 

In the sky— 

Promise 

You won’t go away. 

Morning Constitutional Amendment, Article One

We the people 

How little we understand 

Of what we see— 

(Flash of insight)—as in 

How did that false dawn get past me? 

Time to stop gallivanting 

And look again 

At what we didn’t see.

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.