WQgh

Who does not love to be tickled.

Thinking over from the outside.

How many years did it take

to understand what that thing 

on the side of your face was?

Do not stick a pencil in there

or scratch it.  Stick bubblegum.

Or fingernail.

No, the eraser end of a pencil

is just as bad.

It is okay, to be a little bit ticklish,

shush!

In all seriousness;

years were spent well.

I know better than to stick a pencil in my ear.

You Should Eat Something

Have you seen the snow caked along the fence
in triangle fold napkin nubs
in the crooks of every single link
except the spots where dogs have walked,
sniffed, peed, and wagged with glee and
the little holes where birds have pipped
and popped up and down on the cold wire?

The garbage trucks didn't come.  Neither
did the mail.  It did - not for me.  The way I like it.
The cold was lovely and the air pressure
too low to really enjoy running around
with pinched nerves pinching again.  Toss snowballs
regardless, shaped like saucers to fly farther
and knock miniature lengths of frosty walls
off of the power lines overhead to the  walks below.

Pain is tiresome.  Or am I tired because I haven't eaten?
Or am I tired because I laid down
instead of sitting up to read the news?
Or am I tired because I read the news?
Or am I tired because I ate too much last night?
Or am I tired because it is, after all, Winter again?
Or am I tired because it will be 55 degrees tomorrow?
Or am I tired because I will eat too much?
Or am I tired because I don't want to eat and must?
Or am I tired because I cannot do it today
and must?  You should eat something.

I know.  Have you seen the snow outside?
A cup of tea would be stellar in this cold
that is impossible to acclimate to.  By the way,
have you seen the snow on the fire escape
nearly an inch thick with paw prints
tracked through in black circles of circles?
It is lovely.  A cup of tea would be stellar,
thank you.  You should eat something.

Creature of the Night

Voicemail.  Voicemail.  Sneeze.  Rise. Yawn.
Stretch.  Head and tail lights turn as they should.
The lunch rush.  The get home.  The day shift
and graveyarders.  The drones and kid linked.
The zombies with too many chemicals inside.
The walkers and dog folk.  The joggers. The fit.
The teens and cutting classes and the crack
slippers.  The up to late and the never slept.
The sleepers and the ambitious.  The gray and
car pooled.  The stay at homes and the young
at heart and the "why am I here"'s.  The juke
boxers and fire drillers and the gamers too.
The nature watchers and the camera quest
head firsters.  The old song and dancers and the
ragers.  The kleptomaniacs and the negotiators.
Voicemail.  Voicemail.  Cough.  Rise.  Yawn.
Oh what a happy day.  The stars are almost up,
Sol not entirely gone.  Somewhere up there
I do believe
the moon is
doing its thang.
Plenty of time
to shower
and polish my teeth.
There is a big day ahead of us.
Have the decency
to smile with a little sunshine when you speak. 

Headphascanaut

Stop what you are doing.
Proceed to the nearest shelter.
This is not a drill.

Stop what you are doing.
Proceed to the nearest shelter.
This is not a drill.

Hallucinations are real.
They can hurt you.
Manifestations are imminent.

Stop what you are doing.
Proceed to the nearest shelter.
Frequencies are rising.

Hallucinations are real.
As real as you and I.
They can hurt you.

Manifestations are imminent.
Proceed to the nearest shelter.
This is not a drill.

Hallucinations are real.
If you cannot find a shelter
proceed to open and empty spaces.

If you cannot move
shelter in place
and do not speak.  They can hear you.

Stop what you are doing.
Proceed to the nearest shelter.
This is not a drill.

The Boy And His Bat

Whatcha doin?
Hammering nails into a bat.
Why?
Because I have to go talk to someone.
Why?
Because they are very bad listeners.
Why?
Because they're used to not having to and their ears don't work.
Why?
Because that's how it's always been.
Why?
I don't know, kid.
Why?
Because if you ask questions you get your head caved in.
Why?
Because that's how it's always been.
Why?
Because a long time ago the people in power decided
we were not people.
Why?
Their god told them so.
Why?
Because it was easy to believe.
Why?
It was comfortable.
Why?
I don't know, kid.
Why?
I've never felt that way.
Why?
I stopped believing in gods.
Why?
Because Jesus doesn't save.
Why?
Because some things cannot be forgiven.
Why?
If you forgive, they are free to hurt you again.
Why?
Second chances, third chances, and on and on.
Why?
Because killing is wrong.
Why?
Do you want to die?
No.
How would you feel if I took your life away?
Bad.
And how would you feel if I took your life away,
but you didn't die.
I dunno, that sounds weird.
Doesn't it?
Yeah.
Killing is wrong, you got that.
Mhm.

How The Story Ends

Wherever he traveled
shadows grew longer and
the stars themselves dimmed.
The animals of the skies
fields and streams
grew hushed, and the winds refused to blow.
He was snared and entombed
by the iron that flowed
through his veins and
he brought with him endless night
as his father before him and his father.

Question Marks 7

Dear Dr. B,

I may be meeting some new people soon.
I am scared.
Remember how the last meetings went?
A different kind of incarceration.
If the planets align again,
I will be willing.

I cannot trust them.

It may be a phase.


Why don't you notice when I clip
the noses off of my sentences?
I don't do it on purpose.
Object subject shifts?
Out of necessity?
Fuck me, maybe.

Have you ever danced?
Have you really ever danced?

Of course.  What do you drive these days?
Can I see my file?
Yes, that is a good plant.  The chair is good too.
It kind of feels like mid-fall if I had to
pin it down.

Does that gumball machine work?
A tiny one.
Desk sized.

I can have one?

I do have a penny.

Gross.

How long have those been there?

It's good to have a sense of humor.

Sincerely, Mr. H.