Month: April 2023

Untitled note

The night comes for me like a lioness stalking her prey.
I am distracted in the daytime.
Even as the sun sets, some light still stands between us.
But I can hear her slow steps in the tall grass at dusk.
I am somehow always surprised when she pounces.
darkness descends.
I become aware of how alone I am.
I am somehow always caught off guard when she pounces.
It is sudden.
And then it all goes dark.
And I am alone in that darkness.
Alone in the belly of the beast.
Posted on by Cole

At home at last

I’ve been feeling
More at home in the world
Even outside my apartment
I take my shoes off in the park
Sit on my neighbor’s steps
Eat food at restaurants
Drink at bars
Sidewalks are hallways
The whole city is a house
Strangers are my roommates
I guess I just feel
A little less separate
A little more at ease
Like I’ve been on a long journey
As a stranger
And I’m finally arriving
Where I belong
Even though I was always here
It feels different now
Like I’ve journeyed far and wide
In strange lands
And I’ve finally found
Where I belong
Which is right where
I’ve always been
But now it feels different
I’ve journeyed far and wide
Feeling like a stranger
In foreign lands

April 25, 2023 at 05:22PM

Posted on by Cole

Untitled

I write around
What I really
Want to say
When I’m on drugs
And all the truths
Seem apparent
I almost don’t want to write
Because I know I won’t get to it
Because of all the other times I’ve tried to get to it
And failed
I’ve gotten pieces
And I guess that’s how it goes
You can’t get the whole thing at once
No matter how many drugs you take
The truth takes her clothes off slowly
There’s nothing to say
No words
If you’re going to write down words, what are your options? Studies, notes, a letter to a friend. If we’re talking about the written art forms.
Novels are about other worlds
What about this world?
But not the academic writing
It’s a hundred pages for one truth that doesn’t really mean anything to you and me in our daily lives
I want my writing to be like tungsten cubes
Dense
Just be
Don’t write
Just be

April 24, 2023 at 10:08AM

Posted on by Cole

Sights too good for photographs

At the park I set
My sack of groceries
Next to the bench
And sat down
To smell the fresh air
A little longer
Before continuing
On my way home
Looked at the grass
Bending in the breeze
Got out my phone
To take a photo
But it didn’t look the same
Put my phone in my pocket
Picked up my groceries
Kept walking
In the kitchen
Sliced a strawberry in half
And it happened again
The white center
Reddening toward the edges
Leapt out at me
Like the grass
Looking beautiful
I didn’t bother with my phone
This time
Dumped the strawberries
On top of the cereal
And sat down
Smelling the smoke still
From the napkin
That caught flame
Too close
To the candle last night
Couldn’t eat my dinner
Without the smell of smoke
In the taste
But I was thankful
The house didn’t burn down
Ashes in the air
Flew up
To the paper lantern
Look
It’s when I look
And it asks to be photographed
But it’s only for me
If I were photographer perhaps
So I write it
Why can’t I just watch it
See it
And let that be it
I have to tell someone
Want to share it

April 20, 2023 at 01:14PM

Posted on by Cole

It’s not complicated

It’s not complicated
It’s
The guitar string
Strummed
The piano key
Pressed
Held
Sounding
Still
Eardrums
Drumming
Still
Drumming
Drummed
And held
Hard shoes
On the floor
Bikes swaying
Side to side
Eyes closed
Up at the ceiling
Band still jamming
Beer still
In my hand
Take a sip
Dance
Take a sip
Without spilling
It’s still
Not complicated
Even after
All these words
It’s still
The guitar string
Strummed
The piano key
Pressed
And it’s all
Still
Sounding

April 14, 2023 at 12:13AM

Posted on by Cole

Old men

At the coffee shop
Talk about
The old days
I think about
How time
Is slippery
And wonder
If my father
Realized
He was getting old
Or if he just
Woke up
That way
One day
The days
Are long
But the years
Are short
I’m most afraid to die
At night
But in the morning
It seems like
It won’t ever end
The old men
At the coffee shop
Make me
Want to live
Now
While I still can
While I’m still
Full of life
And strength
To do things
I still can’t believe
This will ever end
That it has to end
That that’s
Just the way things are
If I could change one thing
It would be that
To not die
To live forever
But greater men
Than me have tried
So instead I
Spend my energy
Trying to live an eternity
In a lifetime

April 05, 2023 at 11:07AM

Posted on by Cole

Follow the sun

Like a cat
Beyond the rays
Shining
Though the shades
Into your living room
Not just
The sun shining
Through the shades
Chase it over the horizon
Into the next time zone
So it’s always noon
And if not the actual sun
If you can’t keep up
At least the light
Stay in the warmth
Squint your eyes
Feel the energy
For as long as you can
Just make sure
When you fall asleep standing
Your under a tree in the shade
And then your sleep is the night
Because your eyes are shut anyway
And hopefully when you open them
The sun will be shining again
And you can go on chasing

April 03, 2023 at 03:54PM

Posted on by Cole