I observe the phenomenal world as fully and carefully as I can, stay open to sensory experiences, and relate these to readers in a way that will cause them to see the world anew.
These two poems represent two facets of my writing. “And we ran” depicts the simple joy of experiencing nature, weather in particular, which is one of my recurrent themes. “With the Lights Out” combines my love for music with the more ominous feelings evoked by Trump’s mass rallies. Politics as spectacle.
My ultimate goal as a poet is to communicate to readers things that can only be said in poetry and to bring them the pleasure that that only reading poetry can impart.
With The Lights Out
(for Kurt Cobain)
With the lights out it’s less dangerous
Bodies writhe, serpentine,
packed in the dark, taut with
anticipation. Dust, fevered
whispers, redolence of sweat and
something animal hanging in the air.
Feet scuff and shuffle,
limbs quiver: flight or fight?
Hello hello hello hello
Heat envelops all, breath comes
thick and patience short.
I feel stupid and contagious
Fingers tighten into fists.
Here we are now entertain us.
And we ran
crazily like children
in the first downpour
after long drought
each damp breath
an exaltation
droplets flung like silver
from our hair our feet crashing
splayed into grass then lifting
off the small depressions
filling and blades springing
up again
