Discounted Poetry

You swore that you opposed The illegal ones, The criminals, But now the whites are welcomed Into your open arms Across the border, Showing what we knew. You hated all the brown and black ones. It could have been my mother, son. It could have been anyone protesting On the street that day. I've always learned to push my say, To make the strong aware We're watching, Readying history. The future will come to bear upon you. Jonathan Ross, Raymundo Gutierrez, Little Ochoa -  The only Jesus Evangelicals love - Little boys with baby tempers. Little boys with guns. Little boys behind the masks And the war paint Anonymous Pretending to be strong As long as they're unknown, To be so macho When they're armed, As long as power's torn away their last restraint, As long as Papa Trump  Is saying it's okay. You may get away But you'll never get clear. We will remember. You shot the innocent Until the pavement drank their blood. The stained concrete will cry And throw it up i...

The shallow water Tiding on broken soil -  Something's settling. - 2/5/26

I fell. I stumbled from the white. I didn't even try to find my feet. The air was miles deep. I spread apart the grey, A curtain hanging From the crooked forest limbs. The darkest fellow watches Curious before, Behind. It might turn out a cat. It might just be a crow. I am not sure. Every burial is not a resurrection. Salvation will eventually No longer seek us out, Exhausted, Tired of we walkers of the soil. You are past my touch, My sight, But my mind won't let you go, My sin, My mortal end. - 2/4/25

It is three. The snow awoke me Tapping on my window Wanting in. I knew you wouldn't call. I'm not supposed to have your number. Silence climbs in bed beside me, Though it cannot keep me warm Or settle the quiet tempest in my chest With its chilly arms around it. I was dreaming of The miracle of bridges Flung across the waters, Hung from cables spun from steel And heavier than the Eiffel Tower. Near the top, You spy a glimpse, The curvature of the planet. - 2/3/26

I pull the sand And force my birth From out the ocean, Eating the salty air. I couldn't carry you. I've lost my strength Like dry wine from open bottles Friday night. My fingers faltered. I lost you. Muscles tattered, I can only Shutter my eyes Against the sky And breathe And breathe And... - 1/30/26

We dated for years. She always listened to Billy Joel's The Stranger. Vienna awaited. I tied a rope and tethered tight to her, A planet orbiting with stars about my eyes. A decade afterward, I told a love about the choice In getting what you want. She stared through Silent, Dumb. "I'll never grow old." I realized we'd soon be over. - 1/29/26