Library

 Life’s sunny hours flit by

Sprinkled with casual rain

And lazy afternoons—

Spent in the library

 Eyes, meeting—

With nothing else

Selecting random books—

From the shelf. 

“The most loved poems”

About death and desire

Make both tears—

And laughter.

 Meetings lost to time.

Worthy of more

Yet confined—

To what we have

One Last Time

I stand back for a moment

And take a deep breath

The rabbit in my chest

Certainly easily audible

And I take every chance-

                   That I can get

Because opportunity fades

But regret never does

So I'll hold you in my arms-

And hope,

                    hope one last time.

You Can't Control Me

Thud

Thud

Ears, pierced by one thousand drums

Take me to another place

Feet, not reacting, as if stunned

Make me lose this fast-paced race

The Worth of Beasts

  Mark slammed on the brakes, stopping just before careening off the steep mountain road. He could hearthe gravel tumble down the rock face as he relaxed his death grip on the wheel. Resting his head on the steering wheel he thought of his beautiful wife. How would she feel about my near-death accident? Mark thought. “Better not tell her about that one.”

   Continuing down the road, Mark was careful not to diverge his attention once more. Rounding the final bend, Mark slowed his car for the stop sign ahead. He felt the momentum press him into his seat belt, Mark glanced left, right, then left again. A deer. They were so majestic. Standing there in the middle of the road. Thinking, as Mark felt he did all the time. Out of the corner of his eye Mark saw the approaching headlights coming from his right. Fear struck Mark like a bell as he saw a truck shoot past him. There was no sign of brake lights as the truck hit the deer, extinguishing it's life as quickly as a candle exposed to the wind. Immediately Mark's mind flew back to his childhood.

   I remember when my father made me kill a deer. Mark thought. That was two days before I murdered him for making me do it. The deer was so helpless against my bullet... this deer was so helpless against that truck.

   Applying vigorous pressure to the gas pedal Mark flew his 370z down the road after the vehicle. A few flashes of his lights got the truck to stop on the side of the road. Mark reached into his glove compartment and slowed his vehicle down, eventually stopping next to the truck. Straightening out his arm and tightening his finger, Mark ended the mans life as quickly as he did the helpless animal.

Mark continued down the road, no longer needing to focus to stay on the road. He could imagine Alexa's happy face, when she see's him finally come home for the weekend. Mark just wished he could return the expression.

   Quieter, Mark thought to himself as he closed the garage door a little to loudly. It didn't matter. She could always hear him come home.

   “Hello sweetie.” Mark said with a forced grin. “How was your week?”

   “As good as it could be with no husband around.” Alexa replied, getting up from the chair to greet him. “I feel like we aren't even together anymore.”

   “I have some time off next month. We can go to the coast or something.”

   “Whats that smell?” Alexa inquired.

   “Nothing. I shot some clays with my buds before leaving for home.”

   “The animals aren't worth more than the humans, dear.”

   “What are we if not less than animals? We treat each other as such.”

   What am I going to do? Alexa thought, knowing the judge might not accept another insanity plea. I have to get him some real help.

Forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a requirement. There is no choice but to forgive, for you have no control over others. People are going to leave you high and dry. Can you do anything about it that helps the situation? No. Nothing in your power is going to stop it.No matter how hard you try, you cannot get peace without forgiveness. The only person you hurt when you hold a grudge is yourself, and people not responsible for the situation.

Apathy is the root of All Evil

 For all those out there that refuse to offer forgiveness, I hate you. You are the apathetic ones, and apathy is the root of all evil. Let it all go. No one can force you to do anything, but yourself. You have control over your own happpiness, so stop complaining if you refuse to let it exist.

Rain

     The rain hit the asphalt, violent but bloodless. The rain hit the asphalt and his jacket, bouncing off and landing on the asphalt. Arden took a deep breath of the heavy air, the smell of rain palpable. His lack of umbrella didn't bother him. He enjoyed watching the restless rain try to penetrate his weatherproof jacket. Arden had always obsessed over these moments, standing in the street alone on a deep autumn night. He could ponder the existence of the barren trees, the tired grass, the firm asphalt beneath his feet, and the rain. The rain that had a simple but vital task. The rain that kept every other thing on earth from shriveling up and perishing, but wasn't alive itself. The unforgiving torrential rain, the massive body of water, the quietly singing creek. Arden thought of everything rain did for life, and the one it extinguished, that cold winter night at Blackstone lake.

Growing Up

Unstop able forces are behind the phenomenon of growing old. You have no choice as to whether or not you will mature.  Competition and pressure drive you forward and prevent you from holding onto the comforts of the past. At least temporarily, until new ones can be established. It all seems so impossible. So many goals to reach in such a short amount of time.  So many deadlines to meet before your out of time. However. Throughout all this. Throughout all the anxiety of growing older, you know you will succeed. Because no one alive has failed to become old.