2020 Collected Poems
The year was one of great suffering and joy, death and life, sickness and health, division and unity. Never in my life has the world been so polarized, so connected and distanced. Through the thick fog of uncertainty, of terror, of absurdity, of life changed forever, these words came to me.
remember when we wandered far off
discovering fading paths
crisscrossing arcane pasts
petrified instincts
of souls passed
make everything
from scratch
from your mind
your heart
use your hands
get them dirty
make mistakes
cherish the mistakes
and imperfections
this is what it is
to be human
blooming inside you
golden life
permeating every mirror
you reflect upon
inspire your selves
hard work
is good for the soul
sometimes it takes a lot
and you have to step back
to really see your progress
endlessly snaking this gully
seeking the ends of the canyon
trying to send this last light
home in a waking head
somewhere on the journey
parked and gazed upon gods
burning up in the sunset
for the night becoming stars
down this path
is it where we’re from
or where we’re going
the shambles of a ruined past
or new land skritha
hard winters
hard wood
hard feelings
misunderstood
used to drive 1200 miles a week
eat gas station food
and smoke and smoke and smoke
contemplate our shared loneliness
we are a few billion individuals
who all think this is our very own
television show
Dillon Morris on this,
”The profound loneliness of ego and pride”
get out of the city
find those old structures
and get some rest
remember festivals?
the commercial excuse
to pack it in shoulder to shoulder
and see/hear someone
trigger some music?
around this spiral we spin
coming closer and closer
to where we’ve been while
drifting ever further on
somehow we survive
climb up into a pair of jeans
and become another hipster
in the depths of the earth
our dreams boil
and in their volcanic steam
we dance
sun falls and twilight rises
the skies slow and slip from the heavens
and the doors the million doors
shut for the long night
nature gives us everything we need
but we cut ourselves off from it
cut itself off from itself
segment it
and nearly destroy it
out of the thrush
they raise monuments
to their hallucinatory past
self-proclaimed novelty
and sky quickly fills in
with these monuments
one by one overshadowing
the context of the passed
keep climbing
somewhere out there
you will find you had yourself
all along
when in doubt go out
into the forest
take off your shoes
and commune with the trees
tucked up on a rock
over a bed of plants
is where you’ll fine me
without any pants
new land
climb on
let freedom ring
don’t build anything
leave it all behind
when you find home
ditch the boat
raising walls
surrounding ourselves
in endless anxious waste
rolling hills no longer
of trees and thrush and dirt
stacks and stacks of boxes
landscape of disconcert
have you ever felt so stuck
that all you want is to climb up
but as much as you climb
there is no way out?
is this is
when we look in the mirror
and see the horrific reflection
of our ancestors
carrying out their sacrifices
with our hands
what common marks we leave
clear clues only to us
misconstrued as ancient relics
alien languages
archaic culture
when in actuality just
missteps and follies
by the great grandparents
of our great grandchildren
high society stranded
nearly erased
in the fog
the ocean
which appears vast and barren
holds ninety nine percent
of the planet’s living space
and most of its life
the ocean is eternal
in waves
in clouds
in your tea
sometimes we need
to take a step back
understand the details
embrace nature
find oneness
deeply contemplate
how to live