Gray Eyes
Those eyes have seen it all;
trembling to the touch,
I know you’ve had enough.
Hunger pangs—pain hangs
Those eyes have seen it all;
trembling to the touch,
I know you’ve had enough.
Hunger pangs—pain hangs
I need some soap
to purge my smells;
limitless choices,
swelling shelves
We have fast food
clogging arteries;
TV dinners cloaked
in cancerous wraps;
The sun is shining and the birds are singing. I’m gathering my family’s empty soda cans to take them to a recycling center in Hayward, CA. I kept postponing this trip, because they closed all the recycling centers in my hometown of Castro Valley — attempting to purge the homeless blight.
I’m at a family friend’s wedding with my brother, parents, and girlfriend—tucked into the hills along Highway 1, not too far from Hearst Castle. The ceremony is pleasant—despite the ungodly summer heat. Family and friends deliver speeches; the pastor goes through the motions; then we walk a half mile down a dirt path towards a barn, where the reception dinner is awaiting our arrival.
Harley roaring recklessly,
tattoos mend clipped wings;
subcutaneous scorpid stings>>>
tearing, puncturing, endlessly
I’m
standing
over a
pine sapling
in my family’s orchard