April 20, 2023

planning and preparing
are nothing when it comes to
insurance
human fallibility
and the twists of the fates

~~~

i use squiggles
[tildes]
to break the momentum
from one poem
to the next

but only in a batch of three
because formatting in devices these days
is far too variable
for a whole line

so i rely on my
three
little
squiggles
to [hopefully] signify
to both reader and writer
that this poem is over–
re-ready yourself
for a whole new
poem
beginning.

~~~

lost in the depths of a book
so visceral
so immersive
so taking-me-along-for-the-ride
i can’t decide
if this one is more stressful than the first
but all of these ninths
give me some sort of curse
of caring
and staring
long distances as i listen to them
audiobooks carrying me through the star-system
the big house
the river
and i just want to know
what happens next
what happens next
what happens next???

August 2, 2022

a stress
a little baby stress
is turning into a huge, monstrous, mountainous stress
and not because it’s actually getting bigger
but because i’m waiting longer
to deal with it

[when will i learn?]

~~~

but that’s the thing, isn’t it, about humans and stress–
different folks deal with different stressors
in different ways

~~~

maybe
just maybe
i might
just need
a nap

[and maybe
possibly
potentially
that’s part
of the
problem???]

ugh
being human…

July 23, 2022

the connections
i make
at night
when the mind has been
working hard all day
and scrambling to make sense
of a world that just
doesn’t—
those are some of the smartest
clearest
most profound connections
i’ve made—
and i always rely on
the morning
to write them

but by then
they’re gone

June 17, 2022

this is just a human emotion
no need to block it
no need to grasp it

breathe through it,
let it flow through you;
if there are tears,
that’s fine.
if there aren’t,
also fine.

the flowing
breathing
through
is not to rid it from your system,
nor to memorize it for future use,
it is simply to feel it
as it is
in you.

because,
contrary to your own protestations,
you are, indeed, human,
and humans have
human
emotions.

so breathe.

May 26, 2021

writing
posting
editing
sharing
there is a different me that comes out
whenever i start to edit and actually do things
(but, again, is that the real me?
is there only one true real me?
are all these hjs part of the one true hj?)
and that’s why i get so freaked out
with the internet and social media
because it only really allows for one of you,
when truly
everyone is made up of so much:
their thoughts and feelings
their past and memories
their response to trauma
their response to non-trauma
any mental illness(es) they may (or may not) have
their likes
and loves
and dislikes
and hates
the people who raised them
the people they raised
the people surrounding them
the people they’ve stopped attaching themselves to
their schooling
their education
(because those are two separate things)
their hobbies and interests
the things they do when they’re bored
the dreams and hopes and aspirations
and even as i list these things
even if i were able to list all the things i could think up
in words and analogies and metaphors and phrases
it still wouldn’t be enough
because,
though i do love to complain about them,
humans are beautiful and complex creatures,
and they can never be summed up
in words;
the ineffable beings,
the infinity of selves,
they (we) all hold inside.