February 3, 2025

i’m constantly trying to think of ways
to make my words have more impact
more gravity
more pull

but as i fill my evenings with silly improv shows
that truly make me feel like these casts are all my friends
and gives me some kind of hope
for an artistic future
in this damn country
i wonder…

have i been disregarding the power of funny
of goofy
of comedy to make us “forget” about the world
for a few seconds —
just enough to have the energy
to get back to
the fight
that needs to be fought?

can i write both heart-wrenching
powerful
fists in the air
i’m angry and motivated and i care
kind of poetry
as
well
as
the goofy kind that gives us all the energy
to fight that good fight?
to right the kinds of wrongs
that need to be overturned?
am i just a little clown
here in the world to show
that humor
and compassion
CAN
coexist?

[is that why i’m still alive?]

May 17, 2021

everything
is getting grey
while the sun shines brighter and brighter
and i want to be able to see the sun
and the sky
and the stars
but nothing seems recognizable anymore

(and staring at the sun is real bad for your eyes)

~~~

humor
within
tragedy

is it a sign of good writing
or just deeper seeded depression

~~~

smaller poems
capturing
greater feelings

[isn’t/wasn’t that the aim all along?]

September 13, 2020

when you wear a hoodie
with a skeleton dabbing
above the word ‘depression’
in New York City
no one ever bats an eye

but when you wear a hoodie
with a skeleton dabbing
above the word ‘depression’
in small town Vermont
multiple people ask you if everything’s ok

to which you reply ‘humor is a great coping mechanism!’
and then you quickly dab your way out of the Walgreens.