March 2, 2026

it’s already
march
but january and february seemed to take
forever

will the rest of this year
fly
by

or will it stretch and strain
as our cheeto in chief
brags about wars
and killing
whomever he pleases

i know i know i know
in just a few years
this will all have seemed
like it happened in the blink of an eye
but living in it
is dunking one’s head in molasses
and expecting
to blink
and breathe
and see
normally

February 1, 2026

it blows into february
the air of awful anticipation on its wing
the cold burning even colder
than january’s sting
at least there’s snow
from the first month’s storm
whitening the ground
providing [minimal] distraction
from second month’s
curse

January 31, 2026

two panic attacks
[or something like them]
in one month
after years of fair avoidance

i cannot tell if something is
going on
inside me

or if it simply the strain
of the external forces
of the world i cannot control
[but still affects us all]

or maybe
maybe
it’s the strain of january
of winter
when i can never see the light of spring
at the end of the proverbial
tunnel

just give me one crocus blossom
one sprig of green
not these mountains of slush-snow
and lows below zero overnight
i need something
something
something to keep me going

this has been the longest january i’ve seen
since wisconsin

January 16, 2023

it’s already halfway through
the month of january
and though that makes me
a little worried/
gives me
a little bit of stress/
i also find myself
a little relieved—
‘only halfway through’
is the mantra in my mind
‘still so much time
for so many things to do’
things with due dates
obviously
set the level of anxiety
within me
but other things
general goals
tries
resolutions
if you want to call them that
they have so much
so much
so much of the month/season/year left

so let’s do them