poem

July 19, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

the only thing i looked up
in terms of the world cup
was what day it
ends

that’s today!
that’s today!

i won’t have to deal with my
city, my
commute, my
life
being interrupted
anymore
after today

[and i made sure today was a day
i stayed the fuck at home anyway]

good riddance to these hassles

and good riddance to the idea
that people would come into this country
as it slides down its slippery slope to abject fascism

i hope it was boycotted to the point of abject failure

[i sure know i’d never pay $93 to take a bus to jersey]

*side note: at least those who did travel, met american citizens in these cities
who showed our allegiance is not with the current administration,
and perhaps world relations are bettering in some ways

which i suppose is part of the point of the world cup

ugh…

July 18, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

i can’t tell if the sun is shining behind a thin cloud
or if the haze in the atmosphere has gotten that thick
but either way, i can feel the sun, but i can’t see the sky
i’m hoping one day this will all be some kind of
terrible
memory
dream
fiction
past

[but i’m not counting on it]

July 17, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

writing gibberish
writing balderdash
writing silliness and illegible things and nothing at all

writing not only to have written
but to feel the feeling of writing

writing to wake myself up and warm myself up for the day
that probably won’t include more writing
[but you never know…

you
never
know]

July 16, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

i never thought i’d be able to see
[or smell]
fires burning hundreds of miles away

but here we are, in the haze and 90+ degrees outside
and the air that smells like melting plastic

it’s unhealthy for sensitive groups

i’d say it’s unhealthy for all of us
humans and animals and ocean and planet

and i’d love to have a summer that feels like the beginning of the world
rather than the end of it.

July 15, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

i write poetry
every
single
day
and i wish i wrote
other things
almost
every
day
too
and the easiest would be
storytelling
through
the poetry
but whenever i try to stray from facts
my whole body and soul
completely rejects it
until i cannot even fathom
putting anything out there
that is not 100%
verifiable

July 14, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

when one is getting sick
and one thinks that there may be a slight potential
that the illness may be able to possibly be avoided
if one sleeps well

it is always in those moments
that the sleep becomes
abismal

July 12, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

tiny books and booklets
and notebooks and scraps of paper
and bound and unbound pages
everywhere
everywhere
everywhere

what will i ever do with all these writings?

[what will i ever do with this digital equivalent as well?]

July 11, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

the writing this morning is coming along
slowly

i’m writing at a fine pace
but my brain is having a hard time catching up
and accepting the words i’m
placing down

i don’t feel slow
i feel
segmented

the fingertips will make a decision
and the brain won’t get involved
until the eyes finally look and read
and then the brain says
“hell no”
and we start all over again

with new words
new topics
new fingertips leading this time

how am i supposed to get morning poetry done
in these conditions?

July 10, 2026

/ HJ / Leave a comment

coffee ice
frozen solid
coffee ice
not very good for the morning
coffee ice
i mean, i love that it’s cold but
one big slab of coffee ice
isn’t made to be drunk
at once
like i usually drink

[maybe today i eat my coffee…]