More Less

I need to write more poems again.
I miss the way my brain worked then.
I also need to play more songs,
design more websites, right more wrongs,
find more clients, make more cash,
do more with my craft-stuff stash,
speak more Spanish, read more books,
spend time proving I can cook,
make more friends, call friends more,
do more with my Etsy store,
give my toddler more of me,
be the best that I can be,
yes, the very, very best–
okay, so what should I do less?

It Would Have Been Easy

If I could have only seen
exactly what this year would bring
this would have been easy.
I could have locked myself behind a door
and written every poem beforehand.
It would have been easy.

But this hasn't been easy.
Have you seen how fast time passes?
And so now we have these glasses
but we still don't see twenty-twenty.
No, this hasn't been easy,
A year ago today
I sat just twenty paces away.
So I might not have gone far, but I have plenty.

If I could have known
what I would feel inside each poem
it would have been easy.
It would have felt more like a ride
and less like a black diamond
and it would have been easy.

If I had written every poem this past year
to publish them in the coming one,
I could have spaced them all out perfectly
but they never would have gotten done.
It would be just another idea I had
that never went either well or bad,
but only stale like a passing fad.
But it would have been easy.

And what if I had said "Enough!
Does anyone even read this stuff?"
It would have been easy.
But I had things to write about
just to breathe and get them out
because it wasn't easy.

No, this hasn't been easy.
Have you seen how fast time passes?
And so now we have these glasses
but we still don't see twenty-twenty.
No, this hasn't been easy,
A year ago today
I sat just twenty paces away.
So I might not have gone far, but I've done plenty.

Caught Up

If you never know what it's like

to be caught up,

to cross off your whole list,

to have nothing left to do,

then at least

let yourself by caught up in love.

Your Day

Your grandparents are in town
Your hoping gravity will pull down
all the wrinkles from your graduation gown
in time for your speech tonight.

And regardless of how long you've known this day was on its way,
you still cannot believe that its today.
Your heart is beating harder than it has in a long time
and you know today is your day to shine.

All your friends are here
and your mom can't hold her tears.
The ceremony is drawing near
and you wonder what your love is thinking now.

And regardless of how long you've known this day was on its way,
you still cannot believe that its today.
Your heart is beating harder than it has in a long time
and you know today is your day to shine.

Some might call this pressure, but it's pain.
You rock back and forth like you're insane
and your husband says the doctor's on his way
and that you're doing great.

And regardless of how long you've known this day was on its way,
you still cannot believe that its today.
Your heart is beating harder than it has in a long time
and you know today is your day to shine.

Months of pain up to your chest.
You know you've given it your best.
And you're sure it's time to rest,
but what will it feel like?

And regardless of how long you've known this day was on its way,
you still cannot believe that its today.
Your heart is beating harder than it has in a long time
and you know today is your day to shine.

Back

Our internet is back
and faster than before.
This thing could change your life.
But it cannot give you more.

Under Pressure

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Plan out what you would say if you only had the chance,
then waste your only chance.
And tell your self that no one ever listens,
no one ever listens to your silent rants.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Make a list and check it zero times
until the day that everything is due.
And stay busy enough all that time before
to convince yourself that they did this to you.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Scatter all your clothes across the floor
and stack all of your dishes in the sink
and christen it a cosmic cleaning party
when you finally clean it up so you can think.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Find thirty books that you would like to read
and check them out yourself all at one time
and read them while you listen to an audiobook
like it's a race to fill up your whole mind.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

And someday take a break and just sit down

and think about how life has been so crazy.

And realize this has only been a warm-up

and now it's time to really be amazing.

Let the pressure build,
let the pressure build,
let the pressure build!
I do my best work
under pressure.

Procrastinator

There are some things on your list that you should just do "later."
And by the time you get to them, they'll be unnecessary.
And that's one of the benefits of being a procrastinator.
It's amazing what can happen while you tarry.

One Month To Go

One month to go, and it won't go slow.
I have lots of poems to write.
More than a month's worth, that I know.
Plus, they can't be trite.
Eleven months of ups and downs,
and I'm still writing here.
I might not have written a poem a day,
but I'll have three-sixty-five in a year.

9/11

About half of my life ago
I watched two towers fall
on TV screens in middle school.
I heard worry in the hall
and crying friends with family
on business trips that day.
And we all just wanted to know
if we would be okay.
And we were, to our surprise.
Not much changed for us.
Just one day class didn't happen
and they might have cancelled the bus.
And life went on with news of war
but we hardly understood.
And we got used to confusing news
and knowing less than we should.

Nice Things

Would you rather have nice things or good days?
Would you rather get along or get a raise?
I look around and I'm always amazed
how our lives pass so fast. When they end the stuff stays.

Inert

The weeds grew while we were gone.
They knew it was their chance.
And apples started dropping–
those got eaten at by ants.
But the work that we were doing
with the rocks mixed in the dirt,
was still sitting there, very still,
being stubborn and inert.

In Lieu of Flowers

In lieu of flowers,
plant vegetables,
and then you'll keep
your table full,
and you'll still die,
just not as soon,
and we'll plant flowers
by your tomb.

I Hate Nostalgia

Have I ever told you about how I hate nostalgia?
When I was a kid, everyone just focused on what was happening that day,
but right about the time I got to high school, everyone started talking about
how bad everything was getting,
and "this nation" this and "this nation" that.
It made me feel like I was about to enter the world
at the worst it had ever been.
It made me want to not grow up or bring children into this worst-ever world.
Because what would I tell them? About how it used to be better?
That's why I wish it was like when I was a kid,
when everyone just focused on what was happening that day.
I hate nostalgia.

Pictures in a Box

We found your pictures in a box.
After all, they were not lost.
Your bright red hair, your sweater vest–
it seems you saved your smile best.

Slow

Sometimes I'm on a different time:
I'll leave when it's time to get there,
I'll get ready when it's time to go.
And while in one country that worked just fine,
here, it just makes me seem slow.

Some Times

What time do you wake in the morning? Exactly six a.m?
Or maybe six fourteen, after hitting the snooze button twice.
Or maybe about eleven, since you work until after two.
Or maybe after noon. Sometimes that would be nice.
But what about sometimes four, and sometimes more like nine?
It'd be nice to have a routine, but as long as I'm rested it's fine.

A Month From Now

A month from now, who knows what will be
as the future passes through the sieve of reality
and straight on to the past, where it can only make us wise.
All that I know is it will be a surprise.

I Miss the Days

I miss the days that I remember.

I've missed the days when I forget.

Seems the only days I haven't missed

are the days that haven't happened yet.

Summer Solstice

The longest day of the year.
The shortest night.
I think of those whose days are filled with fear,
their dark with fright,
so no matter where the earth does turn,
they cannot win.
Oh Lord, please give this earth
a brand new spin.

Right Now

In the morning sun, when your shadow is long,

I see how you're growing, healthy and strong,

and how you will be so tall someday

and what a joy it will be to watch you play.

And when it is later, almost noon,

your shadow curls up, almost like a cocoon;

I remember when you were a baby just born

and I long to hold you like on your first morn.

And as the day goes, and the sun sets too fast,

I think of the present, the future and past,

and your shadow gets longer, and you're a day older

and a little voice whispers, "Right now– you should hold her."