Monday, October 14, 2024

You Chose

You were my best friend

and partner for 16 years.

We made vows,

and built a life and

a family together.

And yet, you chose

to end our marriage,

leaving me no choice 

at all.

Saturday, October 12, 2024

(Music never)

Music never

lets me

down.

Saturday, September 21, 2024

Spice by the Spoonfuls

The Hungarian mushroom
soup I had at lunch
today reminded me of
Till Midnight, the
tiny cafe across
the street from
my alma mater.
I went there
once or twice as
a student, unable
to afford more
than soup, dessert
and the spicy jazz fusion
piping through the speakers.

Thursday, August 15, 2024

Not Alone in My Aloneness

As essayist and American culture critic

Gerald Early said in Ken Burns'

documentary Jazz

"No matter how much you yearn for

community and yearn for community,

in the end there is this loneliness

and there's no way you can escape it."

No matter how much I yearn

for community and work to foster community,

in the end, it appears that my lot

in life is loneliness

and there's no way I can escape it.

Wednesday, August 07, 2024

Facebook from Another Perspective

I remember when I used to check

my Facebook page and you were

in our bedroom while I was in the office,

just a room away

in our house.

I remember when you were

my best friend, partner and spouse.

Now, you are merely a little circle

on my Facebook page,

living clear across the country,

in someone else's house.

Thursday, August 01, 2024

Seasonal Criminals

There's something about
summertime sandals --
they're too much
to handle
when it comes to
the stench that
sweaty feet and
leather create.
My nostrils don't
celebrate or salivate about
the smell that emanates
from the partnership
that perpetrates
heinous crimes
against olfactory.

Saturday, July 20, 2024

Somewhere in Between Self-Loathing and Narcissism

If you're self-loathing,

there's a deficiency

in your ability

to value yourself --

much less anyone else --

which renders you

incapable

of truly loving others.

If you're a narcissist,

you value yourself to an

unhealthy degree,

leaving no room in your

mental or emotional bank

for others,

rendering you

incapable

of truly loving anyone else.

The goal

is to live and love

somewhere in between.

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Missing My Other Half

Even though I know

that you live halfway

across the country now,

I can't help but look inside

every dark red CR-V in town

to see if you

are driving it.

I know, intellectually,

that it can't be you

but, emotionally,

somehow, I hope it's you

every time.

I can't help myself.

Somewhere

in the recesses of my mind,

I'm looking for

my other half.

I'm looking 

for you.

Thursday, July 11, 2024

You’re not Here

The daffodils still bloom

in the backyard,

but you're not here.

The lights that you installed

under the kitchen cabinets

are still working well,

but you're not here.

I still wake up every morning

in our bed,

but you're not here.