Not the Man

When did being a white man become a crime against humanity?
I sifted through the remains of the decimated Sunday paper.  The headlines were mostly negative, as expected.  There seemed to be a common theme uniting them, though:  Man-hating was hot.  For some reason, pundits couldn’t understand that I find Hillary Clinton disingenuous; apparently the fact [...]

What?

How can people be so different?
Look at nature: there are no contentious factions in an ant colony or segregated groups of salmon.  Ever met a racist leopard?
Diversity is cause for celebration, not fuel for divisive conflict.
How can people contend with an uncertain future when they are so firmly rooted in the past?

Special Blend

Recipe for Widely Palatable Modern Man:

1 part coffee, store bought.
5 hours of sleep
3 hours of television (preferably sitcoms)
1 mortgage
50 hours of unfulfilling work
1 hour of leisure
1 nagging spouse
3 angry bosses
2 types of medication (for the heart or mind, a poorly crafted multivitamin, or others depending on your taste)

Take the ingredients, mix thoroughly until all parts [...]

I Dream

What am I to explore?
No stone unturned, to my frustration.
Who am I to adore?
An open eye displays abomination.
So I sit and I dream of a life filled with green and crimson and blue. There’s no me and no you, only two of a kind quite unsure how to find their way back.
What am I [...]

Selling

John knew as soon as he entered the boardroom: this crowd was his. He stepped confidently to the end of the table opposite the imposing Mr. Davis. In between John and Mr. Davis sat twelve yes men and women, their necks spring loaded in anticipation, their marble pens locked in place with kung-fu [...]

A Trip to the Inland Sea

I walk through snow, prints trail behind
The wind’s so cold, but I don’t mind
I top a drift and look to find the lake, too vast to be frozen.
I want to sip the frigid waves
To swim and see if Jesus Saves
But that’s not how a man behaves, and so I find my feet going.
I turn and [...]

NBC

I used to be a normal person. I woke up around 6:45, took a 15 minute shower, ate a perfunctory breakfast of eggs and coffee, and rode the subway to work like everyone else. My routine never varied. My dedication to this schedule never wavered, never faltered. Even when small wrinkles [...]

To Be Young

Sunlight. The sun comes up around 5:30 am on a summer morning, and I see every second. It rises in the sky like a huge orange ball. Whenever I try to watch it, though, my eyes hurt. My Mom says not to look right at it, or I’ll hurt my eyes. [...]

Weary

Saltine dreams
Bird flu fills tomorrow
But my stomach will hurt regardless
No food
No money
Television national interview sorrow
Are you listening?
Am I?
Or is this just a rerun?
No sleep
Daydreaming
Drink until tomorrow

Subterranean Homesick Twentysomething

Is there anything so oppressive as expectation? Fuck. I don’t think so.
I remember when the world was my oyster. My fucking oyster. A shellfish waiting to be pried open, filled with goods for me. And there was no hurry for anything to happen. The oyster wasn’t going anywhere. [...]