October

I have turned endless revolutions
of yellows and reds
without you

But now
I cling to you
as we gather ourselves
like leaves

I fear the gust
that can scatter us

And
what if I cannot find you again
come October?

Haiku #2

As this autumn day

folds to chilly dusk, I am

but a fallen leaf.

Haiku #1

Elusive soul mate:
You have forever been my
Indian summer.

Balance

I strike

for once
a perfect balance

Equal parts anger

when people don’t

say what they mean
and then
when they say
exactly what they mean

Either way

I always need
to steady myself

Take back control

when someone says

they love me
and someone says
they don’t.

Spokes

This journey is circular:

It’s a tire

on my brother’s three-speed
inherited by me
at the brink
of boys on my brain
when I rode down and up
streets at dusk
Looking for trouble.

Hands-free
I needed only to lean
In the direction I desired
My spirit leading
my body to follow
hair wild
heart pounding
my freedom unquestioned
Searching for Someone.

This journey is circular:

I could not know
that you and I
were spokes in the same wheel
jumping curbs
cutting corners
looking for trouble
searching for someone

Spinning around
and around and
Never meeting.

Thirst

It is almost as if
this thundering lunchroom
thick with students
is absolutely silent.

I observe through
the dense din
Words
Flinging
Flying
Crashing
from one set of lips
to the ears of a boy
who catches the words
and swallows them
believing that they have
been tossed in friendship.

The lips turn
to face other boys
and laugh easily.
They drink in the
sustenance of their cruelty
while another boy
sits alone
unable to recognize
his own thirst.

If

If
I cannot hear today
tomorrow
or in days that follow
I will
thrust the music
to my senses
so as not to forget

I will live by rhythm
breathe in measures
love in meters

I will let rise up
melodies from my youth
and examine them
like evergreens
like marketplaces
like the faces of loved ones
like tornadoes

If I cannot hear
I intend to taste
all the notes I have
squirreled away
whole, round, ripe
flat and tart
even sharp, hard
I will devour them all
Still
If I cannot hear

If
I cannot hear today
tomorrow
or in days that follow

I will
Ask you to touch me
in ways
that implore me
to remember