Be glad that you were with those people before, Not sad that you aren’t with them anymore.
The Halves of My Brain are in a Long-Distance Relationship
This is a nice cubicle -
open with plenty of backlight.
But
I
could soar right out of here
if I let
my rear end leave my chair
the slightest bit.
My Pandora stations are all becoming
one
oversaturated electronic headache
my plans
are projecting my right brain (rightwhere it’s supposed to be),
sending it, splatting
onto the sidewalk of
my next city
but here is my body.
Slumped in a swivel chair
eyes glued to
a PC screen
while my left brain (the piece left behind)
worries about eating enough
shades of green today.
At work they’re holding a competition:
WHO
can stand
the most hours during the work day.
Star employees stack their desktops
on cardboard boxes.
Stand
the whole day.
I haven’t taken the
Can-I-Stand-More challenge.
If my feet hit this carpet,
that’ll
send a signal to my
right brain
to pull my body towards it.
They aren’t paying me
a stipend to
dance,
seated,
on a bus…
but a brain isn’t meant to be
split
like this.
Middle East
“Dad, Meet David.”
That Can’t Be It.
All party on top, under
wraps
on the bottom.
Hard to find your
chance
to sneak
to the bathroom,
to reapply your
surgical tape.
Dirty little secrets
shutter
in the presence
of what’s
under there.
They stand
shoulder to shoulder
around the perimeter
craning their necks to
mask your
big baggage.
Answers are primed on
your tongue for the
moment
the rainstick falls
in
your crisscrossed lap:
“Tell me a secret.”
Out they flutter.
The sweet, embarrassing-
ish moment.
The time you were
badly
hurt from
caring so
deeply
and got rushed
to the ER with a swollen…
heart.
When will you sit
with a pad and pen recalling
when you were reddest in
the face?
When you got
caught
lying
in circles,
scraping your knees on
purpose,
crying wolf
to any boy?
If you’re courageous
you
will find someone
who
calls your bluffs.
Waits silently…
for a better answer.
Magic
