I discovered him very recently, but I'm already quite delighted!
Embrace
You know the parlor trick.
wrap your arms around your own body
and from the back it looks like
someone is embracing you
her hands grasping your shirt
her fingernails teasing your neck
from the front it is another story
you never looked so alone
your crossed elbows and screwy grin
you could be waiting for a tailor
to fit you with a straight jacket
one that would hold you really tight.
The whole idea of it makes me feel
like I'm coming down with something,
something worse than any stomach ache
or the headaches I get from reading in bad light--
a kind of measles of the spirit,
a mumps of the psyche,
a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.
You tell me it is too early to be looking back,
but that is because you have forgotten
the perfect simplicity of being one
and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit.
At four I was an Arabian wizard.
I could make myself invisible
by drinking a glass of milk a certain way.
At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.
But now I am mostly at the window
watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against the garage
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.
This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends,
time to turn the first big number.
It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
I skin my knees. I bleed.
I'm excited to post this Author in particular because he uses simple language and universal themes that any reader can resonate with, with ease. For example the first poem Embrace has such succinct wording; it's a reference to a funny modern thing. However, by the end of the single stanza we feel weirdly affected and moved by his acknowledgement of human loneliness.
If you liked these poems, I'd highly recommend checking out the following poems-
I Go Back To The House For A Book and The Art Of Drowning explore the concepts of time and death with the perfect mix of Beige and Purple writing. (or so I think, let me know your thoughts and opinions)
Do you like this series?
Yep, keep 'em coming!
No, I prefer the Originals
Maybe, with some tweaks?
Toodles!