A different kind of death

A death so surprising
It will leave you reeling
Mourning
For the hunger of new words
Left lingering
In bookshops
I'm talking about the completion of a
Good book
Nothing else
I hate finishing a new book
Because it just feels like
A part of me
Died

Can't I have it all back?

Monsters

These days
Spot trembling knees
Through polka dots on bed sheets
He hears ghosts in the hallway
Monsters in the closet
Sense of safety precarious
I soothe concerns with open doors
Bedside lamps
Stroking dark hair
While eyelids forget worries
Until next time
I will still be here

As he gets older
Notice quick-fire nerves
When kids spout
Homegrown slurs
When tears well in innocent eyes
Cloud almond brown
I will hold the tissue
Rub his back
Absorb anger
While emotions obtain equilibrium
Until next time
I will still be here

As he navigates love
Sacrifices self-centeredness
To learn how to live
With others in mind
Knocked down repeatedly
Only to get back up each time
I will tend broken hearts
Mend frayed self-esteem
Invisible chin-held-high holder
Supporting him in leaps of faith
Until next time
I will still be here

When his own children are growing up
Their monsters constantly forming new skin
I will slowly fade
Torch-bearer to bed-ridden
I will smile at what he has become
And finally
He will take care of me
Holding my hand as vision fails
Reminding me of memories
From this beautiful life
Cradling my head while I take my last breath
Roles reversed in some beautiful irony
As he helps me
Embrace my final monster

10

the singlemost significant event

september 29^th, 2000—present

was the official commercial release

of kid a

you would have loved it

when i saw the art for the first time

i resolved to unsuccessfully mimic

the cutting slant of graphite on tracing paper

alone

scribbling on my dorm room loft the quaking mountains

the scraggly, menacing trees

and the fire

it was cathartic, chanting

i'm not here, this isn't happening

i will see you in the next life

it beat the hell out of listening

to the mix tape your mother gave me

the one they found playing in your car

still running

she meant well but it was too much

all that wondering when it came

at what moment

your music stopped

you've got it made

with us here still counting

our conditioned lives in tens and fives

and this year

i didn't even visit

please know i didn't forget

i just didn't have the heart to remember

everything else you've missed.

Death is...

Death is something for
Someone else not me never
Me always someone

Death: a set of stairs

Death: A Set of Stairs
Climbing to the top of a
Korean mountain peak

Death Haiku Number Two

Blood and gore and brains,

Half-priced drinks and undead leers...

Zombie pub crawls rule.

La Mort De Sommeil*: A French Haiku

Hier, j'ai pensé
que je dormirais toujours. 

Chien fait d'autre plans.**

*The Death Of Sleep

**Yesterday, I thought

that I would sleep forever.

Dog made other plans.