Author Archives: pastormike333

the cat, comfortable at arm’s length,has, however,no problemwalking on my face at night

she follows humans dailythrough the wildslike a hunter detecting tracksscrutinizing scatdiscovering debrisand bent-down broken bits of bedding —life’s little leavings apart from the occasional greetingshe doesn’t see themdoesn’t speak their languagedoesn’t understand the lifeof dining, drinking, debauching —deep pocketsemptied on the floorfor her to sweep up she goes homeand feeds her kidswhen they go toContinue reading “housekeeping”

survive the wild night.stomach churning, tossingturningwildimagination burning throughscenarios so disconcertingsuicide plunges, dropping,homicide rages, choppingred flag warning, riptide crashing, sucking flailingweak, exhausted, chokingcoughingcovers kicking, pillowsmashingmanicbashing, desperate escapingrunning, flailingdown a darkwild country waysideall isfadingfadinginto deep unconscious blackness. in bright mornawaken andpeople passas though nothingat allhappened

i haven’t felt it for awhileof course, in your head youknow it’s always therebut you can’t live like thatwaiting for it, dreading itbut you never know how orwhen it will come sometimes it pounces like a stealthythief hiding in a doorway in the hallleaping from the shadowsyou’re body-slammedwriggling, spitting, cursinga jumbled ball of panicked adrenalinandContinue reading “the fear returns”

equally created peopleall across the landpursuing life, liberty, laughtershow upthat’s how it’s supposed to workneighbor beside neighborhelping each other tokeep the whole thing goingtrusting each other andeven when we don’trespecting the differenceswilling to put up with a few yearswhen my side doesn’t always get its way i’m still an american andso are youlet’s go haveContinue reading “election day”

in spring the juices flow’til summer fruits appearand grow into the fallwhen harvesters pick clearcelebrate! celebrate!until the dark and chill fulfillthe bedding down of winterand the turning of the year

today i met an older lady with a dazzling smileand lively, mischievous eyesshe was having a good day, not hearing so wellbut otherwise pleasant and enjoying our talkshe grew up in the hills down southwhere french names are pronounced as spelled(as with the “x” on st. croix)and where her family is buried in a churchContinue reading “from the hills down south”

when the belt on the mower broke the other dayi cursed as though god was out to get me— though god may have wanted me to invest in my healthgive me some time walking behind the push mowermake me stretch my legs and work my lungsgive me a closer view of this little plotfeel itsContinue reading “the mind of god”

In Tove Jansson’s Moominland Midwinter, Moomintroll accidentally wakes from hibernation too early. Accustomed to sleeping through winter, he is shocked to find the world shrouded in snow, his garden entirely unfamiliar. “All the world has died while I slept,” he thinks. “It isn’t made for Moomins.” Feeling terribly lonely, he goes to the bedroom andContinue reading “thanksgiving in a time of covid”