if
—as when each night
i close my eyes and pretend
to be asleep so that
i will fall asleep—
i pretend
to close my mind
to the injustice
in the world
will it cease to exist?
(May 5, 2026)
Category: snarky
-
talking to fellow Texans at the Grand Canyon
We stood at Yaki Point, silent, awed
content in the silence of the wind
through the piñon trees.
They walked up the trail behind us:
There are no words,she expounded as if someone asked.
(But there are always wordsI thought, even in the canyon’s silence).
Yet, they kept talking:how Yosemite is more Impressive
Oh, you have to go there
The hikes— so strenuous
We were so sore afterwards
Then they walked away talkingas if to someone else.
While the wind moved through the piñon treesfilling the silence they left behind.
(June 9, 2022)
-
You begin with some mundane action,
which is not so mundane, of course,
as the poem progresses casually,
like a suburban park’s path,
along an implied narrative’s arc.
Then some fragile moment occurs—perhaps a squirrel who, startled, stops
mid-path to stare for an instant,
it’s dark eyes questioning your life
before fleeing into the nearby brush.
Then you turn on an epiphany; and,rising above the path and squirrel
like a Pentecostal dove on fire,
you signal your transcendent virtue
to all those who pause to understand.
So, the poem comes to a cliched closesoftly condescending so as to not
offend any who might see themselves
mocked behind any veiled smirks
or metaphor they might find here.
(November 7, 2021)
subtext 