Category Archives: Photography

Dreamscape

The little yellow house on the hill,I saw it once in a dream that felt so real,though it’s a place I know I’ve never been.And what if I never have that dream again?Does such a place in the world existoutside of my own head?Somehow, I hope it does,and I hope to find youstill paddling forContinue reading “Dreamscape”

Night & Day

What is night but another burned-out dayclad in dancing shoes and a sleek black party dress,hair down, rife with life and drunken laughter,swaying gracelessly and uninhibited to the floor pulsing beats. Until at last, the music stops. The bands and the DJs pack up.The raucous voices gradually fade –the laughter, always the last to die,asContinue reading “Night & Day”

Ascent

Once while standing at the base of a steep spiral staircase,a fever dream stole my equilibrium –the pinpoint of light above appearing like the tiny aperture at the end of a camera lens as my fluttering eyelids attempted to bring it into focus.Heights have never felt quite right, yet that bright white eye at theContinue reading “Ascent”

Industry

Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.There’s a dam in this riverwhere logs used to floatand jam up downstream,a rusting reminder of a once booming industry,like the billowing smokestack of the paper mill today, tainting our blue skies with toxic plumes of gray,the air stinking like shit whichever way the wind decides to takeContinue reading “Industry”

What Will Never Be

What might I be doing today if I’d stopped, just once, all those years agoto glance back at my burning city?Where would I have been yesterday?Where would I be tomorrow?Whose story would I be writing now?Whose life might I be living?Would I still be living at all?I’m powerless to stop these questionsfrom sparking up andContinue reading “What Will Never Be”

Where Loneliness Gathers

I’ll bet there’s a little karaoke bar on a remote cornerof some godforsaken one stop light townthat looks a lot like the edge of the world,and that there are desperate people gathered there at this very moment, some sitting alone, quietly sipping their foamy beers,contemplating why they are there.Perhaps it’s because they are tired ofContinue reading “Where Loneliness Gathers”

Subzero

There’s an old red bicyclefrozen in the snowin front of a little clapboard bungalowat the far end of my street.There’s a thick wool capon this silly ass head,thermal socks, and heavy bootson these crunching feet.Why, oh why in hell, I ask,did I venture out here on a morningwhen I could’ve just stayed asleep?

Midnight Ramble

It begins in cold darknessand the thick solitude of a quiet carsplashing through the empty streetsof town. Flashing traffic lights,Christmas lights, porch lightsleft to burn, water streaked vestigesof a brighter world I missed while asleep.This is the time for me. It’s all so clear,a silent symphony of subtle revelationsotherwise muted by the daylight clamorof horns,Continue reading “Midnight Ramble”

Wind

The wind is a feral animal tonight,moaning, circling, lashing out –random acts of violence in our midst. The little lights on the front porchrock about maniacally,glittering against the glass,a ghostly mirror ball inviting us to danceto the wind chimes chilling melody. The dog barks incessantly,issuing stern warningsto the invisible intruder.Perhaps she is telling itwhat weContinue reading “Wind”

Your Former Self Calling

Empty out the past.Hold fast to tangible things. Give up the ghoststhat haunt these silent rooms. Give up your reasonsfor not turning back toward that distant landof high hopes and deserted dreams. Easy to say, it’s true,never so easy to do, and this is why I’m calling you.“Wake up, wake up! Begin again.”

Where It Happened

I pass that place nearly every dayon my way to someplace else –once the home of a woman and her young childuntil they were senselessly murdered one nightby someone they may have trusted. A plaque and banner face the streetdisplaying the names of the two victims,“gone but not forgotten.”The balloons and stuffed toys, however, haveContinue reading “Where It Happened”