"There's not much doubt in any of our minds that no complete idea springs fully formed from our brow,
needing only a handshake and a signature on the contract to send it off into the world to make twenty-five billion dollars.
The germ of the idea grows slowly..." - Walt Kelly

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

What type of water are you?

NaPoWriMo Day Twenty-One

I. 
Tide pool
is for when
you're feeling isolated
and temporary,
but perhaps also
more interesting
than usual, on account
of all the new things
you learned
scrolling Instagram
this morning.

II. 
Strait best applies
to very specific
circumstances, but also
to far more 
varied happenings
than you might think - 
it is the catch-all
of nature's maritime
dividing lines, 
not quite unique
at all. 

III.
You might consider
lagoon for those moments
when a barrier
feels appropriate, 
such as
if you'd prefer
that Alex from
three cubes over
not share the stories
of his inauspicious
romantic enterprises
at 8:24 in the morning.

IV.
If the heaviness
of mankind's
myriad misadventures
begins to chip
your armor, 
perhaps canal 
would not be 
the appropriate choice - 
best not
to dwell on it
any further. 

V. 
In the mood
to mingle?
Then estuary
fits the bill - 
intertwining
disparate realms, 
in a way that 
feels productive
and natural.
But be warned, 
such machinations
are often fragile. 

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Pincers

NaPoWriMo Day Nineteen. Off prompt.

Depth is felt
best by those
who have already
been crushed - 
and now, 
all the more ready
to catch another
in the vice grips, 
like an enormous
crustacean, 
presently reddening
in the pot, 
eager to share
its buttery grave. 

Thursday, April 16, 2026

The Rockies

NaPoWriMo Day Sixteen

Maybe you can imagine
one deafening crash
after another, and another, 
the movement of two or more
boundlessly large objects 
grappling in violent collision.

Maybe you can see now, 
in the space where these objects
were once peacefully separate, 
skyward growth, sharp and
treacherous, towering over
entire continents that surround it. 

Maybe you can hear
how quiet it's become since then,
how only the leylines of the wind, 
the hiss of ever-falling snow, 
and sparse traffic of humanity 
now intersect upon it. 

Maybe if I idle here - beard frozen, 
skin dry - for silent eons enough, 
these peaks will speak to me. 

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Buried treasure

NaPoWriMo Day Fifteen

Love is
a cast iron vessel
left empty
a time capsule
buried 
wherever you think
only one intended person
will look
sealed to
outlast generations
of feckless weirdos

Turns out
the weirdos have
metal detectors