"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

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Sistence

NaPoWriMo Day Twenty-Two

So you've finally done it,
built yourself a crown of splinters.
Comfortable, are we?  
I'll get used to it - 
dribbling blood
can only blot out so much.
As ever, life will go on.

What kind of life?
The kind I deserve, I suppose. 
The kind I never dreamed
I'd ever be subjected to - 
but it turns out that some things
are more inevitable than we hope. 
So fully defeatist it is, then? 
In the face of all of this, 
everything you could ever
gesture broadly at, 
you'd settle in and make a home? 
No. Some things cannot be held
at arms length, and for those  
we have... alternative means
of solving serious problems. 
Intriguing. Seems like a lot
of spunk and determination 
for someone who insists 
on listing into the sunset
like an unrepaired sailboat.
Don't get clever. These are 
entirely different circumstances.
Oh, sure, of course. In that case, 
let's see if we can kill 
two problems with one bullet. 
Only question - which caliber?
Oh please, with such frivolous 
instigation. Do better. 
You first. 

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.