a hospice for cats

i’m running
a hospice for cats
and no
no, it’s not rewarding
not at all

it’s not a
necessity, no
no.
but because
because my  
soul is too weak

to love him
it’s so bittersweet
my badge is
salt lined streaks
from years of
memory recall

i can’t
bring myself
to 
euthanize you
old friend, please 
please forgive me

i’m running
a hospice for cats
and i hope there is
comfort in 
knowing 
just 
that…

we love you, mario.

fentanyl

mothers
bury theirs

their sons
and daughters

brothers
and sisters

bury, theirs

uncles and aunties
cousins, nieces and nephews
pop pops and bubbies

bury them too

my mother cremated hers
we will scatter his ashes

there, will be no headstone

after his memory
nothing is left
just…
sprawling landscapes
and these vast
empty oceans
on a planet
spinning
adrift
in a
sea of ink

none of us deserve
this
not any longer

social framework

pencil thin
pencil thin
walls caved in
if you call it
i’ll give
if you double
down
i’ll win
i’ll win

shelf it
swallow it
wall it in
dancing
on air
while the others
are gasping

pencil thin
pencil thin
your motive
your ego
your collapsing
always taking
fever collecting
the cost of
capitalism
you win
they win

melt it
hammer it
forge it within
burning out
oxygen
while the others
are gasping

i draw the
last breath
i win

second, to nothing

you said
i’m ready
to leave
i’ve lost
the connection
wasted
my time
and need
a new direction
there is
no one else
i’m just
speaking
truth
never meant
to deep root

what you
really meant
was
you would rather
be alone
than be
with me
i am
second
to nothing

you, stayed

you chose
nothing.

i accepted
this
and pray
something
never comes
along.

awestruck and mesmerized

when i catch
the glint in your eye
reflecting the light 
the wisp of your lashes
in their graceful flight
the curve of your lips
as your head turns
ever so slight
i realize
this is how 
your beauty strikes
consuming me
with the fluidity of life
a thousand moments 
that echo through time
although randomly sequenced
the frames suddenly align 
and i, standstill
awestruck and
mesmerized