grief tearing down these walls

*Published by Cold Moon Journal on 12/29/20

 a whisper

from Old Scratch

nuclear winter

*Published by horror senryu journal on 12/30/20

 gifts of grief

all colors are pastel

and jellyfish float

in a violet sky

the radio plays Brian

Eno along with

the comforting symphony

of crickets

the mall has always

been dirt-free

the daily news

is a loop of fresh lavender

 but there are no stars

& moon

no Kubrick

or Agatha Christie

in the hum of okay

fine thanks

you forget that you

are a flame who 

can birth suns

*Published by Rejection Letters on 12/29/20

 because you were always right at the edge of night

*Published in Issue 17 & 18 of NOON: journal of the short poem

 solar flare

what you

couldn’t hide

*Published by Cold Moon Journal on 12/26/20

 each day

is now shorter and darker

let me

have a moment

with this dying rose

*Published in Issue #23 of Moonbathing

 inhale

snow

exhale

*Published by Haiku in Action on 12/24/20

 perhaps it was only a dream where violet begins

*Published in Issue #1 of Bloo Outlier Journal

 i am also in the dark coyote’s howl

*Published by Cold Moon Journal on 12/23/20

 how does one

pull out knives embedded

along their spine

ask your ancestors

if they need your permission

to spark a fire

*Published by Human/Kind Journal on 12/9/20

what remains

after each star combusts

into black

legend has it

there are colors

we have never seen

*Published by Human/Kind Journal on 12/20/20

 my happy place

is the sound

of a fireplace crackling

as snow gently falls

it is the taste

of a hot cup of tea

on a cold winter night

and it is the smell

of a blanket you slept in

as the blizzard roared

*Published by Central Coast Poetry Shows on 12/21/20

 how many sapphires

does the ocean contain

within its depths

along the surface

of my skin

you will know infinity

*Published by Human/Kind Journal on 11/8/20

 flame

must you

tempt my hand

*Published by Fresh Out: An Arts and Poetry Collective on 12/16/20

 chimera

unraveling/tangling. and i just want to watch

the twilight become

*Published in Issue 3 of GLITCHWORDS

 unholy matrimony an off-pitch organ drones

*Published by horror senryu journal on 12/11/20

**Nominated for The Haiku Foundation’s Touchstone Individual Poem Award by the editor

 denial

this isn’t

my blood

and these are not

my hands

i want to believe

each mountain

is a quiet river

and that your sickness

was only my

twisted fantasy

but this is

my blood

and these are

my hands

*Published in Déraciné Volume VII

here

this will

be our secret

the busted door

leading to

a darkened hallway

you may have

loved her first

but i

was the one

who found you here

crumpled on the stairs

your head in

my arms and

do you remember

what you confessed

between those

first hitched breaths

*Published in Déraciné Volume VII 

 you are never alone

someone

somewhere

knows intimately

the pain you are carrying

*

patience

when you feel

your soul is broken

beyond repair

just remember

invisible hands

of light and strength

are mending it new

*

this is only a beginning

the waves

will cease

and the ache

will fade

and you

will shine again

*Published in Fireflies’ Light: A Magazine of Short Poems #21

 liminal

tonight

i have no answers

and tomorrow

the same

so i will rest

my head upon this pillow

and pray

in this uncertain space

*

find the beauty, if you can

there is no highway

no autobahn for the winding

road that is grief

*

at home

we speak of aloneness

as a wretched thing to be feared

when quite simply

it is the closest we will ever be

to the stars and ourselves

*

let’s heal one another

i walked with nature

bare-faced and full of ache

she leaned in a bit closer and said

you are no different than me

*Published in Fireflies’ Light: A Magazine of Short Poems #21

 affection

when all hope seems lost

i am often at a loss

for what to say

but i hope you can

at least

take some comfort

in my hand

cradling yours

*

simplicity

i am trying to find joy

in the little things

these days

a fresh set of sheets

for example

or the still-lingering

scent of autumn rain

*

purgatory

it has been awhile

since i have seen

the sun pour its heart

through an opening of clouds

not just outside

but also within my mind

*Published in Fireflies’ Light: A Magazine of Short Poems #21

 freedom

your income

your marital status

your level of education

doesn’t matter

in the church

of this meeting

you are an addict

like all of us

*Published in Issue No. 18 of Anti-Heroin Chic

diode

heavy is the

unseen wine bottle

when the earth is burning

burning and dying

lead are my arms and legs 

now tell me how

i can fly with the wings

you say i have

there are an infinite

number of sides to me

and all are confusing

in my gut

i know there are

luminous constellations

and if i raise

my heels high enough

i can weave

their fingers with mine

*Published in Issue No. 18 of Anti-Heroin Chic

 anti-eulogy

you weren’t

supposed to

feed me

amaretto liquor

until i

blacked out

when i

was underage

and if

you didn’t

know that

before this

i’m telling

you now

*Published in Issue No. 18 of Anti-Heroin Chic

 in a vacant city

does a bullet still

demolish souls

ask the stars if

their shine was split

without consent

*Published by Cold Moon Journal on 12/3/20

 Ode to Dayton

you may have heard

about my city

splashed across headlines:

nine dead

dozens injured

from terror in the night

but you may not have heard

about the heroes

shielding others with their skin

and you may not have heard

about the peacemakers

singing in blood-covered streets

look beyond those headlines

and see the beauty

in our ashes

watch how quickly we rise

with golden wings

to soar into glorious light

*Published in The Dayton Anthology

 it begins

insidiously

like the one time

you called me

by

her first name

*

after leaving home

for the first time

in two weeks

I breathe in

the rain-soaked air

like a fragrant rose

*

noiseless

the moon and stars

birth life

this is

why I am still awake

at 2 a.m.

*

after mother died

I purchased binoculars

to view the night

as if she were hidden

between

Orion and Sirius

*Published in leave me here (the cherita book 42)

*The last cherita was designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice)

 in the belly

of a crypt

snake’s hiss

*Published by horror senryu journal on 11/30/20

 happiness, pint by pint

this morning

i treated myself

to gourmet cookies & cream

held the pint in my

warm hand

before heading off to work

slowly i dipped my spoon

around the edges as they

began to melt

took my sweet

sweet time

to fully savor each bite

there’s a bag of granola

sitting undisturbed

in my dusty kitchen

and the vegan yogurt

i bought

with the best of intentions

is now a day past due

but neither

of those saintly things

can lift my spirits

in the way

that a bit of ice cream

can do

*Published by Tealight Press on 11/28/20

 long ago

a deserted forest

became my first lover

what other rooms

could you find within

your darkest abode

*Published by Cold Moon Journal on 11/27/20

 crescendo

we have been dry | the grass and i | wanting | begging | thunder

to soak up | our veins | this is why | when you came | with your

electric whip | on the horizon | a torch at twilight | neon pink

blue | caramel over clouds | i sat in silence | breathed | in

to watch you | a storm | crescendo | roll in roll in | over me

*Published in Issue 3 of The Confessionalist

 down down the musical rabbit hole

so i started listening

to early 90s Japanese ambient

which led me to

V A P O R W A V E

&

A E S T H E T I C S

then figured i could finally

try the screeching abyss

of harsh noise

& f*ck

there are genres

called lowercase

ocean grunge

& witch house

but sometimes i just

need to kick it old-school with

so tell me what you want

what you really really want

*Published by Skyway Journal on 11/23/20

 are rubies

simply fragments

of forgotten dreams

it is possible

that we once lived

as the dust between sand

*Published by Cold Moon Journal on 11/21/20

 ancestral wasteland

to name is to     in some sense

own     how strange then

you named me

without knowing     who i am

down to bones     tonight

i will set fire

to the dank leather cuffs     it’s time

you called me by     what

i really am

that molecule of sweat     freed

from the shame     your mother’s mother

forced into you

that hymn     caught in your throat

by the silence     your father’s father

impelled into you

i am an ocean     you’ll never taste

or a wildflower     you’ll never smell

i

am

free

*Published by Fever Dream on 11/18/20

 hoot of an owl

mist pushes through

the electric fence

*Published by horror senryu journal on 11/18/20

 a bit of glass on my tongue crawling through weeds

*

claiming the subjunctive in the path of life’s fist

*Published in Bones 21

 matriarch

this night will

be my salvation

red moon

the blade is

heavy and cold

red hymn

and she waits

for a sacrifice

red flame

my body returned

to the earth

*Published by Dream Journal on 11/11/20

 chainsaw massacre

welcome to

US politics

*

a vulture to carrion late-stage capitalism

*Published in Suspect Device Zine (Turning Japanese #3)

 at dawn my body still a scepter

*Published by horror senryu journal on 11/6/20

luddite playlist

courtesy of YouTube

i have now heard what a dial-up modem sounds like

when slowed down 700%

haunted houses

y’all gotta take note of that shit

these days

the golden rule is followers > following

and i low-key

hate myself for caring

yet that still doesn’t stop me

from checking my phone

8,437 times each minute

damn

i still remember listening

to the radio in ‘97

mixtape at the ready

waiting waiting

to press record at the exact moment

NIN’s Closer began

*Published by The Daily Drunk on 11/4/20

 dancing

around infinity

I grasp

the heart

of the universe

still beating

*

winter’s end

I cannot wait

to tell

the first flower

I see

she was missed

*

without signs

warning

do not touch

my fingerprints

would sully

each Pollock

*

my favorite days

are the ones

where I cannot tell

if I am

still dreaming

between claps of thunder

*

drops of freezing rain

stick to my hair

admittedly

I did not realize

what fun it is

to play ice queen

*Published in i heard it first (the cherita book 41)

**The second cherita was designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice)

Tori Amos is my fairy godmother

it started with your hair

that unrepentant mess

of fiery curls, and the way

you gyrated your hips in

that Crucify video, Tori

you haven’t aged a day since

some pick guitars, but you

picked 88 keys to tame

and when no one else

could understand my wild

teenage heart, somehow

i knew you would

*Published in Periwinkle Literary Magazine Issue #2 (Wonderland)

 cyanide twilight

in dreams i am

the hunted

*Published by Haikuniverse (www.haikuniverse.com) on 10/31/20

 before death

did we gnash our teeth

in despair

a bluebird needn’t ask

if the air

will lift her feathers

*Published by Human/Kind Journal on 10/28/20

Note: This is the debut of the poetic form, Socratic verse, which I created. If you are interested in writing your own, here is the blueprint: At the heart of Socratic verse is a desire to explore the unknown, both internally and externally, through lyrical and surreal dialogue. Each part consists of 1 - 5 lines. 

distant bonfire

a bit of hickory climbs

through my window

*Published in the October 2020 issue of Stardust Haiku 

 lockdown...

but you never said

i couldn’t

travel the world

within my mind

*Published by Cold Moon Journal on 10/27/20

 it begins

with a howl

blood moon

*Published by horror senryu journal on 10/26/20

 sometimes

the only thing

i know to be true

is that the sun has risen

somewhere

brightly in our sky

*Published by Cold Moon Journal on 10/23/20

 a deeper

ache in my bones

full COVID moon

*Published by Haiku in Action on 10/22/20

this piece of amethyst

i hold in my hand

what secrets

have you kept

during your long life

*Published by Cold Moon Journal on 10/18/20

 at night, watching the mist rise

as fate would have it

i looked out my window

at just the right time

to watch a thick mist rise up

from a darkened lake

now had this event stopped there

i would have been content

but nature

has never been withholding

of her beauty

the mist continued rising

above the treetops

and then turned left to brush

her white silk against

the roofs of impending homes

but where she went from there

i will never know

because nature

has never been withholding

of her mystery

*Published by Central Coast Poetry Shows on 10/12/20

 moonlight falls

upon a quiet city

sometimes

a bit of magic

is so ordinary

*

another month

of social distancing

i share

my aches and dreams

with the curbside rose

*Published the 2020 edition of Under the Basho (Tanka section)

awaiting

the cooler days of fall

i curl into

a book 

as thick as the moon

*

it’s late at night

and i might be

the only one awake

to watch the softness

of your breath

lay upon our home

*

first the lightning

then the thunder

when a dream

finds parts of my soul

i had yet to discover

*

that feeling 

when you first wake up

here but so far away

i want to hold on

to that moment

just a few seconds longer

*

after rising from sleep

waves of life

crash upon me

perhaps it’s a good thing

i have always loved

an untamed ocean

*Published in the autumn 2020 edition of The Bamboo Hut

I’m happy to announce that my third e-chapbook, tyranny of the familiar (Yavanika Press 2020), can now be purchased here. This collection of haiga was made in collaboration with the poet, Peter Jastermsky, and features 20 pieces of my art.

 when the rest of the world

is asleep

listen carefully

this is when

life speaks to us

through poems

*Published by Cold Moon Journal on 10/1/20

 early fall

i skip the dress

for a tie

*Published by Haiku in Action on 10/1/20 with the following note: “a celebration of gender fluidity”

 focus

your breath

upon my words

you are

safe within

this space

*

each time

I build walls

around myself

the spring air

somehow

knocks them down

*

I wrestle

with a desire

to disappear

not to start over

but

to never be found

*

in my life

a lot of lines

have blurred

like the ones

dividing dreams

and nightmares

*

it is late

and I am

so very cold

but I cannot look

away from

these stars

*Published in from my window (the cherita book 40)

*The last cherita was designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice)

 watching

the fly outside

my home

it has been

one long

lonely year

*Published by Cold Moon Journal on 9/28/20

moonbow

the strum

of his guitar

*Published in the September 2020 issue of Stardust Haiku

 where the wind blows

                                                                  an afterthought

*Published by Fresh Out: An Arts and Poetry Collective on 9/24/20

orchid

how calmly you leave

this earth 

*Published via the Poetry Pea podcast (Series 3, Episode 18: Loss)

the most beautiful painting in the world

happened to be just

outside my home

and not surprisingly

in the shape

of a large magnolia bud

*

no words needed

we may not speak

the same language

dearest rain

but somehow we seem
to always
understand one another

*

now pick up those pom-poms

the world doesn’t need

another critic

it desperately needs

another cheerleader

*

because i do

do you ever feel
overwhelmed
when the sky

turns bright pink
as the night
draws near

*

a poem for the bereaved

may these words
walk alongside you
like a close friend

and when the tears
fall from your cheek
may each letter

carry your grief

*Published in Fireflies’ Light: A Magazine of Short Poems #20

just what i needed

today

the sun shone brilliantly

without a filter of clouds

thank you, God

for this blessed relief

*

in your arms

the way rose oil
warms up on skin
is the only comparison
i have
for this sweet summer night

*

so ordinary and yet not

there are days when
my heart is so heavy
i can barely move
and the only comfort
i can find
is that everyone else
has these days too

*

in defense of sadness

the grass has turned brown
my friends

this is why we need
those dark days of rain

*

intermission (for movies and life)

listen to the birds
outside your window
and don’t forget to look up
to the stars

*Published in Fireflies’ Light: A Magazine of Short Poems #20

 further

into isolation

waning moon

*Published in The Asahi Shimbun (Asahi Haikuist Network) on 9/4/20

if you can

take comfort

in the change of seasons

even snow

will eventually

become tulips

*

thunder

I have missed you

more than you’ll ever know

the sun

can only say

so much

*

are you

as afraid

as me

when you

first dive

into sleep

*

a bit of magic

before dawn

here I am

watching

the Space Station

cross the sky

*

to the bird

near my window

I know

you are not singing

for me

but thank you

*

bruised

is how I would prefer

to remember

your hands

when striking

my flesh

*Published in a sense of place (the cherita book 39)

**The first two cherita were designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice)

supernova

with a sense of urgency

art and words

pour out from my soul

i pray

if this year is my last

may it be filled

with a lifetime’s worth

of color

*Published in the Poets Salon (coloradoboulevard.net) on 8/27/20

politics

I’d rather follow

a butterfly

*Published by Haikuniverse (www.haikuniverse.com) on 8/25/20

Daydreams

Why, after all these years,

is the sky still that same shade of blue

when the entire vastness, day and night,

could be an endless rainbow?

For good measure,

let’s throw in a dose of glitter, too.

Why couldn’t the moon have been a disco ball

that spins when hung,

casting a translucent dance of shape and color

all throughout the earth?

Insomnia would be such a delightful occasion,

in my humble point of view.

And why, oh why,

can I not hold the stars close to my breasts

and feel the warmth

of their enduring glow?

After all, we’re family

and long overdue for a hug.

*Published by Central Coast Poetry Shows on 8/20/20

fistful of sweets

today I am

a kid at heart

*Published via the Poetry Pea podcast (Series 3, Episode 16: Joy)

for you

dedicated to the Hubble Space Telescope

shot up into the cosmos, eased

into an orbit around Earth

you have silently watched

as comets wag their tails

of dust and light through solitary jaunts

and you have silently watched

as stars violently die, time after time

in a luminous burst of color

and you have silently watched

as the far ends of space

beam echoes of its creation into your brain

and it is through your eyes

i first learned

that the universe is more vast

meaningful and complex

than my existence will ever be

*Published by Dear Reader on 8/12/20

because you wanted to talk s

                                                                                        plit atoms

*Published in Sonic Boom Issue Eighteen

no, I have never

seen the devil

but I have

seen a grown man

eye a little girl

like meat

*

I wish there was a noun

to describe

the sound of a night train

shushing anxiety

a lullaby

for the weary at heart

*

dear trees

it was in

your embrace

that I finally

learned

I was loved

*

pulling

each string

of my harp

who knew

a prayer doesn’t

need words

*

vanilla and sugar

let’s dream

for a moment

that this world

could be

as sweet as that

*Published in it’s a secret place (the cherita book 38)

*The first cherita was designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice)

storm -

and yet i am

forgiven

*Published in the July 2020 issue of Stardust Haiku

floating

floating into

the abyss

this year

i might as well be

a lost balloon

*

studies have shown

plants scream when cut

as if revolutionary, this notion

a living being

would not welcome

the sharp end of a blade

*

silence blooms

among the ruins

this

is where i become

the peace

i always craved

*Published in MacQueen’s Quinterly, Issue 4

REDACTED

Headlines are a master of disguise.

 

When speaking about war they say

civilian casualties,

never murders,

 

because the latter would naturally

prompt one to ask:

 

Who

did the murdering?

 

And let’s just say

REDACTED

don’t want you to ask

too many questions when they

push the button,

send the bomb.

 

You’re to supposed to nod in unison with

REDACTED

and walk away,

like they do,

smug in the notion

those “casualties”

could not have been avoided;

 

such a shame.

You do realize, however,

REDACTED

could just as easily

pull the trigger

on you, and again,

your casualty

could not have been avoided;

again, such a shame.

*Published by Central Coast Poetry Shows on 7/26/20

a journey

to the moon and back

late-night jazz

*Published via the Poetry Pea podcast (Series 3, Episode 14: Voyages)

not unlike a meteor cancer wiped her out

*Published in Bones 20

tsunami

you ask

what it’s like

to live

with OCD

*Published by Fresh Out: An Arts and Poetry Collective on 7/12/20

i close my eyes

and breathe in

slowly

light pours through

each window

*

leaves gently

fall towards the earth

how easy

it is to love

all of nature’s beauty

*

while the world

shatters around me

i will pretend

a rainbow is waiting

to ignite a blackened sky

*

this morning

full of rain and gray

thank you

for giving me

a space to ache

*Published in the summer 2020 edition of The Bamboo Hut

metaphors and such

i am underwater

with a current pulling me into its grip

but

i think we both know

there is no water

and

that this really is

a thinly veiled metaphor

but

i am still underwater

with a current pulling me into its grip

*Published in Black Flowers Literary Journal, Volume Six

taking

a bow

dying rose

*Published in The Asahi Shimbun (Asahi Haikuist Network) on 7/3/20

waiting

for night

a temple

opening

*Published in the July 2020 edition of is/let

I am

both shades

of midnight

when you

slip into

my mind

*

tell me again

that she wasn’t

as good as me

when you

explored her skin

instead of mine

*

the things

left unsaid

burn in my chest

look at me

a black hole

playing human

*Published in and still (the cherita book 37)

*tell me again and the things left unsaid were designated as a cherita lighthouse (editor’s choice) 

summer

my mind is still

winter

*Published in the June 2020 issue of Stardust Haiku

making a joke of me one pine needle

*Published in the June 2020 edition of is/let

Absolute Zero

dad’s greatest hit

a kick

between mother’s legs

children services

we memorize

our lines

5th Commandment

another beating

justified

family photo

I learn

to grind my teeth

gaslight

suffocation

is play

slow death

he demands

to share my bed

absolute zero

our roles shift

to predator-prey

no exit

he name drops

a hitman

*Published in Issue #24 of Prune Juice (under the pseudonym, Coda)

Join Me

I am nowhere near an ocean,

but I can imagine it so clearly:

the waves gently crashing

against the shore;

the sand nestled between each toe,

warming, easing

the aches I’ve accumulated

from daily stress and woe;

and the sound,

oh God yes,

the call of seagulls as they glide

effortlessly through the air.

I am far away from this,

I know,

but in my heart I am there,

with the sand, waves, and birds;

and for once,

the anxiety that so often

holds my body and mind hostage

cannot reach me,

cannot bind and torment me

while I am in the midst

of this momentary illusion.

*Published by the Tipp City Area Arts Council on 6/15/20

finally comfy

in my skin

magenta twilight

*Published via the Poetry Pea podcast (Series 3, Episode 12: Aging)

a woodpecker

pecking pecking

each day

is a constant battle

to stay sober

*Published in Issue #22 of Moonbathing

tonight’s wind

you roar

and then you whisper

thank you

for trusting me

with your thoughts

*

tidal

just once

i want to know

what the moon has to say

about us

*

roses are rebels

they face each storm

head on

and yet

they always return

perhaps this is why

they so often

carry thorns

*

ephemeral

sometimes

music makes me

forget

i am mortal

*

in awe

while i know

the science behind

the twinkling of stars

just for this moment

i will feign ignorance

simply to enjoy

their silent hymn

*Published in Fireflies’ Light: A Magazine of Short Poems #19

impermanence

but the night

wasn’t always

and neither

was the rain

*

everyday sacred

as i approach

the sun-soaked forest

i stop and inhale

this, too

is hallowed ground

*

on butterflies (and humans)

you are

a painting in motion

never let

the world tell you otherwise

*

better days ahead

the hungry way

daffodils reach

for the sun

my joy

hinges on recounting

such lovely things

*

astray

tossing and turning

in this bed hewn

from jagged stone

i am

so lost

without your light

*Published in Fireflies’ Light: A Magazine of Short Poems #19

metamorphosis

i chose to hide

hiding until not even

the moon and constellations

could find me now

see, this is the quandary

of innocence

your crime becomes my skin

becomes my marrow

where your violence went is

a roadmap of never will

i may have chosen

the dusty attic and cobwebs

with a bed tightly smashed against

the broken wall, but i never

chose such marred sheets

in dreams

i still have fingers replaced by tentacles

and the quiet streets are the ones

i most fear

*Published in Black Flowers Literary Journal, Volume Five

perhaps

we have misread

the moon

*

now that

we have become

spiders burning

under glass

*

Jupiter

I am the one

called ant

*Published by Heliosparrow on 6/5/20

the ends justify the means (or some shit like that)

i didn’t learn much

from my 8 a.m. economics class

during my sophomore year of college

partly because of the tortuous

time of day, but mostly

because i dropped it

however, i have since developed

a working knowledge of this subject

courtesy of #45, who when faced

with America’s impending economic doom

suggested that the sick, quite literally

inject themselves with Clorox

*Published in The Alien Buddha Destroys the Economy by Alien Buddha Press

guns. We all choose different milks

*Published in the May 2020 edition of is/let

sip of chamomile how gently stars drop

*

taking a few

extra breaths

fully bloomed jasmine

*Published in The Asahi Shimbun (Asahi Haikuist Network) on 5/29/20

entertainment

the darkest possible

timeline

*Published in the May 2020 edition of is/let

towering pine

show me how

to persevere

*Published in the May 2020 issue of Stardust Haiku

Blind Eye

sunrise through dust

they say a bad wind blows

along the Silk Road

rumors of death

as common as the sand

drawing blood

a plague doctor points

to the grey sky

thundering clouds

rows of hospital beds

replace verdant grass

all night lit and buzzing

the pharma skyscraper

in Wuhan

a new uncertainty blooms

while we turn a blind eye

*Published in the 2020 edition of Under the Basho (Linked Forms section)

*Written by Roman Lyakhovetsky and Tiffany Shaw-Diaz

collapsing into a black hole the fucks i give

*

pull the strings of a cello. the sun. a rifle.

*

in deep thought. saturn’s rings. an internal knife fight.

*

altered states of being the substrata of bees

*

even so

some like

the abuse

*Published in the 2020 issue of Under the Basho (Ku section)

night sets in body aches

*Published via the Poetry Pea podcast (Series 3, Episode 10: Monoku)

orphan. In my palms, a freshly cut violet

*Published in the May 2020 edition of is/let

migraine

it’s all about

warwarwar

*

dawn

the pedophile

straightens his tie

*

Father’s Day

I scrub my hands

until they bleed

*Published in Issue #53 of Failed Haiku

quarantine nose ring

it’s been six weeks

or maybe ninety (i have, admittedly

lost track of time) since i left my home

without fear

of breathing the air

that you have breathed or touching

the places that you have touched

so i have contemplated

perhaps a few times

what it be like to pierce

my septum

with the limited tools

i have in my possession, simply

to shake up

this achingly dull routine

*Published in The Alien Buddha Contracts Covid-19 Act 8