i listen to your conspiracy theories,
your rationalizations,
your drunk explanations,
your underhanded apologies.

i listen to your complicated stories,
your quietly shared thoughts
your mixed albums
your mimed gestures across the room.

i listen quietly on the telephone
unable to anticipate
what you said
and absolutely shocked

by my response.

i listen to your advice,
your sarcasm,
your songs
i even listen when you're quiet.

i listen to the sound of my failing speakers
unable to fill the silence
that divides us.

no longer is, or ever was, the same.

"you have begun to find your answers. although it will seem difficult, the rewards will be great. exercise your human mind as fully as possible, knowing it is only an exercise. build beautiful artifacts, solve problems, explore the secrets of the physical universe, savor the impute from all the senses. feel the joy and sorrow, the laughter, the empathy, compassion, and tote the emotional memory in your travel bag." - waking life

quote jeff and kristin asked me to read at their ceremony.

the clouds are clearing out
we sample a little sunshine
in icy cold water,
drifting down in shades of
blue pink and green.
my flask empty,
i pull a cigarette out of
the plastic ziplock.