Jun 3, 2020
Excerpt from Avenues and Alleyways
I’m sharing three pieces from a short chapbook I wrote in 2014 called Avenues and Alleyways. I wrote many of the pieces for a good friend of mine who loved to travel, but it’s speckled with some personal pieces as well. For me, a poem often serves as a memento — or souvenir — that can take me back to a particular place or moment in a way much stronger than even a picture can (although those help). I hope you enjoy; thank you for reading.
New City Vibes
when you first arrive
you avoid the streets where no one goes
content to stay safe and with the crowd
but then you get bolder
and find yourself
wandering down alleyways and avenues
over time, certain streets
become favorite streets
you find shortcuts; learn secrets
discover something familiar
underneath all that brick and mortar
Navigating the Unknown
“To navigate, you must be brave and you must remember.”
-Mau Piailug, Micronesian navigator
minutes open like eyelids, blooming in the mind
bursting forth with new beginning
effervescent points of singularity, POP!
one after another
we miss the things we miss because we remember the way they used to be
everything was new once; nothing was known
this moment carries with it things i am too afraid to say out loud
On Mountains
man — to reach the sky
without wings
to know death and feel meager
simply breathing
apoxia — my hair thins, Elliot
i do not dare to eat a peach
but i will measure my life by coffee spoons
and look with reverence upon Chomolungma
Mallory, you asked me why
we aspire to such lofty heights
because, dear friend, it is there
what reason more?
