some days I swear
I'm starting to mould
my skin is a stinking substrate
drawing me into the fungal fold
to the land of feast or famine
downpour or drought
until I'm as wet on the inside
as I've ever been on the out
wildfires bring wildflowers
and thundershowers bring doubt
when I should be
standing in the open
barely restraining a shout
the lightning leads and leaves me here
heads off somewhere
down the valley
strikes the skull
of some conductive stranger
and adds him to the tally
I fall asleep to the raindrop rattle
a battle against my bedroom window
that the storm will not surrender
just like the woman
who keeps me floating
what's wild is what's
most tender

~ ~ ~

August 9, 2023
Harbourville, Nova Scotia

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Tags:   a boy at his volcano day 5750

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I let the day
die down to night
didn't do one iota of what I oughta
blame it on the losing light
you inspire the fire
to spread to a stranger
let the flames lick their lips
you send sparks from the ends of your fingers
and all your other tips
when it comes to flattery
immolation is the sincerest form
spontaneous combustion of the soul
hollow in the center
given over to the draw and pull
it is the hole that makes you whole
a filament in full
glowing from the energy
the current takes its toll
living in a bulb and bubble
carbonized and soiled
asking if the toil
is worth the trouble
one man's ruins
is another man's rubble
she says: "how'd you
like your life in pieces?"
on this Easter hunt in last year's stubble
I found every little
part of you
(lovable)

~ ~ ~

August 4, 2023
Bear River, Nova Scotia

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I was born
with maps on my wall
disparate dots to connect
before the autumn but after the fall
and the gall to say I would
but I grew up in the hood
of the jacket pulled over my head
to block my ears from things
I shouldn't've said
had the guts to say I'll meet ya
in a Honda Civic or a Nissan Sentra
pulled up on the shoulder
where the cops could scold her
for expired permits or pleasures
measure of a man who mentioned
that he had no hurry for a pension
a penchant for pushing to the edges
of an earthbound hope for heaven
it looks like this –
a stranger's love
or a lover's kiss
(an unearned forgiveness)
an arrival at the tidal tip
maybe I'll forget
how it feels to give up my grip
all I want is to look back on life
and tell you:
"what a trip"

~ ~ ~

July 17, 2023
Rossway, Nova Scotia

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Tags:   a boy at his volcano day 5727

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I lost a year of my childhood
worried over the end of the world
asteroid impacts and apocalyptic endings
revelations revealed to be true
(the rapture of everyone but you)
it took a long time to realize
that hoping for the second coming
was just a socially acceptable
suicidal ideation
locked in the chapel
out of sight of creation
praying to be the last generation
down on our knees
hands raised in surrender
begging the angel of death to be tender
and the spirit of fear (sheer terror)
an iron fist in a velvet glove
won't someone save me
from unconditional love?
a human heart
can help you stop
from going on thinking
that an afterlife
is the only one
you've got

~ ~ ~

July 5, 2023
Hall's Harbour, Nova Scotia

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Tags:   a boy at his volcano day 5715

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I'll trade an eye for an eye
if you've got a tooth for a tooth
but a heart for a heart
she asked me: "what's the use?"
I said, I can't keep me to myself
and if I'm feeling lost some day
at least I'll always know
that I've got a place to stay
under your ribs like rafters
warm with the fire of laughter
I promise I'll offer a little coldness in trade
you're so well-worn, Kiddo, so frail
in all the right places
like a hurricane sail
scars and bars forever
heart and hardware keeps you together
with thornless roses
and ivy intertwined
the best part of me
is where you live in my mind
if you can share the secret
of how to see the world your way and why
I'll gladly trade an eye for an eye...

~ ~ ~

May 21, 2023
West Dalhousie, Nova Scotia

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Tags:   a boy at his volcano day 5670

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