Wednesday, October 28, 2009

weatherizing for winter

the laundry mat has become a new favorite place.
it has a trickle of internet which provides the necessary connection
for email and work schedules.
and acoustics, that sound like a concert hall.
so i bring my guitar and sing to rows of wash machines and dryers,
under the watchful eye of security cameras.
i am waiting for the big brother of those fisheye lenses to catch on
to the fact that i do laundry every two weeks,
but inhabit the space every other day with my computer and guitar.

a homeless man came in today with a dirty tattered quilt.
edges were tattered and the stuffing was falling out.
i watched the man circle the machines, just milling about.
soon his eye caught a rack in the corner outside the janitors closet.
two rolls of sheet plastic hung there.
for a few minutes the man just looked at the plastic,
then he began pulling it from the rack, cutting four large squares.
he went outside for a brief moment
and came back with a roll of duct tape.
laying the tattered blanket over one of the folding tables
he proceeded to attach each sheet of plastic over a portion of the quilt.
hemming it with duct tape.
so while the boats at the local marinas were being weatherized
for their millionare owners. this man was weatherizing his quilt
for the cold, snowy, Salt Lake City winter.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

poaching

i am sitting on a tile floor. hooded.
in my biggest sweat shirt and pants.
i am poaching internet. from a laundry mat.
in which i do not have any clothes.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

more

i am happier when i remember.
i love more truly when i reflect.
i hope more deeply when i focus on others.
i wonder more often when i look around me.
i pray more earnestly in the cold.
i smile more often when i visit friends.
i think more clearly when i fail.
i breath more deeply when i run.
i live more freely when i realize sacrifice.
i feel more peace when i write.
i will write, more.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Monday, October 12, 2009

surprisingly wise

when you are a bachelor.
simple things have the ability to change your life.
like delicious food and letters from your home state. and radiohead.
and true words from drunks, who are surprisingly wise.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

ten miles down parleys

i drove into the salt lake valley at sunset yesterday.
after coasting ten miles down parleys.
antelope island, the west valley mountains, and the salt lake itself
reigned in the edges of suburbia.
the sky faded from blue to clementine,
defining the mountains' almost black peaks.
the whole valley sparkled with lights,
like a starry dew.
one reason i like living here.


Thursday, October 1, 2009

just smiling.

i spent most of this morning sleeping.
drifting in and out, like seaweed suspended in a tide.
in the darkness of my basement room, noon is black.
most mornings, waking up is a process of stretching some stiffness,
shaking shadows from my eyes, begging consciousness to take over.
this morning was good. I woke early.
I woke up smiling without knowing why. just smiling.
then i kept sleeping. and woke up smiling again.
then fell asleep again because i wanted to,
not because my body demanded it.
finally i woke up again, smiling in the dark. and i couldn't shake it.
and it stayed until the shower washed it from my face.
but it wasn't gone. it seeped through me slowly and turned to peace.
it made my day before it began.