Reclaiming Dreams

He is afraid of following his dreams so he sleepwalks through life, secure but unfulfilled. Sometimes he gets so lost in the daze of routine, the facilitator for stability, that he loses sight of his dreams. When that happens, he completely shuts down, incapable of anything at all, dreams and routines included. It is then that he does nothing; it is then that he figures out how to do something that actually matters, both to him and the world around him. He must reclaim all those dreams.

Human Error

Did we
make You
proud?

Or did we
disappoint
and
make a mess
of this Garden?

Don't answer me;
I'd rather keep praying.

Ho-Hum

I can never quite find the proper balance. Sometimes my mind is bright enough to burn out while my body loses itself in lethargy; sometimes my heart is engaged while my mind sleeps; sometimes my body is at its peak while my heart weeps. All the while, my spirit wants to give up because the mind, heart, and body cannot align. If only I had more hours in a day, I would give equal attention to every facet of this ho-hum life, just enough to make it extraordinary.

Why She Sighs

He has everything figured out

except why his wife sighs.

Instead of taking the time

to figure out why she sighs,

he filed for divorce.

A Piteous World

No one pities you

because the whole world

is pitiful.

Golden

Gold weighs down the spirit,
so I try my best to let my spirit soar
through living and giving.

That Story

I'm a creator of worlds,
but I can't make my world
any better.

I'm a social being,
but I often feel alone.

You-- you are the beginning
of a story
I've been too afraid to write.

Please, hand me a pen.

Complimentary

I told her the universe smiles upon her. She humored me with laughter, then she left me with bittersweet memories. Now I am careful to pay compliments.

The Selfless Don't Want You to Worship Them

They won't let Christ rest in peace. They keep waking him up for pro-life rallies and anti-gay protests. One day, he will deservedly rest in peace, but not today.

This Massive Zoo

The world is my zoo, gravity the cage that keeps me from the wilderness of the universe that is my natural habitat. The stars watch me as I struggle to breathe, their superiority and freedom looking into me, their amusement my misfortune. The Zookeeper stays silent behind the scenes. Do not feed me inspiration; I might realize where I truly belong.

All It Takes

Stress. Worry. Anxiety.
Monotony. Tedium. Laboriousness.
Pain. Struggle. Suffering.
It all disappears into the ocean
like a setting sun on the horizon.
When life is overwhelming,
all it takes is a change of scenery
to enliven and rejuvenate
a crestfallen soul.

George Washington Wants a New Mattress

Let's celebrate meaningful holidays by relishing in capitalism, saving and spending until we forget the meaning of those holidays.

Difficult

It's difficult to make sense of the morning
when you are nocturnal.
That is why I sleep through it.

It's difficult to make sense of the world
when sometimes you feel like you don't belong.
That is why I keep to myself.

It's difficult to find meaning
in something this meaningless.
But I will try anyway.

Star the Sky

I will take the stars from the sky,
closing a cosmological curtain,
pulling down interstellar shades,
so that I can brighten the universe
with the light of love and truth.

How to Deal with the Unfortunate Fact that You Are a Sellout

Spend!
Spend!
Spend!

The Opposite of Death

It will eat at you.
It will take your breath away.
It will strike you as odd.
It will be the usual.
It will make good sense.
It will make no sense.
It is the opposite of death,
and we wouldn't have it any other way.

I Would

I would teach you what I know,
but out-of-body experiences
make you nervous.

I would let you get closer to me,
but starlight too often dims
in disappointment.

I would love you
if only I loved myself.

This Mad Life

If I hadn't suffered,
I wouldn't appreciate
this mad life.

What Have I Done

He asked me if I knew what I was doing. I told him I sleepwalk through whatever it is I'm doing, unconscious, because it's the only way I can survive another day. He told me I shouldn't be so numb. I told him life shouldn't be so boring. He said life is only boring if you make it that way. I said that was why I was doing this. Seconds later I was dead. I can't sleepwalk through anything now because everything is horrifying.

My Brief Music Career

Album Title: The Silly Dreams EP
Song List:
1. Misplaced Enthusiasm
2. Hope Among the Hopeless
3. Not Attainable

Album Title: So Many Soul Mates
Song List:
1. Threesome
2. Foursome
3. Everybody Get Down
4. This Love Is a True or False Answer
5. She Kisses with Her Spirit
6. He Loves with His Lust for Life
7. Trial Separation
8. The Mistress's Melody
9. The Scorned WIfe
10. Divorce
11. Learning to Love Again
12. A True Answer

Album Title: This Mortal Trouble
Song List:

1. I Will Live Forever
2. If I Don't Die First
3. Do I Like Life Enough
4. Slowly Disappearing
5. The Quiet Desperation He Warned Us About
6. Holding On
7. Eternal Yearning
8. The Fountain of Truth
9. I'm Too Old
10. The Devil Knows I'm Dead
Hidden Track: The Pearly Gates Open Wide

God Is Ashamed

The director of this play on the grandest stage knows the show must go on, but the players can't stop rehearsing.

The scientist maintains this experiment, collecting data, making observations, knowing that there is no control, and no reasonable explanation for failure.

The landlord will accept good behavior, including respect for the property and the neighbors, in lieu of rent, but it turns out the tenants can't even afford that.

The father taught his children right from wrong, but somehow they can't stop choosing what is wrong.

The boss demands respect, wishing he could command respect, while the employees forget to till the garden.

The doctor cured his patients of guilt; now they ruin everything.

God is ashamed.

Steps

There are some steps we take of our own volition toward goals, and there are other steps we are forced into by circumstance. Once you are able to look back on these steps in retrospect, it is up to you whether they be judged as missteps along your journey.

Altered Perception Giving Way to Perspective

Now that I've seen life this way,
I can't go back to seeing life
as it was before.

The Universe Within

We are shooting stars,
our lifetimes shining,
brief and bright,
to inspire the universe
within other lives.

Our Condition

We all suffer from it. The tears, the restlessness, the heartaches, the headaches, the deep sleeps, the fatigue, the smiles, the frenetic energy, the bouts of laughter, the strange dreams, the suffering, the triumphs, the struggles, the successes, the love. Yes, we all suffer from this condition, this human condition.

The Daydreamer Paying Taxes

The problem with knowing

is that there is no wondering.

Without Meaning

As a child, his grandmother told him to only smile if he meant it. He doesn't smile often. He takes evening strolls during the bitter cold winter, coatless, and somehow he feels nothing--no warmth, no coldness. He knew he was an adult when he finally understood the word "stress." Now all he seeks is an escape from this joyless life, full of so much yet so meaningless.

Reason to Write

I am flawed; in fact, I have more flaws than most people. This is why I love writing so much: It gives me a chance to escape my imperfect life and, through the power of anonymous creativity, make something greater than myself. At least then I don't feel so flawed.

This Life

On his first birthday, he got a stuffed bear.

On his sixteenth birthday, he got a car.

For his graduation from high school, he got a scholarship.

For his graduation from college, he got a job.

For his promotion at work, he bought a house.

On his wedding day, he got a ring.

When his first son was born, he got the baby a stuffed bear.

On his son's sixteenth birthday, he got his son a car.

On his fiftieth birthday, he got a cancer diagnosis.

As a result, he never got to see his son graduate from high school or college; he never had the chance to see his son get a job and buy a house; and he never got a chance to see his son marry a beautiful wife and then raise a family.

All of these thoughts were in the periphery, however, because the only thought that really mattered to him was that his life, such a success by many standards, was so very

ordinary.