Coke Zero, IKEA, Poetry Publishing & 7 More Poems

I'm doing all right on my resolutions so far. I've been on a successful diet, losing more than 10 pounds so far this month, and I have written a poem each day of 2010. Here's the latest batch:

013-Not Writing

He punches a hole in the wall,
which sets off an alarm. He
can't stand the beep and finds
the alarm box. When he enters
a code to disarm, the beeping
grows louder. He wishes he
never punched a hole; but now,
he unscrews the box from the wall
and pulls all the wires out. He
puts the box back on the wall
before fixing the hole he made
with his fist. He lays on his
bed (hands behind his head)
and thinks tomorrow maybe.


014-The last time

we stood beneath this street light & kissed each other
we talked the pigeons right out of our lungs
until the moon shielded itself with a halo
the sun didn't return until the morning
of course by then we were both gone


015-Dear Diary

The sun was out today,
so I was too. I found
a park and ate some soup.

I heard the children laugh
as they chased each other
around slides and swingsets.

Perhaps, I've been too hard
on myself after all.
Tonight, I will relax.


016-Geometry

Faced with a hill, I drew a line
in the sky and said, "Fly
me to the next world, the one
where everyone sees the wolves
circling them in the forest."
Maybe I should have called
first or at least announced
my presence; maybe I could
have assembled my life
in another order, but that
would've made sense, and I
never was one for proofs.


017-Sunday morning

I puddle in the terrifying light
your smile shines on me. I place
orange cones around my heart
and erect MEN AT WORK signs.
In this big country, there is only
one sidewalk that I want
to travel: It leads me to you.


018-At your own risk

I found a crack in the floor
& slid my fingers along the path
of it before letting the jagged
trail swallow me whole. My

few white hairs changed blue
& signaled the shower rings
to open & close their curtains.
The bath mat covered me &

soon, I bathed in darkness.


019-Choosing friends

I've grown suspicious of beautiful women,
especially if they wear bikinis or expose
too much cleavage. I imagine these hussies
are actually men who want me to purchase
or click something that will do me harm.

I avoid people who take pictures with their
pets or use pictures of their pets in place
of themselves. I am no animal's friend. Also,
people who are in the process of eating
or part of a group photo or who insert

an inanimate object or graphic or something
not human--all such people I skip over.
I've found I like people with simple head-
shots and who hold books or microphones.
I friend people who send me messages

and who seem as if they might actually
be real, which is odd, since I'll never meet
most of my "friends," but still, there's that
feeling of maybe someday. And besides, I
think, I found my beautiful wife on MySpace.

*****

I really did meet my wife (Tammy Foster Brewer) on MySpace. And she really is beautiful. And she really is my best friend, which I didn't mention in the poem, but I thought I'd go ahead and share anyway. In fact, eventually, I'll probably make a post that outlines some of the high points of our wonderful love story.

*****

I had a great 3-day weekend with my beautiful wife and Baby Will. On Friday night, we watched a bunch of movies. On Saturday, we made it out to Barnes & Noble and the dollar store and other places of interest. On Sunday, we went to IKEA and the West Egg and Whole Foods and Kroger. On Monday, Tammy had to work, so Will and I traveled into the ATL to have lunch with her at Subway.

*****

Observation #1: IKEA was designed by a genius.

*****

Observation #2: Coke Zero is like the greatest drink in the world for a Coca-Cola junkie who is trying to diet.

*****

Parting shot: I've got a little more than a week left as guest poet over at the Poets.org forum. I'll be answering questions about poetry publishing tomorrow from 1-2 p.m. (Atlanta, Georgia, time). So, feel free to post a question tomorrow or any time between now and January 31.

By the way, if you're interested in publishing your poetry, you should totally check out the 2010 Poet's Market, edited by moi.