Antonyms

Posted on July 20 2013 by J.W. Richmond

We are
        opposite
        flipped
        upside-
             down
        backward.
We are
        antonyms.

We interact
   frequently,
      but it’s often hard
                to identify with each other
                    or even have
                       a basic conversation.

Could we figure out a way
   to relate
      and find
           the magnet part
               of our r
                      e
                    v
                  e
                r
              s
            e selves
      that actually connect
         so we can
            fully appreciate each other?

Ribbit

Posted on July 13 2013 by J.W. Richmond

On a night
   like tonight
      I would be
            lying back on the roof
                 in the cool breeze
            staring at the stars
                      or
            hiking up the hill alone
                 in the mostly dark
            hearing the frogs ribbit by the water and
                       the owls hoot in the rustling trees,
            listening closely
                 for other calming night sounds,
            doing everything I could
               not to think about snakes –
                     which I can’t not
                        think about
                             now.

I wouldn’t be
   sitting inside
      behind closed windows
   hiding
      from the dense
                  suffocating heat,
   trying to
             think
                  beyond the thick haze.

I would already be
   thinking lucidly
               crisply
               smoothly
      without having
               to try.

Miss

Posted on July 12 2013 by J.W. Richmond

I’ve been described as
   self-aware,
      which to some extent
                is accurate
                (I think).
Yet I catch myself
    off-guard
         a lot.

I see things.
I see     through    things.
But I also
           miss things.

I think
   I just try
      to be aware
              because
   I have to –
              because I notice
                        that so much
                                        sneaks by.

Rigged

Posted on July 6 2013 by J.W. Richmond

Gravity
   likes to tease me
             poke at me
             play games
                  with me.

I pick objects  up
       then
       solidly
   set them     down.

Without provocation
     from my general lack of
            coordination,
        gravity ignores the laws
                        of inertia,
                  shoves me       aside
                  inserts itself
                       into my space and
                  knocks
                           everything
                                          over.

Can a law of nature
          laugh?
     Because I think I can hear it.

Spots

Posted on June 29 2013 by J.W. Richmond

It’s hard to be creative
     in the blinding sun.
I can’t see the words
                   pictures
                   letters
                   thoughts
                       through the
                             bright intensity.

I try to look away
     and only
               spots
                     are left.

I have no idea
     what I was looking at
                  or trying to see
              because thanks to the desert sun,
                          I can’t see
                                   anything
                                   at
                                   all.

Step

Posted on June 22 2013 by J.W. Richmond

There is a deep connection
             beneath
                 the disconnect,
     yet we hardly even know
          who they are.
We can’t be a part
  of their days
            weeks
         or years, really.

Everything
     is lost
          from this far
       and overcoming              the distance
                  seems
                     impossible.

We step in
      step out
   as our lives blur by
          and we miss
             out on theirs
                    entirely.

Should(n’t)

Posted on June 15 2013 by J.W. Richmond

I don’t always know
   where the line is –
       when I should shut up
               so I don’t
                   cause any additional trouble or
                   hurt someone unnecessarily
                           and
        when I should speak up
                so I don’t
                   suddenly blow up later.

There are many times
   I am thankful
      that I didn’t say
      what I wanted to say
         at the time
      I wanted to say it.
                But.
There are also many times
   I never meant
      to get so mad
         about something
            that shouldn’t
               be such a big deal,
            and wouldn’t
               have been,
                      if
                  I had just spoken up
                     earlier.

How do I know the difference
         between
         the
         two
     in the moment?
Before it’s
   too late
        to say something
          or
   too late
        to take it back?

Fool

Posted on June 11 2013 by J.W. Richmond

I’m not sure
     how my words actually came across.

I never asked.

It seems too late
               now.

I just keep wondering
     if I made a fool
          of myself,
     if I brave-ishly put myself out there
          but everyone
               still just thinks
                         I’m an idiot.

I don’t need the recognition.
                    (I don’t think.)

I can take the truth.
                    (I think.)

But the silence
           penetrates
           resounds
           tells me how much of a failure
                I really am.

I’d rather
     just be told the truth and
             know it
                instead of having to
             infer it.

(Chroni)logical

Posted on June 7 2013 by J.W. Richmond

I don’t
     always write
            or share
                  as things happen.

I tend to
            p  r  o  c  e  s  s
     so it’s not always
           (chroni)logical,
     and the
          senses
     or the
          sense
              may get
                                lost
                                        somewhere.

Sometimes it’s me
      trying to make
          sense
              of the
                t
            a
              n
                    g
                 l
              e
                       d
                  thoughts
                        I can’t
                             unwind.

I can’t always
  unscramble
  everything
     or fully
  track myself –
        which may make me
            more screwed up
                    than they even have a name for,
                although if they have a name,
                       I’m not sure
                       I’m ready to know it
                              yet.

But it’s real
          true
    and probably more
          raw
     than I actually want to share.

So I’m still trying
         still learning
         still growing.
               (I think.)

And
     maybe
        somehow
        someone
            can glean
        something
                from my mess.
     Maybe even me.

Intentions

Posted on May 31 2013 by J.W. Richmond

Intentions
Intentions

Time passes   ticks         rushes by
          and it’s
    another day I didn’t spend
               with you.

I meant to
  intended to
  wanted to.
I thought of you
  a few times
  a few seconds
     before I got distracted
         by something.

Inklings of you
  brushed by
     again later,
        but I had other things
              to finish
                 accomplish
                 check off.
      Each moment
        pulled me aside and
                 took me away
                                from you.

I didn’t hold on
  to my intentions
        through the       speeding    hours
     and I dropped them
             along
             the
             way
                  somewhere.

I went back for them,
  but they weren’t there.
And then I noticed
        you were gone
    and I’m not even sure
        how long ago you left.

I wanted time with you today.
You waited for me
  until I
        unintentionally
             changed my mind.

I don’t even know
  when I made the choice.

But I will do better
     tomorrow.
  I mean it.
  (I think.)