“Master of Peace” won Reserve Best of Show and First Place in Published Poetry at the 2016 Solano County Fair. I’m stunned, honored, and grateful. It appears in the book Id Biscuits. Master of Peace After the world slowly broke my heart into tiny chips of dry paint, you handed me a brush and called me a masterpiece, and I was wise enough to believe you.
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Marin Is…
Thank you, Marin County Fair, for awarding this poem 3rd place in Marvelous Marin Poetry! Marin is… Marin is the stuff of childhood art. Green hills. Blue skies. Cotton candy clouds. Little red farm houses. Happy black and white cows. Marin is the wilderness. The ocean crashing, salty. Seagulls, seals, pelicans. A breath of mountain air. Palm trees. Pines. Redwoods. The inner peace you find out there. Marin is the stuff of dreamers. Hippies. Glorious hippies. Artists. Folkies. Poets. Lefties. Zen. Yoga. Organic foodie perfection. Startups and mom and pops. Lovely families in every direction. Marin is Traffic jams. Business suits. Coffee. Bikers dodging. Hikers escaping.…
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That Voice
If you wrestle with depression, may this poem for you be a weapon. That Voice You know the one? The one that tells you that you aren’t good enough. The one that insults you when life is already tough. The one that has forgotten about self-love. The one that holds a lifelong self-grudge. The one that would for one mistake have you martyred or murdered. The one that keeps a running list of your supposed flaws. The one that won’t ever let you forget until you feel small. Yeah, that one! Don’t listen to it at all! That voice is a fucking liar! Plug your ears! Don’t answer when it…
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Break out your Duster & Sweep ’em Out!
These are two poems that I wrote in response to the ORCEM/VMT issues in Vallejo, CA. I read the second one to the city council and a group of about 200 citizens on January 5th, 2016, among several citizens and Fresh Air Vallejo activists who spoke out. (If you’re so inclined to watch the video, it’s about 58 minutes in.) I believe our town deserves better. Break Out Your Duster I saw the good people of my city today. On the steps of the city hall, they gathered. They chanted, “orcem, orcem, go away. We don’t want you in our city by the bay.” The big cement company and its…
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East Maine Noms
East Maine Noms In the downtown of Enid– that’s my old home town– stands a hungry railroad bridge of great renown. He’s 11’4″ from his teeth to the ground. If you’re a trucker you best avoid East Maine Street, because that old bridge is after a treat. He’ll open you up like a can of sardines, because for the noms, he’s quite keen. He’s chewed on a cookie truck– followed by a soda truck to wash it all down. It doesn’t matter if your cargo’s edible. He’s got a taste for yummy scrap metal. His teeth are ready to chomp on down. Most bridges say, “Don’t feed the troll,” but…
