Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

-- Robert Frost

Moment on Loop

Yesterday

My friend says I was not a good son
you understand
I say yes I understand

he says I did not go
to see my parents very often you know
and I say yes I know

even when I was living in the same city he says
maybe I would go there once
a month or maybe even less
I say oh yes

he says the last time I went to see my father
I say the last time I saw my father

he says the last time I saw my father
he was asking me about my life
how I was making out and he
went into the next room
to get something to give me

oh I say
feeling again the cold
of my fathers hand the last time
he says and my father turned
in the doorway and saw me
look at my wristwatch and he
said you know I would like you to stay
and talk with me

oh yes I say

but if you are busy he said
I don't want you to feel that you
have to
just because I'm here

I say nothing

he says my father
said maybe
you have important work you are doing
or maybe you should be seeing
somebody I dont want to keep you

I look out the window
my friend is older than I am
he says and I told my father it was so
and I got up and left him then
you know

though there was nowhere I had to go
and nothing I had to do

-- W.S. Merwin

The song that could change your life

Gold teeth and a curse for this town were all in my mouth
Only I don't know how they got out, dear
Turn me back into the pet that I was when we met
I was happier then with no mind-set

And if you'd 'a took to me like
A gull takes to the wind
Well, I'd 'a jumped from my tree
And I'd a danced like the king of the eyesores
And the rest of our lives would 'a fared well

New slang when you notice the stripes, the dirt in your fries
Hope it's right when you die, old and bony
Dawn breaks like a bull through the hall,
Never should have called
But my head's to the wall and I'm lonely

And if you'd 'a took to me like
A gull takes to the wind
Well, I'd 'a jumped from my tree
And I'd a danced like the king of the eyesores
And the rest of our lives would 'a fared well

God speed all the bakers at dawn, may they all cut their thumbs
And bleed into their buns till they melt away

I'm looking in on the good life I might be doomed never to find
Without a trust or flaming fields, am I too dumb to refine?
And if you'd 'a took to me, well I'd a danced like the queen
Of the eyesores and the rest of our lives would 'a fared well.


-- The Shins, "New Slang"

So, do we really care? I'd like to think so.

“I’m hardly what I would call an “intellectual.” I think a lot, and I ask a lot of questions and do a lot of reading and watching documentaries, but most of it is just fueling my own personal curiosity. When it comes to having a political opinion, to me that’s almost the same thing as having an opinion on pro wrestling. Politics in this country (and all around the world for that matter) are an impossible tangle of bullshit and corruption. When I start paying attention to it and forming opinions I almost get mad at myself for following the projected storyline. The truth is always far more complex and twisted than what’s being broadcast through the media, and behind it all is a wave of special interest money and propaganda. It almost seems impossible to fix. If I ever had to go on a political talk show I think it would be very hard to take the whole proposition seriously, and I would almost certainly just start ranting about how ridiculous it is that we’re even discussing it instead of unveiling the true motivation behind all world events; people with fuck loads of money want to make more of it, and they don’t give a fuck who has to die to make that happen.”

— Joe Rogan

Introverted Intuition

Of all the people in the world, I am part of 1% that struggle daily to find other like-minded personalities. I guess that explains why I don't exactly have it easy making close long-term friends. But not to worry, I don't think I'm that hard to get along with unless you're a total douche. This not so accurate online test also reveals I'm pretty average. It's another way of saying, "You're special, but you're not that great either". Well, whatever. As long as I get by, I'm fine how I am.

Sunset

We rose from bed, took twelve steps,

and gazed at auburn skies bleeding.  

I took you to the balcony to get away

from the room. Some air, I said.

You couldn’t do more than nod.

Our breaths met the afternoon breeze.

It felt like the final days of summer

long ago, whenever a friend’s mother

sent me away at what time

I did not want

to go home.  

How that left a heavy feeling in my throat;

stones lodged too deep to heave.

The only way to displace the weight

was to let it flow. Later, they became tears—

a child sees endings this way.

That day was no different. Coming outside,

you let go of my hand, stood near the ledge

and caught a glimpse of the low sun.

I watched from behind. Waiting for dusk,

we did not say a word.

No sunset is the same as the last.

Years later, I stopped the flow.

Most of us don’t cry

as often as we used to.

Where there are no pleasant departures

some are more distinct, like the color

of nightfall as I watched you

prepare for everything after, setting it

apart from the others I’ve seen

and have yet to see.