The end begins\r
Anew\r
Thanks for reading!
Teasing my wife\r
Is the biggest joy of my life\r
She teases back\r
Expertly as she has a knack\r
Nothing's as fun\r
That's how I know I've found the one
These grains of sand\r
They fall\r
And as I watch\r
I realize I will not miss them\r
When they are gone
When you sleep\r
What happens to your love\r
Does it stay\r
Or does it melt away\r
And come back\r
When you wake the next day
She did slumber\r
For the pain and strain was too much\r
The awareness\r
Too acute and overwhelming\r
So there was rest\r
Peace and healing which renewed her\r
Reviving her\r
Preparing her for what comes next\r
Actually wait\r
Nope time to visit urgent care
I find my dreams\r
Too interesting to be a\r
Morning person
The seat I sat upon did fall\r
Into the depths\r
Where butts should never ever go
Will the worst thing you've ever done\r
Persevere as\r
The worst thing you have ever done?
You let it go\r
And off it flies into the world\r
Blinded by hope\r
Lifted up and up by purpose\r
And no one knows\r
How long it will remain aloft
So here they come\r
Days off\r
Full of promise\r
And yet\r
I'm quite lazy
Is there enough\r
Room to take all of the steps back\r
Is there enough\r
Distance available to see\r
Is there enough\r
To get the perspective I need
Spoilers!\r
But I must say\r
I thought this day would never come\r
Yet here we are\r
Chewie finally got his medal\r
It's about time
In the morning\r
It will be a long time ago\r
And it will be\r
In a galaxy far away\r
Pew pew pew pew
Build\r
Something\r
That's never been\r
And then\r
The whole world wins
Blankets cascade like waterfalls\r
Off the couch back\r
As I recline and rest my head\r
Soft and happy\r
With a cat on top of it all
If you go deep\r
You'll find\r
Death\r
To be\r
The one true source\r
Of everyone's motivation\r
For without it\r
There would always be time later\r
And that later\r
Would not\r
Come
We spend so much time competing\r
Which can be great\r
As long as our adversaries\r
Are the unknown\r
And time\r
Not each other
A brand new year\r
So close\r
I could reach out\r
And touch what will hopefully be\r
The best year yet
A winged javelin\r
Thrown by a powerful giant\r
Soars through the air\r
Forged from pure ingenuity\r
It hits it mark\r
A tiny speck miles away\r
And when it lands\r
You can use your cell phone again
Glowing ears dance in the darkness\r
There is no sound\r
Until suddenly there's singing\r
And joy erupts
Rain falls\r
Destiny calls\r
Let's see how the weather turns out
Mirror\r
Reflect\r
You\r
Inspect\r
See\r
Defect\r
Not\r
Perfect\r
Then\r
Elect\r
Feel\r
Respect
We expand wide\r
And deep\r
And up and up\r
Grappling for we know not what\r
And we find joy\r
And pain\r
And often fear\r
But we go and we do not stop\r
Far and quickly\r
Because we are always reaching\r
Or we're fleeing\r
Chased screaming into the unknown\r
By silent dark
Even poets\r
Can forget to write their poems\r
On packing days\r
When travel looms largely ahead
Nothing else\r
Is quite like the terror\r
Of finding\r
A database full of\r
Passwords stored\r
In completely plain text
As moths\r
Are drawn to flame\r
All cats\r
Seek laptop heat
Panic\r
In the kernel\r
Is not a fun thing to dance to
My mind's inside\r
A small\r
Dark\r
Cold box\r
With shrinking walls\r
Label reads: \"Travel logistics\"
If there is time\r
I will do some amazing things\r
If there is time\r
I can make anything happen\r
If there is time\r
I have some incredible plans\r
If there is time\r
I think I can find some more time\r
If there is time
If you feel slow\r
Heavy\r
Overburdened\r
And quite overcomplicated\r
That's all normal\r
If you're a JavaScript framework
One more month\r
Of these daily poems\r
Then I'm free!
If words\r
Arranged themselves\r
Into sublime masterpieces\r
As nature does\r
With stars\r
And with sunsets\r
And the petals of a flower\r
Would writers yield\r
Cameras\r
In lieu of pens\r
While pursuing the very same\r
Which is some words\r
Arranged\r
So carefully\r
They evoke a bit of magic
Sweetness\r
Often sticky\r
Sometimes comes with a sting or two
A green-eyed void\r
Shepherds its humans to slumber\r
Every evening\r
With demanding mews and meows\r
For the night came\r
And it demands the ritual
A universe of warmth and joy\r
Will fit inside\r
One small corner of a second\r
With room to spare\r
Because love is not bound by time
Marriage\r
Noun\r
Drama
If we all exist inside a\r
Simulation\r
Then someone needs to comment out\r
The lines of code\r
That make paper cuts hurt so much
As a cat\r
The concept of a room\r
Where water\r
Gushes out of the walls\r
Offends me
The light tells us many stories\r
While the darkness\r
Is trusted to keep our secrets
Doing a lot\r
Begins\r
With a little
A big part\r
Of living your best life\r
Is knowing\r
When the time comes for a\r
New pillow
\"Spared no expense\"\r
But John\r
That's not correct\r
You spared an expense in IT\r
And had you not\r
I think things would have gone better\r
With a bit less\r
Of the people getting eaten\r
'Cause those fences\r
Those would have stayed electrified
Even when we get something right\r
There's still the urge\r
To continue improving it\r
Which sometimes works\r
Sometimes
The body falls apart\r
As the mind\r
Builds higher and higher
I can give you a five year plan\r
Packed with detail\r
Just give me four and a half years
You stopped getting taller\r
Long ago\r
But are you still growing?
If you believe nothing matters\r
Why read poems?
Type several sentences\r
Make a face\r
Delete most sentences\r
Make a face\r
Repeat until deadline\r
That's writing
Scissors\r
Inverted T\r
Escape\r
Larger spacing\r
Thus a light pierces the darkness\r
And hope returns
I gave expensive socks a try\r
And they were nice\r
But they didn't knock themselves off
What are these words\r
Born in my imagination\r
Stored statically\r
Waiting\r
To be reborn\r
To take on a new unique life\r
Are words alive\r
Or freeze dried imagination\r
Rehydrated\r
By the next person that reads them
There's no instruction manual\r
No time to learn\r
And yes\r
Zero prep time\r
So good luck with this thing called life
Though pizza is best with toppings\r
There are still times\r
When cheese\r
Is all you need
Catra\r
Dearest Catra\r
You haven't made the best choices\r
But it's never\r
Too late\r
To look within\r
For the good I know you suppress\r
And to know love\r
That stings
Blue turns to black\r
Sound fades\r
The twinkles cease\r
And the boundless void welcomes you
This year\r
Daily poems\r
Next year\r
A blank canvas
Nothing happens\r
Then everything happens at once\r
What's up with that?
Simplicity\r
Just like an AMC Pacer\r
Is quite hard to\r
Maintain
Say yes\r
You're on the hook\r
Now guess\r
The toll that took
I like to imagine cat purrs\r
Puppy breath\r
And those cute curious head tilts\r
Are all produced\r
In the same magic factory
Happy birthday\r
To you\r
My lovely wife\r
With whom I love to share my life\r
You're really great\r
And I feel meeting you was fate\r
Not just because\r
My shoulder was where the cat was\r
As every day\r
Still makes my heart jump and go \"yay!\"\r
So I look forward\r
To the future we're moving toward\r
And many years\r
Of more laughter and joy and cheers
Today's joys\r
Are all the spooky vibes\r
Full-size bars\r
And seeing dogs and cats\r
In costume
Doth thine beautiful rose\r
Not wither\r
Under the ravages\r
Of not time\r
But the weight of beauty\r
And longing\r
And the immense pressure\r
That comes with\r
Being a flawless work\r
Or rather\r
A thing perceived as such\r
Sans effort\r
With those who look upon\r
Wanting more\r
But eventually\r
Withering\r
Turns from death to new life\r
And then soon\r
A ravishing rose grows\r
Once again\r
And we are charmed all over\r
And doth not\r
These same forces apply\r
To Apple\r
And their buggy software\r
So wake me\r
When clicking on upgrade\r
Withers not\r
In lieu of blossoming
What if a tree's entire life\r
Is just one big\r
Drawn out\r
Satisfying\r
Stretch?
What truth\r
Of a person\r
And the deepest depths of their soul\r
Cannot be found\r
On their spouse's Twitter account?
Use bricks\r
Light\r
Some paint\r
Sugar and spice\r
Or whatever's laying around\r
To shape and form\r
Combine\r
Blend\r
Refine\r
And realign\r
Push hard until you make something\r
Create something\r
Something\r
You might just hate\r
Or love\r
Or not care for\r
But this thing that wasn't will be\r
Available\r
To see\r
Or to cradle\r
To feel\r
And now the world\r
Will be the place where this thing is\r
And not a place\r
Without
A boy from the desert\r
Likes it cold\r
While a girl from the north\r
Likes it warm
Do present-day Reese's Pieces\r
Look to the past\r
At those who sacrificed themselves\r
Making E.T.\r
And consider them true heroes\r
For without them\r
And the impact they had on us\r
Reese's Pieces\r
May have been lost to the ages\r
A small footnote\r
At best
Lost it\r
Cannot find it\r
Bought a new one to replace it\r
Can't return it\r
Found it
When a seed peers up at a tree\r
Does it realize\r
What potential it has to be?
Why does delight\r
Tend to encourage our silence\r
While displeasure\r
Does not
Hello\r
Scheduled maintenance\r
Thank you for keeping us online\r
And performant\r
And safe
What force\r
Has such power\r
To strand people both young and old\r
As surge pricing
All the world's resplendent beauty\r
Cannot be seen\r
Through a broken and dirty lens
People believe there's no magic\r
Only because\r
People take magic for granted
A lone speck of light in the dark\r
Around which spins\r
A sphere with all our hopes and dreams\r
Turn after turn\r
For future eons beyond count\r
And hopefully\r
Not cold and empty and silent\r
Anytime soon
The stream pools\r
Depth grows beneath the leaves\r
The rain falls\r
It's all temporary\r
And sublime
Amber light falls\r
Blanketing the room like warm snow\r
All is cozy\r
Bedtime
I'm paralyzed\r
Trying to choose a wallpaper\r
For my new phone
Tumble dry\r
And then much time passes\r
Cycle's done\r
But my clothes are still damp
Cat's in a cone\r
Can't lick\r
Where she wants to\r
She's sad\r
And also mad\r
So her gaze is cold as a stone
Can one basket\r
Ever\r
Be good enough\r
To trust with every single egg?
Long propped open\r
The door of the chicken restaurant\r
I now find closed\r
Thus the cold weather has arrived
There are more books than you can read\r
So read the one\r
Which explains how to live with that
I peer\r
Into the well\r
That is my imagination\r
And find only\r
These words
Does this\r
Art\r
Matter?
Out of all the boxes\r
In storage\r
None contained what I sought\r
But many\r
Now contain sweat and tears
Wife requested\r
\"Make an Apple Watch face for me\"\r
And thus the sweat\r
Rains down
Whence came these words\r
Directly from my mind to yours\r
Now your thoughts too\r
In your head I paint the walls blue
Three\r
Simple\r
Words
When did you last\r
Truly give everything you have\r
And accomplish\r
Not just something incredible\r
But provide proof\r
That you can do more than you thought
Ordered a mouse\r
Which has been delayed three times now\r
Each postponement\r
Makes me want it oh so much more
My unread feeds\r
Number\r
In the thousands\r
And so\r
I guess I should\r
Unsubscribe from a few of them
Automatic dark mode\r
You've a week\r
To show me your splendor\r
Or to fail\r
And have me banish you
Light streams down and hits the water\r
And reflected\r
Are all the possibilities\r
Of the unknown
Pro tip:\r
If you decide\r
To do a thing-a-day project\r
This coming year\r
Take time to really think it through\r
Trust me on this\r
It's a real slog come September
Ah chicken place\r
Conveniently across the street\r
We enjoy you\r
But you are so inconsistent\r
It's amazing\r
One day our order is perfect\r
And then the next\r
Three things missing and some are cold\r
But what are we\r
Lovers of low-effort chicken\r
Supposed to do?
Thirteen zero\r
In the short time you were with us\r
You showed us all\r
What it's like to use a beta\r
So I welcome\r
Your new successor thirteen one\r
With fewer bugs\r
But not so few that we forget\r
What beta's like
It rained today\r
I smiled up at the gray sky\r
Thankful for it\r
As my dried-out desert-born bones\r
Bloomed with delight
A lot of stuff comes in the house\r
And too little\r
Comes out
Logic Pro X\r
I've tried quite hard to make this work\r
You try your best\r
But I'm a podcast editor\r
And your first love\r
Was and always shall be music\r
And to be blunt\r
I just don't like the sound of that
Imagine a bee's elation\r
Upon finding\r
A row of eight soda spigots
My eyes can see\r
Skin feels\r
My ears hear sounds\r
I can sample many flavors\r
And all the smells!\r
Evolution is amazing\r
And gives such gifts\r
But wait\r
As I grow old\r
Why does hair grow from strange places?!\r
Curse these strange genes!
I stop myself\r
From getting too lost in my work\r
But I struggle\r
For sometimes I want to be lost
From the void\r
Two eyes stare back at me\r
And they speak\r
They call me to action\r
Their request:\r
You must feed me right now\r
For you see\r
I am a pretty cat
A new season\r
The air showcases a crisp chill\r
A bit of rain\r
The sky pleasantly overcast\r
This is my jam
Countless sunsets\r
Possessing astounding beauty\r
And pure brilliance\r
Permeate this vast universe\r
And they happen\r
Every moment of every day\r
With most unseen\r
Their grandeur lacking a witness\r
We are too far\r
So instead of distant splendor\r
We see what's close\r
But what's close can be just as grand\r
As majestic\r
For doesn't love burn as brightly\r
If not more so\r
Than the biggest of the big stars\r
And it fills us\r
In a unique way a vista\r
Just cannot match\r
So maybe we have the best view\r
Oh wait hang on\r
I forgot planetary rings\r
So delightful...\r
Yeah the universe has us beat
What is life?\r
What are we meant to do?\r
What matters?\r
Why is cheese delicious?
I squeeze the stone that is my brain\r
Hoping words drip\r
And a poem-shaped blot appears
USB-C\r
Lightning\r
USB-A\r
And of course Micro-USB\r
Universal\r
(Oh yes)\r
Serial Bus\r
You are such a wonderful mess
Cat in my lap\r
And a really good shower head\r
Are what I miss\r
When I travel away from home\r
(Also my bed)
Tired\r
Very tired\r
Too tired to know how tired\r
Falling asleep\r
So ti\u2013
Wait a second\r
Didn't I publish a poem\r
Just yesterday?
I've been wondering who I am\r
I look within\r
And I see myself looking back\r
Just as confused\r
As if reflecting off water\r
Rippled and lost\r
At sea\r
So now I need\r
To either locate a good boat\r
Or learn to swim
Fame comes easy\r
If you are already famous\r
So best of luck!
I can do almost anything\r
Except of course\r
Choose a specific thing to do
When you travel\r
The items you forget to bring\r
Forget themselves
When my wife says\r
Her podcast will last an hour\r
She is lying
On my way down the rabbit hole\r
I optimized\r
A few regular expressions\r
And I'm still far\r
So far\r
From the bottom
Thirty-eight times around our star\r
And here I am\r
Still learning every single day\r
Still excited\r
Still filled with curiosity\r
Still wondering\r
Still trying hard to understand\r
Still venturing\r
Into the vast unknown future\r
Exploring time\r
Along with billions of others\r
An adventure\r
Both forced upon me and welcome\r
It defines me\r
It is also defined by me\r
It is a dance\r
Of cause and effect and chaos\r
I know some steps\r
And most days some steps are enough\r
But even then\r
Sometimes stumbling is the best move\r
So here's step one\r
Of my thirty-ninth rotation\r
What song is next?
Thank the gods\r
Monday's a holiday
Bricks upon bricks\r
Each alone insignificant\r
But united\r
Nearly limitless potential\r
Lego is great
Rose red\r
And violet blue\r
These are today's poem colors\r
I just need two
As one person\r
I cannot do all of the things\r
But if I'm calm\r
And stop myself from freaking out\r
Then I can do\r
Some things
I would prefer some tidy stacks\r
But currently\r
My life is in unkempt piles
A boulder chained to an anchor\r
That's how it feels\r
When it is time to do laundry\r
But before that\r
You have to unpack your suitcase
Sometimes when you take the trash out\r
That's all it is\r
But sometimes there is a surprise\r
That takes the form\r
Of a very friendly pupper\r
Who is quite glad\r
To meet\r
You
Overhead shot\r
Many ingredients combined\r
Heat until done\r
Slow cut with pomp and circumstance\r
Much shiny goo\r
Now you know of another dish\r
You won't have time\r
To ever\r
Make
She's gone\r
And you miss her\r
She's back\r
And you kiss her\r
She aches\r
And so you rub\r
She coos\r
And so you hug\r
She's great\r
And it's delight\r
She's love\r
And sparks ignite
Sometimes\r
Grocery shopping\r
Means buying nothing but ice cream\r
And it's allowed\r
Because you are a grown adult\r
With credit cards
What if I told you\r
Yes the you reading this poem right now\r
That you're doing good\r
That you did a good job just recently\r
I know this is true\r
Because everyone everywhere contains\r
Some amount of good\r
And it is important to call that out\r
Every now and then\r
So thank you for the good that's within you\r
And yes I mean you
Where do days go\r
When spent?\r
Do they hang out\r
Telling stories about what was\r
Safe in the past\r
Enjoying their retirement?\r
Or are they gone\r
Countless moments lost forever\r
Only preserved\r
In inadequate mediums\r
Like photographs\r
And song\r
And memories
This life\r
Is all there is\r
This life\r
Is everything\r
Scarcity bound with multitudes\r
A duo's dance\r
Much at once and nothing at all\r
Equitable\r
Unfair\r
Here we all are\r
Together doing what we can\r
And what we can't\r
All in discordant harmony
How much\r
Art\r
Science\r
Love\r
Progress\r
And just plain joy\r
Have we all collectively lost \r
Because this world\r
This society we have built\r
Makes everyone\r
Deeply\r
Incredibly\r
Tired
Cats look out windows to the world\r
And feel the same\r
As I when I gaze at the stars
If you're reading this from the far future\r
Congratulations\r
With the surviving as a species thing\r
Or hello alien!
Leaves\r
Don't know\r
What green tastes like
Cute paw\r
Tiny and soft\r
With beans\r
Fur\r
And ouch\r
Those claws are sharp
Poem?\r
Poem poem!\r
Poem
I read this line of code:\r] // end bracket\r
And died inside a bit
Adorable enamel pin\r
You looked smaller\r
Online\r
And now you're here\r
And I fear you are just too large\r
For my backpack
If simplicity came in jars\r
They'd be labeled\r
Warning: contains complexity
Is it magic\r
If it\r
Can be measured?
There is so much potential joy\r
To discover\r
When being kind for kindness' sake
A poem walks into a bar\r
Bartender asks\r
\"Care to imbibe a fine cocktail?\"\r
Poem replies\r
\"Many thanks but no, I'm a verse.\"
If you're in a relationship\r
With someone tall\r
You will save a lot of money\r
On step ladders
Time is the glaring barista\r
Staring at you\r
In the coffee shop of your life\r
Before closing
Could God\r
Write JavaScript\r
So bogged down by hot new frameworks\r
That even She\r
Would have no hope of debugging?
I was sure\r
It was impossible\r
Very sure\r
But then I thought maybe\r
Just perhaps\r
And that one ray of hope\r
And hard work\r
Showed me what was really\r
Possible
All the hard work\r
The pain\r
The desperate pleas\r
The uncontrollable yearning\r
All that and more\r
Matters\r
Not\r
Because\r
A lone pixel\r
Will never have a chance to see\r
The big picture\r
Until\r
It becomes more\r
Than a\r
Dot
Today I thought of this project\r
And I realized\r
I could\r
Stop\r
But then\r
I would look back\r
And sincerely regret that choice\r
So I'm writing\r
Today and all the days to come\r
Because later\r
When I look back at this next year\r
I want to see\r
A year of creativity\r
I want to feel\r
Pride in a vast accomplishment\r
I want to be\r
Who I hoped I was at the start\r
I want to love\r
At least some of what I've written\r
But most of all\r
I don't want to let myself down
Oh wow\r
It is August\r
That's it\r
That's the poem
We have a cat\r
And this cat we have is all black\r
And yet my wife\r
Calls this cat we have a snausage\r
For no reason\r
Except it's a fun word to say\r
It's so silly\r
And I love her so much for it
Wet rich darkness\r
Go up because it is not down\r
Surface in light\r
Blinding rich nourishing brilliance\r
Reach up and out\r
Expand to capture every ounce\r
Of rain and rays\r
In a sea of utter chaos\r
You are sublime\r
Unmoving but always growing\r
Nowhere to be\r
Because where you are is perfect\r
You sway and sigh\r
Simultaneously content\r
And wanting more\r
Hello\r
Tree
When I was young\r
I recall adults often said\r
\"World's gonna end\"\r
And now as an adult today\r
I think the same\r
And hope I'm as wrong as they were
I feel as if\r
I'm running out of ideas\r
I know I'm not\r
But I cannot help how I feel\r
And of the two\r
Being unable to control\r
Feeling this way\r
And feeling the feelings themselves\r
I just don't know\r
Which is\r
Worse
Can sand\r
Near the ocean\r
Tell the difference between the waves\r
And a rainstorm?
A Bethesda.net\r
Account is\r
Required to read this
It's new\r
I was afraid\r
It's new\r
I was convinced\r
It's new\r
So I tried it\r
It's new\r
Not sure of this\r
It's new\r
Afraid again\r
It's old\r
What about new?
Once you realize\r
All words are arbitrary sounds\r
Made by people\r
You will have both the liberty\r
And spenaphere\r
To make up any words you want
You\r
Stranger\r
Are far away\r
But through the wizardry of words\r
You can now see\r
In your mind's eye a butterfly\r
If that isn't\r
Magic\r
Then nothing is
From the limitless span of space\r
And boundless time\r
This lone speck is your moment\r
One iota\r
Gifted by an incredible\r
Dark universe\r
What can you do with your tiny dot\r
Lost in vastness\r
Vulnerable and powerless\r
Can an ocean\r
Even notice a single drop\r
How can it not\r
An ocean is nothing but drops\r
And who's to say\r
One single little tiny drop\r
Is not itself\r
A vast and powerful ocean\r
With the power\r
To make some monumental waves
Chaos\r
Versus order\r
One of many endless battles\r
Or are we wrong\r
Are these two opposing forces\r
Or partners\r
Working together forever\r
To find balance\r
To bring us all some harmony\r
To nurture calm\r
By producing a raging storm\r
It's hard to say\r
If neither side ever triumphs\r
Or if both do
The great stories\r
The truly moving heartfelt tales\r
The ones you hear\r
And tell\r
So many times\r
And yet they never lose their shine\r
They give us form\r
Guide us\r
Teach us lessons\r
Give us a glimpse of what might be\r
We owe so much\r
To stories that really matter\r
We owe them growth\r
We owe them a better future\r
We owe a debt\r
Made of the fabric of our lives\r
And we pay it\r
With our deeds and words and triumphs\r
And we pay them\r
By creating and by telling\r
The great stories
What if\r
The solution\r
To all these horrible problems\r
Is as simple\r
As us\r
All being kind?\r
And\r
What if\r
The solution\r
To all these horrible problems\r
Is as complex\r
As us\r
All being kind?
Rain falls\r
It hits the ground\r
Joins its friends to form a puddle\r
The puddle drains\r
Eventually a river\r
Sweeps it away\r
Towards a vast and shifting ocean\r
To call a home\r
But the sky always finds the drop\r
And lifts it up\r
With wind and the force of nature\r
A small cloud soars\r
Building itself ever bigger\r
Until the sky\r
Dark and grey and full and bursting\r
Descends again\r
And the adventure of the drop\r
Begins once more\r
Beautiful and perpetual\r
Always the same\r
Always incredibly different\r
The drop plummets\r
Rain falls
When it comes to\r
Making a useful todo list\r
The hardest part\r
Is being honest with yourself\r
About what you\r
And by you I mean future you\r
Can really do
Do something nice\r
For them\r
Or just for you\r
Or both\r
Doesn't matter\r
Either way things will be nicer
A bird\r
Stands by a lamp\r
It waits for the bus in the rain\r
It plays a game\r
From underneath its umbrella\r
And then it yawns\r
Nefarious thoughts in its head\r
When it gets home\r
Its keys will go on the nightstand\r
It will shower\r
Cleansing its feathers with shampoo\r
And in its head\r
Thoughts collide with reality\r
Fly away bird\r
Cause us no trouble on this night
We have\r
The resources\r
The skill\r
The ambition\r
The boundless imagination\r
The pleading cries\r
The time\r
And a real need\r
To make the world a better place\r
But we do not\r
For a multitude of reasons\r
That many think\r
Are very, very important\r
But are in fact\r
Garbage
Sometimes\r
You start writing\r
A poem about loving cheese\r
And then realize\r
That you are simply too tired\r
To write it well\r
And you don't want to let cheese down\r
So you write this\r
Instead
My wife\r
Tweets\r
My life\r
But\r
Omits\r
NSFW\r
Which leaves\r
Cash\r
On the\r
Proverbial\r
Table
If you were a poem\r
Would you know\r
What you were all about?
Sometimes if you get off the bus\r
One stop early\r
You'll get there faster than the bus\r
And this poem\r
Is not about public transit
Guy walks in to 2019\r
Says, \"I got it\r
\"I'll write a poem every day\"\r
Bartender asks\r
\"You know what you're getting into?\"\r
Guy says, \"Hell no!\"
Which way did you decide to go\r
When you woke up\r
Are you on a smoothly paved road\r
A rocky trail\r
Or bravely forging a new path\r
Is it easy\r
Or incredibly difficult\r
What's your heading\r
Do you have a map to guide you\r
Or is the map\r
One of the products of your quest\r
On arrival\r
Who will be there to welcome you\r
Or will you be\r
The first
Sometimes\r
There's just nothing\r
Nothing to write no words about\r
But then again\r
Nothing is itself a topic\r
Voids can have shapes\r
Edges to observe and describe\r
An emptiness\r
Is filled with various stories\r
What was once there?\r
What will be there in the future?\r
So is nothing\r
Really and truly so empty\r
If there's so much\r
To say
A park\r
Dark\r
At night\r
Ripe for mischief\r
Have fun\r
And don't get caught
I wonder\r
What yesterday's poem\r
Would have said\r
If I had remembered\r
To write it
Colors\r
Just indicate\r
The flavor of light an object\r
Prefers to steal
The old trees in a city park\r
Those there before\r
People built with stone and steel\r
All around them\r
A forest of angles and glass\r
Those ancient trees\r
Must be\r
Very confused
Make something that really matters\r
Make yourself proud\r
Make it\r
Art
About seven\r
Billion billion billion atoms\r
Born long ago\r
Ancient and precious particles\r
Are what you are\r
Everything that's you was a star\r
As old as time\r
Now assembled as something new\r
An arrangement\r
Unfathomable multitudes\r
Brought together\r
In a way never seen before\r
You are power\r
You are a brand new cosmic force\r
Both young and old\r
And bold\r
A unique spark\r
With the potential to ignite\r
An unmatched flame\r
Blazing with superlative light\r
Piercing the dark\r
Of all unknown remaining time
Focus\r
As a pupper\r
Focuses on a flying ball
The cursor blinks\r
And thirsts\r
Each flash screaming\r
\"I demand words now now now now!\"\r
I hear it yell\r
Feel it\r
Try to provide\r
For it wants the same thing I want\r
So this cursor\r
Winking\r
Is it a prompt\r
Or a mirror simply reflecting
Weakness\r
Does not detract\r
From the beauty of a bubble
Which day\r
Was the last day\r
I was proud to spend as I did\r
Proud of my deeds\r
Proud of difficult decisions\r
Proud of kindness\r
Proud of choosing to step aside\r
Proud to make room\r
Proud to lend my strength to the weak\r
Proud to wonder\r
Proud to find some hidden treasure\r
When was that day\r
And when\r
Will it happen\r
Again?
Poem\r
Noun\r
Some words\r
Arranged such that\r
They hopefully do not induce\r
Nausea or pain
I thought the work\r
The act\r
Was the struggle\r
But no\r
The real challenge\r
Is hearing people's opinions
There's a moment\r
When characters are too happy\r
That you realize\r
The writers will not let this stand\r
So you prepare\r
For the pain you know is coming\r
Yet when it comes\r
It stings every bit as keenly\r
And at that point\r
The only smiles to be found\r
Are on faces\r
Of the villains and the writers
I like it when our faces interact\r
It makes me smile\r
Which further heightens the experience
Push\r
Harder\r
Keep it going\r
Strive for more and strive for better\r
'Cause if you stop\r
Who will\r
Push
Do fireflies\r
Consider themselves noteworthy\r
Because their glow\r
Is unique and quite beautiful?\r
Do you ever\r
Consider yourself noteworthy\r
Because your glow\r
Is unique and quite beautiful?
Do trees consider libraries\r
To be graveyards\r
Or vast monuments of knowledge
Right now\r
And every now\r
At many spots across the globe\r
There are sunsets\r
Of such incredible beauty\r
Of such splendor\r
That seeing them would give you pause\r
But that beauty\r
As magnificent as it is\r
Is so often\r
Ignored\r
As so many\r
Don't ponder what they cannot see\r
But maybe now\r
When you're feeling sad or alone\r
You'll consider\r
These unseen majestic displays\r
And just knowing\r
Such grandeur exists in the world\r
At this moment\r
And all of the other moments\r
Will be enough\r
To shine some light on your darkness\r
From a whole world\r
Away
Attempt to take one hundred steps\r
At the same time\r
And fall\r
But\r
Those steps\r
One at a time\r
Will take you a very long way
The rules:\r
Ambiguous\r
Timeframe:\r
A mystery\r
Peril:\r
Nearly constant\r
Your goal:\r
Often shifting\r
Choices:\r
Good luck with those\r
What's next:\r
No way to know\r
And yet\r
The potential\r
For joy\r
Some adventure\r
Deep love\r
The brightest lights\r
Wonder\r
Sublime music\r
Kindness\r
Astonishment\r
Delight\r
All that and more\r
In this\r
Life
Sometimes\r
All that's needed\r
Is a single very good day
Maybe this will be the weekend\r
I accomplish\r
Something
What should be done\r
Is not\r
What must be done\r
It's vital\r
To know which one\r
Is which
Marry someone\r
With text editor opinions\r
And life won't bore
Fur and claws surround soft smooth pads\r
Tempting to touch\r
Precious\r
Beans
One hundred fifty-nine poems\r
That's how many\r
Before I forgot to write one\r
So yesterday\r
Has a hole I can never fill\r
And it's easy\r
Oh so incredibly easy\r
To focus on\r
That one\r
Void\r
Despite\r
Overwhelming\r
Success on every day prior\r
It's so easy\r
To focus on where we have failed\r
It's too easy\r
To let that shadow block the light\r
To drown in dark\r
To halt and frown and just lay down\r
Just one failure\r
Can act as such potent poison\r
But to do so\r
It needs your help and attention\r
So I can stare\r
At the gap that is my mistake\r
Or I can look\r
At one hundred fifty-nine wins\r
And it's my choice\r
What the me of tomorrow sees\r
When looking back\r
So I would like to welcome you\r
To this poem\r
Win number one hundred sixty
She was gone\r
But now she has returned\r
Wasn't long\r
And yet I yearned and yearned
Five days then two\r
Thus the weekend falls upon you\r
Forty-eight new\r
What is less important than who
When did you last\r
Regret\r
Going to bed\r
Early?
Sand\r
Vast sky\r
A distant hole\r
One ball\r
And now and then\r
A rock\r
Desert Golfing
I simply can not justify\r
Seven thousand\r
Dollars\r
For a display\r
But wait...\r
No\r
And yet...\r
Nope\r
Perhaps?\r
Certainly not\r
It's completely unthinkable...\r
I should at least\r
Wait for comprehensive reviews\r
And then not buy\r
Of course\r
Because seven\r
Thousand\r
Is a whole lot\r
Like wow\r
Yeah\r
No way\r
Not happening\r
Nuh uh\r
(But maybe though)
Yes I could stop and lay down here\r
I am tired\r
But then\r
I'd miss what's next
The cursor blinks\r
I stare\r
The hours pass\r
The words\r
Are elusive
Today\r
A day wiser\r
Than the me of just yesterday\r
And tomorrow\r
Again
Goodbye\r
May of twenty\r
Nineteen\r
You had some ups\r
And downs\r
And now comes June\r
Vessel\r
Of the future\r
Bringer\r
Of adventure\r
Portent\r
Of untold risk\r
Keeper\r
Of so many\r
Amazing possibilities
The holodeck\r
Caused a huge number of problems\r
And all of them\r
Could have been fixed quite easily\r
With an off switch
Some days I grow weary\r
Of poems\r
But every day I write\r
And sometimes\r
I get a nice surprise
I need to make\r
A huge\r
List\r
And then\r
Avoid being\r
Crushed under it
One thousand things that I could do\r
Picking which one\r
Should not\r
Be what I pick
Decide to\r
Run your own mail server\r
Decide to\r
Punish your future self
I almost bought pink shoes today\r
And I'm not sure\r
If that was a wise fashion choice\r
Or cowardice\r
Or both\r
Or something else
To your left\r
The things you need to do\r
To your right\r
The things you want to do\r
Straight ahead\r
Things you'll regret doing\r
So it goes
A watched Xcode\r
Never finishes installing
What do you assume when you speak?\r
Are simple words\r
Concealing complexity?\r
What did you say?\r
And whom\r
Did you expect\r
Would understand your true meaning?\r
Say what you mean\r
But also\r
Mean what you say\r
And then\r
Compare the two
A butterfly\r
Flaps its third-generation wings\r
But are those wings\r
Old ones\r
Or updated\r
To be a bit less horrible?
So much to do\r
So much of which is left undone\r
So much discarded and abandoned in the dark forgotten past\r
So much that seemed so important\r
So much inconsequential stuff that was okay to let go of\r
So much time and energy lost\r
Not on doing\r
But worrying about doing\r
So let it go
The intense competitive play\r
For various\r
Ceremonial power chairs\r
Has concluded
Does mattering\r
Matter?\r
If mattering\r
Matters\r
To whom does it\r
Matter?\r
Why's it matter\r
If things\r
Matter to them?\r
So then\r
What's the matter?
And thus my hands did weep\r
For the towels\r
Were all being laundered
The raindrop falls\r
The eager ground rushes upward\r
When the two meet\r
Tiny\r
Splash
That video\r
The song you enjoyed this morning\r
All your photos\r
And even this very poem\r
All just numbers\r
So many things are just numbers\r
So remember\r
That the sum is so much greater\r
Than all the parts\r
And what really matters the most?\r
The arrangement
That moment\r
When the air turns to gold\r
The heavens\r
Bleeding every color\r
It's a dance\r
A waltz of light and sky\r
A short glimpse\r
Of actual magic
Sunsets\r
Back in Phoenix\r
Were often quite astonishing\r
But Seattle\r
Has an important advantage\r
In the form of\r
Not trying to murder with heat
If you become\r
Emotionally invested\r
In a program\r
With only male writers on staff\r
You will become\r
Very sad and disappointed
The clouds of the tempest parted\r
For an instant\r
And I glimpsed the bright light beyond\r
I bathed in it\r
The rays invigorated me\r
I was renewed\r
But then the storm wrenched it away\r
Plunging me back\r
Into\r
Dark\r
And yet\r
That brief brilliance...\r
It was enough for me to know\r
I'm advancing\r
I'm pushing back against the storm\r
The onslaught wanes\r
I know the storm is eternal\r
It will always\r
Be there\r
My companion\r
Regardless of what I might wish\r
But the same truth\r
Applies\r
To radiance\r
Beyond the endless wind and rain\r
An endless warmth\r
Waiting for me to beat the storm\r
To force it back\r
So light won't be the exception\r
And until then\r
I've got this fancy umbrella
If I could do\r
A quarter of what I hope to\r
On the weekend\r
I would be so rich and famous
When everything happens so much\r
It can be hard\r
Hard to concentrate on one thing\r
And one who tries\r
To do multiple things at once\r
Will make mistakes\r
And sometimes mistakes are the worst\r
So everything\r
Could you chill for a hot second\r
Thank you so much
If\r
I had\r
Some extra time\r
This would be a shorter poem\r
About the difficulties of proper and good time management\r
Alas I only had a few minutes before retiring for the evening so I must apologize for the extra length
Thirty-two bit\r
You won't work in ten dot fifteen\r
So now it's time\r
For some new audio plugins\r
Wow so costly
What do you want to be when you grow up?\r
A simple question\r
Based on the assumption that you'll grow up\r
Or do just one thing\r
So it's really a horrible question\r
Best to ignore it\r
And release yourself from all that pressure
Last chance to lock in founder's rates\r
Which I have done\r
So if you like what you're reading\r
You can pay now
Found a file\r
Name of JSON.rtf\r
So that's my day\r
How's yours?
Art's on the wall\r
I ask\r
What was your goal?\r
Was it\r
Finding the art\r
Was it\r
Owning the art\r
Was it\r
Framing the art\r
Was it\r
Hanging the art\r
Was it\r
Something deeper?\r
Is the point to feel inspired?\r
Why's that matter?\r
How will the inspiration help?\r
What can you do\r
With that art hanging on your wall\r
That you could not\r
Prior?\r
Have you gone deep\r
To the core of your intentions\r
To find the truth\r
To realize your motivations\r
May have nothing\r
To do\r
With hanging art?
The weight of my yeses\r
Is greater\r
Than the strength of my time
One night\r
I tried to write\r
And some poem-like bits came out\r
But none of them\r
Were a complete and whole poem\r
So I wrote this\r
Instead
Is any price\r
Too high\r
For some more time?
An optimistic decision\r
Is dangerous\r
Whereas a prudent decision\r
Is quite boring
Winter has come\r
Oh heck
The plant droops under its own weight\r
So stems are cut\r
Now with less more is possible
Inbox zero\r
I know it's been a long while\r
But I miss you\r
And I'm trying hard to come back
Consider\r
All possibilities\r
To select\r
That which is most germane\r
So that means\r
Determining focus\r
Requires\r
Abandoning focus\r
For a time\r
But only for a time
In the forest that is your life\r
You see the trees\r
And you know the forest exists\r
But you're in it\r
Indeed\r
You are the woods\r
How can you fly or float up high\r
How can you soar\r
So you're above the canopy\r
So you can see\r
More than just the trees of your life
The construction of new routines\r
A tiring\r
Exact\r
Unforgiving\r
Lengthy\r
Requirement\r
Worth the investment in the end
A cat\r
Gets used to things\r
And when said things suddenly change\r
That's when a cat\r
Fights back
What deeds\r
When one looks back\r
Elicit pride in the doing\r
And having done\r
Such that a life has accomplished\r
And left better\r
What was\r
Found
New surroundings\r
Everything everywhere is friction\r
Like sandpaper\r
Eroding the texture of thought\r
Then you come home\r
And everything is soft silk sheets\r
Perfect normal
Today I learned\r
Go(lang)\r
Is really strange
Today I learned\r
Assumptions can cause more problems\r
Than I figured\r
And I thought they could cause a lot
Today I learned\r
Well actually I remembered\r
Why I avoid\r
Using Git on the command line
Today I learned\r
Granting the correct permissions\r
Is hit and miss
Today I learned\r
The key to success and delight\r
Is enough sleep
Just a light snack\r
For two\r
Immense dragons
Are most people\r
Moral\r
Reputable\r
Honest\r
Just\r
And good?\r
Or is evil\r
Winning?\r
Are the bad ones\r
Legion\r
Or simply loud?
Today I learned\r
Good occupancy detection\r
Is difficult
Today I learned\r
That there's a lot I need to learn\r
About Ruby
Today I learned\r
That I've been thinking way too small\r
And bigger thoughts\r
Excite
Today I learned\r
This light in a dark industry\r
Is much brighter\r
Than I ever hoped it would be\r
Please do not dim
Today I learned\r
A lot\r
Like, a whole lot\r
And so\r
My brain melted
Loud\r
City\r
Disconcerting\r
Whereas\r
Mute\r
City\r
Unsettling
I thought I knew\r
But then\r
Out of the blue\r
Something\r
New
Life can be quite overwhelming\r
And yet sometimes\r
It all seems quite manageable\r
Those times are lies\r
Of course
I'm ready now\r
But it's still days and days away\r
So I'm waiting\r
But I'm really ready right now
Snow melts\r
Everything blooms\r
Eyes itch\r
Mucus dribbles\r
Thus confirming spring's arrival
I'm pretty sure\r
My chores\r
Breed
Fool me once\r
It must be April Fools\r
Fool me twice\r
Is it still April Fools?\r
Fool me thrice\r
So is it midnight yet?
Taxes\r
Suck
Poem?\r
But so sleepy...\r
Maybe a poem about sleep?\r
It could have sheep!\r
One sheep two sheep three sheep four sheep
A butterfly key flaps its wings\r
Nothing happens\r
Or a character appears twice\r
Or perhaps once\r
And it's been like that for four years\r
So I suppose\r
AirPower must be worse than that\r
How could that be?\r
Maybe it set things on fire
Green\r
Cars go\r
Gold\r
Cars slow\r
Red\r
Cars woah
The offer has been accepted\r
And thus begins\r
An unexpected adventure
Hey Apple Watch\r
You can't expect me to stand up\r
When I'm covered\r
In cats
Sorry\r
You're incorrect\r
My cats\r
Are actually\r
The cutest to ever exist\r
Common mistake
Every day takes place on a bridge\r
Your past behind\r
Stretching far into the distance\r
Future in front\r
Veiled in the fog of mystery\r
The bridge itself\r
Sometimes solid and durable\r
And sometimes not\r
But it's your bridge no matter what
Apple\r
I've been patient\r
Please make a standalone display\r
With modern stuff\r
Retina\r
Thunderbolt 3\r
And no Dell logo in my face\r
My credit card\r
Awaits
Motivation\r
Where oh where have you gone my friend?\r
We're a great team\r
So please\r
Come back to me\r
Because the apartment's a mess
Changing something\r
For the sake of changing something\r
Is often change\r
Of the most deplorable kind
When words come out\r
And those words are ill considered\r
And they do harm\r
You wish\r
You wish them back\r
You wish you could do it over\r
But you cannot\r
Those words\r
They were uttered\r
And the damage they did is done\r
It's too late now\r
There are only three things to do:\r
Apologize\r
Learn a lesson from the mistake\r
Write poetry
Taylor Street Coffee Shop\r
Your breakfasts\r
Are San Francisco's best\r
If only\r
I could be inside you\r
More often
Want to drain all my energy?\r
Have me write code\r
To solve a new-to-me problem\r
While others watch\r
With a fairly short time limit
The day before\r
A quite important tomorrow\r
Unusual\r
And yet\r
Pretty mundane\r
But of course it's just the prelude\r
When I wake up\r
I will find out which direction\r
In which my life\r
Is aimed
Knowing the rules\r
Is absolutely essential\r
To break them well
People watching\r
Lots of fun on a normal day\r
At comic con\r
An order of magnitude more
Mew\r
Mew mew\r
Mew mew mew mew\r
Raven?\r
Mew mew mew mew\r
Come here\r
Mew mew mew mew\r
Where in the world are you Raven?\r
Mew mew mew mew\r
Oh yeah\r
Mew mew mew mew\r
You refused to leave the closet\r
Mew mew mew mew\r
So you were trapped when I closed it\r
Mew mew mew mew\r
And now I need to let you out\r
Mew mew mew mew\r
There\r
Mew\r
You're free!\r
Mew mew mew mew...\r
Hey now\r
It's your own fault\r
You need to be responsible\r
Be less stubborn\r
And learn lessons when this happens\r
You understand?\r
Raven?\r
Mew!\r
Language!
It seems to me\r
Cats can taste the flavor of warmth\r
They're discerning\r
The texture of some heat relished\r
Some rejected\r
They seem to prefer people heat\r
Like heat from laps\r
But heat from butts is their favorite\r
For seats and chairs\r
Very shortly after standing\r
Are rapidly\r
Annexed
I cherish days like this\r
Things worked out\r
We learned several new things\r
Got good news\r
Made some decent progress\r
Shared smiles\r
Laughed and giggled and loved\r
You might say\r
Today was a good day\r
And perhaps\r
Tomorrow will be too
Daylight savings\r
Should be taken out back and shot\r
And shot again\r
Just to make absolutely sure
I am not a poet\r
But I am\r
Someone who writes poems
Learning how something magic works\r
Kills the magic\r
For some\r
But for others\r
Such knowledge imparts the power\r
To cast new spells
\"Hey guys\"\r
A common phrase\r
Said by everyone everywhere\r
Who even cares\r
But what if one person did care\r
Just one person\r
If changing one tiny habit\r
Could spark some joy\r
Or help someone feel included\r
Why not do that\r
There are many alternatives\r
\"Hey everyone\"\r
\"Hi folks\"\r
\"Sup?\"
What is bedtime\r
What temporal prison have we made\r
What can we do\r
What hour is best for our rest\r
What defines truth\r
What can we really say of sleep\r
What is bedtime
Today I learned\r
How to count things and draw a line\r
In other words\r
I know how Machine Learning works
Almost midnight\r
Would be a shame to break my streak\r
So this must do
The coffee shop:\r
I see someone with their laptop\r
I see their screen\r
I see all their desktop icons\r
I see chaos\r
I see something I could not stand\r
And I judge them\r
I judge them knowing I should not\r
I know I'm wrong\r
I know those icons are not them\r
I should not look\r
And I should not judge when I do\r
But I do look\r
And judgement rushes out of me\r
Like a dam burst
No one likes to take the trash out\r
But everyone\r
Likes the trash to be taken out
If you debate\r
To figure out who is correct\r
Then let us talk\r
But if being victorious\r
Is your sole aim\r
Kindly\r
Shut your pie hole
There is a chance\r
That the arrangement of debris\r
After a storm\r
Appears to be intentional\r
Or creative\r
Likewise\r
There is a chance\r
A developer may write code\r
That seems to work\r
Before they read and understand\r
What is written\r
Within the documentation
I saw the code\r
Code written by somebody else\r
And what I felt\r
Was a mix of terror and rage\r
As if in hell
It is centered\r
But it looks like it's off-center\r
Is it centered?\r
Math: Yes\r
People: No way\r
For safety or performance: Yes\r
For astehtics\r
For us\r
No
Today I saw\r
Upon my digital display\r
A simple name\r
Which described a variable\r
And in that name\r
I found enough detail to know\r
What in the heck\r
All this code was trying to do\r
And things were clear\r
For the name was not too simple\r
And the author\r
Did not assume I could read minds\r
Which filled my heart\r
And caused me to weep tears of joy
Hey, universe\r
Did you have a hand in all this?\r
Or is it chance?\r
Am I just bouncing randomly?\r
Who's in charge here?\r
Is luck a product of effort?\r
Or is this fate?\r
I ask knowing there's no answer\r
But I must ask
If a sheet is too small\r
Those below\r
Will know no rest at all
Poison can smell sweet like a rose\r
So choose with care\r
For a terrific tomorrow\r
You need wisdom\r
Today
Sometimes helping others\r
Reminds us\r
That we can help ourselves
My aptitude for focusing\r
(on distractions)\r
Would utterly overwhelm you
And there it is\r
Light at the end of the tunnel\r
It's visible\r
It's real and tangible and good\r
Yet at this sight\r
I find that I am overwhelmed\r
Seeing the end\r
Means seeing the span that remains\r
And that distance\r
It is too much to contemplate\r
So I look down\r
I see my feet in the darkness\r
I breathe deeply\r
I focus on taking a step\r
One simple step\r
Knowing that each small step adds up\r
That each propels\r
That together small steps are huge\r
More than a match\r
For any overwhelming span\r
These little steps\r
Will get me where I want to go\r
Out of the dark\r
To a point where I can look up\r
And look around\r
And not drown in the spectacle
How much further\r
Would humanity have progressed\r
If it wasn't\r
For all these godforsaken chores?\r
I'd probably\r
Be swimming in a lake on Mars\r
Whereas instead\r
I have to go to the store for\r
Frozen breakfasts
Why am I always so surprised\r
By APIs?\r
Why does the behavior I see\r
Lack clarity?\r
Why is it that what's written down\r
Causes a frown?\r
It seems that no one tested this\r
So much amiss...\r
Create, read, update, and delete\r
No real great feat\r
The docs contradict the response\r
With nonchalance\r
So what am I supposed to do?\r
Find something new?\r
The alternative could be worse!\r
Another curse!\r
I'll try to do the best I can...\r
But a wise man\r
He would probably go buy a shed\r
And raise chickens\r
Instead
Texture and tone\r
of space\r
of ignorance\r
of dearth\r
of vacancy\r
of gaps\r
of deepest sea\r
of sleep\r
of coldest cold\r
of want\r
of hidden things\r
of need\r
of savagery \r
of lust\r
of the shadows\r
of no light or warmth or knowledge\r
of all the ends\r
of last\r
Black
Gorgeous rainbow\r
When the wide spectrum converges\r
Something new forms\r
Much more than the sum of its parts\r
Brilliant and bright\r
No longer strictly a color\r
Dark's enemy\r
Bright white
So here we are\r
At the edge of the visible\r
There's more beyond\r
But such colors are not for us\r
We have limits\r
But there's a lot inside our lines\r
Much to play with\r
So many hues to see and use\r
Like my favorite\r
So bold it keeps my smile lit\r
Vivid violet
Such a vast sky\r
With clouds and birds soaring so high\r
And deep ocean\r
So alive with constant motion\r
Above, below\r
Such color wherever we go\r
Another hue\r
Won't do\r
So here's to you\r
Color\r
Blue
One tiny seed\r
Grows up\r
Grows left and right\r
Grows down\r
Grows all around\r
Grows tall\r
Grows far and wide\r
Grows new seeds for the countryside\r
Grows a long time\r
Grows wise\r
Grows and then dies\r
Green tree
A central force second to none\r
Beautiful sun\r
The brightest of all flying high\r
Master of sky\r
A toasty life-giving notion\r
Long explosion\r
An energy lending fellow\r
Glowing yellow
The passionate rage of nature\r
All consuming\r
It evolves into heat and light\r
A burning roar\r
Harnessed\r
Captured and bent\r
A gateway to technology\r
Tempting danger\r
Primal\r
Bright orange fire
A kiss\r
With tender lips\r
A sweet exchange where much is said\r
Those silent words\r
Hue of\r
Red
I built something\r
Now I stand on the precipice\r
Before release\r
Such a terrifying prospect\r
Will it take flight?\r
Plummet?\r
Or even worse...\r
Will those I built it for not care?\r
What once was mine\r
I will now share with everyone\r
Much can go wrong\r
But hard work and luck may unite\r
So now it's time\r
Time for my collection of fears\r
To be toppled\r
By hopeful possibility\r
Time to find out\r
What provocative thing comes next\r
Time at long last\r
To ship
It's all been said\r
Except\r
For what hasn't
So many splendid ideas\r
Are held captive\r
By those who fear to set them free
Self-imposed rules\r
Promises with so much promise\r
Yet so fragile\r
They bend and break effortlessly\r
But why is that?\r
Do we simply lack discipline?\r
Or do these keys\r
Not fit the locks we think they did?
What is the world\r
If not a huge ball of chaos\r
With a veneer\r
Of order and calm and peace and\r
Where is our strength\r
In the facade or the maelstrom?
Can a sunset contain such powerful beauty
That all would weep at such?
Or is there someone who would never shed a tear
No matter how sublime?
Snow
Is rain
That said \"no rush\"
The relentless march of time is
Not a surprise
The knowledge that we will die is
Not a surprise
The intersection of these is
When a thousand things must be done
Why does my brain
Urge me to do nothing at all?
Maybe it fears
The colossal weight of so much
Will crush me flat
Perhaps if I remind it that
Each task alone
Is of a manageable weight
I'd be able
To lift
One
One who disdains
The pains and perils of progress
Is left behind
If the error message is not
Clear and helpful
Where then
Is the true fault?
Sometimes when you create something
Like a poem
You think, \"Nope, not publishing that!\"
And then you frown
For you have to publish something
Perhaps this one?
A gracious host
Sets their Bluetooth speaker to pair
With anyone
But if they fail to turn it off
Sudden music
Is a surprising wake up call
Sunlight
Brilliant and bright
Born in the dense core of our star
It took tens of thousands of years of random bouncing to escape
Then eight minutes of cold freedom
Until landing
To show us what there is to see
Knowledge of possibility
Means just as much
As the laws that govern nature
The best thing about being sick
Is a parent
Or friend
Or your partner
Making sure you're taken care of
That's my focus
Not debilitation and pain
But love and care
(That and lots of television)
\"Yes\"
A word
With such power
One yes equals a thousand noes
Because each yes demands payment in renouncement and sacrifice
Each yes needs time we can't replace
So be careful
Saying
\"Yes\"
Roll a large boulder up a hill
Once at the top
Pushing is no longer needed
Instead you run
Giving chase with wind rushing by
And soon the hill
Once large and intimidating
Is behind you
So like gravity not helping
Until you crest
Motivation will not appear
Until you work
What if
I hurled my tasks
Off a cliff into the ocean
And instead of all this complicated tech stuff I just made art
Oh that's right I need to pay bills
Sorry ocean
No tasks coming your way today
Let's get back to
Functions
Variables
Objects
And APIs
Change
\"No thanks\"
Change is a must
\"I hate doing things differently\"
Change is inevitable and required for you to flourish
\"But I'm so comfortable right now\"
Change doesn't care
\"What about\u2013\"
Change
Every day some time is wasted
Perhaps a lot
Sometimes there's nothing you can do
But typically
How much is really up to you
How can it work
How can I discover success
Where can I go
Where is triumph hiding from me
Will I find it
Will I have the strength to go on
What if I fail
What if the work is for nothing
Why can't I win
Why can't I have all these answers
I crave answers
I would be free with these answers
I could relax
No more questions means no more toil
No more struggle
No more pressure to move forward
No more effort
No more
Oh
I went in the bedroom to wake her
But she was dreaming
Her hand twitched a little and then a lot
A few more minutes
That fragile thing
Up high
The cat sees it
And knows exactly what to do
A gentle nudge
One paw
Crash
\u201cThe soup is hot\u201d
Some will abide those words and wait
Others will not
For them the burn is the teacher
Fifteen days into these poems
Writers block strikes
This was quite inevitable
But luckily
Reflection reveals a way out
Every day we stand on the shoulders of giants
But are they giants now?
They were as flawed and frightened as we are today
They failed and succeeded
They built upon what their predecessors gave them
We build on their genius
They provided what we need to take the next step
And they provided more
Their faults provide us with incredible wisdom
We can take better steps
Our foundation can be their triumphs or mistakes
We can choose the best path
With what they gave us we can do better than them
We are the giants now
One
Penny
Doubled daily
Is a very quick path to wealth
With each step forward
It seems like I take two steps back
But I'm moving
And I have a great dance partner
What should it cost?
How much value does it provide?
What is joy worth?
How can you measure happiness?
body main {
position: relative;
display: grid;
grid-template-areas:
'css . .'
'is' 'also' 'poetry';
}
<html>
<head><title>Markup</title></head>
<body>Markup
<br>is Poetry</body>
</html>
A shower knob turned one degree
Office chair height
Color
How a shirt feels
An extra tug on shoelaces
Display brightness
Kerning
Music volume
Details!
Some relevant
Some not
But it depends
On who is reading the poem
I've stared at it
I've given it a lot of thought
I've asked for help
I've watched the YouTube videos
This fitted sheet
Will not
Fold
The big white tent
Judges
A quirky pair
One dozen nervous and happy
The signature
Uncertain technical challenge
A showstopper
Mixing
Don't overwork
Proving
Patience is key
Kneading
Bye frustrations
Folding
Get those layers
Chilling
It has to set
Adorn
Steady your hands
Oven
Sit on the floor
Triumphs
Catastrophes
A pause to reflect on the rise
Style and substance
A nice irregular structure
Look at that shine
Oh no
Soggy bottom
Raw dough
Flavor comes through
It works
You pulled it off
Relief
Scrummy handshakes
Pure bliss
Considered deliberation
One is crowned star
But wait
One says goodbye
Tears of sadness and tears of joy
Weekend complete
But soon those remaining compete
So on your marks
Get set
Bake
Which of many steps is most important?
The first is the plunge
Nothing exists without a beginning
The last wraps things up
A journey in progress is not complete
And the steps between...
Some small, some large, some quite remarkable
Which step weighs the most?
Or is there a better question to ask?
A cat on the end of the bed
Aloof beauty
She knows nothing of rent and bills
What did you do today?
Who smiled?
Why?
What errand would stimulate creativity and foster joy...
Perhaps writing poems daily?
Hark, a website!
New year
So much to do
Yet I'm up late, writing poems