Every day eventide, every way all the while, tip tapping, gums flapping, wile and wanted, dashed and sauntered, true peace, truce please, thimble fumble, staying humble, which way, that way, is it night or is it day

Topsy turvy, windy curvy, buy out, sell out, who decides, not me
Wishful wantings, it’s not so wanted, to give in or to be put out
Strange dreams, pleasing knees, kneading, pounding, shaping, feeding

Fear is strange, as is life, it will heal you and cut you like a knife
Bleeding, sorry, nothing sorted, just threads and streams, not knowing, not knowing

Reach out, reach in, one gives way to truth, not doubt
Trust this, trust that, trusting self? Not a good track record

Ground up, pound down, stamping feet on my neck
I’m tired but willing, and I suppose that’s all I’ll ever be down this road

Leap, leaped, looped, this is quite the doozy

I’m tired, Lord. Forgive me.

Selfish ramblings, incoherence but what is coherent right now?

Crazy boy, stupid boy. Seen too much, said too much. What’s a crazy, stupid boy to do?

Learn, I guess. And pray.

Doesn’t look like work, but I assure you, I am broken.

God repairs the broken. So with golden resin for the broken pieces, this bowl will continue to fill with water, may it be holy.

What’s a crazy, stupid boy to do?

Write, I guess. And pray.

Is this poetry? I hope not.

Teeth are grinding, back is aching, stomach is retching, eyes are tired from backed up water. It beats against the dams, but with little giving way. The heart is squeezed, breaths, shallow. Creases on my face, deepening like a valley from ancient, dried up waterways. Knees buckling, no good for running. Feet sweaty, but good to stand on. Hair tumbling down, giving way to a scraggly beard. Always a bit of spittle stuck in the throat, can’t swallow as I brace myself against the wind. Hands, spidery, buttocks, tense. Lips, bitten for words unsaid.

Don’t walk this mile, just laugh, cry and smile.

-Alex Reed