in lonesome darkness Week 12: Here truth bears witness in lonesome darkness Here I tried to be present            to the pain to look at reality         in all its vulgar holiness to be vulnerable and known       without pretense or fiction but it's much easier to escape       into bottles and brothels and basilicas than it is to truly be          here. ​ Description: "Here" is a spare, confessional meditation on presence and avoidance. Through stark contrasts—holiness and vu

in lonesome darkness Week 11: The Abyss truth bears witness in lonesome darkness The Abyss Don't be afraid of the abyss its infinite darkness or its percipient shadow  for in the deep black nothing hides the truth  of all we are. Description: This poem is a brief, meditative reflection on fear and self-knowledge. Using the abyss as a metaphor for inner depth and uncertainty, it reframes darkness not as something to be feared but as a space of revelation. The long pause before

in lonesome darkness Week 10: Duplex the body rests in lonesome darkness Duplex Description: This poem is a stark, unsettling meditation on division within the self. Using the image of a duplex, it frames the body as a split dwelling—two sides existing in parallel but incomplete states. The repetition and abrupt fragmentation suggest disconnection, violence, or psychic rupture, inviting the reader to confront themes of duality, dissociation, and the uneasy coexi

in lonesome darkness Week 9: Morphine the body rests in lonesome darkness Morphine you are in the bed upright and calm an Orlando   Sentinel  lays unread on the nightstand The Price is Right  plays in the background the Republican party calls to collect one last donation  a thin white sheet covers your thin white skin anxious bodies blanket you with silent prayers caretakers, paid and voluntary, act out the sacred rites as you watch with distant eyes morphine dripping off you

in lonesome darkness Week 8: Poetry Is poetry lives in lonesome darkness Poetry Is Poetry is a way of describing the world not as it is, or even how I wish for it to be, but how it actually feels to be in the world. Poetry is singing in the dark, not because singing in the dark turns on some secret light, but because singing in the dark makes me feel less alone and afraid. Poetry is like digging deep into the soil, knowing that the ground must be disturbed, before any new lif

in lonesome darkness Week 7: Prospecting freedom calls in lonesome darkness Prospecting Nothing is all bad or all good or all anything So look harder  like you are prospecting the sands of your soul for gemstones There are truths buried deep in kimberlite rock diamonds forged under great pressure Filter out the contaminants so you can drink from  your own wells Search through the rubbish  of past experiences for wisdom even in the failures (especially in the failures) Recycle

in lonesome darkness Week 6: Codependent freedom calls in lonesome darkness Codependent we’re codependent and terrified with a system at the thought that is killing us of living without it we’re codependent and terrified with a system at the thought that is killing us of living without it we’re codependent and terrified with a system at the thought that is killing us of living without it we’re codependent and terrified with a system at the

in lonesome darkness Week 5: The Altar the mind creates in lonesome darkness The Altar I worship at the altar of creativity I pray with every stroke of the brush every written word, a sacred text every sculpture, a totem every song, a muse I am creation and creator a medium of transcendence a poet of prophecy an icon and a shrine Description: This poem is a devotional ode to creativity as a sacred practice. Framing artistic acts as rituals of worship, it elevates making into

in lonesome darkness Week 4: Obsession the mind creates in lonesome darkness Obsession art is life  life is obsession  obsession is  art art is obsession obsession is life life is art Description: This poem is a minimalist meditation on creative identity, using repetition and circular structure to collapse the boundaries between art, life, and obsession. By turning these ideas over again and again, it suggests that creation is not separate from living but inseparable from it—

in lonesome darkness Week 3: A Seedling seeds grow in lonesome darkness Seedling You were a seedling a dream a sunrise a poem a creative force a troubled soul a lament a sunset a memory a seedling buried deep Description: This poem is a lyrical elegy that circles grief and remembrance. Through repetition and simple, elemental images—seedling, sunrise, sunset—it traces a life’s arc from possibility to loss, then returns to the image of burial as both ending and potential renew