Sunday, December 6, 2015

You said it better

I fucked up and you said it better.
An idiot with the hard copy
I've spent so long trying to print.

You fucked up and looked into rumor.
An open mind without the screen door
you worked not so hard
to avoid.

"Thanks for the ride."

"Take it easy man."

Thanks for the poem dummy.

Thanks for the fare white boy.

He knew what he was talking about.

I knew it mattered.

Still not sure why.



Thursday, November 19, 2015

#5- "Nothing Left"

" Fuck off , one more. "  Anthony said grabbing an old friend by the ear while beckoning the bartender with his free hand.

"No I really have to go man," Ellie replied. She shook her head laughing. " Terry's already pissed I'm out with you and if we close this place out I'm going to have to spend my whole saturday in the dog house."

"Two- What-" Anthony turned back to Ellie " Stellas?" He turned away again. " Two Stellas."

" In the dog house and hung over. You're a dick." Ellie drained what was left in her glass.

She watched as her oldest friend leaned forward on his stool, elbows on the bar, craning his neck to monitor the actor pouring their next round. He was still the boy she chased across the schoolyard trying to kiss.  He was still sweet and dumb.

"Honestly, if were going to have another drink I have to call Terry." She said.

"Call him? Really?" Anthony said pivoting on the slick leather beneath him. He kept one elbow on the bar. His free hand was a fist and resting on Ellie's knee.

"Ya he's gonna be pissed if I come home all wasted and late without calling." She said wincing at her own apprehension.  She felt guilty saying yes to drinks in the first place. A call would clear her conscience long enough to forget she actually cared .

"Ok well do it now then, theres a payphone out front by the parking lot. This guy is taking forever anyway." Anthony said. He looked to the bartender. By the time he turned back she was halfway to the door.

"You got change L?" He shouted over way too loud Supergrass.

She didn't hear.

Ellie pushed passed a dozen half dancing drunks and met the door. At this point her heart was pounding. The fear of what was going to be on the other line had started when she stood up and had  now developed into full blown panic.

Hes pissed

He thinks I'm fucking him.

No he'll be fine, he said it was cool. I told him the plan. He'll be fine.

I'm fucked.

Ellie saw the pay phone half set into the building and peddled just fast enough to keep from sprinting.

She picked up the receiver and dialed.

dial-tone

fuck its broken?

oh shit, change.

4 brightly colored acrylics bent and popped into a tight denim pocket to find a quarter.

She slid it into the slot and dialed again.

848-9222

Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring

"Hello?" Terry answered.

"Hey babe its me!" Ellie said, her face split by an anxious smile.

"Hey are you ok?"

Her heart sinks.

"Yes? what do you mean? why?"

"Well you're calling me...so," He laughed.

"Well I was just checking in cause its late is all."

"Oh, ok, well, thanks? Hah."

Fuck me now its weird.

"Oh well its just late and we were gonna have another round or two if thats ok?"

"If thats ok? Stop being a fuckin' wierdo Ellie. Yes its ok. Of course. Go have fun. Are you going to call a cab? Do you need a ride? I can pick you up I'm just fucking off at home." Terry said.

"No, ya I was just going to call a cab," She paused, absorbing her own relief. " I love you, I won't be too late."

" I love you too, I might pass out but who knows. Just smoked that joint Eric gave us. I- Im seriously just walking around the apartment thinking of crazy shit." Terry said bursting into laughter.

They both laughed.

"Ok, well I'll be home."

"Night."

"Night."

Ellie hung up.

As she opened the door to go drink with her oldest friend, she remembered why she felt so guilty.

As she smiled at the bouncer she remembered why they had broken up.

As she approached her stool she remembered why they were still friends.

As she drank until two AM she realized the value of it all.

As she fell asleep next to Terry she smiled and thought about Anthony.

When she woke up everything was in its place.




























Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Red White and Burbank- Partycentric

Id say getting fucked up was paramount in the DBS scene but really it was getting fucked up at Rambler's house, in the summer.

This house in the rancho district had become a shrine to our aggressive self destruction. Week after week shit got brighter, More clear as we stepped into the collective madness that was the summer of chaos. There was an unsuspecting gentility to it all. We eased our way into it. Not to say we weren't a bunch of drug addled maniacs already but the community that developed in and around that house grew at a measurable pace. Several rituals were developed to pay tribute to the Burbank night sun.

Lawn Driving: The act of ingesting enough liquor to forget how to feel feelings*, Pilling into a Sedan , or the Bug, And tearing ass around Burbank using only sidewalks and front lawns as roads.

TV Dropping: The act of stealing Television sets from the high school and dropping them from the roof of the hospital parking garage.

Cabinet Grabs: The act of attending the party of a stranger, raiding their medicine cabinet for any drugs that could be abused for recreation, and throwing the rest on the roof.

Moon Party- The act of getting black out drunk, snorting Ambien, coaxing a Burbank girl into having sex with you and your friend, flooding the kitchen and blasting Motorhead while committing the devils three-sum.

Russian Face-Slap Competition- Once again, drinking to the point of numbness and engaging in a Slap for Slap volley with a close friend until one of the participants loses their footing or loses their shit and an actual fight transpires.

Through these corrosive prayers and rituals we unknowingly sought the Dharma of destruction.This harmoniums hell we all slid into hand in hand.

"Alright lets go back down," Monk said slapping his palms down on his knees. " I think we've been up here longer than we think."

"You wanna kill this?" I said to Rambler, gesturing toward half a line with an unlit cigarette.

His smile spread across a black and white painted face as he sucked it up.

"Don't light that shit in here," Rambler said as we jogged down the stairs.

"K." I said lighting the cigarette. He didn't notice. Neither did I.

The party had been going on for hours and as we sank into the crowd we could see the place had just reached capacity. Not that we were going to turn anyone away, but the whole town was here. All the tribes had shown up. Every single one.

You could see The DBS in a half circle completed by Deathy's gang of black haired misery clowns. The skate video guys all smiling dumb smiles at one another. Browns and his group shaded by a cloud of greens. We joined up with our group, C.O.N.S ( Chargers Of the Night Sun ) and started screaming 'Skulls' and smashing our heads together.

"Fuck were you guys?" Hollywood shouted with two 24 racks in his arms.

"WAAAAAA!!!" We all shouted and embraced him. The best way to get a warm welcome at a party is to show up late with a metric-fuck-ton of brew. "Oh i know where you guys were," He said, making the naughty boy face. "Wheres mine?!"

"Put the beer down faggot I want one!" Depot shouted directly into Hollywoods face. It could have seemed Depot didn't realize he had a cocktail in both hands but he knew exactly what he was doing.

Monk and myself headed to the backyard and found a place to sit. We were next to a few chicks who used to be ugly and cool but had become hot and lame.

"Bullshit, dumbstuff, lame, weak, not important" They could have said, but neither of us was listening.

"Hey up until now this party was fuckin perfect." I said yelling into Monk's ear.

"Ya dude, these chicks are fuckin dumb why did we sit here?" He laughed.

"Atleast-" I started but was interrupted by staples.

"We need more whiskey, hey were out of whiskey Deep says we need to get whiskey." He yelled. The girls shut up for a second. Just for a second. Fuckin Meryl.

"Ya ok, I'm game." Monk shouted back. The shouting was alot like trench commands in world war II films but way less important.

"Who's driving? Im not fuckin driving I'm all sortsa fucked up." I said producing 'No Way' hands.

"I rode my bike" Staples yelled.

"You drove me here dude, so..." Monk said.

"What about Hollywood?" I said standing and stuffing my smokes into a pocket.

"Walked" Staples said.

"Bullshit, whatever, well take my car but you're driving." I said poking Monk on the nose.

We pushed through the backyard crowd. Each and everyone of them the perfect level of smashed. The mixing of tribes was more beautiful than I had ever seen. Absolute harmony. Pacts and friendships being forged that would last years. Alliances that would form the drunken political landscape of DBS for years to come. It was like the G8 summit for assholes.

"Yo were going to get a bunch of whiskey give me money." I said to Hollywood as we passed through the kitchen.

"Fuck You." He said without even glancing over his shoulder.

'Whatever I'll make Staples pay' I thought and we pushed for the door.

"WAIT" We heard hollywood scream. We all spun around and the room went as quiet as it could. "LAWN DRIVE!"

"LAWN DRIVE!" Staples shouted!

"Fuck yes!" Monk added.

"TO THE KIA!!" I added and we were off.

We settled into the dingy upholstery of my 2006 Kia Spectra and cracked our road beers. Hollywood insisted on driving. My vote was for Monk as he was probably the best drunk driver in the group but there was no arguing with Hollywood when it came to who takes the wheel. He was aight, and the fact he had only been at the party for 20 minutes or so was all the reassurance I needed to hand over the keys.

"Ok we all got beers?" Staples asked.

Beers are raised.

"Wait wait, two things." I said pulling a Misfits jewel case from the center console. "You need to focus." I said dumping Yesca on the Crimson Ghost. We all took a hit. "Put this in." I said producing Static Age from the American Psycho Jewel.

The sound of the plastic-rubber pedal hitting the floor, the thin shaking of the shit Korean engine under the hood, The sound of Danzig wrecking already trashed speakers, the smell of wet grass, the taste of Bud Light, It was time.

We only made it a block and a half away before Hollywood decided it as time to hit the turf.

We slammed over the first curb, nearly jumped the sidewalk, and landed on a perfect lawn. No fences for three houses. What a dream.

"Watch it fucker!" Staples shouted as we fast approached a low brick wall.

Hollywood swerved onto the sidewalk, past a tree, off the curb into the street, then back up onto the sidewalk via some poor bastards driveway. Now we were ridding the sidewalk at top speed.

"Hold it steady dawg." I said from the backseat. there was a tight corridor ahead of us. massive oak trees on the right and a white picket fence on the left that seemed to go on forever.

We all held our breath as we entered the trench.

'Fuck'

'Shit'

'Oh man'

'Got this'

We were halfway through when the driver side mirror hit the fence. Every post. It sounded like machine gun fire and we all lost it. Why this inspired cheers I'm not sure but we were screaming at the top of our lungs as if the Sportsball team had won the UltraBowl.

After a few more lawns we ended up back at the party, having completely forgotten to buy the whiskey.

High fives and bro grabs were exchanged and we headed in.

Somehow there were more people. When we left, everyone we knew was there, plus a few faces that had no names yet but weren't unfamiliar. the vibe still remained intact but things were changing. Monk and myself headed to the pool where nearly everyone was cheering on someone to do something.

"Jump pussy!" Some fat dude shouted as he dropped his beer in the pool.

It was Drake, Hanging out of the Ramblers window in his skivvies ready to jump. He took the leap. Something about the way he pushed off sent his head backward, shattering the glass above the opening he had pushed himself through. He hit the water with a slap.

Beneath the poolside cheers, Monk and I could hear tense words being spoken. They were getting louder and by the time we spotted them, Browns took one across the jaw.

"Fuck that!" I said.

"Nope" Monk said and we headed toward the ensuing brawl.

It was a tall AF skinny Black dude, A huge Mexican dude, and a tiny White guy, And they were TEARING shit up. somehow amongst the rage Monk and I were able to decide we should try to split everyone up. I grabbed the White guy by the collar and pulled him back. Monk grabbed the Mexican's arm.

"Stop this shit dude, not worth it. Seriously just fuckin book it right now." I said to the little White guy. His answer was one of the hardest left hooks I've ever received and shit cracked off again.

The fight grew, and I'm not sure how seeing as the culprits were only three in number. I was swinging and grappling in as close to the right direction as I could. This haymaker style brawl is sure to ignite several proxy scuffles, but everyone was so close, i was surprised to see it take so long for everyone to unite against these 'unknowns' But eventually the violence became more accurately directed.

The brawl swelled and undulated like a hairy t-shirt clad hot tub full of sweat and pushed the culprits into the kitchen. My head was buried in the tussle most of the time but every once in a while I could sense a bottle or piece of furniture moving through the space above us. There were streaks of blood forming on the walls. ' All this shit from three dudes? jesus' I thought as an elbow sent my bottom jaw upward to ring my bell.

Once the three assholes who started this thing were shoved outside into the street, I came across the Rambler.

"Dude this shit is a burn." He said. "I think I have to call the cops dude. My house is getting thrashed."

"Ya, honestly, its probably the best solution." Monk added, now by my side.

" Do it." I said peering passed a dozen domes. The Assholes were in the street 'Fronting' if you will.

The police showed up just as the Assholes took off. Monk and I were outside to greet them. We had ushered everyone else inside. We were always the guys who dealt with  the cops. I don't know how it started but we had gotten good at it.

"Go inside." Buff hispanic cop 1 said pointing toward a sliding glass door resembling a people-tank.

"I can explain how ev-" I started.

"Inside" Buff cop repeated. I listened. With a belly full of booze and a boot ankle full of drugs I wasn't about to argue. Anyways, we fuckin called em, may as well listen.

I went inside and checked my ankle. Nothing.

'Good no drugs I'm safe.'

'Wait a godamn second, wheres my shit?!'

In our drunken paranoid stupor, Monk and I had hidden our cache of felonies behind a pot on the back porch. Totally forgot. Now I was faced with a situation: Remain un-felonious and leave the drugs for now or grab that shit before it gets jacked cause fuck that, I spent good money on that shit. So I went looking.

Wasn't there.

'Fuck me'

Aaron handled the cops, everyone but C.O.N.S left, I spent 30 or so minutes sifting through trash and found the drugs.

We did them all and talked about the next party that would never happen.

It was a perfect end to the summer of chaos. It sucked, we felt like shit, owed the cops a bunch of money, all had busted knuckles, and loved every second of it.




























Saturday, June 27, 2015

Are you the Canon? The Powder? The Ball?

Are you the vessel?
The vein?
The path?

Are you the fuel?
The impetus?
The drive?

Are you the moral?
The whole point?
The final punctuation?

Are you the fuse?
The chasing ?
The whats next?

We wish we were the whole thing,
Beginning to end.

But we all have our place.

Point.

Burn.

Incite.

Land.

Destroy.


Sunday, June 7, 2015

On A Rented boat. On The Pretty Twin.

On A Rented boat. On The Pretty Twin.

Just about 5 years now.
Best spot we ever found.
Two lakes,
One trip,
And I never once wondered what the other one
Had to offer.

Always figured each twin got an equal stake,
Side by side for eternity,
At least some of it.

But we snubbed the bastard lake,
Bastard by our own decree.

Whad'ya say we give the second pond a try?

Pass out on wine and dream of the future this time.

Float and catch nothing,
wondering now what could be,
Instead of what has been.

Pack up.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Come off it Icarus Baby.

Come off it Icarus Baby.

Oh I've left you fucked then?
A wingless bird in its middle age squaked to a chick with eager wings.
Never pitty the flightless ones,
The fucks cant fly!
But when Grav-bound wings throw shit into the sky,
The Icarus worshiping pride trash like me cant wait,
To fall dead and burning.
I lost in your book,
But in mine,
I was born to be a missile.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Working for something is better than working for nothing.





I found myself trying to piss away
A shit stain
In the bowl of my toilet.
Just read an old poem from childhood.
It was good.
But pissing away that shit stain,
Isn't that the best?

Sunday, April 12, 2015

So I had this Idea Right? Right...

So Im squawking and squealing,
Right?
And you think this and I feel that,
Right?
And if Watts said this,
Then,
You gotta know that its one,
Right?
So you don't pray,
Right?
Right.
Then you don't know faith.
Na.
Then you don't know true faith.
Na.
Then whats it worth looking,
Right?
I don't know man,
Go get me a drink.
Na,
You.
Right?
Right.

When You Used to Love Me, I Loved Myself.

To be read listening to: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor Op. 23 - Allegro non troppo


When you used to love me,
I thought loved myself.
On teenage stomachs we kissed,
On old friends sheets we stabbed one another.
One knife bent and lost in a concrete river,
The other shining and clean.
Upon entry,
And retrieval.

When I used to love you,
I wasn't who I would be tomorrow.

I wasn't who I will be tomorrow.

You weren't who you are today,
and thank the Gods better men worship,
and the scrapes,
and scabs,
I was too stubborn to learn from,
An unforgiving,
Open,
Cracked,
Bleeding,
Iron soul,
Brittle and un-tempred,
Said no.

When we were young and beautiful,
Vodka drool on an un-dressed mattress,
In the wake of an early arrival,
In a sea of chest out- face down- bottoms up- tribe,
We could touch the tops of our hands together,
And shiver.

When we were bound by the contract of teenage love,
We could forget the passing of smooth,
Un-bent knuckles,
And hold grudges.

You could find my smiling enemy,
And in the glow of a cyclical DVD menu,
Find a temporary peace.

I had found an answer to a question,
Of Truth,
And Falsity.

You had borne the scar of a beautiful,
And freeing lust.

I had borne the scar of a filthy,
And selfish conquest,
Ending in defeat.

Or so I pictured.

Cotton passed over shoulders.
Tears landed on poorly produced fabric,
Blue,
The interior of a borrowed Honda.

I had left,
Retreated,
From a war that couldn't be won.

With blood soaked dungarees I knelt,
In mourning for,
At the time what I thought,
Was a girl who deserved more.

As i washed the Cannon soot from my palms I saw the swirl of filth on white tile,
Surrounding my mothers sink.
I felt the guilt of a publicly justified murderer.

But in time,
The roughness of a noose never wound became as soft as the skin on our teenage knuckles.

The planks of an un-used gallows ceased to creak in my dreams.

Guilt I had purchased from a boy who looked just like me,
Found the foul in the stitch of my pocket,
and leapt downward toward finely partitioned sidewalk pavement,
of our home town.

The gods inside us both wrestled with one another.

I forgot who I was.

I lost my mind.

But it was replaced,
Re-configured,
And arranged in rows only I could navigate.

We didn't speak.

We began to speak.

We began to weep.

We began to push against one another,
And remember the softness of the skin that covered our hands,
and the rest of our bodies.

Herded by the herd.

Poisoned by the thistle.

Im certain Ive said sorry.

Im sure Ive begged for forgiveness.

But Im not so sure,
Ive said thank you.




























Sunday, March 1, 2015

Whiskey to Gin, Where have You Been?



Whiskey is the life of man
Whiskey from an old tin can
Whiskey-O
Johnny-O
Rise her up from down bellow.
Stay away from me 'cause I'm in my sin.
Stay away from me 'cause I'm in my sin.
If this place gets raided, it's just me and my gin.
Don't try me nobody, oh, you will never win.
Don't try me nobody 'cause you will never win.
I'll fight the army, navy just me and my gin.
I studied the brown.
I studied the up.
I studied the down.
I sipped and I studied.
I sent it all down.
The bottle was emptied.
My conscience was drowned.
From murky to clear,
My new love was found.
Father said
"Whiskey- The drink of a man!"
Bessie said gin,
"You don't choose where you land."
Ronnie said,
Rover.
Williams said free.
London said
"Freezing"
And
"Walking"
And 
"See"
The switch was a guess.
The change was lark.
Im trying a new taste,
To clear,
From dark.













  

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Mt Washington Cave People.

We didn't have enough money to live in a cave at the top of the hill. Up high where the waves didn't crash. Where the exhaust foam didn't break upon the sidewalk shore. Where the sand-crab-ass bottle and can hoarders were too tired and hungry to climb for the bounty of a holiday party or a tuesday night's unwarranted yet ever welcomed celebration of our ability to purchase even count boxes of beer. All of which claiming to be unique and offering not just a refreshing, intoxicating wash for a dry throat but a different experience. It's sweet of them to try but it always ends up the same :

Ika drinking beers faster than all of us and berating Mundo for no reason other than its become a hobby of hers.

Mundo Hunched over some sick, sleek, current-gen controller gaming, making my avatar more rich than I ever could, while somehow simultaneously SnapChatting everyone he's ever met.

Amil in a corner chair, face aglow with muddled text locking in the next joyless yet satisfying fuck, laughing at the jokes that matter.

Cade with a calm smile spectating as if he didn't care. Ready for the next B1,000 conversation with myself that would start soaked with intellectual brilliance and end dry and chaffed by the busy shoulders of nearly innumerable and useless musings.

The Chief, constantly in and out, back up to his cave. A jest here, a smoke there, an uncountable number of hellos, goodbyes, whats ups, and laters.

Phoenix with endless Two-dimensional entertainment. With an endless drive to frame the existence of the new 20-sided sub-culture.  He's the king of critical hits.

Froggy, making face. Making pastries far too easy to consume. Making my oldest friend, The Chief, warm at night. Smile in the morning. Cold when my assumtion is a lie and fetal, bent, around something that was before it wasnt.

Thelonius causing trouble with yours truly on equal level. Unable to sit still, matching drink, and harassing with great precision. We two are both equally within the madness.

Big Fish and Little Fish, coming by infrequently but still leaving their mark. And their clothes. Punkrock Duos make the best company, the most noise, and somehow always leave their shit.

I took a drive to the top of the hill to see how the cavemen there lived. Turns out: way better. They had caves made of polished wood. Paths flattened and laid out in an earthbound weave, leaving no question as to the direction of anyone willing to venture to their hidden peak.

But fuck em.

Maybe shit rolls down hill,

But even when were faced,

Were quick enough to throw it back.



















Friday, February 20, 2015

More Than a Tractor, Deeper than the Can.

Theres a happy sad,
And some people can sing it.

Some people can paint it,
Sketch it.

Some people live it,
Not because they can,
But because they are cursed.
Because they do.

Some people learn it,
And still,
They never feel it.

Some of us feel it,
Wrecked for years,
Smiling with tears on our cheeks,
And never learn it.

I have felt it.

I've never stopped.

It's when eyes point at smile.
When smile points at eyes.

A confusion of emotion
Our senses cant define,
Our logic cant disintegrate to build anew
In the form of a typical
'Yes'
'No'
Stack of hopeful brick
And comfortable
Mortar.

The root of every well wished mistake,
The branch of every messy memory,
The leaf of every bent back,
Hunched to find a dry and fleeting meaning
In a decision that was never really made.

But there was never any seed to blame.

There was never any sprout to punish.

That happy sad was born as it was dying.

Blessed to wither and rest forever,

Cursed to grow and never know for sure,

'Am I happy?'

'Am I sad?'





















Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Im Gonna Go Until I'm Not

Who the fuck could run a marathon?

What kind of psychopath does it take to remain in physical motion for so long?

My limbs have never been as strong as the rest,

As far as endurance is concerned.

I can lift

Operate

But the idea of a marathon is bullshit to me.

We run because we must.

Limits are fun to break

But some leave no value in the wake of their destruction.

What is left at the end of one of these daunting jogs?

Sweat?

It evaporates.

Fitness?

It fades with age.

And suddenly the clown wearing a mask of my own face laughs on my shoulder.

"The sun rises and your words are as cheap as when it set!" The Jester cackles.

And here I sit.

As futile as the pace keeper I mock.

With no sweat.

With no physical gain.

But with the same nonsense,

That has echoed,

And will repeat itself ever fading,

Into the cavern of my past,

and its bound future.















Sunday, January 4, 2015

A Typical Superstitious Bother

For a hunchback loudmouth with a laptop and too much to say,
Superstition is the hat
the idiot I hate
Is alway wearing.

Practical and as dictated as it can be,
Our written language can only guess
At how impractical
The Typist can be.

And how aware
And unyielding
The dumbfuck in the
"Im scared of the nothing something"
Hat
Can begin
Can continue
To lay down the world in bent and agreed upon code,
Only to shrug his practice of creation
To take an extra step
And yield to the apex of every ladder's crest.

It isnt fear,
But a prayer
To the "I hope I'm a nothing something too"
That guides my step
And keeps me believing in these thin
Black
Bent shapes.