We were seven kids housed within bricks and bushes on Manor Road.

We were a congregation in a sanctuary protecting our innocence and our dogs (RIP Red and Spock).

We had Congregation B’Nai Jeshurun on Martling Avenue and the Knights of Columbus on Maine Avenue.

We were aware that the…

Asbury Park
greets me
within your thin lipped
toothy smile

At the end of every labyrinth,
you straddle the seashore’s yen.

You are a funhouse mirror
distorting my figure
yet always finding
abundant embodiments
within my gut

My navel yearns
for that connection
to amusement within
these vibrant walls

Love…

On the pink moon

I left behind

a dozen years

of instability

A tribe was born

for every year

I tossed insanity

into the forge

Each tribe

presented a gift

rising from

these sacrifices

My darkness

illuminated

by the rising sun

of Reuben

My walls

excavated

through subterfuge

of Simeon

…

The day SILive
took down their comments section
was the very day
hatred destroyed
our discussions and frankly
I am saddened

Angered by the flagrant flamboyance
of racial slurs and unabashed animus

Enraged by the dismantling
of any hope for mediation
because of the despair of moderation

The three R’s…

Last night

all my dreams

were jumbled

Woke up

in a state

of confusion

Slept again

and still…

I was unaware

of the content

of these fuzzy

remnants of vision

…

Back at work praying

I will escape this whole mess

When my shift concludes

Then onto the express bus

Hopefully breathing easy

We will be the survivors of this:
Planning how to weather the storms of Armageddon

Tools at our disposal fueled by space:
That which we provide and the cosmos where we orbit

No longer do we need to assault:
In reality, our uprising is one of healing

We are already…

Memo to my fellow introverts:
Be compassionate toward
your extroverted friends.
They befriended us.
They need us.
Step up.