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 Could it be a manifestation of bipolar mixed states? Maybe yet another situation where my mind was too fragile to see clearly I am not engaging well with lack of stimulation Too much distance between me and my light Too little space between me and

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.

Love languages, eclectic at their core But they coincide with the universe Our tongues operate the same more and more Through crises, we too embrace the diverse While we spend all our quarantine alone This common ground we share will emanate Decoding of the philosopher’s stone Reveals the dialect of human faith Whether English or Spanish or Russian Whether Chinese or Arabic or French A poet’s words will not cease in touching Will not keep us trapped in this solemn trench COVID-19 preys on the strong and weak In turn, it’s given us the words to speak