Wretched

I wait
Anxiously
Responses
And critiques
With my heart carried on off white t-shirt sleeves

I am not accomplished
Nor have I achieved
Greatness
At even a mediocre level

Yet
I still write
About my life
About shared pain
And general disgust
About Christian radio that makes me
Scream
Out loud
To open car windows
And a lonely
Open
Dreaming
Moon roof
I cannot take it
I cannot stand it
I would go back
In an instant
If my heart
Was not attached
To her
And this wretched city

Casa de Paco

White dots
Have spotted my vision
On many occasions
Small white fireworks
Flashing in moments of glory

A quick turn
A well placed shot
The bar erupts
Fate hangs happily in the balance
Mothers hug their sons
Old men embrace
Hope alive
Vibrating chairs
So much that I cannot sit down
Rubbing my head

He has been silent all game
Empty beer bottles strewn
Crowding a lonely table
Minutes passing
Seeming like hours
Feeling like years

A quick flick
Chested down
Weighted pass
Open man
Top corner
Pande-fucking-monium
I grab her as she jumps in my arms
We both hug him
Shouting
Cheering
Arms wave in front of the projection screen
Handball

Devastated

Silence

Minutes pass like seconds
Seeming like days
The whistle blows
Sad people pay bills
Carrying bottles to the bar
One slips, breaks
“No pasa nada”
He picks up the broken shards of glass
Touches your shoulder
And shrugs

Passion
Needs no tongue
And Football
Is never
Lost in translation

The Mediterranean Commute

Spanish girls
With thick black lines
Around soft eyes
Examine the crowded train
Almost everyone reads
Nearly everyone speaks
Or listens to I-Pod’s or cell phone speakers
Sitting on the floor
Standing, holding seats
A woman blows bubbles
With gum
In between gossip in Arabic

A Thursday in April
Would be much nicer
On a Sunday in June

With your face
Smiling with tanned cheeks
Polka-dot bikini straps
Peaking through a sunny dress
Leather sandals
In between blue flip-flops
Auburn hair
Falling past your shoulders
Brown eyes
Like antique glass
Lovingly looking back
A button nose
That is just too damn cute

Aphrodite
Did not arise from the sea foam on a half shell
She arrived
Seated
On the RENFE

Graduation

Shadows swing
On dead grass
In kitchen window light
A muggy night
A sweaty back
Cold beer
Warm wine
Candles, friends and music
That floats amongst graduate conversation
And silly girl talk
Wind up…the pitch
Swing and a miss!
Embarrassed to pick up a wiffle ball
Happy to be home
Sad to say goodbye
Life is made
Of moments
Like these