Three legged dogs, blind cats, birds with clipped wings, despised vermin, caged bears - I understand. I imagine an island where we could all be dumped. Co-existing in some fragmented eco-system. We wouldn’t have to prove anything to anyone. Paradise

You don’t learn to write in classrooms. You learn to write when your best friend is burnt to death in a house fire. You learn to write when you look into the eyes of strangers and witness the abyss. You learn to write when you’ve mastered the art of keeping things inside the cavern of your mind. You learn to write when you keep the secret of your father fucking another woman from your mother. You learn to write when writing is all you can do to keep yourself sane. This place is full of inspiration. English major? Bullshit major.

i sit in a dark box
at the summit of my parents’ house
listening to charlie parker holding hands
with his own failures
underdog stories inspire me
they don’t instill any hope in my mind
they just remind me that i’m not the only one
who isn’t good for anything.