My Gift (Poem)

A fresh wind drives
by, disheveling my hair as
I start to listen and to watch
the stories.

The sky rests on the ocean
making a spine that only falters
with the ripples of bottle noses
breaking through the perfect symmetry.

Gentle in's and out's only serve
to try to hypnotize…However
nature's giant metronome
is frequently disrupted.

Behind me a child crying
and being coddled by his mother,
her fingers cradling his head.
She tells him that he will be alright
and he begins to settle
upon hearing the good news.

The sun has created spots of light,
bouncing off the peaks of every
soft, wet, moving hill.

And as the diamond studded water begins to take me,
a frisbee slices through my line of sight
and crashes into the backside
of a woman's neck.
The gentleman's apologies
were taken with grace
and his phone number taken with a smile.

Soon it is dark...night's light is on
but the book never closes.
There is a natural, fresh calmness
woven into every tale.
It's a gift to notice.

3rd Floor Stairwell (poem)

The only place where I seem to have no words:
why did I come back?
It was forgotten, all the talking
you did while my words ran dry.
Now,
in a truly silent corridor I am
on my back.
Still.

The door to my left is locked,
I’m used to being shut out,
but I remember—my desk
next to yours.
Slowly my body would tilt
leaning leftwards and whispering
wise cracks then leaning away
again; but, only after you
laughed.

And now, still
on the floor…

My synapses are firing, searching
for relief as my hand hits the tile…
now sprawled totally,
my ring made an echo
and shattered the nothingness.

After a moment though, it too was lost
in the 3rd floor vortex, it was
but a single chime
in this forgotten chasm.

Hidden...(an Autobiographical poem)

***Not sure if this is done yet. This is a poem I wrote a while ago...that I have felt the sudden urge to resurrect ;)


Calluses adorn my fingers and sting
as beads of water seep into the fresh lacerations
from my show the night before.
Sometimes my hands look old,
like time is harder on them.

In the mirror a rough and seemingly permanent
five o’clock shadow manages to conceal
my age. I would shave; but,
morning lethargy always gets the best of me.

As my eyes track upwards
they meet themselves. Dark, soft…
and unwavering. When my mouth spills
half-truths and misguided nonsense,
those dark brown saints rat me out.
They are the guardians of my love.

Before I leave my home I shield myself,
Oakley, D&G, Ray Ban…all brands
that make my armor. Spotless, they show
people only themselves
and hide what I am feeling, even when
there may be nothing to hide.

The Two Walks of Love

Many who know me know my love for movies...but, in particular I have a love for Romantic Comedies...and I think these two scenes display well what I like to call the two walks of love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXVf2hAWRQM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tJoIaXZ0rw

WOOOO

I almost have 10 followers!!! (I will forget that one of them is me...and 2 of them are the same person).

I just want to send out thank you's to everyone that reads it. (I know that I have readers that aren't necessarily followers...So thank you guys too).

Graduate School starts in the Fall...So, this would-be writer/future professor feels great to have some support going into school.

Thank you all so much.

Apparently I dabble in photos now...

It was recently my birthday and I was given my first camera ever. (a DSLR no less)...So now I can bore you all with pictures...HAHAHA. As always, let me know what you think. I really have no idea what I'm doing, photography-wise, but man am I happy doing it.

OK!!!! I need some titles for these photos.
1.) As the Music Fades (huh...huh...I know right)..maybe I should make it...As the Music Fades Verizon shall Prevail and Steal More of My Money!!!
2.) That's Not My Disco Ball
3.) Life can be a Fairy Tale

Conflicted (My thoughts on Bin Laden)

I’m sure some of you have wondered whether or not I would be commenting on this gigantic turn of events, and I will now ease the tensions by stirring some emotions. I have waited to comment because now I can stand back from the situation and tell everyone exactly how I feel while in my right mind.

When I learned of Osama’s death I was excited, along with most of the country I’m sure. I felt some contrived sense of brotherhood. Now that I am able to look back at myself, I’m a bit embarrassed by my original reaction. You see, I pride myself in my value of human life. I do not believe in things like the death penalty because I truly believe it is not our place to execute that type of judgment on another individual. However, I know that there are some situations that do not fit in a black and white world…I know very well that the President knew more than any of us ever will about the situation, and in the end it was his call to make. Upon looking at all the information we have been given though, and basing a decision solely on what we as a country have been told about this event…my decision would have been different.

I believe, based again on what America has been told, that Osama Bin Laden was murdered. I am not saying he did not deserve death, I’m also not saying he did…but these men who burst into his bedroom were trained SEALs and we were told that Bin Laden was unarmed (again…I’m basing my feelings on what we were told…because anything other than that is pure speculation). To have killed him like they did is cold-blooded murder, which I will always and forever be against. Of course, I am not stupid and I know there were risks involved as to whether we should kill him or put him on trial. But, this country stands for the right to a trial. There may have been rescue attempts or retaliation by Al Qaeda, but there could be retaliation attempts anyway. So why not make a decision based on our country's morality?

When we cheer for this accomplishment as a country, in the future I hope that we are cheering for further dismantling of terrorism and not for the death of someone this country had painted as evil. I’m not saying that he wasn’t, but I do not believe that he did any of the terrible things that he did because he thought they were wrong. We, as a country, need to understand where this evil image of us is spawned and we need to do our best to change that. Having people in America show their intolerance for Muslims is not the way…burning a Qur’an is not the way…We have to accept that we, just like everyone else have faults. That we display them every day…but that we will also try harder to be the moral country we claim to be.

I think we gained something and lost something in Osama’s death. Maybe…and it’s a big MAYBE, we gained a little piece of mind in the death of a man who let violence consume him. But, we have lost our innocence all over again because we let violence consume us. There was nothing moral about how we handled ourselves post 9/11…We as a country led a pointless war in Iraq…We as a country made fabricated connections to terrorism…AND we as a country have shown that we can make huge mistakes; but, what I hope makes America different is that we can one day own up to them and make good on our faults. And I will stop saying "we as a country" the day we put people in the Bush administration on trial for the atrocities they committed while in office.

I am pleased that Bin Laden is now only a memory…but I do not condone violence. And because of that I am a little heart-broken at the new smudge we have placed on our flag. However, no flag on Earth is without some blemish.

Scum of the Earth

I spent the last week traveling around and I got to spend a good chunk of that time with my brother.  While I was there I noticed how frequently he used the phrase "the scum of the earth" referring to bicyclists on the road.  Now of course he said this because anybody that impedes his going super-sonic on any road is without a doubt missing from the deepest circle of hell.  Maybe Satan should be holding Judas in one hand and Lance Armstrong in the other…instead of Brutus.  (Just a joke of course…because whenever Lance races I'm sure those roads are shut down).  But, this term and how it was used made me wonder.  When someone is called 'scum', to me that means they are the lowest form of low…they are without any self-morality and are completely contemptible.  And, using my brother's logic, they are anybody that impedes your progress. I will take it one step further and assert that they can be those who not only impede your physical progress, but mental growth as well.  

I don't know why I felt the need to expand on this thought, but it clearly impacted me and caused me to think about the term and its place in the phrase. 

Check out that cool hipster!

Life-altering revelations have come to me in these past few weeks. No, I haven't seen Jesus (nor have I 'found' him); however, I have come to realize truly everything important in my life. It seems these types of profound realizations only happen when life hands you a giant bowl of crap and tiny spoon to eat it with...(scuse the language, but I can still taste it). But maybe that is the cosmic reason for these things to happen to people.

I have to say, that despite inevitable shortcomings, I have achieved everything I have ever wanted for myself and I have had the best people in my life to help me get there. This post is truly dedicated to those who have helped me immensely in these past few weeks (and some of you were able to do it over the phone/digitally). Frankie, Teagan, Andrew, Nancy, Kevin, Janie, Marissa, Christine and Emily...thank you. You have all been there for me. You have all listened to me vent, whine, bitch and succumb to the worst feelings that life had to dish out to me...and you all did it without wanting to punch me in the face (well maybe you wanted to but were just too nice). You are all truly great friends and my heart is definitely big enough for every last one of you.

I got to spend this week at Virginia Tech with my brother and my friends Andrew and Nancy. You guys made me realize so many things this week and showed me a great time. Thank you all so much.


Frank and Teagan. The two of you are there for me every single time I ever need anything. Every person needs a best friend and brother...I feel I have two of each.

And today I've realized the last piece missing from the all-white, fucking hard jigsaw puzzle that is my life. I truly am becoming what I want to be...in fact I am already. Whether I had known it all along or not...I have the immortal words of Janie to live by... "You're a writer bitch!" And you know what, for the first time in my life, I feel like it.

I've been writing ever since middle school and I have always loved to sit down with nothing but a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. Since that time I've always drawn the conclusion that it was a mere hobby of mine...something to pass time that I enjoyed. But I believe in it now. A writer is something that I have been for years and it's something I plan to continue and to pass on.


My life is changing so quickly and so positively and I feel truly grateful to have you guys in my life. I love each one of you for helping to bring me to this point.


BTW, Expect this blog to change drastically over the course of the summer : )


~The Man in the Cave