I Hate Florida

I hate Florida
Too much sun and sand
And the palm trees depress me
Stucco houses be damned!
I hate Florida.

Tattooed leather skins
Tobacco stained grins
And neon everything
Like all the worst parts of the 80's
In a gun shaped sauna.
I hate Florida.

Hot, humid, vaporous air
Choking me into submission.
Fat, pale tourists
Riding bicycles in thongs
Everything here is wrong.
I hate Florida.

Everyone in the Midwest loves it
But I am far above it
The afternoon monsoon
The midday decay
The lizards climbing every wall
I'd gladly forget it all,
But the sunsets really are stunning.

I still hate Florida.

A Burning Thing

You've always believed love to be
A burning thing
That leaves you seared
And inevitably scarred.
Believed it merely the price to pay
To stay warm in another's arms.

You put yourself last
Because they tell you that's what love is
And though no love is perfect
There are moments that feel so pure,
The fights that leave you crying
Are just moments to endure.

From afar I see you love yourself
Less and less
While building a fence around
That precious love nest
Of lies and baubles, you fight to defend.

I can't stand to watch it.
I can't bear it, my friend.

Profane

A word is just a word
Unless you hurl it like a stone
But all these proper gentlemen
Want me to atone
For using words they do not like
I am scolded like a child
But I am not a child,
You insipid fucks,
I can use whatever words I'd like.
Propriety is only a construct
Not a golden truth.
How delusional you must be
Too see only profanity
As you stand and denigrate me.
A word is just a word,
But even a dirty one
Is prettier than you.

Time

I have time to waste
Until the final taste
I might as well waste it
With you.
So much time to waste
Years that I could be alone
Reading and writing
Philosophizing
Or
Snuggling deep into you.

Gold Brown

Because I loved you
(And the gold brown of your eyes,
Orange like fire sometimes)
What I loved most was
The way they looked back at me.
No one looks at me like that anymore.