from the notebooks

Clearing things out and cleaning things up at the end of the school year, here are five rough drafts of poems that I scribbled in the backs of notebooks that I still like:


Intellectual Pirates

The two intellectual pirates
dressed in black;
when the world kicks them,
they plan on kicking back.

They confidently assert
nuanced theories of Marx;
The complexity of their interpretations
highlight shadows in the dark.

Their low voices rumble
confident in their predictions.
They share the same predilections
for late night doritos in bed.

They dress in rage
but speak politely;
they love their mothers,
but hold conventionality lightly.


I Shall Paint My Nails Green

I shall paint my nails green
as a sign of my defiance
because I search for more than
sweet and honest compliance.
They are a symbol: I shall search beyond
the surface of the soil, but dig deep
to find the heart of the matter
lay one finger on the truth
and with one shimmering nail tapping
point to the hidden and overlooked
my green nail a beacon
I want more than compliance.
I shall paint my nails green,
as a sign of self-reliance.


You call the shots

I love you like a tomato.
I think you're delicious like a
mongoose. You're a peach.
A dream. A thousand kisses,
and also thousands and thousands
of wishes. I must centre myself
like a spinning top, so my desire
doesn't crush you, but the
momentum of my affection
catches you up.


Half-hearted

My heart.
Yours parted.
After this love affair
Should have started.


Bicycle Babe

Baby blue bicycle babe
Cycling through the world with incredible luck
Daring to differ with the world's dis-ease
Finding yourself easy to please
Feeling the wind blowing through your hair
Snaking and sliding away every care
Leave behind them scattered on the road
the only litter you leave as you go.


okay, there's six, because this one is funny and snarky:
I've never wanted a break to end before
but your topic of conversation I so abhor
that I would have it gladly end
if only you'd stop talking to your friend.
The second and the third poems make reference to this and this.