You have chosen

Never look to the one you have chosen
to follow for reassurance.

The mind

The mind knowing itself
is the mind knowing its model of itself.

If you only

If you only see, say, do
what others see, say, do,
then what is the point of you?

When you can

Choose wisely: things are often easier to pick up than they are to put down.

Everybody sing!

These are a few of my least favorite things:

Authoritarianism, tribalism, anti-intellectualism, magical thinking, and violence.

New poems

+15

The madness

When madness goes viral, stand firm, stand sane, even if you must stand alone.

Distraction

In the face of annihilation, there is only one recourse: distraction. This goes a long way toward explaining both our psychology and our society.

What isn't

What isn't natural is trying to define something as natural or unnatural.

Late Utopia — right on time!

FedEx just dropped off my copies.

A success (Dylan)

A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.

Bob Dylan

Always more

There is always more to say
but there is always more still to not say.

Update (Hoagland)

So much depends
upon

a red multi-
corporation

glazed with
tax credits

beside the white
politicians.

Tony Hoagland, "Update"

The problem with happiness

The problem with happiness is that it is not unimaginable.

Escape (Hawkins)

The only real escape from hell is to conquer it.

Scott Hawkins, The Library at Mount Char

The line

Incantation or calculation,
the line doesn't just display,
it performs.

New poems

+15

Late Utopia

My new poetry book, Late Utopia, goes on sale today at Amazon.  This book contains slightly longer works than the very short poems of my recent chapbook (still available—The Animal Commitments).  If you'd like a print copy of my work to hold in your hands and display on your shelf, order a copy today! (It's not too soon to start thinking of Christmas gifts...)

Still don't understand (Hoagland)

I said, "Love me better or go to hell."
I said, "I will forgive when I am good and ready."
I said, "Rumors of my happiness have been greatly exaggerated."
I still don't understand why what I give and what I get back in return never seem to weigh the same.

Tony Hoagland, from "Misunderstandings"

Options

Control your behavior, don't deny your impulses.