On reading to the crowd at the Long Beach slam

When I finish reading,
could you not do that old beatnik thing
where you snap your fingers to show
your appreciation?

How about you hold your breath

while you digest words and then let it out
slowly with an ever
so
softly
mouthed "wow..."

Dont just listen to the words.
Inhale them as you might the fragrance
of fresh cut grass on the hottest day.

Or breathe the words in, then spew them out
as though you've driven through
the musky sweet fog
of dead polecat 
two days old. 

Shredding

old checkbooks
sales receipts
gas bills
insurance cards
love letters
college transcripts
repair estimates
project ideas
garden plans
teaching certificate
resignations
copies of copies
greeting cards
collection letters
red light ticket
pencil drawings
broken dreams
rental agreement
prescriptions
church bulletins
life

Road Trip

I want to take a vacation,
road trip like we used to,
get in the car, drive till we're lost and
find our way back again.

But there's no point.

It would just be me and Joy.
And while we'd have fun,
we wouldn't have loud singing
and Clay fretting
and Patrick wheezing,
and Cole staring at his gameboy
and Anna Li staring out the window.
and you wouldn't be there.
We wouldn't have slamwiches.
We wouldn't drive as long
or as far away
and I might not find
our way home again.