fluf•fing, 11

"What will you do with your time today, sweet one?"

They say chewing harder, tougher foods really helps define your jaw structure. so I guess the reason I get jawline compliments is because I eat a ton of cereal.

Is it a sustainable personality trait to perpetually threaten piercing my ears?

What if we could react to the typing text bubbles - like “hurry!” Or “whee, I can’t handle the anticipation"

update, I pierced my ears. evidently it was unsustainable.

bro·​ther

There's a permanent, almost mystical depth to brotherhood. The stories, the images, the word itself.

In a brother is a mate - the only other wand braided with the same fibers.

Just imagine the spells we cast.

-

Chris and I hum at the same frequency as we type side-by-side.

We remember the same songs as we wander narrow city streets,

he on the sidewalk, I on the street just below

Professorial in his altitude and certainty of mind

in my dependence, my reverence

'Is it always in the blood?'

I look back on our photos and wonder how I could have been discontent.

Time with him has always mended me;

it certainly does today

as we talk face to face, laughing cross-country,

reading each other's lips before any words have formed in our mouths

-

The puzzle is that even brotherhood isn't enough.

A partner, a brother, a best friend, a lover, a mirror - it took a pandemic and a season abroad to learn that even the strongest connections can only ever play a role.

That the ensemble of your life requires a wider cast, a deeper drink from many wells.

Even so,

my forehead will always be pressed against his.

Our heartstrings will always be playing in symphony;

playing, substantiating, resting.

And there is no greater peace.

pack•age

I don't see a mailing address

But it's here at my door

I heard a knock, but I see no one

No coattails disappearing around the corner

As I open it, I'm flooded.

Someone postmarked this

Because they saw the need

And it reached me because I am the need

I add it to the pile growing beside my bed.

The pile I stare at before falling asleep each night,

The pile I turn away from so I can get some rest

The pile that burns my back with its rage

"you careless hater; you privileged elitist.

You are bastardizing kindness with your apathy."

wake up and stretch,

Applying ointment and giving thanks

I do something. I do something... something, I do it - I do something.

On my way out I step over another package.