billions of prior people

when we all
have odd
fears,
intriguing
fetishes,
slappy pleasures,
unknown terrors,
magical ecstasies,
we have
to realize
that our
vessels
of mind and soul
are the
wavering entirety
of every human
that came before
us.
as we carry
the torch of
humanity forward
just a blink
more
into the future
beyond,
it's easy to get
lost in the
small bubble
of our immediate family
we know.
but we also had generations
of family that led to ours
and
was
hugely before ours.
then mince
in all the friend’s
acquaintances,
work fellows,
memorable stingers
and we are
armed
with enough
human ancestry of
memory to make us
become a mixed
bag
of quixotic eccentricies.
and when we realize
that the human remains of
centuries of folks
are the basis of the oil
we wage wars over
you can
begin to come full circle
in understanding how
intricately entwined
in this reality
with all our fellow
humans
we
truly
are.

i woke up in the suburbs again

and the
sun
was soft
on my skin
as my boy
sat at
the kitchen
island counter
in a rare
moment of
silence
as i reached down
through
the
screams of
light to
grab the
world’s headlines
as i looked
around
at the
quiet
neighboring
homes and
felt
as though
i was
nowhere
at
all
and it
was a delight
to
know
that
i
could
have
been in
a
smog
infested city
center
or
in
the
middle
of oblivion
of rural
america
as
i pressed
the
garage door
closed
and
saw my son
angle
towards
my
gaze
as
though
we
had seen
each other
for
the
first time
in
weeks.