Poem by Mike Meraz

Staring into
Your
Iphone

Like there are
Answers
To the
Universe

But all you
Want
Is a
Text

From your
Significant
Other

Saying
It’s
Ok

It’s not
Over

I’m
Bringing
Thai
Food.

Four Poems by Mike Meraz

I hand my landlord
The
Rent

She smiles
Her hair sticks
Out on one
Side
It’s 8am for
God’s
Sake

She is an ex
TV star
From the
90’s

Her dreams
On hold by
Children

I think
There was a
Time when
People wanted
Her
Autograph

Now I just
Want her
Grace

When I’m two
Days late
On
Rent.

_________________________

She is one of
Those
“Universal”
Girls
Who calls
Everyone
“Darling”
Or
“Honey”
She loves
Everyone
But is close
To
Nobody.

__________________________

Roll that
R
Baby

Lady
At the
Counter

With the
Jimi
Hendrix
T shirt

And the
Spanish
Eyes

And
Long
Dark
Hair

Inspiring
A
Poem

At
Last.
_________________________

I will gut
This moment
For all it’s
Worth

Squeeze it
Like an
Orange

Letting the
Citrusy
Juice
Slide down
My
Chin.

Beside Me Are: by Mike Meraz

beside me are:
a pack of pall malls
a pack of black and milds
the heater is running
there is a joy in my heart,
indeed,
but there is also sadness,
there is a great amount of apathy
but there is also care and concern
for others.
you can’t tell me I cannot care for things,
otherwise I’d be unhuman,
there are natural inclinations you have,
that you cannot deny,
just like the fact that you are dying.
there are other undeniable facts as well,
you are living and breathing and you have a heart
and a soul and family, and these things should be cared for.
you have children, maybe and you have a wife, maybe,
and these things should be cared for, there is a cat by your
waist, that is really your child, and this is cared for,
the plight of the underachiever, the fashion of the failure
(and I am not talking monetary or popularity)
is to psychologically remove facts that undeniably exist,
even you will not refute this, denial is more popular than
cocaine.

there is a man at work who thinks he is king,
he runs a little grocery store in the French Quarter and
bullies his employees and makes them feel like shit,
his employees can do nothing save quit, but times are hard
and sometimes you have to make a choice between food and
rent and a little sucking in of your pride, you take the food
and rent because you are human and have to come home to
feed all those things you love.

life is not a computer screen, life is not a philosophy.

there is goodness in the walk to work,
there is goodness in the drive around town,
there is freshness of air,
there is the beautiful girl with long hair
who actually has something intelligent to say,
who approaches life in a real way,
who is not actually a dumb bitch,
there are these things, I find them,
I find them not often,
but they are there.

the past has been good,
the past has been bad,
but we can’t pre-lay our foundation before us
with mines and traps,
too many are doing it for us already,
politicians, social governments, the police,
the hood down the street looking for the next hustle.

Reflections In The Bathroom Sink by Mike Meraz

brushing my teeth
this morning
I realize
the older I get
the less I can handle.

Trust Issues by Mike Meraz

I don’t know if I can write this poem.
I mean, what if the paper doesn’t hold?
or what if my pen starts to run out of ink
half-way through a word?
or what if my hand cramps up
and I can’t finish it?
it’s just better that I not even get involved
in these poems.
so many things can go wrong.
I might get hurt.

On Those Nights by Mike Meraz

on those nights
when you feel
you have already lived
a thousand lives

the clubs,

the bars,

the women,

the sex,

all seem useless

like a dirty rag
you can’t wipe
your hands on,

or a wrecked car
you can’t drive,

or an old plane ticket
that will no longer take you
where you want to go.