I'll Get Over

I count the seconds it takes... for the earth to revolve around the sun. I count the number of sesame seeds sitting atop my bun. I count the number of times I blink within a day. Counting is how I spend my time...now that you've gone away.

I ask why the sun doesn't orbit the earth. And why the lives of many is devoid of mirth. Is the person always right that rises above the fray? Questions are all I have since you've taken everything else away.

I've written ninety words thus far—I'm... still... counting. Why am I still counting, when my feelings didn't count when you decided to leave me?

But I'll get over you.

I'll visit my local library to check out books on the Great Depression, and I'll read Anne Frank's diary to see how she managed in a bad situation. Thumbing tales of bravery, I'll learn to live life without trepidation. Eventually...

I'll get over you.

I'll learn to speak of us in past tense... and not be bitter. And when my friends look at me and see my eyes are drenched, I'll say to them, "I miss her." There'll be times when I sit in dead silence, Polaroids littering a floor you once traversed, expecting you to rise from their permanence and allay the pain that hurts. But I'll learn only time can do that. I'll learn, eventually...

...to get over you.

—Kevin Waring

New Year Haiku

Happy New Year, Friends,
We survived another year,
Let's wassail the next...

—Kevin Waring

Taking Chances

I dip my toe in to test you...
I make creases upon your surface,
Not to age you quickly,
But rather to touch you before it's too late,
Before the sun and moon platoon
And the tides come to drive me away.

I erect a sand castle on your bank,
A maquette of our future home,
Won't you lap its edges,
Gently molding its pillars to the soil?
It'll have bowers for you to retreat to
If I'm ever too suffocating;
But know all I've ever wanted was to hold you
In a place we can call our own.

You're visual ecstasy—
The paradigm of natural beauty,
Muse of Homer,
Domicile of Neptune,
And of labyrinthine reefs
And mythical creatures,
Sunken treasures—
Too decorated to have me as an ornament...

But still I dip in my toe to test you,
And having seen the ripples,
I can say I touched you
Before it was too late...
That I took a chance with a monolith
Before the sun and moon platooned,
And the tides came to drive me away.


—Kevin Waring

Tonight (When the World Ends)

Oceans evaporate,

Volcanoes erupt,

Blue skies interpolate the basins

Where waters have dried up,

There is no escape

From the phenomena that affrights,

So lose yourself in me

For the world will end tonight.

The woods, they'll smoulder,

Crops will slump

Like a boxer does in his corner

After taking one too many lumps,
But for them, there is no succor,
Nor another round to fight,
So stand tall with me
When the world ends tonight.

Nowhere to hide
From that which affrights;
But you'll be by my side
When the world ends tonight,
And though the crops have died,
Tears won't afflict my sight,
For all the nutrition I need,
You'll give to me tonight—

And though we're about to die...
I have no grievances to cite,
For all the love I needed,
You gave to me...tonight.


—Kevin Waring

Into the Wilderness

The path you’ve chosen is challenging—
It is of the lesser traversed:
The trees that abound are imposing,
And something in its shadows always seems to lurk,
Although they provide a nice canopy
For when ominous clouds are wont to burst,
Reassurance offers greater security
When things go from bad to worse.

And when that happens,
When you feel you can no longer endure,
Illuminate the sky with the brightest, red flare—
I will hear your cri de coeur.


You love hot tea,
Hopefully you’ve got some in your thermos,
For when cold ensnares your tiny body,
You’ll need something warm to hold to you close;
Let it spur your insides,
Singeing, even, your underclothes,
Until you’re a human bolide,
Leaving ablaze trails in your afterglow.

And when woods are alit
By a barreling mystique,
I’ll know you’ve opened the soffit
Beneath where your bones creak.

Because beneath that luminous exterior
Lay a spirit that looms larger than those trees,
And a heart ten times warmer than any estival breeze;
You embody the fervor of a raging river,
Churning as it thrusts unto where it empties...
And like the body... to which it delivers,
Your potential, too, has limitless boundaries.


—Kevin Waring

You

You get to kiss her,
You get to hold her hand,
You get to watch her stir,
As you're perched upon her nightstand,
And I believe wholeheartedly,
Nothing offers a more breathtaking view,
Switch places with me,
For I'd give anything to be you...


For a day assume my anguish--
Let it prick you like a bed of needles,
Til each incision begins to hemorrhage,
And all you bleed is everything you feel,
Even then you won't understand,
No not even a skosh,
That though your names may be etched in the sand,
I'll always love her the most.


You...lucky guy...you.




- Kevin Waring

Three-Legged Race

Peering into the future,
Our backs squarely to the past,
Downward we glanced at our legs bound together,
And started tentatively at the gun’s blast.

Slow and steady is most prudent,
It is not about speed;
Alternating the roles of teacher and student,
Is perhaps the best way to succeed -
But in a partnership where no roles are permanent,
I FAILED TO TRULY LET YOU LEAD -
Never could I have not been so insistent,
And all I can say to you now is, “Please, don’t leave.”

I am tempestuous...
The minute, I’ll cavil...
Putting up with me has been arduous,
But I beg not to let what binds us unravel -
I’m not thinking about the finish;
My only concern is to reconcile,
For winning is second best -
Second best...to seeing my friend smile.

I want to say that I’m sorry,
For lately I’ve made you do the opposite,
I know you’ve a lot to deal with daily,
Without having to put up with my bullshit -
You know these three-legged races aren’t easy,
But we’ve come too far to quit...
You’re leery?
Filled with regrets?
Give me another opportunity,
And, hopefully, I’ll change that mindset.

I KNOW YOU’VE A LOT TO DEAL WITH DAILY,
WITHOUT HAVING TO PUT UP WITH MY BULLSHIT,
YOU KNOW THESE THREE-LEGGED RACES AREN’T EASY,
BUT WE’VE COME TOO FAR TO QUIT...

Seeing as how I couldn’t care less about winning,
Can we please take it back to the beginning?
The journey back can also be the beginning going forward,
And I promise this time to be less untoward -
To be more understanding...
To let your foot plant before mine on the seward...
I love having you on my team,
Losing you, I cannot afford -
I do apologize for any wrongdoing...
Please don’t leave whose life you’ve transfigured.


- Kevin Waring