Poetry | Fred Aiken Writing

October 7, 2021

Youth Camping Spent Smoking

incremental moments spent watching words stream by

on banners teasing the night

with promises of getting lighter;

darker, mixed with chocolate and vegan marshmallows so no one feels isolated

yet everyone feels a little disappointed

when it rains out plans of roughing it

in the neighbor’s backyard pool while they vacation in Istanbul,

smoking weed to pass life’s drug test so we don’t fail

at being narcs on the screen

binge watching Finding Nemo at twice its normal speed

stuck inside for the foreseeable future, while pretending we know German,

though probably speaking nonsense to a night not so unremarkable

yet memorable for being the first time we got to second base with the same girl

for different reasons,

at different times

and still feeling the same afterwards,

like substitute adults in bad costumes at

a Halloween party far off in the future,

now

wishing we still ate candy rather than burping suds

of yeast and malt fermenting within

while screaming to get out

for one more pool party as teens to feel

the thrill of getting to second base at the same time

for different reasons

when the pool party gets rained out arbitrarily in the middle of August

yet another time

as mermaids swim naked as we stroll by

casually, not too desperate, but in complete despair,

finding out that after school specials seem a lot cooler when it’s reality

missed

gliding through astroturf rubbing areas raw

that should never be touched, but there, on the horizon

we will find out soon enough

October 6, 2021

Make the Right Decision

I set a goal each week to read three books,

but am lucky if I make it through half a book

in seven, probably closer to ten, days,

it’s like finishing my vegetables every meal,

or even having the option for vegetables,

I know I need to for my health and well-being in the long run,

but I don’t want to jog,

so I eat processed, sugary crap that has the same effect on my metabolic system,

as I crash and burn, crash and turn,

to spot the next unhealthy decision to be made,

and promptly ignore what’s best,

while patting myself for quiting smoking ten years ago,

despite it more than likely biting me in end

far off, but all too soon,

that neverending shoe will drop…

cancer in the lungs, they’ll say,

because I never learned to read more than. a. page. a. day

October 5, 2021

Last Night in Shifts

paradigm shifts exploring praxis heritages

while high on molly and scooping random flotsam sitting

on the floor of a rave downtown,

spent fishing good parking

while crossing into uncharted identities

offering amazing mental headspaces to explore

what lying before and after

the afterbirth gets dragged out

for all the prying eyes to look upon

and wonder

why my testicles are so uneven,

or maybe that is just. a. private. thought.

I forgot to share with my therapist last week,

but no worries,

it all seems to come back into place

on a new moon turned purple at the sight

of a red market in October